No SP Christmas card this year?

[ctr]

Curious if SmokingPipes sent out Christmas cards this year? First year didn't receive one. Look forward to the card every year.

 

[Whisky]

I received on, so they’re sending them out.

 

[Price]

Yep. First card I got this year.

 

[ctr]

Hopeful mine isn't lost. The local post office here is terrible. Indifferent, lazy, error prone, and insolent.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Do you have to be a customer with a certain level of purchases to get on their list? I've bought something from them every year since 2021, and I don't recall a card. Certainly nothing this year.

 

[ctr]

Do you have to be a customer with a certain level of purchases to get on their list? I've bought something from them every year since 2021, and I don't recall a card. Certainly nothing this year.

Quite possible. A single pipe purchase for myself this year, tobacco, and cleaners. Hmm, disappointing if that is true.

 

[Columbo]

I've never received a card from them.

And I've got more medals there than a Soviet general.

 

[seabee1999]

Never really took notice if I did or did not get an SP card this year. I thought in the past I may have though. If I missed it, oh well. Maybe next year I can be on their nice list .

 

[Deano]

I got one and havnt ordered this year. Maybe thats why l got one

 

[SwamperWI]

I received a card from them this year and last year. 2022 was the first year I purchased anything from them.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I usually get one. Haven't got one this year. I think I only had three orders this year. Maybe only 2.

 

[mr_trent]

I got one. I figured it was a sign that I've given them way too much of my money this year. Didn't get one last year that I remember.

 

[Columbo]

Maybe next year I can be on their nice list .

A little story, but the point is applicable here to SP and their "cards". And not because I care about ever getting one. But because there's another message being sent along with those cards.

...

There is a little diner around here that constantly goes out of business and changes owners about every 3-5 years. It tends to do well with the locals. And it is also less than a mile from a major pharma facility, likely employing thousands of grossly overpaid workers.

All the locals go there regularly, and most will buy monthly family dinners and small meetup lunches every month or so, collectively keeping it going pretty nicely. Most don't spend a lot, but they are regulars. Very few of the people from the big pharma facility will ever eat there, because frankly most of them are a little too snobbish to eat at a local family diner, and there are fancier restaurants not too far away.

But eventually the owner gets a little greedy and/or stupid. And then they will post out on their street sign a nice discount offer for anyone who works at the giant pharma facility, attempting to draw in all those workers, and their big wallets.

And this generally pees off all the locals who supported the place. As it is basically saying, even though you spend some money here and support us, your meals will now cost more than a pharma employee. The pharma diners who might spend more money now matter more.

So the locals stop going there, refusing to pay more just because they don't work at a pharma facility.

And the big pharma folks won't eat there anyway.

So the place goes out of business in a month or two after making that big mistake.

Rinse and repeat.

...

The moral of the story for someone like SP is that they have a lot of customers, not all of whom spend thousands of dollars in any given year. But they may spend quite a bit more over a much longer period of years. They're regulars. They are good long-term customers, some of who have been loyal for many, many years.

I suspect all those regular smaller customers are what keeps SP afloat, and not the few customers that go berserk there for a year or two.

Just because the usual customer didn't spend 2 or 3 thousand dollars over the last year on multiple pipes and mountains of tobacco is no reason to slight them. And don't think they don't notice. Next time, they might send their business to someone else as a result.

So perhaps send a Christmas card (e-card or otherwise) to ALL your good customers, or don't send any at all. It's simply a note saying thanks for being our customer, not a $100 gift sampler.

Don't be like that diner.

 

[Njguy1977]

I didn’t order from smoking pipes to get a card but with a recent order from pipes and cigars I got a pretty cool calendar with all the codes and sales for each month and a metal Cascadia coffee mug in a recent order I placed, both for free. It was an unexpefred gift for sure.

Larry

 

[Whisky]

I think Smokingpipes cards are tied to their “loyalty” program. If you’ve spent enough there to qualify for one of their precious metal levels you get a card.

 

[luvmysuper]

I think Smokingpipes cards are tied to their “loyalty” program. If you’ve spent enough there to qualify for one of their precious metal levels you get a card.

Just for the record, I'm Silver, and I did not receive a card.

Also just for the record, I don't really want one. It would go in the trash along with the Christmas cards I get from car dealerships and electronics stores.
My mantel is reserved for cards from family and friends.

 

[mr_trent]

Also just for the record, I don't really want one. It would go in the trash along with the Christmas cards I get from car dealerships and electronics stores.

That's where mine went. It was a pretty generic card. And no money in it.

 

[ctr]

A little story, but the point is applicable here to SP and their "cards". And not because I care about ever getting one. But because there's another message being sent along with those cards.

...

There is a little diner around here that constantly goes out of business and changes owners about every 3-5 years. It tends to do well with the locals. And it is also less than a mile from a major pharma facility, likely employing thousands of grossly overpaid workers.

All the locals go there regularly, and most will buy monthly family dinners and small meetup lunches every month or so, collectively keeping it going pretty nicely. Most don't spend a lot, but they are regulars. Very few of the people from the big pharma facility will ever eat there, because frankly most of them are a little too snobbish to eat at a local family diner, and there are fancier restaurants not too far away.

But eventually the owner gets a little greedy and/or stupid. And then they will post out on their street sign a nice discount offer for anyone who works at the giant pharma facility, attempting to draw in all those workers, and their big wallets.

And this generally pees off all the locals who supported the place. As it is basically saying, even though you spend some money here and support us, your meals will now cost more than a pharma employee. The pharma diners who might spend more money now matter more.

So the locals stop going there, refusing to pay more just because they don't work at a pharma facility.

And the big pharma folks won't eat there anyway.

So the place goes out of business in a month or two after making that big mistake.

Rinse and repeat.

...

The moral of the story for someone like SP is that they have a lot of customers, not all of whom spend thousands of dollars in any given year. But they may spend quite a bit more over a much longer period of years. They're regulars. They are good long-term customers, some of who have been loyal for many, many years.

I suspect all those regular smaller customers are what keeps SP afloat, and not the few customers that go berserk there for a year or two.

Just because the usual customer didn't spend 2 or 3 thousand dollars over the last year on multiple pipes and mountains of tobacco is no reason to slight them. And don't think they don't notice. Next time, they might send their business to someone else as a result.

So perhaps send a Christmas card (e-card or otherwise) to ALL your good customers, or don't send any at all. It's simply a note saying thanks for being our customer, not a $100 gift sampler.

Don't be like that diner.

Spot on. Shopped a pipe for an upcoming birthday. Not getting the card factored into the decision. Exactly for the reasons mentioned, customer appreciation and being a valued customer.

So who got my business for this special pipe? The Italians. Al Pascia. They have always been gracious, appreciative of the business, and go that extra step for the customer.