wine shop on dekalb carlton

anonymous · May 2007

why don't you take your own advice and get off the board then.

boygabriel · May 2007

a very small % of posts on these boards turn into fights.

carlton banks · May 2007

i don't think this post is a fight... it's mostly people giving their honest opinions and debating teh merits of thirst. putting the "shiller's" comment aside, the only adversarial post surprisingly came from the store's owner... i think she wasted a great opportunity to communicate their value proposition relative to the competition. i've definitely been in blog fights and this isn't one...

anonymous · June 2007

Subject: thirst

I had issues with Thirst as well which are similar to other posts...

An over eager owner was my first problem. I went (about a month after they opened) and just wanted to browse, but was immediately descended upon with unsolicited recommendations. I was a little annoyed, but thought by trying something the owner "loves" (my only parameter that it be under $20.00) it would be a good way of discovering the directions the shop was taking. For my taste the wine was terrible. A couple days later, my wife checked out the store with a similar story of an overeager owner. She also took two recommendations of a red and white which again we found to be unpleasant. (Extremely acidic in all three cases) Wine taste is obviously subjective and others might love that style but knowing now how they select their wines makes it easy for me to pass them over unless I want something very specific. I won't be experimenting there.

As an aside for regular wine drinkers - you might consider shopping from places like Sherry-Lehman and PJ's because they have a wider selection than the local shops and deliver for free and within 48 hours (if you're order is over about $125.00). I still use the local shops because they always have something interesting that no one else will, but for many of my wine needs the warehouses are great and convenient.

anonymous · June 2007

Carlton Banks, I don't think Emilia's response to you was odd. She was offended that you alleged that she may be racist or expressing unrecognized prejudice against blacks. Sounds like she says the same thing to everyone and in fact may have been alerting you to the fact that you're buying a cheaper level of that particular wiskey. If you don't want people to get annoyed, don't throw around public accusations of racism when you are not sure if it is justified - and in fact later acknowledge that you probably misinterpreted the situation.

carlton banks · June 2007

guest, please join the board. that helps me know who i'm talking to...

to reiterate, i said that i may have overreacted in the initial post, as well as later. she wasn't telling me anything i didn't know regarding the scotch. i buy that particular brand on a regular basis. all i wanted was feedback from others to determine whether my feelings were valid. emilia's reaction was odd for a business owner who could have used it as an opportnity to address the issue in a more rational, adult manner. she dismissed not only my comments but every negative comment regarding the store. given her decision to not pay attention to customer feedback she made it obvious that customer service is not number one...

lemlar · June 2007

I agree with Carlton in every respect. His initial post was even-tempered and left open the possibility that he misconstrued the situation. There was nothing outrageous in his comments. I'm sure we can all relate to what he described in some sense. Even as a white woman, I certainly feel I get treated differently in general if I'm in sweats and sneakers or the suit I wear to work. We're certainly all entitled to throw out there the possibility of some bias, especially when it is articulated in a fair and measured way, as Carlton's comments were.

Based on her comments, I also believe that Emilia's reference to the price of the liquor was not in any way or on any even subconscious level based on race.

Having said that, she should simply have made that clear and said something like "I'm sorry that you may have interpreted my comments the way you did because that's not at all where I was coming from" etc. Instead, she told Carlton that his comments were "utter nonsense" and then similarly dismissed out of hand the comments of other posters. Emilia's excessively defensive and dismissive comments were unfortunate. I'd like to think that she either had had a little too much of a fine wine herself : ) or was simply trying to communicate forcefully that race was in no way an issue. I think a more tempered response would have been welcomed by all.

Since these posts were not addressed to the owners of Thirst one would have hoped that in deciding to jump in, they would have done so with a more positive and "customer service" oriented response than they did.

carlton banks · June 2007

For all the griping about The Greene Grape, at least they know how to win customers back... THIS is customer service. Thirst, you should learn from your competitor. She even mentions Alfonso Ribeiro as a play on my blog name... How endearing... (and the 20 bucks helps) ;-) I recommend the Burgans Albarino for a white, the Budini Malbec for a red and the Chateau Calissanne Rose.

Hi-

I am the owner of The Greene Grape and saw your posts on Brooklynian.com and specifically your not so favorable impression of us.

I want to apologize for any past bad customer service you've received and encourage you to try us again. We've made some staff changes, have a new tasting bar, have our spirits open for tasting and taste out of real glasses every day. We also offer a program where for every $250 you spend, you get a $20 gift certificate in the mail. Though cases don't apply to that total because of our case discount, any individual bottles of wine or spirits you buy does.

To encourage you to try us again, I'd like to send you a $20 gift card. Please let me know if you're interested and where I could send it. I could also have it held behind the counter . . . but of course you'd have to let me know your real name. I'll assume it is not Alfonso.

Cheers,
Amy

bifteck · June 2007

Aww, I love a happy ending!

boygabriel · June 2007

cool.

anonymous · July 2007

Subject: thirst no more

I went to a wine tasting at Thirst Wine Merchants with my boyfriend and all was going great until I witnessed the owner, Emilia, basically jumping a customer entering the store. Making a big fuss about what she was doing in the store...wine tasting or buying. The woman was obviously uncomfortable having to explain her intentions not 2 seconds after walking through the door, and the owner came off quite angsty. If that was not enough, she then proceeded to whisper (that... you better watch him whisper) to her husband about one of two customers that were perusing the store. Crazy amount of attitude for a small wine shop!

anonymous · July 2007

Subject: Thirst regulars know what is real...and what is not...!

Well...here we go again...

Just when the negativity finally settles down, we have yet another post stirring the pot. Hmm...and just in time for the Fourth of July holiday...go figure!

How do we know the most recent post is true and not a competitor or a jerk looking to make trouble? We simply don't know.

I've been to Thirst a dozen times, have purchased about thirty to forty bottles of wine there and have never seen anything other than friendly people interested in wine having a pleasant shopping experience (unfortunately, and regrettably, I cannot say the same thing for the times I have shopped at Greene Grape; Still, I wish them well). I wish more wine shops could have the selection that Thirst has with people as earnest as the owners about helping me find the right bottle of wine. I've learned a lot shopping there and am really glad Thirst is in this neighborhood.

In Thirst, we have two people (Michael and Emilia) who have a passion for wine and strong feelings for this great neighborhood. They decide to open a small business and then do a very tasteful and thoughtful renovation and create something in the neighborhood that we should feel good about. In short, they open exactly what we want in this neighborhood--a quality establishment.

What do they get for their efforts? We get people suggesting they are "too chatty." Which is really a ridiculous comment if you think about it. There is a question raised whether or not they might be racist (say what you want but an accusation of potential racism shouldn't be offered lightly and a message board like this with guests who are mostly unnamed can never offer a productive forum to discuss such a claim...). People complain the store is too small. They complain, complain, complain. Have any of you ever opened and tried to run a small business? I doubt it.

No one has to shop at Thirst, of course. And don't shop there if you don't want to.

Fortunately, there are enough people who are Thirst regulars who will keep this business going and growing. We understand that a message board like this, while useful as an information source, also has a tendency to provide an outlet for negativity that is generally out of proportion to reality. For example, I can count twenty people in the neighborhood that I know pretty well who are Thirst regulars and they adore Michael and Emilia. Thirst regulars know what is real and what is not.

If you stand in the corner of Thirst on a Friday evening, you will clearly see that the nattering nebobs of negativism represent a very small group of people.

Oh, and by the way, if I am in Thirst, and I am being to chatty, and you are really in a hurry, I won't be offended if you ask to cut in front of me. By all means...

anonymous · July 2007

Well I used to shop at greene grape because it was the closest option to my house. I was thrilled to discover that thirst opened much closer. I have had several negative experiences at greene grape. I could definitely call things I witnessed and experienced there racist. I have personally been in the middle of a conversation with an employee or owner and was rudely and abruptly cut off when a caucasian person came in the store and they were fawning all over them. I have witnessed the same a few other times with other people. Regardless, I like their $20 voucher policy and they have a few wines I really like. Ever since thirst opened, I haven't been back. My experience at thirst has been extremely positive. The first time I went in I met the owners and I asked them for particular wines but they didn't have them yet. They asked me what I like and I explicitly spelled it out for them;certain countries, certain palates. Now they have a good 5 or 6 wines of my type that I rotate and 2 or 3 of them are $11 to $13. Thats cool Tuesday wine for me. Yellowtail is a curse word in my realm. I agree the owners are chatty but they are from California. Everyone is like that in California. I would rather have that friendly chat than a bunch of attitude or people who deem I am not worthy of their acknowledgement like some other places. I am a several time a week regular and sometimes I feel like chatting and sometimes not and if not I put out the vibe and they definitely get it and when I do they are a lot of fun to chat with. Since they know exactly what I like if something new along those lines arrived they let me know and I like that. Clayton, these people are not rich or anything either. They agree with me that a $23 bottle of wine is for special occasions. I genuinely believe that they would give the heads up on a price to anyone. When they tell me of a new wine, the first thing I ask about is the price. Also the first time I went in there I was crusty as could be in filthy sweats covered in dirt from gardening and they were real nice. LOL I am often in there real crusty. As for pricing, you cannot expect a small neighborhood wine shop to be able to compete with the prices of a big warehouse wine merchant. It is impossible. Now of course when I am in the city I pick up some bottles for good prices and some different selections but it is great to have this shop right around the corner. Does anyone remember when there used to be the liquor store on DeKalb between Adelphi and Claremont that then became Liquors restaurant? Well it was great to have that too but they didn't really have much or any wine I wanted to drink.

anonymous · July 2007

This thread should be called "Whine Shop Wars." So much whining about wine shops. Suggestion: Maybe you all should have a few glasses of wine just before going to the wine shop. You know, get a good buzz going so that when you go there you are in a great mood, and too happy to give a crap about perceievd failings of the owners/service/etc. Buy your wine, and go back home. That would make everyone happy!

So much tension over a beverage designed to make you happy.

wine shop on dekalb carlton

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