Midwest Supplies

Williams 728
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WOW! What a thread. We love the fact that our customers are as passionate about the hobby as we are. We think the OP had a right to post, we think everyone should be happy with their order.
Now to the dirty part. The original post said that our customer service said they would pass the information on. It sounds like that wasn't enough. They did pass it on, and now our repack crew is looking into it. It could be that someone missed a tare, it could be that there was a scale that was off. We won't know until we dig a little deeper. This one instance shouldn't label us as being a short-seller, much like one infected batch shouldn't mean that someone is a bad brewer.
We all wish we were perfect, and never made mistakes. They do happen, and I am sorry for that.

We know that our crew on the phones, emails and chats have the best insight as to how we are doing. So, it is part of our job to share this feedback with everyone else at Midwest.
We are here to make life as stress free as possible. If you have a complaint or feedback, tell the company how they can make it right. (that works in non-homebrew business as well). Please email me, or call me so that we can get you what you paid for.

OP- I would like to send you an ounce of hops. I know you said that you didn't want anything other than to give us the feedback, but you were not happy with that reply.
Cheers to brewing good beer, and being accountable for our actions!
Todd Jackson
Customer Service Manager
[email protected]
952-562-5354 (direct)

PS. Sorry that we took so long to get here. Our Social Media guy (who gets paid to play online) is on Vacation. The rest of us don't get to spend our day here, but are here on an individual basis.
 
I have said it before I will say it again. I have never had a bad experience with MW.
and I will continue to buy my supplies from them.
 
Early on before I began buying in bulk, I brewed nearly 200 gallons using Midwest Supplies as my exclusive supplier. Customer service was always exemplary. Delivery prompt (one of the few that used Fed Ex to insure Saturday deliveries). If anything, they erred on the side of over delivering. My most recent experience was the purchase of two growlers they had on special. When they arrived, one was broken. I called Midwest. They answered on the second ring. They apologized for the mishap and OVER NIGHTED a replacement that day.

I still use them on occasion. I refer them first to friends looking to get into homebrewing. If I did not have a bulk purchase resource, I would use Midwest.

They are a great company with only one flaw that I can see. The place is run by humans.

As this has been moved to “Company Reviews” I am renaming this to “Midwest Supplies”. A (hopefully) less nefarious topic heading.
 
MX1 said:
While I understand your logic, I cannot agree with the rename, at least keep the issue at hand in the title, I think that you are doing the Homebrew Community a great dis-service by hiding the reason behind the very open, candid, and adult discussion.

Also, as this ran it's course, all involved acted with tact and further prove that this was a worthwhile discussion, that ended very well.

Tim
Click to expand...

I found the original title to be misleading, there are good and bad reviews in the thread and the title didn't reflect that.

The way we run the company review forum is that reviews are added to existing threads (if there is one) on the vendor being reviewed. This is so reviews can be found by members searching for them - there used to be more than a dozen pages of reviews here until we merged them together, and most members started new threads when adding a review. It was a mess. Now, good and bad reviews exist in the same thread, potential customers can read them and make their decisions. If you would like to share your experience with Midwest Supplies, please add a review to the main Midwest review thread.

Reviews are not edited or censored. But, posts must be actual reviews from actual customers, not back-and-forth interpretations of someone else's experience.

I'm closing this thread for now, will leave it for a couple of days for everyone to see, then merge the reviews from this thread (good and bad) into the main Midwest Supplies review thread.
 
I placed my second order with Midwest Supplies on Sunday and it has shipped in 2 days.

I have been VERY pleased with their customer service and their deliveries. I have had 2 large orders and both were processed very quickly. The first order was 3 boxes worth of treasures including kegs, CO2 tank, a few kits, a few better bottles and small stuff like o-rings. The first kit was missing the beverage hoses from the order and the boxes had some damage (I feel that damaged boxes were the fault of FedEx). I called and emailed a couple of pictures of the boxes. The customer service was FANTASTIC (thanks, Lyndsey), they called me back and shipped the hoses the next day.

I was impressed enough to order another 2 boxes worth of equipment (I am moving from the stove to outdoors) and they had it boxed and sent in 2 days.

I would highly recommend them for equipment and kits! Their online help is great when you have questions too!
 
I mostly use Midwest and just wanted to say thanks. Had ordered a 7.9 gallon bucket a while back and never got around to using it. Just pulled it out of the box a couple weekend's ago and the inside of the bucket was pretty scratched up. I tried to send a picture and let them know and the next day they had a new bucket sent out to me. I was worried that I would have a little trouble getting a replacement but they made it very easy. Thanks!
 
Anyone noticed the MW has gotten flakey lately?

Midwest has some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. They are always polite and always helpful. I've used them as my sole HB supplier for at least 3 years. My trouble is that recently (4 past orders) they seem to get something wrong with the order. The other day, they sent me an email asking me to come back as a customer, with a sizable discount. Weird b/c I had just ordered from them. So, I placed an order with the coupon and added my points for a sizable discount. Nice. The order never shipped. I placed the order on a thursday morning and on monday it was still listed as processing. Weird. I called. They assured me it would go out on monday. Tuesday, still processing. I called. "Oh, that's weird. Let me look into and call you back". No call. Wed still listed as processing. "we moved warehouses. . . " Thursday, still listed as processing. I went ahead and cancelled. Understand, midwest is always polite and I believe they try to do the right thing. I don't know what the issue is recently. Maybe they are outgrowing their ability to manage order volume. I'm trying morebeer and AHB for a while. I'll come back to MW in a few orders to see how things are going.

Has anyone had a similar experience recently?
 
Wow...that stinks. Every time I read one of those stories I get nervous. I usually end up ordering my supplies for a brew day a week or two in advance. And yet every time. It ships the next day. Placing an order probably tonight so well see.

They are still amazing for me so I am sticking with them. Unfortunately for the top companies in this field, most prices are relatively the same and most have the same products, so a bad experience or two will make that customer jump ship.
 
I ordered my stuff from midwest for National Home Brewer's day Saturday on 4/25. Today,still listed as processing. Even after talking to them yesterday,they said it would ship today. No go on tracking number so far.
He did say they were expanding their warehouse & all that entales. But I may not be able to brew Saturday. I know the actual day is the 7th,but geez...they're backed up 6 days worth.
 
This is EXACTLY my current situation. (Except I just wanted to brew this weekend, brew day notwithstanding) I called them and they said something about moving warehouses, should ship by today, etc.
Still 'processing', still no tracking #
If I get it Saturday, that will be fine because Sunday is as good as Saturday for me. (Could even still do it Sat night)
BUT the reason I ordered LAST WEEK was so I'd have my stuff by Friday.
 
UPDATE--
There was a tracking # waiting for me in my email this morning, and it claims to be showing up tomorrow...we shall see...

UPDATE 2 --
FedEx tracking says it's waiting for me at my house... YAY!

Plan ahead I guess, because with all the "problems" I really can't complain about a week from order to front door.
 
Anyone else out there waiting on a Midwest Supplies order that you ordered a couple weeks ago?

I talked to them Wednesday and they said that there was an issue with their warehouse transition and now their live help is down.
 
I ordered on the 22nd and planned on brewing the 11th (takes a week for my orders to get here). Didn't hear anything so I contacted them and they told me there was some problems.

I understand stuff happens, but why is it that I wasn't contacted? Why nothing on their various social media outlets about the progress?
 
I had a problem 2 weeks ago with my order. I had placed my order Saturday night & still had not received confirmation Wednesday so I emailed them & they got it to me by Friday so I was still able to brew Saturday.:rockin:
 
I ordered mine the Monday after yours and mine still hasn't shipped and I'm not about to call from Germany to ask why and ask why they shut down their live help. I'm guessing that because they shut down their live help that this is a pretty big issue.

They said the hold up was on my grains. Not that they didn't have them but something with processing I guess. Just kind irks me a bit
 
dstranger99 said:
Surprising thread here, usualy MW is spot on, god I hope they don't become another Brew Master's warehouse.........
Click to expand...

That's one of the reasons I order from them. NORMALLY when I order, it takes just about 1 week to get here to Germany (APO address).

I'm just irritated that when I contacted customer service, no one knew what the exact problem was or when they were expecting it to be fixed.
 
I ordered an extract kit from them on a Tuesday and it wasn't shipped out until the following Monday. Scheduled to arrive today but we will see. Defiantly not impressed and will switch back to morebeer for future orders
 
amandabab said:
they won't become a brewmaster's warehouse. this is a temporary thing with Midwest.
Click to expand...

I agree.

A little heads up and some communication from them would be nice, though.
 
I ordered from them about 2 weeks ago. My order shipped within a day and arrived on time in good order. I order some soda making supplies, an extract beer kit and some sanitizers.
 
CooperBrew said:
I ordered from them about 2 weeks ago. My order shipped within a day and arrived on time in good order. I order some soda making supplies, an extract beer kit and some sanitizers.
Click to expand...

Apparently the problem is with grains.
 
From my short-lived experiences with Midwest, I've chalked them up to the Wal-mart of brewstores. Prices are cheap, customer service is meager at best, quality of product/order should not be 100% relied upon.

I feel like I roll the dice when placing an order there, imo. Of my 3 orders, they've messed up twice. I'll take Northern Brewer.
 
Hey Guys,

I am very sorry for the trouble. We are currently in the process of expanding our warehouse. There have been some unforeseen complications along the way, as there are with any major move, and that has slowed us down considerably. However, we are working through the weekend to try and bring things back on track.

Please let me assure you that this is not the way that Midwest Supplies generally operates, nor is it the way we will operate in the future. For those of you that have attempted to reach out to our CS department with little success, please understand that they are doing their best to reach everyone. However, there are many customer contacts coming in, and that is slowing the response rate.

Again, I am very sorry for the trouble. We understand this delay is unacceptable. We are doing, and will continue to do, everything we can to make it right with our valued customers.

Cheers,

Nick @ Midwest.
 
Hey Nick, I just spent over 10 minutes on the phone....WAITING to place and order. I was #2 on the wait list for that long...finally decided I was getting to old prop the phone up any longer, so I hung up.
I looked into using the on line order form too. But, I went to spend some of those points I have racked up, and it incorrectly adds them up. Instead of having $30 credit coming, it only gave me $21 and change.

Hope you get things straightened out. I like your selection, but I want service too.
 
Of course i did they replaced it but the point is that it arrived broken because it was poorly packed. No insulation just thrown on top of a bag of grain. I was disappointed with the way it arrived not with how it was handled thereafter

Edit: truth be told they did a solid job of replacing it, however it all could have been avoided was my main point
 
oneandahalfshepherds said:
Of course i did they replaced it but the point is that it arrived broken because it was poorly packed. No insulation just thrown on top of a bag of grain. I was disappointed with the way it arrived not with how it was handled thereafter
Click to expand...

Of my three orders with them, two of them were very poorly packed. The one that came in packed properly, they didn't ship the other half of (intermediate brewery's kit). I have since decided to go elsewhere.
 
oneandahalfshepherds said:
Of course i did they replaced it but the point is that it arrived broken because it was poorly packed. No insulation just thrown on top of a bag of grain. I was disappointed with the way it arrived not with how it was handled thereafter

Edit: truth be told they did a solid job of replacing it, however it all could have been avoided was my main point
Click to expand...

You wanna talk about poor packaging? My last rather large order from them included liquid yeast plus an ice pack. They included both, but they were seperate...just sorta tossed into the box.

Not to mention items were omitted all together. I will say though, customer service was more than satisfactory and sent my missing items promptly and agreed with me that the ice pack situation wasn't exactly ideal.
 
When they sold me my first brewing supplies and kit, the person in the store patiently and thoroughly described the whole process. They were great about handling a return when I changed my mind, and checked to make sure I bought the right pH strips when I told them I wanted to be sure my Starsan was at the right concentration. I called to ask a nervous newbie question before discovering this forum, and got accurate, helpful advice from yet another smart employee who was clearly also an avid home brewer. This is leagues beyond the customer service you would get at any Walmart.

I trust them and will continue to shop there. I am not saying that others don't have examples of poor service, but I have no doubt they will iron out these problems. If you go to the store, you will see that they are real people, not a corporate behemoth, and they try their best to do a very good job for each customer. And no, I am not related to anybody there.
 
In the past I have always had good luck with midwest.
I uses them very little now. Only when they have some shiny thing that I must have that they are the only one that carries it.

Hmm, that reminds me I need a couple new anti-splash 9" funnels :D

Their service is always good but their shipping arrangement and my location is usually a no-go.
 
I have always had great service with Midwest. I placed an order last Sunday night and have been wondering why my order hasn't showed up yet. It has always gotten here in 3 or 4 days. I was going to call them tomorrow, but now I understand the problem. Now I can RDWHAHB.:mug:
 
If problems are recent , cut them a break. Moving a warehouse is a crazy logistical venture. I've ordered from them once. No problems. I ordered again this week...if there's a problem with this order, I understand...so long as it doesn't happen again a month or two from now.
 
midwestsupplies said:
Hey Guys,

I am very sorry for the trouble. We are currently in the process of expanding our warehouse. There have been some unforeseen complications along the way, as there are with any major move, and that has slowed us down considerably. However, we are working through the weekend to try and bring things back on track.

Please let me assure you that this is not the way that Midwest Supplies generally operates, nor is it the way we will operate in the future. For those of you that have attempted to reach out to our CS department with little success, please understand that they are doing their best to reach everyone. However, there are many customer contacts coming in, and that is slowing the response rate.

Again, I am very sorry for the trouble. We understand this delay is unacceptable. We are doing, and will continue to do, everything we can to make it right with our valued customers.

Cheers,

Nick @ Midwest.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post, Nick.

I didn't start this thread to bash MWS, but to see if others have been waiting as long as I have (2 weeks, now) and to hopefully get someone on here from MWS to give an update.

It's coming up on almost 3 years that I have been shopping with them (almost exclusively) and I must say, I have been very pleased. From extract to all grain, my ingredients have always been fresh and my equipment packed superbly (got 4 glass carboys shipped APO and not a single scratch). MWS is one of the few companies that will ship APO (Morebeer is the other) and promptly returns my sometimes rather large over payment on shipping due to the USPS calculating system.

I understand things like this happen and expanding the warehouse will help better serve a growing customer base. I must say though, I was rather surprised, with your near perfect customer service track record (at least with me), that nothing was mentioned about this renovation earlier. Once again, not trying to complain, but a mention on one of your various social media accounts would have been appropriate and much appreciated rather than waiting 1.5 weeks wondering what's up with my order before finally deciding to contact CS.

I hope everything is up and running soon so you guys can continue with your great service.

Any way to get an update sometime so I can know when to expect my order to ship? I don't want to slow down the CS department even more than it already is during this situation, but would like to know. The APO mail situation isn't ideal for yeast, so I like to check my mail box everyday when I am expecting my order so I can get the yeast into the fridge ASAP.

Thanks for everything, past and future,
 
I just started brewing in January. My 1st 3 kits were from Midwest and I was advocating for them to my co-workers who were using Northern or Austin Homebrew Supply or a LHBS. Very good packaging a shipping, plus great instructions for a newbie. However, the shipping has been expensive and I've recently felt they weren't my type of supplier since getting multiple emails about "expiring points". Hell, I just started buying from them within the last 5 months and my points were expiring? Who needs nagging points? Not me, this is not airline miles for free magazines or whatever. I've been buying from AHS of late with great satisfaction and my LHBS is getting more of my business as well since I've started doing mostly mini-mash. They seem to have a good business model and I hope they get back on top of things soon. We sure enjoyed the brews we did from them. And, if they have what I need I'll certainly buy from them again. I will not badmouth them to anyone that asks. But, they would not be my first recommendation either. YMMV

Edit - I'm on my 9th batch since January and have bought brew kettles, carboys, misc. stuff all from various vendors that have given me excellent service.
 
I ordered my brewing/bottling stuff 4/25 & nick did e-mail me yesterday about the situation. This happened two months in a row. But this one's taking longer. won't be in till Tuesday the tracking says. Hoping for Monday morning. Was going to brew on today's holiday. The refunded my shipping,but went from Fed-Ex down to UPS. I'll just have to wait some more. I realize this is a tough situation & they have been great in the past. They even got my stuff here with Fed-Ex in two days before. So I'll order from them again. Just hope they get back on track soon.
 
unionrdr said:
I ordered my brewing/bottling stuff 4/25 & nick did e-mail me yesterday about the situation. This happened two months in a row. But this one's taking longer. won't be in till Tuesday the tracking says. Hoping for Monday morning. Was going to brew on today's holiday. The refunded my shipping,but went from Fed-Ex down to UPS. I'll just have to wait some more. I realize this is a tough situation & they have been great in the past. They even got my stuff here with Fed-Ex in two days before. So I'll order from them again. Just hope they get back on track soon.
Click to expand...

Man, I ordered mine on the 22nd and I haven't heard a thing

Edit: just got off the phone with them and it actually shipped on Wednesday which is the day I talked to them. Whew. Thanks for getting this sorted out MWS!!!
 
I have several experiences of amazing customer service from midwest. Out of maybe 50 orders, only once was something broken or mixed up. They corrected it immediately.

One time I placed an order after they were closed, then realized I forgot a grain. Called them as they opened the next day and they had already packaged it. Shipping was already $12 so I asked if they could just add it in, they said it was all ready to go but would figure something out...they overnighted both boxes for $5 total.

Its unfortunate but sometimes these things happen. I too have an order from Tuesday that has not shipped but I am not too worried. Can i brew Wednesday? Probably not, but it will get there and as for now, I am very satisfied.
 

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