Hello everyone! It has been a fascinating week here in Norfolk. I even had the opportunity to go to a fabulous distillery!

On Monday, it was Marcus and myself in the shop. As always we had lots of online orders to pick and we got through them as quick as we could. Marcus had done an excellent job considering it was only his second time picking orders. Meanwhile I served a lovely gentleman who loves browsing our website but wanted to come in to see a few pipes. I always say, the website is great to show you the variety but you don’t get a feel for them unless you come in store – and that is exactly what this gentleman did. Afterwards he wanted to purchase a bottle of Tamdhu 12 year old and 1792 Small Batch. He had seen them on our website and again wanted to come in to purchase them. He left very happy and I enjoyed talking to him about our products. Later on in the day, I had an older couple come in needing to get their son some birthday presents, conveniently, he had left them a list of what he wanted. The list included a pipe of no description but under £40 and the Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion Twisty. I found a Mr Brog Cent 9mm Filter Fishtail Pipe which the couple liked. 

On Wednesday, I had a leadership meeting. It was very fascinating and I took a lot from it and will use it to improve my supervisor style. After the meeting I created an article for the C.Gars cigar library, it was about Mr Brog pipes, which you can read by clicking here. Afterwards, I then created an article for the November Cigars of the Month. Our humidor manager has selected another two fantastic cigars to promote and so after writing the article, I took pictures ready for our monitors in the humidor. 

Thursday was the day I looked forward to the most. The retail team got the opportunity to visit The English Distillery! Our shop is just a 1 hour drive from this magnificent place and so we all went to learn about how to make whisky, as well as the history of English Whisky. I will be writing an article in the C.Gars cigar library all about our visit there very soon so keep an eye out for that. 

On Friday, I was back in the Norfolk shop, I was working double duties as I had to serve our fabulous customers as well as pick online orders and open deliveries. It was a nice change to be doing a mix of everything. In the afternoon it was the usual Cuban stock count.

On Saturday, it was Josh, Marcus and myself in the shop… Kind of. After picking orders, I starting packing orders to give the packing department a head start on Monday. Meanwhile Josh got to work on a new set of drawers for our pipe room. We intend on having a lot more pipe accessories to have to hand for any pipe smokers who need an accessory. Marcus and I served a lovely couple who were looking for some cigars as well as a humidor. We had a lovely discussion about many different cigars. In the end the gentleman purchased the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Robusto I as well as the Caldwell Anastasia Caspia and The King is Dead Premier. Afterwards they looked a humidors and went with the York Mahogany Glass Top Humidor as well as a Cigarism Jet Flame Cigar Lighter & Punch Cutter – Carbon Fibre Black. This was a great sale for Marcus to see as it had a great variety of products for him to talk to the customer about.

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

So long for now

Oliver

Hi everyone! It’s been another interesting week here in Norfolk. 

On Monday, I was joined in the shop by Marcus! It was his first Monday and as many of my loyal readers know, we have lots of online orders on a Monday. Marcus took his stack and did a really good job picking all of the cigars and only made a few mistakes. He was still a little nervous to serve customers and so I handled them all in the morning. I was then on my lunch break when I heard the shop doorbell go, I was prepared to get the door but I heard Marcus get it and deal with the customer in a professional manner. Afterwards he was shaking from excitement! I was proud of him and I could tell he was proud of himself.

On Tuesday, I was back in the shop with Marcus, I spent some more time training him about cigars as well as the pipe tobacco. He got very comfortable with the pipe tobacco very quickly and he has started trying to learn about different flavours of pipe tobacco. Meanwhile, I served a gentleman who usually comes in for cigars, however this time he wanted to try a pipe. So I suggested a Cool & sweet pipe and some American Blends tobacco to try. The gentleman then went away and came back 5 minutes later to buy some cigars. Later on in the day I made a start on all of the shops newsletters. In the afternoon, we had a regular gentleman come in who always wants a rare box of Cuban cigars, this time it was the LCDH Trinidad La Trova. He bought two boxes as well as a couple of Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 3 for himself. He then paid in all cash, and as much as cash is king, we do then have to check every note is not counterfeit, which adds time to your experience but I am sure the cigars are worth it. Meanwhile my latest article for the C.Gars cigar library went online, it is about Fratello cigars which you can read by clicking here.

On Wednesday, I was back in the shop. I had a shop meeting with my manager to discuss what we could do with the shop. We will be getting some more furniture to help us display products in the shop. But we won’t be stopping there, you’ll have to come in store to see what new items we have! One display cabinet we will be getting will be promoting a beautiful ST Dupont Ligne 2 Le Mans lighter. It is so lovely, the pictures don’t do it justice! We will be selling that at the online exclusive price of £749 instead of £1550! A massive discount! We also launced our latest re-brand for Dominique London! You can read all about it here.

On Thursday, Lisa and I were completing the New World stock count. We got through it as quick as we could and thankfully (with a little help from Will) we completed it by 2.30! Afterwards I had a shop meeting with the rest of the retail team. We discussed November promotions as well as this year’s Christmas raffle! You’ll have to pop in store to see what we have selected to promote. I also took a couple of pictures to help out the other shops newsletters.

On Friday, I was back in the shop with Marcus, I asked him to check the pricing on some of the pipes and update our pipe displays. Meanwhile I was completing most of the shop newsletters. Some of the other shops really have some good deals going on at the moment! Make sure you give them a visit. In the afternoon, Marcus and I completed the Cuban stock count.

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

So long for now.

Oliver.

Hi everyone! It’s been another fantastic week here in Norfolk! We have also hired a new member of staff for the shop! 

My week actually started on Tuesday as I had decided to treat myself to a long weekend. On Tuesday, I was doing my promotional work. I started by writing three articles for the C.Gars cigar library! I have scheduled them to come out weekly with the first one being released on this day. It’s about the Independencia 1898 brand and you can read about it here. After writing all three articles I spent some time taking the pictures for all of them, so they are 100% ready to go! Afterwards, I created all three leaflets for the cigar subscriptions. For this month I have some fantastic cigars including a special edition Cuban in the Premium Cuban and New World Subscription. Towards the end of the day I decided to take a break from the computer and stocked up the Cuban humidor. 

On Thursday, I was back in the shop. I started my day by de-plooming the Cuban cigars, I was then pleasantly interrupted by our latest recruit! His name is Marcus and Thursday was his first day! The first day is usually not that exciting as it is a lot of paperwork but then you are free to learn about cigars! Marcus joined me after lunch and I gave him a tour of both humidors to give him an overview of all the cigars! He is full of so much positive energy, it’s unbelievable! During the humidor tour I showed him an old favourite – Macanudo M by Macanudo Dark Toro, he was blown away by the aroma of chocolate! So much so that he decided to buy one instantly! We then carried on talking about the humidors. Meanwhile I served a lovely gentleman who loves a Maduro cigar. I asked him if he had heard of the Drew Estate Blackened M81 Maduro, of which he had not – I explained how all of the leaves in the cigar was Maduro and he gave one a try instantly. He then asked “what’s new?”. This question always makes me panic as new to me and new to a customer can be different so I have to think what we have received recently. One of the newer cigars was the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Overseas No. 1, I explained about the different tobaccos that make this one cigar and he was blown away. In the end he left a very happy gentleman.

On Friday, it was Marcus’ first full day in the shop. I explained how we serve a customer and the high level in which our customer service will always be. He is a little nervous but he will certainly get there. I remember being incredibly nervous when I first started in the shop but now all these years later I am the most experienced out of anyone in the Norfolk team! Together we served a gentleman who was the best man for a wedding. He wanted 5 cigars for the big day but didn’t want to break the bank as none of them were full time smokers. After discussing different options which would be suitable, he settled on the H. Upmann Majestic as he wanted the traditional Cuban taste. I gave him a nice cigar box to put them in to make them look even more special. As the day went on I was teaching Marcus even more cigar facts. I then taught him how to cut a cigar. I remember my first time, it was with a closed back cutter, so it didn’t give the full experience but now I’m more confident than ever!

On Saturday, I was with Josh and Marcus, this was Marcus’ first Saturday and first time picking! He did very well considering and slowly began to learn where all the cigars were. I served a lovely gentleman from London who always visits whenever he is in Norfolk. He wanted me to promote a cigar to him, I chose my favourite – The Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion. He liked the sound of it so much he bought 2 Shortys.

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

So long for now.

Oliver.

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.