That's what i do. My (tiny) local store has a sweet old lady behind the counter. She admits to not knowing much about whiskey but she'll give you a sample from most bottles and let you be the judge. She also doesn't make a fuss about letting me get behind the counter to have a closer look at the more fancy stuff. Never left there empty handed.
Heck man my local family owned liquor shop is willing to order an entire case of stuff as wholesalers often require simply because i was only interested enough to ask if they had any because I wanted to see it it was up my alley once lol. Dont think I've experienced that at any chain liquor stores yet... I haven't taken them up on it yet because I'd feel bad if what I thought id enjoy wasn't enjoyable and seeing it sit on their shelf for ages.
Honestly everything they said applies to any industry where you have a specific item with a lot of variety. There is a massive beef jerky outlet in my state which does the same things. They've got the right idea and I hope they grow.
@MrJre4491 Actually, customer service and hospitality is infinitely better outside the states. Coming from someone who travels for a living. America sucks, and I'm American.
It’s really smart because it’s 1 bottle out of multiple cases she orders and probably less expensive than buying sleeves of the mini’s. Plus she is in CT which is rather affluent area I think so no worries about people coming in and trying to drink all the samples.
@@justadudeintheworldman.120 Connecticut is rich but has a lot of poor people, we're rich only because of super rich people in a few areas. We have the worst wealth inequality in the country
We have one in St. Augustine FL, and surprisingly it's also a chain ABC liquor store. They do tastings and the whole nine there always a great experience.
Irene is amazing. Here is the story of my first visit to her on my 21st B-Day! I traveled from tn to see relatives near her and visited her store with $100 in my pocket to try some diff whiskeys, and to buy a great first bottle for my 21st. B-Day! A few minutes in to talking and looking around I accidentally bumped a shelf with my wheelchair & knocked about $100+ worth of bottles off a rack & they broke everywhere, I freaked out cause I didnt know if I would have enough to pay for it, out of my total $100 in my pocket & I also knew I wouldnt be able to buy a bottle now cause i would have to use my $100 for it, but she immediately told me accidents happen. She consoled me and told me it's all good & that I didnt have to pay for it. She was so nice, she then helped me go over about 50 diff bottles I all had questions about, and she answered every question I had no matter how dumb and beginner sounding my questions were lol. Finally she helped me decide on a great $85 bottle, but she asked if I wanted to upgrade to the better version of that bottle that's an aged small batch for the total $100 I had, I said.. I thought that was like $40 more than my other bottle? I told her that I only have $100 so only have $15 extra i dont have the extra $25 plus tax money to cover that, she said if you wanna upgrade for the $15 we can do that and she gave me the better bottle $25 off, for $100 flat! She said she wanted me to have the best bottle I could possibly get for my first bottle for my 21st. B-Day! She also asked if I had a whiskey glass which I didnt, & she gave me one for free! It was the single best customer experience I have ever had in any store whatsoever period! I have since revisited her every other year, each time I visit family in the area, and she still remembers my name and the story of me breaking a bottle and her upgrading my bottle for me! Of the 3 times I've been back since that first time, each time I visit she hooks me up with all kinds of small free little goodies, she is so kind, passionate, knowledgeable, and she gives the best customer service ever, which builds her loyal fan base. She Is very buissness savy!!
I saw this video a couple of weeks ago and just realized the store is only 45 minutes from me. I took a little drive to go grab some whiskey today. Irene was there. She had obviously never met me before. We hung out for about an hour and tasted various types of whiskey while she shared some great stories. She’s a great person. I could’ve hung out all day sipping on various bottles, but I gotta get home somehow. She also taught me that I’m a fan of Rye whiskey today. Who knew? I didn’t have a single Rye in my bar, but I left with two and prepaid for a third. Yeah. Irene’s got it like that. Most importantly, I learned some things and made a new friend. That’s very whiskey…of her of course. I was the dumb one drinking her stash. I wont buy whiskey anywhere else, and I can’t wait to attend some events. She can pick a barrel for me any day! Also, she’s a highly underrated namer of things. Yeah, you didn’t know that was a skill did you? Well it is, and she has it. You probably think you do too…but you don’t. Trust me. All her barrels have great names and backstories, which makes it a treat to enjoy them with her. Just a sweet Saturday afternoon. Thanks so much for a wonderful experience Irene. It was a pleasure to meet you. Big thanks to the Whisky Tribe for introducing us.
Thanks Sean for stopping in for some good conversation and tasting some of my picks. Glad to have another rye fan for #teamrye. I look forward to your next visit.
@@irenetan6938 where is your store? I love taking weekend trips just to discover places like yours and after seeing this video I'm dying to see your store!
At the start of the video i thought WTF who is traveling so far just to buy some booze. After the video: vigorously serching for plane tickets from germany to connecticut
Hello World! Wait that's a beginner programming thing, put your IT hat away.. Anyway, if you all liked what you saw, follow me @WhiskyMentors on FB or IG for updates to my newest location where even more whiskey can be found, tasting events and all things whiskey related.
I grew up in a bar that my grandmother owned and she was one of the only people in town that ran a weekly tab. That was an incredible experience and it showed me the way to providing the local people with the drinks they needed when they needed them. Worked in a liquor store for 5 years at my first attempt at college and I learned everything about everything that was in that store. It's a great feeling to provide people with the care that they deserve. There is a camaraderie in the community of bars and stores. A lot of us move between both. Always serve your clients like they are at a spa.
I'm from Australia, I visited Irene's store in 2018, I remember thinking "Now this is how you build a reputable business and loyal customer base". One of the best, Thank you Irene, many people around the world appreciate you.
@@rich1051414 You called it. The digital second hand sometimes disappears when I'm grilling dinner so it's nice to glance at the analog and go ok, 1 min for rare, no need to push buttons to start and stop with greasy fingers.
She's doing what's called among watch enthusiasts "going schwarzkopf". After a US general during the Gulf Wars - Norman Schwarzkopf, who was famously wearing two watches. For practical reasons, of course. One for local time, and one for Washington.
Wow. Every liquor store owner needs to watch this and take notes. This seems to embody the true meaning of community within the whiskey world. Wish every store was like this! Bravo
I like that you did this in a positive way. Instead of going into stores looking for things that were wrong, you went into a great store and found the things that were right that often do go wrong in liquor stores. Teachers do that all of the time Outsider: "He can barely read!" Teacher: "He can decode words well, and can't read fluently YET"
I love how Irene explains things in a way that even a 3yr. old could understand. I love her old school way of salesmanship. I miss those ways of doing business. Thank you guys for this.
Irene is an incredible business woman. All she does makes so much sense in order to achieve a successful and profitable business. She makes short term sacrifices, some are relatively pretty expensive, but absolutely please the customer, it's a big short term investment resulting in a customer returning, probably for as long as he lived in the area. It will pay off, maybe only after a year or 2, but it will. A lot of businesses don't have the guts or ambition to do this, she's genius!
Costs of doing business got driven through the roof when someone told the liberals we were all rich and greedy. So they jacked our taxes and put us straight out of business. Support your small businesses, take care of them, and they’ll stay. But they’re not getting rich off being your local corner shop.
Visited the story today and had such a great time with @Irene Tan. I’m full in the heart, even if a bit light in the wallet. Greatest retail experience ever. Well worth the drive from New Hampshire. I’ll be back!
Do you care? Business people are supposed to make money. Spending money isn't just about product it's about the experience as well. I'm more than willing to pay for an experience
I watched this back in 2019 when recommended sourced me to this. Now I re-watch in 2021 and I appreciate this much more. Liquor store education is needed. So much intimidation is there. All the best to Irene and others in their spirits journey.
Honestly, I'm a novice whiskey drinker. The fact that this video kept a smile on my face the ENTIRE time shows me there are people out there willing to embrace and educate people like me without gouging. Kudos guys, and kudos Irene!
Wow! I wish I could tag her @Irene Tan. I just left her store, it was an incredible experience. Her and her coworker were incredible. Irene was so enjoyable and fun to be around. She let us try anything and everything. She has so many store picks and they are all so good! She has a great selection on regular picks as well. I would do this time over time. Make sure she is there when you go! This is the 8th wonder of the world for a Bourbon lover! Best store in the world hands down. Thanks again @Irene Tan for welcoming these Hoosiers!
Robert Kuehn my local liquor store is run by a super amazing old Chinese man, he only has like 3 people on staff and sometimes they just forget to price the new stuff, if it’s not super expensive they’ll just give it to you for 50% off since they messed up. For bottles that have been sitting for a while he’ll pop one open and give free tastings, if you like it he’ll give you a discount on it. I’ve been going there since I was a wee lad with my dad. There’s a picture of him and my dad back in the late 70’s when they both had hair, lol.
Good grief, yes. I want to support my corner liquor stores, but if they don't bother to put prices on anything, I just won't shop there. It sucks having to ask how much something costs, because you feel like you're a cheap ass if you have to ask.
I only go to liquor stores once in awhile and the choices are so overwhelming, especially when it comes to beers and wine. I enjoy reading the labels and seeing where they're from. I can literally spend an hour or more just checking out everything.
Holy crap. I know we're all about whisk(e)y here, but this store carries Empress Gin (the purple gin) from my local distillery in Victoria, BC, Canada. A tiny little craft distillery with an amazing gin, which somehow is available on the other side of the continent. At a totally reasonable price too. Wow - hats off to this store.
It's Irene! I love her! She's probably the most enthusiastic person I've ever met when it comes to this business. I'm so lucky that she is right down the street from my house. She wasn't kidding about the welcoming atmosphere. The first time I went there after moving to the area she was breaking out tasting bottles left and right and feeding me and my buddy quite a few samples and talking passionately about all of them. I ended up buying way more bottles than I meant to that day. It was glorious.
No swearing Jesus Christ is recommended John 3:16-21 Jesus Christ is Lord God Loves You The Kingdom of God is at Hand Leviticus 20:13 Ephesians 4:29 1 Corinthians 6:9
What an amazingly awesome proprietor! Love her enthusiasm and knowledge and dedication to truly above-and-beyond customer service. I'd be in there every other week, at least, if I lived anywhere near CT. She seems like such a cool lady, and I bet her staff is just as awesome. I wish I could get out there, and really wish her the best with her shop. That is the single most impressive selection of whiskey and scotch in a small business/store that I have ever seen.
This should be a video for ALL brick and mortar store owners. 👍 And I cant stand when the "expensive" stuff is behind the desk. Thats a for sure reason I wont be buying anything "expensive " from that store. Ill be buying online. Great video!
Lol! The mention of Pappy made me remember an instance several years ago, I went into my local liquor store and the young employee I didn't recognize was at the counter unboxing a shipment. I just happened to notice he pulled out a couple bottles of Pappy. In shock and astonishment I said "Is that for sale?", he shrugged and said, "Yeah, can't see why it wouldn't be." So I bought both bottles on the spot. The next time I walked into the store he said, "You're the Pappy guy! Dude! You almost got me fired!" It seems there was something like a five year waiting list and the store only got a couple bottles at a time. I felt a little guilty...but just a little.
What’s great about working in a liquor store is when customers ask for top shelf bottles and what they taste like, I always tell them “ I couldn’t say, I work in a liquor store”. $1,500 bottle of Hennessy, is it really that good? “Beats me”.
So cool that she understands that some people really want to tase a good spirit but do not have the funds to buy a big expensive bottle so she lets them taste it for free. It is rare to find good business that treats the customers well regardless of social status. She knows it will pay off for her if they do buy something expensive, but it is not her primary motivation. That is how she gets people to drive many miles past countless other venues to shop at her place instead of somewhere else. We need this more now than ever. God bless her.
@@joe-e-geo Had a Management professor as the business core for Finance, and let me tell you he was a wickedly smart, humble, and rich with experience. He could make the whole class become a productive start-up in a matter of weeks and no one would realize they are working. He was an exec at a Mexican telecom firm and his CV was impressive but he is a really old guy so I guess he just wanted his tenure and live the rest of his retirement comfortably. Honestly, I heard other Mgmt professors in my uni were boring and stale, I feel like it should be a requirement to have practiced your field outside academics because the best professors I've had have all had careers outside of unis and colleges.
Rarely does someone impress me as much as Irene has in this video. What a great business mind, not to mention she obviously actually also cares about customers/people in general!! Keep it up 👍
One thing the other liquor stores don’t have: Irene! Her knowledge and personality. The amazing social intelligence and ability to communicate with all sorts of customers. When she talks..it’s on your level. Equal. And that’s amazing. Cheers Irene!
I absolutely 100% have never enjoyed a video as much as I have this one!! Irene is the perfect example of "How to do things right"!!! Thanks for doing this video..So Much Fun!!!
It's good to see shop owners getting back to customer service. I used to drive miles for that experience when looking for hardware supplies and even pet care stuff. I would walk out feeling like it was enjoyable and not a chore.
I have so much to say about this. For a hot second I thought “why are they flying halfway across the country to go to a liquor store?” To say I understand now is such an understatement. I’m going to have to watch again to keep count of the EXCELLENT business practices I hadn’t ever thought of.
As someone who lives in a state-control state, take my word for it: Lower prices don't make up for the lack of selection and Soviet Union-like grimness of decor and staff.
@@jamessveinsson6006 New Hampshire, too. The liquor stores ain't bad at all though, and with no sales taxes the prices are so good to the point that people from MA come over to shop at them. Pretty sure we've got some of the highest booze consumption per capita in the country so maybe they're even too good 😂
@@jamessveinsson6006 virginia where I live is like this, it's bleak and depressing, you gotta order online for anything really worth a damn, but even then you can't taste test an online order so it's still a gamble, If stores here ran how Irene runs hers I'd be buying at least 2-3 bottles each visit she knows how to run a shop right thanks to no state control bs regulating and restricting
Ya here in state controlled Pennsylvania I can travel 100miles total trip, to go to west virgina & dont just break even but actually end up saving a couple bucks after gas cost vs buying down the street its pathetic af... I always bought the whole state sucks for variety but is cheaper till I started making state trips n saw how wrong that statmeant is
Her business model is amazing! She’s just an all around wonderful person and it carry’s over to her business. This was surprisingly wholesome to watch, was not expecting this. Plus I live in a state where the liquor is state run. There’s actually a bill to change that and I was totally against it until I saw this. Thank you to Irene for changing my mind.
I need to send this video to a few stores in the Knoxville, TN area. "Hey, you have any Eagle Rare?" "Oh, um well, that's for our 'whiskey call list' customers, sorry." *Roles eyes, walks out*.....You're a saint Irene!
I get nasty attitudes at least twice a week about Eagle Rare and Blantons when I tell people it’s a three month wait list. Buffalo Trace is getting there as well.
Wow, her sampling policy is amazing. I've always wanted more tiny bottles available to try new things, but the selection is always so limited. How cool that she allows that.
I'm an engineer and I love that even though the fields are wildly different they have all the same markers of success. Be passionate, be authentic, be approachable.
I'm also an engineer, civil, worked my way there doing dirt work and laying utilities then school at night. In the field we always said "The difference between an engineer and a cowboy is the bullshit being on the OUTSIDE of a cowboy's boot." Had to share that joke with you. Congratulations on your career I know how difficult it was to achieve.
If Irene’s store was near me I’d be absolutely broke! Her personality is extremely infectious! This is quite possibly the best Whisk(e)y video ever❣️❣️❣️
This is forever going to be one of my favorite videos. I was so pleased to hear about whiskey happenings in the New England area, I never imagined you'd literally land in my home state of Rhode Island (big state meets small state?). I was so disheartened that I wasn't able to attend The Bastards Ball due to my financial situation, others can only try to guess how happy I felt to be so fortunate in meeting you both in person after so many years. I look forward to speaking further with Irene about how I can help her make the New England area a truly magnificent place for whiskey lovers from every part of the world. For this moment as I type however it's about time that I bunker down and get ready for ANOTHER magnificent weekend full of whiskey. This time thankfully from the comfort of my own home as I hang out with all the MB's currently attending your cult meet... Bastards Ball... stay magnificent you bastards!
Amazing lady, her passion jumps off the screen! We need to clone Irene so she can open and run multiple liquor stores all around the country! Starting first in ATX! ;)
I love her! She´s intelligent, knowledgeable about liquor and truly enjoys sharing with her customers, not just because they come back and that means good business, but because she shares their enthusiasm and is open to provide great customer service. If I was living in the US I would definitely shop here.
What a great person to be a spokesperson for the liquor industry! When you combine knowledge with enthusiasm... along with the ability to taste for yourself and take all the bullshit out of a potential purchase, you have liquor store gold. Watching Ms. Tan tell us about how she approaches her customers and their needs just felt refreshing the whole way through. She's worthy of a segment on CBS Sunday Morning.
My local Twin Liquors is actually quite good. They have several bottles for tasting, and are generally knowledgeable. If they don't know, they answer honestly, and try to bring another employee that is more knowledgeable to assist. The Specs is pretty standard though. One or two employees know their stuff, the rest are content to try and make a sale (if they have anyone on the floor at all).
Spec's is hit or miss with their staff. Generally, if you find an old chunky white dude, they'll be more helpful with recommendations, haha. They've always had lots of people giving samples, though. Tried a lot of local food, wine, and liquor from small scale producers there. It's really hard to hate Spec's when I've seen liquor stores in other states. Twin Liquors, to me, has an okay selection and a pretty inattentive staff. Haven't had a sample there. For a somewhat more knowledgeable (if stuffy) staff, I go to Total Wine which actually has a pretty good selection of liquors.
@@donnameng9408 At our local Spec's they allow vendors in to offer tastings, but don't have a dedicated area. My local Twin has a small "bar" area where they offer tastings from their own bottles, but they don't allow vendors. Spec's does have a much larger (and broader) selection, though Twin is more curated. I'm sure it all depends on who is running the store (and hiring and training staff). I don't have a Total Wine locally.
I hate when I come crawling into the liquor store trying to buy one more bottle but they refuse to tell it to me cause I'm crawling in the store on the ground
