Do You Sell Wine ?
Let me paint you a scene.
A customer walked into our retail shop the other day. We greeted him with a smile and a good morning.
“I know nothing about wine” was his opener.
No problem we said. That’s what we are here for. He was in to buy a present for a friend. We asked him a few quick, simple questions about wines he liked, what his friend liked, the food they would be having and how much he was looking to spend approximately on a bottle. A few minutes later he left with two beautiful bottles of wine that cost less than he had planned to spend. As he walked out the door, he turned and said “I really enjoyed that – thanks”. We were chuffed.
It got me thinking about the whole wine buying experience. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject
It should be enjoyable !
This may seem like a silly thing to say. But it is very important. We love it when people come in and buy wine and then we see them calling in over and over again. We really love that. These people enjoy calling and chatting about wine and getting some great value and getting new wines recommended to them that they love.
No Hard Sell
Never. Ever. I HATE the hard sell. It just annoys me intensely. Does not matter what it is. If someone tries the hard sell approach, it completely turns me off. When people call here, we help them with their choices if they want our help. We give them as much or as little help and information as they want. If the customer wants a quiet browse, that’s grand. If they want to talk wine till the cows come home, that’s grand too.
Passion
We love wine. We are passionate about the wines we sell and about wine in general. Wine is one of the greatest things in the world. We talk to people about the wine, wine styles, the wine makers. Not too much information though. No one likes a wine bore !
Wine Knowledge
Apart from knowing about the wines we sell and the people who make it, we’ve done professional study. It allows us to make great recommendations and is invaluable with our wine buying selections. When we are buying our wine, we are looking for great price / quality wine value.
A Wide Range of Wines
We also stock non commercial wines. Wines for the wine lover. We may not sell as many of them but it is worth it because it gives our customers tremendous variety and choice.
Recommendations
We ask a number of questions before we recommend any wine. The kind of wines you like, countries, grape varieties, style, that sort of thing. Once we get a handle on this (it only takes a minute literally), we can recommend something that we know you will enjoy and we can also recommend something new to try that will start you off along a new wine road
Managing Expectations
We feel its very important that people know and realise what they are buying. Sometimes people call in to get a slightly more expensive bottle, a fine Bordeaux or Burgundy, maybe for a birthday or for Christmas. We chat through the options with people. Sometimes they leave with the Bordeaux or Burgundy but many times they leave with something else completely different. The point is they are very happy with the wine they get.
It should be great value
In addition to recommending a wine you will love, more often than not, you will leave with your wine having spent less on the bottle(s) than you thought. We smile every time it happens.
So dont hide in the shadows. Call in and enjoy the wine buying experience from your local independent wine shop. Its relaxed, fun and you leave with cracking wine at an equally great price.
