As mentioned in an earlier thread regarding mold, Jackal and I were in Casa Fuente Las Vegas earlier today. Now, this store, and indeed the Arturo Fuente company, are highly regarded and have a good reputation amongst their customers. So, I was a little surprised at the interaction I had with one of the employees at the shop. While perusing the Casa Fuente line of cigars, I noticed some white marks on some of the Pyramids. I picked up a couple of the sticks, and pointed out some largish white lumps, with a distinctly fuzzy appearance, on the heads of a few of the cigars. At that point, the salesman working in the humidor stepped over and asked if we were familiar with plume. We responded that yes, we do indeed know about plume, but that this was clearly mold. He told us that since it was white, it couldn't be mold. We replied that there are many white molds. The salesman then took the cigar that we were looking at, and rubbed at one of the spots through the cello. Then he told us that since it rubbed off so easily, it must be plume.

Now, to me, the comments of the salesman sounded a lot like something he was trained to say. He didn't seem as knowledgeable about their stock as someone at a high end shop really should be. I'm not sure if this salesman was trying to deliberately deceive us, or if he was just ignorant about the subject. Either way, this really does not reflect well on Casa Fuente as a retailer.

 

That sucks Rebecca! I have never had anyone working in a cigar shop say, "Yup, it's mold" when a moldy cigar was pointed out to them. They always insist it's plume. I would jump for joy if one of them actually admitted what it was.

Quote1029henry - 11/10/2014  12:28 AM

That sucks Rebecca! I have never had anyone working in a cigar shop say, "Yup, it's mold" when a moldy cigar was pointed out to them. They always insist it's plume. I would jump for joy if one of them actually admitted what it was.

x2.  I wonder if they think that would make it so you wouldn't buy from them anymore? IMO them admitting it and taking action to correct the issue would make me want to support them more.

I have had several employees at different shops try to tell me mold was plume when I brought it to their attention. I think they just don't really know the difference! I judge a humidor by the La Gloria Cubana Series R #5's they have. In most shops I have been too, this is the first cigar to show signs of mold.

 

The same ignorance has happened to me enough times with defensive sales clerks and even shop owners that I have stopped pointing it out to them.  Most walk in B&M humidors keep a higher than average humidity (to compensate for the door that is always opening) and tend to have bouts of molds in various places.

that sucks. I get that a bunch.

I dont say anything any more because as mentioned before, they never own up to it anyway so why go through the aggravation.

I've only run into this twice and both times alerted the staff.  Whether they choose to believe its mold or not is up to them and the risk is all theirs if they choose not to act.

QuoteBrlesq - 11/10/2014  7:32 AM

The same ignorance has happened to me enough times with defensive sales clerks and even shop owners that I have stopped pointing it out to them.  Most walk in B&M humidors keep a higher than average humidity (to compensate for the door that is always opening) and tend to have bouts of molds in various places.

This

It's annoying when this happens at some little no name B&M.  It is insulting when it comes from a place as esteemed as Casa Fuente.  Next year if I am there the same time that Carlito Fuente is there, I am going to let him know what a shop carrying his name is doing.

QuoteJackal - 11/10/2014  12:49 PM  It's annoying when this happens at some little no name B&M.  It is insulting when it comes from a place as esteemed as Casa Fuente.  Next year if I am there the same time that Carlito Fuente is there, I am going to let him know what a shop carrying his name is doing.

 Good point. I could see a local shop not having their employees fully educated but in this case it is dissapointing

Personally, I'm also not a fan of being treated like an idiot by retail employees. I realize most of the people who shop there probably know even less about cigars than that salesman does, but it's still a crappy assumption to have your employees making.

Let's face it though, Fuentes are prone to mold period!  Last night opened my 2013 box AF Anejo no 50 and found 7 of them with little white mold dot on the foot. I took the cellophane and cedar sleeve off and found a couple more of white mold spots on the cigar. I am !@#%$ing livid. The box of sharks I have are fine. To pay that amount of money and to let them sit for a year only to find this is inexcusable. Definitely not a storage issue on my end as they have been sitting pretty and 65 for the duration. Now I need to worry about the rest of the box which I am sure if I took the cedar sleeves off they'll be some white mold. Wtf?!!  Anyone else on this site have this issue?  Apparently scouring the Internet it seems quite common for AF cigars. SOAB! Any suggestions?  I bought them from Tampa Humidor which is reputable in my eyes. Never again will I buy Fuente, ever!  FU Fuente!  Rant over

I found Tampa Humidor to be overly humid when I had visited.

This sucks. I love AF.

   

Jason and Rebecca I wish I would have seen the mold as I was there on Sat. but did not notice. Has Carlos was there smoking I would of called him on it. If you dealt with the skinny sales person he was a pain. He stood over me like a hawk trying to rush me in my choice of smokes, which I hate. But on a different note it was kind of cool to be smoking a cigar in the same room with Carlos.  

I enjoy Fuente smokes as well, and I have also been to Casa Fuente but did not notice any smokes with mold. But this seems to be a typical answer for most sales people working in humidors. I have also heard of mold developing under the cedar sleeves so I'm not a big fan of them. At any rate I very much enjoyed the Casa Fuente house blend & the house mojito!! Enjoy your time in Vegas I'm jealous that's one of my favorite places!

In my opinion, Fuente needs to skip the cedar sleeves on ALL their cigar lines. I have found mold under the sleeves of Fuente cigars on numerous occasions. Love your cigars, guys, but skip the sleeves!!!!!!!

Cedar sleeves, tubes, and coffins are all quite likely to grow mold, as they create areas of low circulation (where humidity can gather) right next to the wrapper. I'd always recommend storing cigars without the cedar sleeves, coffins, or tubes. Regardless of the brand name.

QuoteBrlesq - 11/10/2014  6:32 AM

The same ignorance has happened to me enough times with defensive sales clerks and even shop owners that I have stopped pointing it out to them.  Most walk in B&M humidors keep a higher than average humidity (to compensate for the door that is always opening) and tend to have bouts of molds in various places.

Same here.

That is disappointing for a place as nice as Casa Fuente.  

To sad they dont belive in honesty is the better way to maimtain a customer base