Though back on December 22, 2009 when Stone first put up the video blog for this Steve Wagner the President and Brewmaster mentioned they were willing to open up a brewery anywhere in "Europe, except for France." Needless to say, very shortly after this there was another Video blog that popped up as a response and an apology for the comment as it was intended for humour.
It seems hard to imagine that people make phone calls or write letters (snail mail that is) anymore with all of the technology presented to us. Just think of the population that owns a cell phone yet rarely makes or receives a call, simply text messages. Communications just seem easiest by means of e-mail. Though where is our e-mail going? After it is sent, where does it go after that? Should we be concerned?
Well, to answer that, who really knows where it goes, but there is a good chance it may end up on a message board of beer advocates if you are not careful with your choice of words. As we see a flood of opinions battle it out on the topic of Cigar City Brewing's (Tampa, FL) Joey Redner and his e-mail conversation with a customer. You can see the original post here.
If you follow this link (Ta-da!) you can scroll down a bit and read Mr. Redner's (Degarth) response to the whole stir that followed.
It makes you wonder who is watching, listening, reading, or following you around every corner and where some seemingly private conversations and interactions end up. This particular incident has caused quite a bit of publicity, and it's hard to say whether it's good or bad. Some ideas on professionalism are pretty obvious and anyone who has ever entered the realm of customer service will know that it's important to have a bond with customers. It only takes one person to spread the word and we are finding out that words can be copy and pasted pretty far across the vast information highway.
In mention to my previous post we are indeed heading into a new decade with guts, glory and technology. The little guys may have a lot of attitude in there beer and marketing tactics, but maybe a friendly smile once in a while might aid in giving craft brewers everywhere a good name. Then again, even bad apples have their sweet spots.
On a similar note, it's going to be great to see Stone Brewing Co. roll across the border into Canada. Volo will be hosting a day of Stone beer for those who are worth on February 7, 2010. Details here.
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