Hi everyone, It’s been another glorious week here in sunny Norfolk! We have had a few familiar faces as well as holiday makers discovering our store for the first time.

On Monday Josh and I were overwhelmed with the amount of online orders to pick! We spent all day, picking orders and serving customers! At around 3 o’clock we were so worn out that we had to have a little pause! But we got there in the end! In between online order pickings, I served two brilliant gentlemen who were on holiday! They had seen the shop and made sure they came in, they were overwhelmed with the amount of products we had to offer. I took them through to our humidors, and again they were in awe. We had a lovely chat about cigars they have tried but overall they were beginners. One wanted to try a Cuban with a bit of strength behind it, he liked the look of the Punch Punch, so as I always suggest, if you like the look of a cigar – Go for it! Afterwards we looked at the New World Cigars, I suggested the Tabak Especial Toraja, the gentlemen loved the aroma, so purchased one, I then spoke about the Tabernacle Knight Commander, I mentioned that it was very limited in the UK (Only 14 boxes available) and he instantly wanted one as he likes limited edition products. In the end both gentlemen left with 5 cigars each and promised to come back at the end of their holiday. I enjoyed serving them and they certainly liked coming into the shop.

On Tuesday, I was back to picking orders with Josh and Will. This time it was much less relentless, however we received the biggest delivery I had ever seen! We had 1154 tins of tobacco come in! Most of which was tobacco we hadn’t had for around a year! But after putting it away, I am pleased to say we have the full Ashton and Solani range in stock again! So have a look in store and online as we may have your favourite back! 

On Wednesday, I was back to picking online orders with Josh and Will again. We seem to be forming a proper dream team. After my online order pickings, I thought I’d spend a bit of time in the empty cigar box room, we like to sell on our empty boxes as a lot of them have some beautiful artwork and so you can purchase them without the need of purchasing them with cigars inside! I spent a lot of time putting boxes we had online ready for our lovely customers to purchase. Afterwards, Will gave me some brilliant news! We received another big delivery of pipe tobacco! All Charatan pipe tobacco is now back in stock and with a new label, making them look a lot smarter!

On Thursday, I was picking orders, due to us being understaffed we had decided to delay our New World stock count, however it was later decided that we needed to do it due to the Ignite trade show starting on Friday! So from around lunch time, Billy and I charged through all of our New World stock as quickly as we could and just about got it done by the end of the day. During our charge through, Billy came across the Macanudo M By Macanudo Dark Toro. He opened the box to count and he had a massive aroma of chocolate! I didn’t believe him, so he passed me one to smell and I couldn’t believe it! It smelled just like a stick of chocolate! That will certainly be my next purchase. I immediately messaged Josh (who was at home) and told him all about it. He decided then he would purchase one the next day.

So here we are on Friday, it has been a very busy week but we got there in the end! Josh smelled the Macanudo and couldn’t believe it, he said he might even purchase two! Anyway, I was working in the shop. I had a regular customer come early, he even apologised for being early. He wanted a few cigars for his birthday weekend, he knew he wanted a couple of Joya de Nicaragua Clasico Torpedo and then I showed him the Macanudo, he loved the smell so decided to try one. He then chose a Cuban, he loves the Hoyo de Monterrey range, the only Epicure he hadn’t tried was the Epicure No. 3, so I suggested he tried it as it seemed like a natural progression. He then got himself a beautiful Adorini cigar case and bottle of C.Gars Malt and left very happy. As would I! I decided to show everyone that came in afterwards the Macanudo Dark Toro and they all loved the smell and purchased one! Including Josh.

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

Hi everyone! The weather is certainly brightening up here in Norfolk! And we have had a lot more customers coming in because of it!

Monday was a bank holiday and we had loads of online orders! Sharon and I was picking the orders whilst Sarah and Porscha packed them and booked them on Royal Mail. It reminded me of the old days where it was always me and Sharon in the shop, picking all of the orders and serving the customers. Meanwhile I served a great gentleman who I had never seen before. He said it had been a while since he last came in but he was going to a Jazz event and wanted a few cigars to enjoy whilst he was there. I suggested an Avo Heritage Robusto, AVO was created by Avo Uvezian, he was a Jazz musician so I felt it went hand in hand with the customers event. Previously the customer was recommended a Romeo y Julieta, so I suggested the No. 2 as the tube would protect the cigar and he could keep using it for other cigars at other events. He left very happy and I certainly enjoyed serving him. 

On Tuesday, I was picking online orders, there were loads to pick and it felt like I didn’t stop! In between order picking, I created the leaflets for my cigar subscriptions. Whilst I was making the leaflets, Porscha walked past and said “I didn’t realise you had to do so much to create a leaflet”. It really shows how much effort I have to put in to create the cigar subscriptions. Not only do I have to talk to suppliers and make sure we get the best cigars possible, I also have to make sure I have the leaflets ready. However, I am lucky to have a great team around me to put the subscriptions in their boxes and ready to go. I also served a lovely lady who wanted to get a couple of cigars as presents. She was amazed at how beautiful our shop is! She said she will make sure she brings the rest of the family next time.

On Thursday, I was picking online orders with Josh. Together we picked all of the orders very quickly! Afterwards, Josh organised the deliveries and I worked through stocking up the humidors and ordering more stock. We have certainly been getting through our stock and so ordering daily is becoming essential! I also emailed all of our stores to organise the June shop newsletter. I have decided to take a different approach with the newsletter, I usually ask for three items they wish to promote and work with what they have. This time I asked for three items they have had for a little while and need extra help promoting, I will also be coming up with specific promotions for them to use in each individual store. This means every store will be unique in what deals they promote! I thought it was a really good idea!

On Friday, I was in the shop and I had a brilliant day! I started by creating a brand new display for our pipe room! As the weather is getting nicer and summer is coming, I thought I would give it a bit of a beach theme! I used the Vauen Hawaii range of pipes, as it has lovely bright coloured wood and I found an old poster which also had a beach theme. I also put out some rather unique looking pipe ashtrays, as they were both black I felt a white pipe would compliment, so, after a bit of research I noticed that Vauen also did a range of white pipes called the Edison. What do you think of my display?

I also served a regular of mine who is 90 years old! He always comes in for his regular pipe tobacco (Bosun Cut Plug), but this time we had none left! So he tried something new – Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug.  In the afternoon, I completed the Cuban stock count on my own as our shop was overflowing with customers getting the warm weather weekend cigars!

On Saturday, it was the new dream team of Josh, Will and myself! Firstly we got through all of the online order pickings and then we started to give the shop a good clean! Due to the placement of our windows, the sun shines through brightly! However, the downside is the dust it brings with it! So we all got the dusters out and cleaned everything! I’m not a fan of cleaning at all but together we did a good job! The 90 year old gentleman came back in for a new lighter, I suggested the Honest Penryn Pipe Lighter with Pipe Tool in Gold. He also said the Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug was better than his regular tobacco! It shows no matter your age, you should still try new things once in a while!

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

So long for now

Oliver

Hi everyone! Another great week has gone by here in Norfolk! I have even been joined by a new member of staff!

On Monday, I was with Josh. We had so many online orders to pick it was unbelievable! We were busy for most of the day picking them. Afterwards I helped out the packing department pack the orders, ready to be sent. Meanwhile I also served a great customer who had travelled from London to visit. He had always wanted to visit our store and even wanted a picture with the Turmeaus sign! He treated himself to a Zino Nicaragua Half Corona, Drew Estate Deadwood Crazy Alice and my favourite the Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion Skinny. He certainly left happy.

Tuesday was my marketing day. I started out the day by finishing off all of the shop newsletters. I added our latest in store offer on all of them. If you purchase a bottle of Eagle Rare then you will be entered into a draw to purchase a bottle of the extremely rare George T. Stagg for £169! This bottle usually goes for a lot of money and has a high resale value too, so certainly worth entering. Afterwards I spent some more time organising June’s New World subscription. I am trying to get the finest cigar possible to send and this subscription could possibly be one of the best yet! Unfortunately though I can’t tell you what is inside. I then spent some time trying a new format on the C.Gars cigar library. This has taken a lot of my time so no new articles have gone on for a few weeks but luckily I have found the right format and soon more will be added! 

On Wednesday, I was joined in the shop by Will! He has been working for Turmeaus for a couple of weeks but he has been behind the scenes. Now he has had the opportunity to learn about the products and learn how to sell them in the shop. I can tell already he will be a great addition to the team! I talked him through the different regions cigars come from and overall tasting notes but now it is time for him to study whenever he can! He’s still trying to decide which cigar to try after his first pay day! We served a lovely gentleman who was quite new to cigars, he asked for my recommendation for a Cuban. So I recommended the Quai d’Orsay no. 50, he like the sound of nuts and pepper.

On Thursday, I was doing New World stock count with Lisa. She was very nervous about doing it, however I am naturally a stress free person, who doesn’t worry about these kind of things so I helped reassure her that she was doing a good job, which she did! We were done with enough spare time for me to complete the leaflets for both New World and Cuban subscriptions. 

On Friday, I was joined by Will again. This time we went through cigar orders and how to pick them. It is difficult showing someone new around our humidor to pick orders and I can imagine it’s difficult to remember where everything is but Will is doing a great job! I remember when I first started picking orders, it took me ages to find where everything was!

In the afternoon I was doing the Cuban stock count with Josh, as always we get through it incredibly quick

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

So long for now

Oliver

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great bank holiday weekend? We were extremely busy! So busy that I didn’t find time to write a blog for that week. We had some great customers come in and we sold some interesting items, including a bottle of Springbank Local Barley, which many of you may know is a difficult bottle to get a hold of. The Puffin cigars have been flying off the shelves, so much so that after one week I had to order more!

So what happened in Turmeaus Norfolk this week?

On bank holiday Monday, there were only four of us in – Ben, Lisa, Porscha and myself. We picked as many orders as we could and then started to pack them. I noticed a time that we were ahead of the game, so I decided to organise our empty box stock room. I am always surprised to see how popular empty cigar boxes are, but they do have great secondary uses. I have known people use them for arts and crafts, and someone else has used them for a birdbox! I was worn out after all the order picking and box organising. 

Tuesday was my marketing day and I certainly spent a lot of time with the camera. Firstly I spent most of the morning completing all of the shop newsletters. This is always a time consuming task as I have to proofread the shop content, make sure their photos are acceptable and then keep the newsletter fresh. Afterwards I spent some time taking pictures of Mantis accessories and the Puffin cigars for the monitors in our Cuban humidor. I then took pictures of the Cigars of the month for May, ready to go on the monitors on the 1st. In the meantime, after seeing how nice and colourful the Mantis accessories were, I asked Ciaran to put them out on display. They are certainly eye-catching and not at a bad price either. 

On Thursday, I was back in the shop. It had felt like a long time since I had a day in the shop where I could focus on shop tasks. Firstly, I looked at our pipe room and saw we had a few gaps, after shuffling the pipes around, I certainly had plenty to put out on display including a lot of Tomasso pipes. I think they are incredibly unique and you can tell a lot of time and effort has gone into creating them. Afterwards I found some time to create the cigar subscriptions. I am still getting used to creating the Cuban and New World subscriptions but I’d like to think I’m getting there. The first one went out with no issues, so I’m sure this one will be the same. I served a great gentleman who loves our Mitchellero Novellini, he also likes a few Cuban cigars to go alongside. This time he chose the Montecristo No. 2 and Quai d’Orsay no. 50. In the afternoon I found a gap in our Drew Estate section and decided to put the Factory Smokes out. For the price they are a great smoke, as always my favourite is the Maduro, I just love the sweetness of the oils you get from a Maduro on your lips

On Friday, I was picking orders, Lisa and I are a great team when it comes to picking cigars. She is still relatively new to it but she is certainly doing a very good job! We are having a lot of in store developments that I can’t talk about properly yet but it will certainly enhance our humidors and Lisa is the heart of that operation. In the afternoon, Josh and I completed the Cuban stock count in what felt like a record time for us, maybe I should time us next time?

Saturday is the final time that the dream team will be together. Porscha is no longer working every Saturday, so that unfortunately means we will be broken up. However we will be having a replacement soon! To find out who you’ll have to read next week’s blog! Back to this Saturday, Porscha spent her day adding more accessories onto our till system. She has learned how to create barcodes for those that don’t have them already and is incredibly pleased with the results! Meanwhile Josh and I have created some little displays as filler until our big summer decorations come out!

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

So long for now.

Oliver

Hi everyone! This is my 100th blog entry! I still remember being asked to write a weekly blog and thinking to myself – How do I fit in everything I do in one post! However I like to think I do a good job and it’s great to hear all of the positive feedback from my loyal readers. As a reward I am giving away 500 loyalty points to everyone reading! Just send me an email ([email protected]) and I will add your points to your account! 

On Monday, it was Josh and myself, we picked loads of online orders! It felt like we were picking orders for everyone in Britain! Afterwards, I helped the packing department, pack all of those orders we picked! Meanwhile, I served a lovely lady, who I serve every year at Christmas. She wanted a nice whisky and cigar to treat her son. She knew he liked sweet whisky, so I suggested the C.Gars Malt, it is one of my favourite whisky and has always rated highly and world whisky awards including gold in 2019! It will always be close to my heart too as it was the first whisky that I actually enjoyed! Before the C.Gars Malt, I hadn’t enjoyed any whisky, but since the C.Gars Malt, I have found many different whiskies to savour. I then showed her all of our New World cigars and upon our chat she decided to try my favourite cigar – The Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion Skinny.  

Tuesday was my marketing day, I had a monumental task to do. There was an old article on the C.Gars Cigar Library that had all of our exclusive cigars, I was asked to change all of the pictures, update the text and add in new exclusives. This included finding out new information and taking around 15 pictures to a similar style. It took me all day to change the text and update the current pictures but I got there in the end. However, upon completion, we wasn’t happy with the outcome. So I had a meeting with the promotional departments and we are still figuring out a style that we all like.

On Thursday, I spent some time picking orders, however I spent most of my day taking on a new role! As many of you will know, I create the New World Cigar Subscription, well now I am responsible for the Classic and Premium New World and Cuban Subscription! That’s right! I now control three out of four subscriptions and these two are a lot more difficult. Cuban cigars can be difficult to get even for recognised retailers like ourselves, so I need to plan my subscriptions around that. So I spent a few hours choosing the cigars and creating the leaflets for them. It was difficult to do and a lot more time consuming but I am sure I will get quicker the more I do! 

On Friday, I was picking online orders again as well as opening deliveries. I rarely open the deliveries due to always being busy, but I do spend the time to put away the cigars we get, as I like to have an organised humidor for our customers. I also worked on some layouts for articles in the C.Gars cigar library going forward, hoping I would get approval. However, despite my efforts, we are all in agreement that we may need to upgrade the library to get our desired outcome, this task is above my role, but I will be making sure I have my input. In the afternoon, I completed the Cuban stock count with Lisa. It was her first Cuban stock count and I can tell she enjoyed herself!

On Saturday, I was working with Josh and Porscha. We firstly spent some time picking orders, and then stocked up the humidors. I then served a gentleman who claimed to have tried every brand of cigar! Impossible in my eyes but you never know, so I caught him off guard when I showed him the Puffin cigars! They are brand new to us and were made for our Puffin Rooms in Liverpool and Edinburgh! The customer decided to try one of each (Shorty, Skinny and Chubby) and left very happy, he said he will be back to let me know what they are like.

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog and don’t forget to email me to get your 500 loyalty points!

So long for now

Oliver

Hi everyone! It’s been another brilliant week in sunny Turmeaus Norfolk. We have seen lots of familiar faces coming in for their warm weather smokes. 

On Monday, I was in the shop with Josh, we work really well together and got our pickings done quickly and efficiently. Afterwards I helped pack orders while Josh served our customers. I served a gentleman whose son is a regular, he gave him £40 to get two small Cubans. He let me choose, so I suggested the H. Upmann Majestic and the Montecristo No. 5, which came just over budget but he didn’t mind. Whilst I was putting his cigars through the till, he noticed our packs of Kristoff on display and thought it was a bargain so he got two! 

On Tuesday, I spent the day picking orders and unpacking deliveries. Since our stock count, we had noticed areas where we can purchase more stock, and so we did to keep our stock levels high! I also made a trip out to purchase Easter decorations for our shop to make it all colourful for Easter. I gave them to Sharon who we consider the display queen and her imagination went wild! 

On Wednesday, I was in the shop and working on my marketing content. Firstly I created a news article for the C.Gars News Page which you can read here. I then spent some time updating an ST Dupont article to make the pictures more modern and then placed it at the front of the C.Gars cigar library. If you remember from my previous blog, we are currently offering in store free whisky to anyone who purchases a Jura Hipflask for £12.99. I created a lovely sign to help promote this incredible offer and it is working with three more purchases already! Afterwards I spent some time creating the leaflet that goes inside the May New World cigar subscription. The cigars are always a great selection and Mays will include a subscription exclusive, which you can’t purchase anywhere on our website! Afterwards, I spent some time in the New World Humidor, stocking cigars and ordering some stock. 

On Thursday, I was back to picking orders, whilst Josh took care of the shop. I organised a plan for our shop displays and decorations. I also found a nice looking display which will help get more cigar packs out in the shop. This along with some bottle pourers will certainly make our lives easier and enhance your shopping experience. I was then asked to take a picture of an ST Dupont Limited Edition Le Grand Lighter – Montecristo Cling Crepuscule for a newsletter. It was incredibly difficult to get a nice picture due to the shine but I’d like to think I got one, what do you think?

On Friday, I was picking online orders again, with the sun shining, we are getting busier! Everyone loves an outdoor cigar! Imagine what we would be like without the indoor smoking ban. I helped out with the deliveries too, for all the pipe smokers out there – keep your eyes peeled as we will be having some new Rattrays pipes coming very soon! In the afternoon, I carried on my task of making the product pictures on the Cuban cigars uniform by making them all have a white background.

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

So long for now.

Oliver.

Hi everyone! Another week has gone by in Norfolk and we’ve seen a lot of sunshine! We have also had plenty of familiar faces too!

On Monday, I was in the shop with Josh. We picked lots of orders that kept us incredibly busy for most of the day! In the meantime, I was serving a gentleman who likes to purchase Cuban cigars. This time he wanted to take advantage of our bundle deals, which we have on lots of different cigars. He wanted two boxes of LCDH Punch Punch 48 and two boxes of LCDH Hoyo de Monterrey Elegantes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have them in stock but I knew I could get them in from another store, so I took his details and told him I would contact him as soon as they came in. He still treated himself to a Montecristo Open Regata, a Montecristo Especial and a Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2. He left very excited for when the other boxes come in.

Tuesday was my marketing day. I started by finishing off all of the shop newsletters and then sent them off to be checked. Afterwards, I started to research my next article for the C.Gars Cigar Library. I had decided on Chewing tobacco, as I was curious as to why people chew tobacco. After plenty of research I felt confident to start writing. I then spent some time taking the pictures and I even opened a pack to see what they look like with flavouring. The smell of menthol really took over, I can certainly see why you can enjoy chewing tobacco. You can read the article by clicking here. Towards the end of the day, I had a few corrections to do to my newsletters, so I spent the last hours completing them and scheduling them, ready to be sent out on the 1st of April. I also received the cigars for our customer from Monday, so I emailed him immediately and he replied to say he would be in on Thursday.

Thursday was our full building stock count. Everyone who works in Norfolk stops their work to count every item we have! I was counting New World cigars with Sarah, we started slow, and I needed a coffee almost immediately! But we got there in the end! Meanwhile during our stock count, the shop was incredibly busy. Firstly, I had my customer who wanted the boxes of Cuban cigars, and then Josh served a regular gentleman who enjoys his pipe tobacco, he purchased a Falcon pipe and bowl as he liked the idea of building his own pipe! Sarah then served another regular who purchased a box of Inka Secret Blend Red Bombaso Maduro. While we were putting his cigars through the till he noticed the Jura hip flask, I told him about our deal where you purchase the hip flask and we will fill it up! He chose Woodfords Reserve as he had never tried a Bourbon before. I can’t wait to see him to see what he thought. Towards the end of the day, when we had all finished our stock counts, we started to pick orders. We picked all of the priority orders first and then the regular postage orders. This is why it is important to get priority shipping as we will pick your order first.

On Friday, I had the morning off, so when I came in, I went to see everyone to see where I was needed. Luckily the team had everything under control! Josh had created a small Easter display for the centre of the shop, and was getting ready to complete the Cuban stock count. The packing department had everything under control, so it was quite nice to come in and find a slot to help out. Porscha served a customer who wanted the Drew Estate Deadwood SJ and Drew Estate Tabak Especial Oscuro, she suggested for the customer to try the Drew Estate Quick Puff sampler, which includes those two cigars and four more from the Drew Estate coronet range. She was so happy when the customer purchased her suggestion! Afterwards, Josh and I completed the Cuban stock count.

On Saturday, It was Josh, Porscha and I, we had loads of price changes to get through! Unfortunately tobacco is always affected by tax as well as the constant cost of living going up around the world. However it’s not all doom and gloom as we are getting even more ranges from well established brands like CLE, Plasencia and Meerapfel.

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

So long for now

Oliver

Hi everyone, It’s been another busy week here in Norfolk, with lots of familiar faces coming to visit.

On Monday, I was in the shop and picking an incredible amount of orders. For a change I had Lisa with me, she is usually a packing maestro, however she wants to be more involved in the order picking/cigar side of things and so what better way to do it than by picking on a busy Monday!  Meanwhile my usual sidekick on a Monday, Josh, was still helping me retail wise but was picking pipe tobacco and accessory orders. Lisa and I worked together brilliantly to get all of the orders picked, if there was any she was unsure on, I was always on hand to help her out! Teamwork makes the dream work! I also served a gentleman I get to see from time to time. He used to buy plenty of boxes of cigars, however he has retired since and so buys a few here and there. This time he treated himself to two Charatan Churchills as well as the Joya de Nicaragua Black Robusto, he also wanted a Rocky Patel, so I suggested the incredibly popular Seed to Smoke, as I knew he hadn’t tried one yet.

Tuesday was my marketing day, and I was busy all day! Firstly I was asked to create an article on the C.Gars cigar library, it was about a new brand that has recently come into the UK called The Only One Cigars. You can read the article by clicking here, I also spent plenty of time taking the pictures and due to the shiny band, it was incredibly hard to get a clear picture but after many retakes I got there in the end, what do you think? Afterwards I started to create all of the shop newsletters. They have some great deals going on and it is always nice to talk to them about their stores. 

On Wednesday, I was in the shop and I was changing some displays around. We are having an emphasis on showing what accessories and humidors we can offer. So we are coming up with some great deals that you can find in store. I came up with an idea that I’m sure will please everyone! If you purchase a Jura Hip flask in store, we will fill it up with a random whisky for free! As the day went on I got more humidors on display and put more spirit glasses out too. I also served a lovely gentleman who likes his Maduro cigars, he had previously had the Inka Red Bombaso Maduro and wanted something else. So after listening to his likes and dislikes, I suggested The Gurkha Celler Reserve 15 year old Double Robusto Maduro. He has had a few Gurkhas previously but didn’t know they had a Maduro. I’m sure he will let me know if he enjoys it.

On Thursday, I was picking orders, as a team we got them completed very quickly and then I helped out with the New World stock count. For a change I didn’t have to do it this week, Lisa decided to give it a go with humidor manager Billy. The New World stock count is a very daunting task for someone who is completely new to it and so I helped out where I could to ensure it could all be completed. Meanwhile in the shop, Sharon was updating our displays even more. She created a lovely Adorini display which shows off all of their humidors as well as accessories. We both came up with a great idea of selling the C.Gars super sharp cutter with the C.Gars QR code lighter for a combined price of £7.95 instead of £9.74! You can only find this deal in-store only too! 

On Friday, I was picking orders again. Ben, Ciaran and I worked together to get them all completed in a good time and then I sat in the shop with Josh to help with even more displays. I like to create posters so I created some little display posters that are eye catching to try to sell the offers we have in store. In the afternoon, it was the Cuban stock count with Josh, it’s very simple for us both now and we work very well together to get it completed.

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

So long for now.

Oliver

Hi everyone! A slightly reduced week for me as it was my birthday on Wednesday! Despite the shorter week it has still been a good one!

On Monday, I was in the shop with Ciaran. We worked through our mountain of online orders, which took us all day to finish! Meanwhile, I served a lovely group of people who wanted to get one of their colleagues a cigar as a retirement gift. They let me know their budget and so we had a look around the humidor to decide what to get. I mentioned the Romeo y Julieta Churchill as it was Sir Winston Churchill’s favourite cigar and hence why it is named after him. They loved the idea of purchasing an important part of cigar history for an important colleague who will be leaving them. They also wanted to purchase a whisky to compliment, as always I recommended the C.Gars Malt as it is designed to pair with any Cuban cigar. One of the customers then spotted an interesting whisky glass we had on display, the Adorini Cigar Rum & Whisky Glass. It really is a show stopper as it has a space to hold your cigar while you drink. Later on in the day, I served a gentleman who wanted to purchase a bottle of Springbank 10 year old. Whisky enthusiasts will know that Springbank can be hard to come by and so whenever someone hears we have some bottles, they tell their friends and we then have many people ask if we have some. This gentleman heard we had some from his friend and called ahead to make sure we still had a bottle. I tried to upsell the Sherry Wood cask however the big price jump put him off.

Tuesday was my marketing day, I started the day by deciding what to write for the C.Gars Cigar Library. I looked at the shop and saw a nice looking bottle of Arran. So I decided to write about Arran and it turns out they don’t have a massively long history, but it is interesting to read. You can read it here. I then spent some time taking pictures and I’d like to say I have got the knack of Whisky pictures. What do you think? Afterwards I helped the sales team by taking some pictures of Les Fines Lames cigar knives as well as J.Cure accessories, which you will see on our newsletters. Later on in the day, I spent some time helping Ben update product listings with a plain background, I showed him how to remove the background as well as how to take the picture as the new way is slightly more difficult.

I enjoyed two days off and came back on Friday, one year older and even wiser. I spent a lot of time redesigning one of our stock cupboards. You will now see a lot more stock out in the shop, including Backwoods and Drew Estate Acid tins. I think it looks brilliant and frees up another stock room for an exciting development that I can’t tell you all… yet! I had another one of my regulars come in who loves to be served by me. He always goes with my recommendation and his favourite is also my favourite… The Alec Bradley Orchant Seleccion Skinny. This time he wanted the old reliable to enjoy at the end of a busy week.

On Saturday, It was Porscha, Josh and I. We continued our work on the shop, updating price tags and putting more pipe tobacco on display. We finally found space for the Fribourg & Treyer range, they have 8 different tobaccos to try and are a very reasonable price. Josh also re-arranged the Cuban packs in the humidor to make them more customer friendly.

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

So long for now.

Oliver

Hi everyone, I have had another exciting week here in Turmeaus Norfolk, lots of exciting things are happening!

Monday was very interesting, I was in the shop with Sharon, however, she was needed to help out booking parcels onto the Royal Mail system. So she quickly helped pick Cuban cigar orders and I tackled the New World cigar orders. Throughout the day, more orders kept coming but I handled it brilliantly and thankfully I completed them all before the end of the day! In between pickings, I served a gentleman who may be becoming my regular. Last time he purchased a Tabak Especial Oscuro Robusto, this time he wanted to try the Medio Robusto and I convinced him to try the Inka Secret Blend Red Robusto. It’s safe to say he trusts my judgement and I look forward to seeing him again.

On Tuesday, I was picking online orders again. I have noticed a lot of people trying the new Kristoffs we have. Kristoff has brought a lot of new ranges to the UK, including a very interesting one called the 685 Woodlawn Perfecto. It uses some of the rarest tobaccos you can find, It may be my next purchase! In between online orders, I created an article for the C.Gars Cigar Library for the latest Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan and Shamrock. These incredible cigars are a yearly release, however, they were not available last year, but they are back with a bang! You can read all about them here. Afterwards, I was working with Sharon, updating our shop display to really advertise the Filthy Hooligans as well as other Irish related items ready for St Patrick’s Day.

On Wednesday, I was working in the shop. To begin with I helped with online order picking as there was lots to do! Thankfully Sharon did a really good job stocking up both of our humidors the day before. So I was able to stock up some of the pipe tobacco. Afterwards, I carried on my task of changing the background of the Cuban cigars. It’s a very long process but I was very happy to complete all of the H.Upmann and Guantanamera range. I served a lovely lady who wanted to purchase a cigar for one of my regular customers who always comes in on a Friday. He always has the Regius Orchant Seleccion Hermosos, however he is partial to a Cuban every now and then. She knew she wanted to get him a Cuban, and I remembered the gentleman likes Montecristo. So she looked at the prices and purchased him the Montecristo No. 5, I know he will enjoy the present and she seemed very happy to be purchasing him a cigar. 

On Thursday, I was doing the New World cigar stock count with our humidor manager Billy. We completed it in around 3 and a half hours which is definitely a new record! So much so that other members of staff weren’t expecting to see us so soon! 

Friday was finally upon us! It had been a challenging week due to both Ciaran and Josh being off but the team certainly rallied around and made it look seamless. I took some pictures of some new ashtrays we recently got made. My favourite is the Mitchellero one! Why not celebrate your favourite cigar brand with their ashtray! Afterwards, I served a gentleman from the East Anglia Transport Museum. He was looking for some plastic jars that he could put pictures of tobacco inside for a window display. The window display he had was amazing but it was just the finishing touches. I found some of our old tobacco jars that he could use and I then offered to take some pictures for him and try to create what he is looking for. He was so grateful! So much so that he has offered to give us a behind the scenes tour of the museum! We will certainly take him up on this offer and I can’t wait to show you all the photos! In the afternoon, Porscha and I completed the Cuban cigar stock count.

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

So long for now

Oliver