What Delivery Times Do You Expect When Ordering Fresh Roasted Coffee Online? - Page 3

Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.

What is the longest reasonable time to wait for delivery of fresh roasted coffee?

3 days
43
59%
5 days
25
34%
7 days
4
5%
10 days
1
1%
 
Total votes: 73

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another_jim
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#21: Post by another_jim »

Most web based shipping, e.g. Amazon's regular and free shipping, is FOB origin. That means the recipient takes possession at the moment the package is on the truck, and is liable for all delays or losses. Any rebate would be based on maintaining good customer relations, not on fulfilling a contractual obligation.

The conventional wisdom is that a company should maintain good relations with repeat customers, but not with one timers. However, I did spend two hours in a game theory seminar once discussing out of town tipping (i.e. at places you'll never visit again). The rationality of leaving a tip in such circumstances depends on the importance of ones reputation and the density of remote interconnections in ones social network (i.e. will the story ever get out, and will it hurt you if it does?). Both exist more for celebrities than for nobodies. The same would be true of companies being nice to one time customers; it would be more likely for the ones that have reputations and create talk, than for ones that nobody ever mentions.

Don't know whether that's capitalism, free enterprise or whatever.
Jim Schulman

Phaelon56
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#22: Post by Phaelon56 »

If ordering from a roaster that is no more a zone away from me - e.g. Chicago, the Carolinas or the Northeast, then I'll buy from people who use USPS or UPS - provided the shipping costs are not exorbitant. I try to place orders on a weekend so it will be roasted on Monday or Tuesday and arrive to me a few days later. If ordering from folks who are further afield I use only places that ship USPS Priority Mail. My Pete Licata espresso from Rusty's reached me five days after roasting from HI and the coffee I get from Northbound in Mt. Shasta CA and from AJ Coffee in Lubbock TX takes only two days in most cases.

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Marshall
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#23: Post by Marshall »

Phaelon56 wrote:My Pete Licata espresso from Rusty's reached me five days after roasting from HI and the coffee I get from Northbound in Mt. Shasta CA and from AJ Coffee in Lubbock TX takes only two days in most cases.
Thanks for mentioning some roasters not in the usual shrine of HB favorites. There is a lot happening out there.
Marshall
Los Angeles

Phaelon56
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#24: Post by Phaelon56 »

You're welcome. I am very much liking Keith Hamrick's (http://northboundcoffee.com/?page_id=41) all organic American Beauty and absolutely love Jason Haeger's (http://ajcoffeeco.com/) Black Torpedo. If you ping him directly Jason may be able to work out a deal for good pricing on 5 pound bags of Black Torpedo (not listed on the retail section of his website but it's worth asking.) I've been drinking it since late spring or early summer - interspersed with a few things like Intelly's Sugar Glider and Black Cat, CCC's Aficionado and a few stray one-offs like Ritual's Lost Cities. I think the Black Torpedo is the best all around espresso blend of the bunch in terms of being good for both straight shots and milk drinks and also having a balance of fruit to chocolate. it's in my hopper at least two if not three weeks out of every month and I'm not getting tired of it. Highly recommended

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drgary (original poster)
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#25: Post by drgary (original poster) »

Peppersass wrote:I think the answer to the question depends on a number of factors, the most important of which is how long the coffee needs to be rested after roast. That varies.


To put things in perspective, I just received the coffee order yesterday evening that was the impetus for this thread and tried it today 8 days post roast. It is still very good. I don't know how it developed up to this point; the small batch I left unfrozen is still very much alive. It was also pretty good this morning after being frozen overnight. :)
Gary
LMWDP#308

What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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Peppersass
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#26: Post by Peppersass »

another_jim wrote:However, I did spend two hours in a game theory seminar once discussing out of town tipping (i.e. at places you'll never visit again). The rationality of leaving a tip in such circumstances depends on the importance of ones reputation and the density of remote interconnections in ones social network (i.e. will the story ever get out, and will it hurt you if it does?).
OT:

Ugh. I have a real problem with game theory discussions like this and economic modeling hypotheses like Rational Expectations. Since when are rationality and self-interest sufficient to explain or predict human behavior? I believe that's how we got into messes like Long Term Capital and the recent financial meltdown.

I tip out of town because it's the right thing to do, part of my moral code. The server gets paid squat in base wages and depends on tips to make a living. If he/she did a good job for me, it's my duty and obligation to leave what I consider to be an appropriate tip (nominally 20%.) All too often the rational theory folks don't realize that doing what one believes is the right thing and feeling good about one's behavior can be a powerful motivator.

This could be called an emotional decision, and it is to some extent, but there's a rational aspect as well. It's not to get a short-term gain for me alone: if servers can't expect a tip when they perform well, then the whole system breaks down and service will suffer on a global basis. When we visited Australia in the early 90s, the custom was to not leave a tip, and service was uniformly lousy (not sure if that's still the custom -- I hope not.)

So, I'm just doing my part for the greater good. :D

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the_trystero
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#27: Post by the_trystero »

Thanks for that. I was thinking along those same lines, however I think it is more of an emotional decision, I tip appropriately well anywhere there is a custom to tip because I think it is the right thing to do. Travel-related tipping is generally a one time exchange, if people didn't tip while out of their home area bellhops, cabbies, etc. would have their income impacted quite heavily.

My trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2001 was quite the opposite as yours. Since the exchange rate was quite favorable we had a lot of nice, elegant meals along with some modest ones, and the service was uniformly as good or better than here. I believe the servers make relatively more than US servers and their employers can always fire them if they're not performing well.
"A screaming comes across the sky..." - Thomas Pynchon

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another_jim
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#28: Post by another_jim »

Peppersass wrote: I tip out of town because it's the right thing to do, part of my moral code ... This could be called an emotional decision
Actually, according to Max Weber, this is value rationality. Current philosophers call it deontological conduct, and argue whether it is more or less rational than instrumental moralities, like utilitarianism. Only an ignoramus or psychologist would call it emotional. Game theory, however, deals with "homo oeconomicus," a model of purely instrumental self seeking. If somebody is an agent for a company, that person has an unconditional duty, fully deontological, to do everything legal to maximize stockholder equity. This is why we need economic regulation - executives are doing their jobs with spotless morality when they screw everyone over, if that is both legal and makes more money than being nice.
Jim Schulman

da gino
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#29: Post by da gino »

I agree with the perspective that if the roaster ships in a timely manner (and to me most importantly promptly after roasting) then they do not owe me anything if the shipping company takes a long time to get the product to me.

When I was living in Austria I did have an order from Walter at kaffeespezialitaet.at take a month and still not get to me. It was not his fault it was clearly the fault of the Austrian post office. He shipped me a second batch (on the day it was roasted) for free. I did not argue and I was grateful, but I did not think I was entitled to it. He did, however, win a fan in me.

All that said, if I can't get the coffee from the vendor in about 3 days post roast most of the time I will not keep ordering. Klatch, Stumptown, and Vivace are all clear across the country from me and I do not live in a major city, but I almost always get orders from them 2 days post roast and never as much as 4 days post roast when using USPS.

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the_trystero
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#30: Post by the_trystero »

Well, I'm definitely not a psychologist. And I guess I am now slightly less of an ignoramus when it comes to philosophy. But my motivation when tipping outside of my area is not entirely based on deontology. I also do it because I'm a generous and giving person, I don't think that has much to do with deontology. This is why I'll never be an executive for a public company or large corporation, I would never meet my obligations to the stockholders.
"A screaming comes across the sky..." - Thomas Pynchon