As a whiskey enthusiast, I am often ordering spirits online, to obtain harder-to-find-selections. I signed up with Flaviar to have access to their selection as well. Initially, I overlooked the $60.00 per quarter fee, thinking that this might be offset by the once-per-quarter free shipping.
Several weeks ago, I ordered two spirits, a mezcal and a rum from Flaviar. What I received were two bottles of bourbon that I did not order and had no use for. I immediately informed Flaviar of the error. They initially responded by establishing hoops, requiring that I take photos of the bottles that I did receive before they would take further action. Flaviar and I were engaged in a drawn-out email discussion (it generally takes them several days to respond to an email), when they made an unauthorized charge against my card for the two bottles that were sent in error. I also never received the two bottles on my order, for which I had already been charged.
I have done business with many online vendors in Europe and the US. This is the first time that I have experienced this level of incompetence and poor customer service. I have found that the prices for items at Flaviar are generally more expensive than you would find at other online vendors; this more than offsets any benefit from paying Flaviar $60.00 per quarter to obtain free shipping on a single order. My advice is to limit your purchasing to vendors that are more reliable, offer better customer service and which don't charge you a membership fee.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Company Response from Flaviar Ltd.
Oct 11, 2018
Hey Mark,
Thank you for sharing your concerns. Constructive feedback is always appreciated and helps us improve further.
We do our best to make the choice over membership length easy to find prior joining, but from the way you describe things it seems you've missed the quarterly option and opted for the annual membership!
At the time you wrote this review we were still in contact and offering full assistance to resolve the matter to the benefit of all parties involved. We try to resolve each and every ticket in a timely manner and to our members' full satisfaction, and as it now seems we haven't received a reply from you in quite a while, leaving our company at a severe monetary disadvantage in your benefit.
Wrong orders aren't uncommon in the e-commerce business, but what sets us apart is the way we handle such hiccups. It doesn’t happen often, but we’re very adept at handling wrong orders and always offer appropriate compensation for any inconvenience caused to a reasonable extent. In your case, we requested a photo of goods received and have been denied at first. Please bear in mind that this is standard business practice. Additionally, you have informed us that one of the bottles have been opened.
In the event that a customer receives a wrong product, it is customary that the goods are returned in the condition they were delivered. We offered a generous discount based on the bottle’s retail price. We never received a reply to our offer.
Regarding the two bottle order which you are claiming here as not received, we are happy to announce your later notice that they are in your possession but have been stashed away by a family member until now.
Moreover, we understand if your needs and wishes differ from what we offer and I’m terribly sorry that the membership didn’t work out for you. However, there are numerous benefits that haven't been listed in your recount.
We are still waiting on your reply to resolve the matter to our mutual satisfaction. We have full faith that we'll manage to achieve agreement promptly and cordially. Our concierge service is also available if you need help with anything else.
