Why are all of Pittsburgh's beer distributors so rude and dirty? (Penn: income, sales tax)

[safak]

Originally Posted by kubus_gt

Beer Butts & Beyond in Irwin. One of few places where New Castle brown is in the cooler. Clean no, but they will get the case and carry it to your car. Owner is there Friday nights and will talk your ear off. All I want is my beer cold and cheap, rest I tend to skip.

i used to go there a good bit for beer and cigs when i smoked(snuff when i quit smoking, sorry..at least you can't die from sidestream spit)

on the few occasions i met the owner he was really nice friendly guy and would talk about beer.

problem with his business is..he gave his son a job. now i don't know them socially speaking, but he is so rude, arrogant, and useless that the times when he was working i honestly had to stop myself from slapping him and saying 'wait on this lady whos been standing directly in front of you for the past 10 minutes while your staring at whatevers on that computer screen'

and its not just me , i have neighbors who won't go there because of him and even my dad..who loves everyone, bought beer on the way over once and commented on what a jackass the kid working was.

there is a rival beer distributor not a half mile away that probably love that kid..

[JLeigh2182]

Another vote for Duffy's. Clean, good varitey, fair prices. Bonus = Website!

http://www.duffysbeer.com/default.asp

[Copanut]

I go to Joe's on Route 8 in Hampton. Great place, but takes me 1/2 hour to get there.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by grapeh8

The South Side beer dist. doesn't really offer a lot of specialty beers, etc, but then again that's not really their cliental. The Carson St Deli is your best bet for imports, micros, seasonal etc. They also have tastings on Wednesday.

Fat Heads is the best for specialized brews. You can mix-and-match any kinds of bottles that you want for the price of a cheap six pack. And the selection is obviously very good. Go upstairs once you walk in the front door.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

I would, coming from Ontario. Not necessarily a suit and tie, but nicely dressed, good hygiene, and good customer service. "The Beer Store" chain in Ontario is a privately-owned (government regulated) monopoly, and the OP's experiences are nothing like what I've seen in the many "Beer Stores" I've been to there. Not even close.

The Canadian government is also not being bankrupted by excessive military spending in the billions each year, and can afford to actually regulate things.

[jrw271]

Originally Posted by Scott2187

The two that I've gone to the most and seem to be OK are Save More on the hill going down to the Homestead-Gray's bridge, and the one on 10th st in the Southside.

The one on Semple in Oakland always angered me. The one on 18th in the Southside had some of the rudest people I've dealt with.

I agree with this for the most part. The Save More isn't bad, and the one on 18th is the absolute worst. It is the most convenient to my house but I won't go there because of the rude men working. I would rather drive to the distributor on 10th street (Past McArdle Roadway, towards the dead end,) and despite the lack of parking, the people working are so friendly and conscious of the fact that you're parked illegally so they move the line along quickly

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Originally Posted by airwave09

The Canadian government is also not being bankrupted by excessive military spending in the billions each year, and can afford to actually regulate things.

Regulations for the sake of regulating things you "don't like" are bad.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by airwave09

The Canadian government is also not being bankrupted by excessive military spending in the billions each year, and can afford to actually regulate things.

I have absolutely no idea what this comment is supposed to mean. Alcohol sales aren't regulated at the federal level like that, just as they aren't here. In other words, what the "Canadian" government doesn't have to spend money on is irrelevant. Just as federal military spending has no bearing on the quality of beer distributors in Pennsylvania. Secondly, the government of Ontario, since that's all I was referring to, isn't regulating alcohol in terms of forcing beer stores to have good customer service, employees with good hygiene, and a large variety of beers to sell. They have a universal health care system to run, as well as an education system, and every other provincial duty, they are not concerned with customer experiences at beer stores.

If anything, alcohol is over-regulated in Ontario in the sense that there really shouldn't be a privately-owned monopoly of beer stores (hard liquor stores are also a monopoly, but in that case they are all directly owned and run by the government itself). But regardless of the monopoly and lack of competition, the chain doesn't have the problems described in the OP. Which is my only point, there's no reason why his or her experiences should just be "accepted."

[Hopes]

I'm still trying to figure out why customers need knowledgable workers at beer distributors. Don't you already know what beer you like?

[Moleteer]

Originally Posted by Tirade

almost all of them are like this. Why?

It's a distinctly PA problem. Most of the distributors are originally from wine-drinking regions. They're not naturally predisposed to selling or drinking beer. It's a legacy of prohibition.