Visited Terrapin with some friends from out of tow...

Visited Terrapin with some friends from out of town this past Sunday. Admittedly, I'm not much of a beer drinker; however, Terrapin offered a selection of 10 - 12 beers with various qualities, and I found a few that I liked. It was raining outside, so we were unable to enjoy the outdoor space; however, the interior of the brewery was quite nice, the pours were ample, and the employees pouring the beers were helpful.

Our visit at Terrapin would have warranted 4 or even 5 stars were it not for a display of considerably poor customer service that we experienced towards the end of our visit. Having missed the 2:30PM tour of the brewery, we waited in the designated space for the 3:00PM tour. In total, there were about 10 people waiting for the tour when a Terrapin employee walked up followed by four guests. As he passed, the employee spoke with a mocking tone under his breath, "Looks like you guys are going on a tour; I wonder who's doing that," at which point he pushed past us, grabbed some goggles for the 4 people behind him, and proceeded into the brewery. Confused, we waited for 5 minutes for someone to come and give us a tour before asking one of the employees at the front what was going on. She replied that the guy was taking the 4 guests on a VIP tour and that there would be no further tours.

My issue is not that we didn't receive a tour, but that the employee that gave the "VIP tour" left us standing there -- knowing that we were waiting for a *scheduled* tour -- without saying anything to us. His snarky comment only added insult to injury. At the very least, he should have acknowledged us and let us know that we would not be receiving a tour. Rather, he left us to wait, to wonder, and then to figure out for ourselves.

Terrapin touts the value of supporting "local" businesses--a value which I share. More than anything, I appreciate the particular quality of customer service that you typically find at local businesses--the kind of customer service that is especially personable and leaves you feeling valued in an individual sort of way. Unfortunately, our experience at Terrapin this past Sunday left much to be desired in the way of that very special kind of customer service.