Hello everyone! We have had another brilliant week here in Norfolk! We had plenty of customers come through and I also had two trialists come in for me to see if they would be suitable for a role in our shop and packing department.

On Monday, I was in the shop with Will! We started by working our way through an incredible amount of online orders! We worked together to get them all completed. In the afternoon, I went into the parcel booking on department. Sharon does a great job keeping up with the packers, however, when it gets to the afternoon, we get a backlog which I can certainly help with and that also gives Sharon the chance to do parcels that include lighters or gas as they use a different courier. Meanwhile, I served one of our regular customers who does like a variety of cigars but this time he chose a Padron 1926 No. 35 Maduro, I have never seen him have a Padron before but then again he had been coming to this shop since before I worked here! Afterwards, I served another regular gentleman who had recently been to Spain and brought back some cigars for the shop staff to try! They are brands that we can’t get over here, so I can’t wait to try them! He came in to purchase a nice bottle of whisky and a bottle of liqueur for his wife. For himself he chose the C.Gars Malt, he has truly fell in love with this single malt and keeps coming for more. For his wife he chose the Marsette Peruvian Chocolate Essence. I also gave him a sample of the Marsette Premium Whisky Liqueur, this was the stand out drink from our recent spirit training and the customer certainly understood why! He loved it! Unfortunately we didn’t have any full bottles at this moment, but I’ll make sure we do when he comes in next!

On Tuesday, I had a few more interviews to be a part of. It is always interesting meeting new people and seeing if they fit in with our team. In the afternoon, I was doing a trial with a previous interviewee, he did a great job and had lots of enthusiasm. I gave him a brief overview of our roles here and got him to do some small tasks to see how he handled the cigars and more. 

On Thursday, I completed some bits of my promotional work. I started by completing all of the shop newsletters. This months will include our Christmas opening hours. It’s scary to think that Christmas is round the corner! Afterwards, I had another Trialist! Again he was enthusiastic and had plenty of questions. He handled the cigars well and helped stock some shelves. It was hard to choose between them both, but I did make a decision and I can’t wait for you all to meet him!

On Friday, it was stock count day. This included all members of staff counting everything in this building! I was tasked with the New World humidor with Josh, together we got through it in good time. Afterwards we got through as many online order pickings as we could. Whilst this big stock count was happening, we were still open to the public. I served a lovely couple who were doing their Christmas shopping early! They were looking for a couple of bottles of whisky as well as a few cigars. I let them browse our spirits as I don’t like to overbear when customers are looking, after a little bit I asked if I could help but in truth they didn’t need it. They chose our own Stalla Dhu Speyside as well as a Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch No.7 and then looked in the humidors. The gentleman mentioned how he liked darker cigars and so I suggested the Foundation The Wise Man Maduro Robusto as it has slowly became one of my favourites, he listened but decided against it but did go for the Charter Oak Broadleaf Lonsdale, another great cigar from Foundation. His wife decided to treat him to a Kristoff Original Maduro Robusto Tubed. They left very happy and I enjoyed serving them.

On Saturday, I was working with Josh and Will! They both picked online orders whilst I finished off my newsletters and wrote this blog of course! I served a lovely gentleman who had travelled over an hour to visit. He treated himself to a Highclere Castle Victorian Robusto – He mentioned how originally one was bought for him as a joke due to him watching Downton Abbey, but then when he tried it he really enjoyed it! He then mentioned how he enjoys all of the Foundation range due to an event he attended in Norfolk, where he met George Frakes from 1573 Cigars – The supplier of Foundation cigars in the UK. He said George explained all of the ranges brilliantly and enjoyed the cigars provided. He also picked up both the Drew Estate Blackened M81 Maduro Corona and S84 Shade to Black Corona. We discussed how we were both excited to see them launch in the UK and we both purchased them as soon as we could. It’s great when someone shares the same feelings on cigars.

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks going on in Norfolk and I hope to see you all really soon.

So long for now.

Oliver.

Hello everyone! It has been a rather interesting week in Norfolk to say the least! We had a technical issue with our till system, which affected us all week! But that doesn’t affect our level of service and we always find a way to serve our brilliant customers!

On Monday, I was in the shop with Will! Josh was treating himself to a week off and so I was joined by Will – However it was Lisa and I picking the cigar orders. Together we got through them incredibly fast (with the help of the rest of the team). Afterwards, I spent some time stocking up the Cuban humidor and helping Lisa order her Cuban Stock.

Tuesday was my promotional day. I sat in the shop next to Will – He is still in training when it comes to shop tasks and so I was there to guide him, but not get too involved. Firstly, I concentrated on starting all of the shop’s October newsletters. All of the stores have improved massively on their content recently, I have to say i’m very impressed. Afterwards, I wrote an article for the C.Gars cigar library all about El Septimo cigars, which you can read here. I spent some time taking the pictures too. Meanwhile, I also wrote a news article about the absolutely stunning ST Dupont Lighter – Le Grand – Cohiba Behike 15th Anniversary. It is a beautiful lighter, but due to how shiny it is, it was difficult to get a good picture of it – But I got there in the end – What do you think? 

Meanwhile, I was helping Will perfect his tasks. I taught him how to stock up and write the tags for our pipes! He seemed to enjoy it and did a very good job. Later on, I was given some CV’s to look through for our next retail employee! Porscha has recently accepted a new role in our office, listing new products as well as adding new stock onto our till system. I wish her the best of luck, but I am sad to see her leave our department. But we move on and we welcome a new face into our close knitted team. I have organised some interviews for next week and I look forward to meeting them all.

On Thursday, I was back in the shop. Will had his first solo day in the shop on Wednesday and left me a lovely note to ask if he had done a good job. I can say with confidence… He did. Of course there were little bits he missed, but overall he did an excellent job. Because he did such an excellent job, it made my job easier. I served a lovely semi-regular customer – he has fairly recently changed from Cuban cigars to New World and is enjoying the experience. As always he likes to try something new, so I suggested the Foundation Charter Oak Shade Petit Corona. He then wanted one more, so as always I suggested the Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion Skinny. I can’t wait to see him again to see if he enjoyed them. 

On Friday, I was in the shop again. Firstly I had a meeting with our HR manager to discuss the upcoming interviews, she explained the kind of things we should be looking for from a candidate. It was very interesting to hear. Afterwards, I came back and was greeted by an email from our content manager with a brilliant piece of news! Dominique London And Tang Tobacco To Open A Flagship La Casa Del Habano On Pall Mall! There has been a full press release which you can read here! It certainly is an exciting time for this company and one to be proud of. I uploaded that onto the C.Gars cigar library as quickly as I could for everyone to read. I served a lovely couple who were on holiday. They had mentioned how they had been to our stores in Chester and Leeds and enjoyed them both – I like to call visiting our other stores the “Tour de Dominique London” as it would be great to visit each store and see each one’s uniqueness. The gentleman said his favourite cigar was a Perdomo Lot 23, which unfortunately, we cannot get in the UK, however he did treat himself to the 10th Anniversary Epicure as well as the CLE Asylum 13 Ogre Toro Gordo, the Gurkha Nicaraguan Toro Blue Sampler Pack. The gentleman’s wife then pointed out the Casa Turrent 1880 Series Double Robusto Claro and said he should try that, and so he did. 

On Saturday, I was joined by Will and Porscha! We got through the online order pickings incredibly fast and then got on with our own individual tasks. Porscha was packing online orders, whilst Will started stocking up both humidors. I then taught Will how to do price tags for the cigars. Afterwards we created a new display to show an incredible offer we have online and in store – The Yamazaki 12 Year Old 100th Anniversary has been reduced from £199 to £99! This is an incredible reduction of £100 but it’s only whilst stocks last so get yours now!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s goings on and I hope to see you all in Norfolk soon.

So long for now.

Oliver.

Hello everyone! Another fantastic week has gone by in Norfolk! We have had many happy customers, keeping us all incredibly busy.

On Monday, I was in the shop with Josh. We worked incredibly hard to pick all of the online orders as quickly as possible. Afterwards I was needed in the parcel booking on department, just to keep a good flow of orders going through the system. I also served a lovely customer who wanted to get a few cigars for him and a friend. We started looking at the Cubans and he mentioned how he liked the Por Larranaga Montecarlo, but unfortunately we were out of stock, so I suggested the Petit Corona as that seems to be the most popular Por Larranaga (from what I have seen). He also wanted a suggestion of a light Cuban, so I suggested an ol’ reliable – The H. Upmann Majestic. Afterwards we looked at the New World Cigars, he wanted something a bit different, so I recommended one of my favourites – The Drew Estate Blackened M81 Maduro Robusto, he liked the link to James Hetfield of Metallica as well as the idea of a full Maduro cigar. I really enjoyed serving that customer and I hope to see him again soon.

On Tuesday, I was in the shop with Will! I had previously taught him how to serve customers, but he has never really had a shift in the shop, so I spent time with him showing all of the different things we get up to. I showed him how to do the price tags for alcohol bottles, as well as how to stock up and order cigars for our humidors. I could really tell he was enjoying himself. I let him create a display for our Stalla Dhu limited releases too. What do you think? Will also served all of our customers too. I really wanted him to experience a full day in the shop with as little help from me as possible. He did a really good job!

On Wednesday, I was picking online orders. We have been recently rewarding our customers by giving them a good cigar for £10! Last month it was the Flor de Oliva Robusto, and it proved very popular. This month it is the Zino Nicaragua Short Torpedo, it’s just a way to say thank you to our loyal customers. You can find this great offer at the checkout. This offer has been very popular, it feels like I have been picking it with every order! Afterwards, I spent some time uploading Josh’s article for the C.Gars cigar library. He has been reviewing cigars and this latest one is very fascinating. You can read it here. Afterwards, my customer who purchased the Rattrays pipe on Saturday had returned. He loved the American blends tobacco, and wanted to try some more. He started by purchasing the Alsbo selection sampler, as well as the Golden Blends sampler – He was particularly interested in the Golden Blends No. 3 as he liked the idea of an Amaretto flavouring. In the afternoon, I started the New World stock count with Lisa. We completed the full box cupboard as well as the Camachos and Zino stock. This gave us a great head start for the next day.

Thursday was stock count day. Lisa and I work brilliantly together and get through it all incredibly quick! We were completed before lunch time! So afterwards I wrote another article for the cigars of the month! This month they are the Cuaba Divinos and the Hiram & Solomon Master Mason Robusto. Afterwards I took the pictures and uploaded the article. You can read it here.

On Friday, I was back in the shop. My first customer of the day was a very polite gentleman who knew immediately what he wanted – The Cohiba Maduro 5 Secretos box of 10. As I always do with customers – I opened the box to show him the cigars inside to make sure he was happy, and he was. He also purchased a Lotus Travel Humidor, I assume to put them in and away he went. Afterwards we were joined by James, he is the master distiller of the Snowdonia Distillery, he everything to do with Foragers Gin, Y Bet Vodka and even created one of the most delicious whisky liqueurs I have ever had in Marsette . We certainly learned a lot. In the afternoon, I completed the Cuban stock count with Josh.

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks goings on in Norfolk, and I hope to see you all very soon.

So long for now.

Oliver

Hi everyone! It’s felt like a while since I wrote my last blog, I certainly enjoyed my holiday, but I did come home with a foot injury. I can see the team has taken good care of the shop whilst I was off.

So I came back on the Tuesday after the bank holiday and wow it was busy online! I helped in the morning with online pickings and then moved into parcel booking with Porscha, meanwhile, I was still on hand to serve in the shop. I’m not the most experienced with booking parcels on, but Porscha certainly helped by doing all of the difficult parcels which need different couriers and I got through the Royal Mail parcels as quickly as I could. Meanwhile, I also served a regular gentleman who loves a Gurkha cigar and a Maduro wrapper – He is a regular buyer of the Gurkha Cellar Reserve 15 Year Old Maduro, as well as the Gurkha Heritage Collection Limited Edition Robusto Corto – So when I showed him one of the latest releases from Gurkha – the Heritage Collection Limited Edition Robusto Maduro Corto, he was really excited and bought one immediately. 

On Thursday I had a promotional day. I started by finalising all of the shop newsletters, ready to be sent on the 1st of September, afterwards I wrote two articles for the C.Gars Cigar Library! It had been a while since I was able to upload an article and so I thought I’d get ahead and post one this week and then schedule one for next week! This week’s one was about J Cure accessories – They are certainly a high quality product that any cigar lover should be proud to own. You can read that article here. My second article? You’ll have to wait until next week to read it! I also wrote a news piece for the news page about the new Stalla Dhu expressions previously mentioned. You can read it here. Afterwards I took some pictures for next week’s article as well as the Cigars of the Month. I always like to promote them on our humidor monitors as it occasionally helps our customers make a decision.

In the afternoon, I created a poster for our latest offer in store – Lucky dip pipe tobacco. You can get a random 10g for £3.00 Norfolk exclusive. Towards the end of the day, I got the retail team together to discuss our promotions for September. We had a long brainstorm and decided on a few different offers. We will be having 20% Rattrays pipes and accessories! As well as ⅓ off a quality Peter James lighter. We also came up with the idea of purchasing three Glencairn glasses and getting a Glencairn tray for free!

On Friday, I was back in the shop. Firstly, I took down our centre display, I had decided what gets promoted in our shop newsletter should be promoted in the centre of the shop. So I filled our humidor with Fratello Oro cigars, Peter James lighters and then behind it we have the Stalla Dhu Single Cask Craigellachie 12 Year Old Rye & Ruby. I also served a gentleman who wanted a nice, short, unique cigar for his son. I suggested the Plasencia Dominique Seleccion 2024 Exclusive Petit Dominique, as the volcanic Ometepe tobaccos create a lovely charred oak flavour. He then picked up some La Aurora Principes Blond as a little treat and left very happy. In the afternoon, Josh and I completed the Cuban stock count.

On Saturday, I was joined by Josh and Will. We picked all of the online orders and then Will started to pack them as Josh and I worked through creating a nice Rattrays display in our pipe room.

I also served a regular customer, who came in with two of his friends. They treated themselves to some Drew Estate Deadwood Fat Bottom Bettys and then had a look at our cigar cutters. One gentleman like the Cigarism Cassette range, however didn’t want something so bulky in his pocket and decided on the v-cut in a lovely glossy red. The regular liked the cassette style and decided to get the gift set as he thought it was a bargain… And it is! Afterwards, I served another gentleman who was relatively new to pipe smoking, he was given a pipe by his grandfather and some St Bruno tobacco. Many pipe smokers will know St Bruno is great for experienced smokers but not beginners! So he wanted to try something cherry flavoured. I suggested the American Blends BC, which he loved the smell of as well as the American Blends C&V. He then mentioned about getting a new pipe. He loved the look of the Rattrays Rannoch range but it was well above his £50 budget. We looked at others around his budget, but he kept looking back to the Rattrays. In the end he took the jump and purchased the pipe! I could tell he was very happy with his purchase!

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s goings on in Norfolk and I hope to see you all in store very soon.

So long for now.

Oliver