Backwoods Brew :(

[guitardedmark]

I placed an order of Waffle, Dulche de Luche, and Pumpkin Spice. This was my first order from Don at Backwoods Brew.

I must say I am VERY DISSATISFIED with the juice and moreover Don's "customer service". I've tried A LOT of juice vendors. At least 20+ and this is honestly the worst experience I've ever had. Out of the 10 or so juice reviews I've done, this is THE ONLY negative review I have ever done.

I did not like any of the flavors that I got and I was SHOCKED at the lack of throat hit. The flavors were also incredibly WEAK. At first I thought something was wrong with the juice but after speaking with some friends, I now know that all of Don's juice has these characteristics.

I contacted Don in an effort to feel a little better about my purchase which might I say was IMO very overpriced. His response was curt, completely unapologetic and void of any concern.

This is by far the WORST experience with a vendor I have ever had. Hopefully if you decide to buy from BACKWOODS BREW your experience will be better.

 

[bornagainst]

Ouch...sorry to hear that.



My multiple experiences have been fast, friendly and efficient. Not even a hint of a problem. Outside of the 555, which just didn't do a thing for me, I have found every product to be as advertised.

 

[Vapenstein]

1. What nic strength?
2. Let them sit for two weeks now that you've opened them and then try them again. Then tell us how you feel.

Not sure if those food flavors are supposed to have throat hit as I only vape tobacco, but Don's tobacco has great TH @18mg. They do need to sit for up to 3 weeks for the flavors to come together though.

 

[MikeDeason]

Love all the BB flavors I've tried. Peach and Menthol Tobacco especially. Lots of TH and vapor.

 

[skydragon]

guitardedmark,

I am not going to attack you for what you say as I detest that and I also don't think Don would want that from his customers but I have to say WOW. I was extremely surprised to read what you had to say. Dumbfounded even.

I haven't liked every juice I ordered from Backwoods Brew but it wasn't because the juice was bad. Just not my taste. So personal taste aside, what shocks me to no end is your comment about Backwoods Brew customer service. I have never known Don to treat anyone badly and have always known him to bend over backwards to accommodate his customers . Of course, I don't know what you said to him but along with his juice he is known for his exceptional customer service.

I'm not sure why you ordered from him if you think he is over priced. He isn't any more expensive than any other vendor that is considered top notch. In fact I know he is less expensive than some.

For myself, I can honestly say Backwoods Brew was a Godsend as I was getting very tired of juices I didn't like. So I suppose you could accuse me of being a fan of Backwoods Brew but I wouldn't be if he hadn't earned it. And even if I loved his juices, I would not order from him if he didn't treat people well. I have just never seen him treat anyone poorly and if he can fix a legitimate problem he is right on it so I will admit I am still dumbfounded by your remark. I will say however, there is nothing he can do if a person just happens to not like certain flavors. That is a very common occurrence no matter the vendor.

Anyway, I am sorry you feel that way as I think you are probably missing out on some very good product.

Good luck to you.

 

[TrippH]

I haven't tried any of the flavors you have but the six I've tried have had good flavor. They are very weak. I understand u can get him to double the flavor at no cost. Malty has no flavor at all to me. Peach and watermelon were great though. Albeit weak.

I just wanna say thanks to a review by mr vapenstein I got vapor stations Tampa in today. I think I might have found something to get me off analogs.... Thanks man!!

 

[doots]

I have ordered many times from Don. You might need to let them sit for a little while and see if they get better,

I have added flavorings to the ones I thought were too weak, but TH has been good at 24mg.

Don is one of the nicest guys I have ever deal with, IMO..
Good luck finding the juice you like.

 

[basilray]

Hey Mark,

Gotta' say it's too bad to hear that you aren't diggin the BWB. The Dulce de Leche you've got needs to sit...the flavor is there, but I didn't think it had reached it's peak yet. I should have had you try his RY4...not sure what I was thinking! It's the ONLY juice I run in my WetBox.

If you let 'em sit for a week or so, and still don't like 'em...I'll take 'em off your hands. Let me know and we can meet up and grab a beer or something. We can work out a trade if nothing else.

EDIT: Try letting them sit overnight uncapped. It will help the steeping process speed up. I do this with most of my juices.

 

[lasttango]

Overpriced? compared to what? I don't even know the extent of your communications... but he's pretty cheap compared to the other two vendors I like for 30mls... sounds like you basically told him that his liquid isn't good and it's not worth the money.

I really don't mean to attack you... I just want to stick up for Don... I've come to know him pretty well, and can say pretty confidently that he's only acted the way you describe to people that make a poor impression on him or that make unreasonable demands.

edited to say that you should probably start over from scratch with him... seems like you have a good friends here on ECF and that you are a good dude... no reason to let that fester between either of you...
Surely one of us... myself included will send you some samples of some of his more popular flavors... feel free to PM me and I'll send you some applewood, malty toffee and RY4. Going to the PO tomorrow or the next day. It would be my pleasure to send you some.
-G

 

[NJDev78]

Out of the flavors mentioned I have only tried the waffle. Definitely not my favorite waffles. It was a little too butter and not enough syrup, but I have tried many other flavors and they were fantastic. The coffee flavors hit my mouth every morning before I bother making a real pot. Can't comment on communications with Don as I have never needed any. I order the goodness, he sends the goodness.

 

[Para]

guitar, I hate to hear of your experience. None of us are privy to the communication so there's no reason for me to comment. What I would like to do is send you a slice of heaven....Malty Toffee. It's on me because I want you to see just how great Don's work really is. There's nothing like it anywhere at any price. If you'll PM your mailing addy I'll drop some in the mail tomorrow.

 

[guitardedmark]

guitardedmark,

I am not going to attack you for what you say as I detest that and I also don't think Don would want that from his customers but I have to say WOW. I was extremely surprised to read what you had to say. Dumbfounded even.

I haven't liked every juice I ordered from Backwoods Brew but it wasn't because the juice was bad. Just not my taste. So personal taste aside, what shocks me to no end is your comment about Backwoods Brew customer service. I have never known Don to treat anyone badly and have always known him to bend over backwards to accommodate his customers . Of course, I don't know what you said to him but along with his juice he is known for his exceptional customer service.

I'm not sure why you ordered from him if you think he is over priced. He isn't any more expensive than any other vendor that is considered top notch. In fact I know he is less expensive than some.

For myself, I can honestly say Backwoods Brew was a Godsend as I was getting very tired of juices I didn't like. So I suppose you could accuse me of being a fan of Backwoods Brew but I wouldn't be if he hadn't earned it. And even if I loved his juices, I would not order from him if he didn't treat people well. I have just never seen him treat anyone poorly and if he can fix a legitimate problem he is right on it so I will admit I am still dumbfounded by your remark. I will say however, there is nothing he can do if a person just happens to not like certain flavors. That is a very common occurrence no matter the vendor.

Anyway, I am sorry you feel that way as I think you are probably missing out on some very good product.

Good luck to you.

Hey Sky,

I must say I've heard great things about Don's customer service. I too was shocked by his reply. It's literally the only time I've ever been like WOW what a *@#&! You know what they say, people buy the salesman as much as they buy the product. In this case, It would have been better if he wouldn't have replied. His juice wasn't to my liking but I have never had a vendor do the "that sucks" reply like he did. I guess part of my dissatisfaction is the fact that I've heard such good things about him personally that I really expected him to at least care. I know there are a lot of hardcore BB fans out there and I know a lot of people will dislike that I posted this review but I'm being honest and I have no ulterior motives.

 

[guitardedmark]

1. What nic strength?
2. Let them sit for two weeks now that you've opened them and then try them again. Then tell us how you feel.

Not sure if those food flavors are supposed to have throat hit as I only vape tobacco, but Don's tobacco has great TH @18mg. They do need to sit for up to 3 weeks for the flavors to come together though.

It's been about a week and a half since I got the order. They are all 18mg.

 

[guitardedmark]

You know I have to thank all of you for offering to PM me flavors. I really do appreciate your generosity and it goes to show the good customer loyalty that Don has built. Unfortunately I didn't even get a smear of that customer service and the Malty Toffee which at one point sounded amazing no longer sounds so good... I'm a pretty chill guy and I've never really done anything like this but for some reason his response just irked me. I really think it's because I had heard SO many good things. Here is the exact PM I sent him.

Quote Originally Posted by guitardedmark
Hey Don,

I received my order about a week ago. The shipping was incredibly fast! I ordered the delche de luche and the waffle. I like very sweet flavors and neither of these two really the spot unfortunately. Yesterday however, I attended the Minneapolis vape meet and tried a few of your other juices from other ECF members. I've been trying to order your malto toffee and malto flavors for quite a while now and I see your just received them back in stock. Is there any way I could return the delche de luche and waffle for store credit and purchase something that I would like more? Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Mark
###-###-####

And here is his exact response

"Sorry but liquids are not returnable cause they are not to your liking. They are a consumable item and I would be surprised if any company ever did this."

Would it have been so hard for it him to reply with something like this:

Hey Mark,

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy those juices. What didn't you like? Maybe I could suggest some better flavors for you. Unfortunately I will not be able to refund the items at this time. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you,

Don

I mean that is customer service 101. It took me about 30 seconds to type that. Every other vendor that I've ever asked questions about their juice or asked for suggestions has given me the time of day. Now maybe I shouldn't have outright asked him for a refund but I have to say I was SO disappointed with his juice that I just felt ripped off. That's partially why I felt it was so overpriced. Not to mention he is always out of stock. All he had to do was say Maybe it just REALLY irked him that I asked for refund... Needless to say, his lack of concern and professionalism is something I have yet to see from a vendor. I had a good day today and this really has become a much bigger deal than I thought it would be. I guess when you hear SOOO many people rave about how excellent someone is at something, you expect that and when it's not met, there is a lot of disappointment.

 

[guitardedmark]

Hey Mark,

Gotta' say it's too bad to hear that you aren't diggin the BWB. The Dulce de Leche you've got needs to sit...the flavor is there, but I didn't think it had reached it's peak yet. I should have had you try his RY4...not sure what I was thinking! It's the ONLY juice I run in my WetBox.

If you let 'em sit for a week or so, and still don't like 'em...I'll take 'em off your hands. Let me know and we can meet up and grab a beer or something. We can work out a trade if nothing else.

EDIT: Try letting them sit overnight uncapped. It will help the steeping process speed up. I do this with most of my juices.

Hey Basil,

I'm glad you came to the meet. It was a blast! I did actually try the Ry4 from someone there. I like very deserty flavors and that was just too tabacco-y for me. I LOVE freedomsmokeUSA's RY4. Thank you for the tabacco-melon though. I do like that a lot! I also did like the Malty Toffee quite a bit but it didn't have near enough flavor or TH for me. I've heard that Don will do double flavor but I've heard from more people that he will no longer alter the juices at all.

 

[Vapenstein]

I just wanna say thanks to a review by mr vapenstein I got vapor stations Tampa in today. I think I might have found something to get me off analogs.... Thanks man!!

No problem buddy, you are very welcome.

I like Halo Torque 56 the same way I like VS Tampa too. The thing about Halo juice though is that it really needs 3 weeks to age, because I thought all my Halo juice tasted like hair spray when I got it, and two of them ended up getting Vapenstein It's Alive! Awards after they sat for 2-3 weeks.

 

[Another Puffer]

Tobacco-y!, righteous, should be getting my BWB RY4 in a few days, can't stand vaping candy, sounds like its gonna be good.

 

[whiskey]

Guitar...Not everyone is going to taste things the same way, His response to you, was IMO fine sweety, Polite
& fair...

 

[FreeFlow]

Sorry you didn't like your 3 juices, I don't think I would like those 3 either :/

 

[bluebelle]

Have only ordered from BWB once but love the Casablanca, great when I got it and even better after a couple of weeks. Cherry was good too, but a bit weak when I got it so letting it steep. Even weak it is the best cherry flavor I have tried yet. And it was shipped the next day after ordering. BWB will be my vendor for tobacco liquid hands down after trying Casablanca.

When I ordered my first liquids ever, I bought them from another vendor that is raved and raved about here. When I got them I did not really like any of them, some flavors were not what I expected and to me they all hardly had any taste . Since I had read that they were so friendly and would help newbies I e-mailed them telling them how I was disappointed, and did not want a refund but just suggestions on what and how I should order next time from them. Got a reply a few days later that told me I perhaps should try DYI but no suggestions on how their product might be ordered so that I would be happier. Since that was not what I asked about, I took them as not being very helpful and hence a vendor I didn't want to deal with anymore.

Tried another raved about vendor and was again very disappointed, not this time with no flavor, but with an aftertaste I really couldn't stand. But taste is subjective so I moved on.

Still see people rave about these two vendors, and I am glad they are so happy with them, but they are not for me. Life is all about choice, isn't it though? Would be a boring world if we were all the same.

Ordered the first time from the vendor I use now that I have not read much about here, and ordered nic strength too high and a throat hit option that was too harsh for me. Did remember the taste of the juices through that mess and remember I liked it, just not as harsh , so I adjusted my options and ordered again using a lower nic and all VG and I am finally a happy camper with them.

It is all trial and error. I try and remember no one goes out to create a product that is going to make a customer unhappy, after all they are in business and I see some vendors do take a lot of pride in their products. If I don't like the product or customer service I will just go elsewhere, much like I do when I shop for other items other than liquids.

I can imagine that with taste being so subjective E liquid vendors get a lot of e mails from people who have buyer's remorse. I know I have ordered a couple of flavors that sounded really good on the night I was ordering and then when I get them delivered, I'm like, what was I thinking? Evidently not much I guess, I am more blonde sometimes than others it seems...