Finlays Cigars

I’ve only been to Finaly’s twice, but both times my customer service experiences have been so good that I feel compelled to write it up. First off, let me say that I’m relatively new to cigar smoking, so I’m not going to offer an assessment of their stock or brands except to say that it’s got one of the smaller stocks of the various cigar stores I’ve been to. I’ve still got only a passing familiarity with the range of brands that are out there, so it’s hard for me to say how wide or focused it is. Obviously, though, all the major manufacturers were in evidence.
Both times I’ve gone to Finlay’s, the amount and degree of service I’ve received have been exceptional. The first time, I went in knowing almost nothing and basically asked the gentleman minding the store (Jim, I think) for recommendations, given what I’d tried so far and what I’d liked. Whereas most times I’ve done this, the attitude of the merchant seems to be to just get me to buy something as quickly as possible, Jim took the time to actually talk to me about the different brands. He wound up pointing me towards a Brick House Churchill, which — since it wound up being one of my favorite cigars so far — was an excellent recommendation. He also took the time to tell me about some general cigar care tips, and a bunch of other things.
The second time I went back, the service was just as good and I picked up two more cigars. They even threw in a free flavored one. A word about the house brand: they have both a mild and a fuller variety, I didn’t care for the mild too much, but the full-​flavored one was pretty good and a good value. Finlay’s rules.