John Crouch Tobacconist

Don’t go here, the people do not need your business and would rather you leave them alone. Furthermore, their humidor is far too humid, making their cigars unfit for smoking immediately. I’ve since visited three times, spending over 15 minutes each time collecting cigars to buy, and each time the workers didn’t acknowledge my presence until I approached the counter to pay. This last time I tried to start a small conversation, intending to offer my feedback about the humidor, but man didn’t respond to my conversation starter. He said one word the entire time: $ 23.50.
Time to drop my previously glowing review from five to two stars.
Let’s help them out and give them some quiet time to relax in their store alone.

Horrible customer service. The employee made no eye contact and did not want to assist in making any purchases.

Worst service ever. All I wanted was some Boveda humidor packets but the man behind the counter was on a personal call complaining about someone for a good five minutes without even acknowledging my existence. The staff has always looked irritated when I buy cigars there and pay their customers zero attention. Never going back and would rather get cigars elsewhere!

Good prices and a nice selection. Occasionally a staff member offers to help but mostly they sit around watching TV. If you know what you want and are satisfied with minimal service, it’s a good place to buy a cigar. Bonus: it’s next door to the Basin Street Lounge, where you can smoke your cigar and but a cocktail or scotch to go with it.

This is an awesome and convenient cigar shop and they carry my favorite line, La Palina! I enjoy the relaxed ambiance and attitudes of the staff.

Fantastic shop with a great set up. Everyone is laid back and super friendly when you have questions.

I love this place. It is small and the guys inside are funny because they are so laid back. But the place has a great selection. The cigar room is in the back. I usually get cloves when I am in Old Town for dinner and walking around. I saw a few reviews that talk about the unprofessionalism, but don’t get bothered. It is a laid back smoke shop. the inside is nice and clean. it is stocked well too.

Went in to the shop to see about replacing my rather inexpensive but favorite lighter which no longer maintained a flame. When I showed the young man my old lighter, he immediately looked it over, took it apart and had it working in just a few minutes – no charge! Super customer service! Thanks so much!

Love this place. The staff is a bit laid back, but they’re very knowledgeable and are quite willing to assist you if you ask. Other than that though they pretty much leave you alone, which I found to be awesome. Their humidor has a great selection and they have more pipe tobacco blends than most local shops combined. The store itself is a bit old and run down, but it just gives it more character. Bottom line, this place is great. I highly recommend shopping here.

So turned off by the lack of professionalism of the manager who worked there, my friend and I didn’t have the opportunity to even get a good sense of the quality of the products available. When entering the store, my friend mentioned that she was looking for a gift and asked if there was anything recommend for someone who enjoyed cigars, however unfortunately she had little knowledge of their smoking preferences. The man said to us from his chair, «I’m really trying not to get up.» That was his answer. No inclination to assist us, and actually seemed irritated by our presence.
When we walked to the back room, hesitantly trying to pick something, he poked his head through the door (at this time he had remarkably managed to get out of his chair) and answered a few questions ambiguously, though did little to hide his irritation. We chose two cigars at random, paid, and left.
I wish I could comment on the wide variety of merchandise or the exceptional quality of the products, but when you are treated like a inconvienence from the moment you walk in the door, you don’t have the opportunity to make the assessment.
P. s. I am certain that the man was the acting manager because I found him on LinkedIn. Disappointing.

This has always been one of my favorite places in old town. It’s quirky and authentic. As a person with Scottish heritage, couldn’t get tartans outside of Scotland before the internet if not for John Crouch :)

I have traveled throughout the country due to my line of work, and I have been a pipe smoker for twenty-​five or so years. Without a doubt, this is the worst tobacco shop I have ever been in. The prices are ridiculous, their pipe tobacco is horrific, and like a fool, because they are close to my current place of work, I gave them one last chance.
I needed a new pipe stem. They have a box of random stems that they have salvaged from estate sales I assume, and I went in to see if they had one that would fit into an old throw away pipe I had. The employee who wasn’t to busy sitting around to be bothered by a customer essentially grabbed my pipe out of my hand and told me he was sending it to their pipe repair person. I said the pipe wasn’t worth repairing… I would just get a new one. «Don’t worry… it will only be $ 15 or so.» They passed the pipe around and ooh’ed and ahh’ed since I don’t think they had ever seen a pipe that had been smoked before… then they put it behind the counter and took my number. Literally a month later, I called to see if they had lost my number or what? No, the pipe wasn’t back from repair yet. So, apparently, it takes three weeks to stick a stem in a pipe… dang.
The next day, magically… my pipe was ready to be picked up. They charged me $ 36 for the stem which, by the way, was the wrong shape and style. There was nothing done to the pipe… they didn’t even run a pipe cleaner through it. My favorite part is that the pipe was originally bent, and it came back straight.
Honestly, I don’t know how this place stays open.

Very good selection. They have a lot of Cigar Afficiando’s Top 25 2013 cigars, many of which are not easy to find at a B&M. Prices seem to be what I would expect for the location. However customer service is not good. I spent $ 90. They treated me like I was a nuisance to them. And they don’t know their own prices and expect you to write it down for them. This store is a classic case for why I am better off shopping elsewhere or online. A good selection is a commodity. However a good experience, which is clearly lacking here, that would bring people back.

The funny thing is that I almost never (maybe never) write reviews for places that aren’t food related. I had to write a review for here because I’ve never had such accommodating and friendly service at a tobacco store. Usually tobacconists are snotty and salty (e.g., Georgetown tobacco). The man behind the counter here gave me a full lesson on pipe tobacco, which I knew nothing about. He was very patient although it was pretty late into the night and he actually seemed like he enjoyed what he was doing.
Unfortunately, since I’m not local, it’s unlikely I’ll be back for a while. Nevertheless, I’d recommend these guys to anyone visiting or living in the area

Great place to learn about pipes and break one in! I had a good experience buying my first pipe and a variety of pipe tobaccos… being a huge cigar aficianado, this was an unfamiliar step but a fun one. Always a nice Cigar assortment, obviously not internet prices but the more Cigar Shoppes — The Better — God Bless America!
Things that would take this store to the next level — a much needed update… the walls/​flooring/​displays/​lighting should all be remodeled — looking a little sad /​dingey. Definitely understand the comments about some experiences with service — that’s not their forte except for the real skinny guy who smiles, loves his pipes and seems to ponder his words quite a bit — he’s truly the best! Bottom Line — if this store was managed a little better it would do a lot more business and find itself with many more repeat customers!

This is by far THE worst shop in Old Town I’ve ever been in. Not even just worst tobacco shop, but worst store in general. If the dust and mold covering the humidifiers in the humidor don’t scare you enough to run away, the depressed staff will. Disorganized, sloppy, gross, overpriced, unwelcoming. This place should be ashamed to hang «tobacconist» on it’s name. There are plenty of better options in the local area, like John B. Hayes and Old Virginia Tobacco Co.

I’ve been smoking cigars on and off for 20 years. I’ve been to cigar stores in Virginia, DC, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida. While this store is convenient for smokers who are in the Old Town Alexandria area, they are far from nice or price friendly.
Pros
1. My office is located near Old Town so I come here off and on when I need a quick cigar that’s not in my box. If you’re in the Old Town area this is a convenient place to go but I wouldn’t buy more than you smoke here.
Cons
I hate to give cigar stores negative feedback, but the staff here needs to change some things. That is even if they care… which they probably don’t.
1. The staff’s attitude is horrible. They don’t even acknowledge you when you walk in. I understand they have many folks who walk in, but give me a break with the snotty attitude. Honestly, if I didn’t know better I’d assume they thought they were better than you by you coming to their store.
2. Regardless of what other reviewers have posted here, the cigar prices are not low. You can go to The Cigar Palace off Eisenhower and get cigars 10% to 20% cheaper. That store also has a larger selection and very friendly staff. I don’t knock Crouch for having higher prices because they have higher rent for being in Old Town and on King Street. But, if you’re looking for good prices this is not the place to go.
3. They don’t even take the effort to price their cigars. They make you write down the prices and give it to them at the register. I know it takes time to place stickers on each cigar or box, but come on now… that’s just plain lazy.
Overall
While this is an overall decent cigar store, the negative staff members really turn people off to this place. I don’t even think they know how much business they LOSE because of their poor customer service. I’m a member of the private Rex Lounge down the block from here and I’ve heard dozens of people complain about the staff in this store. It’s a little sad because this location could be a bigger hit than it is if it was better run.
If you’re looking to stock up on cigars head over to The Cigar Palace or buy them online. If you’re looking for convenience around Old Town then this is the place to be.

Awful service. Staff sits in the front, smoking cigarettes and seem put out to even take your money.
The cigar selection is not unique enough to merit putting up with awful service. The area has so many other great cigar shops, I cannot see going out of my way to shop here.

Good cigar selection and they leave you alone. They didn’t really say anything to me until I was ready to check out, not even «hello». That’s okay though since I was able to walk around and look at what they have to offer without being bothered every 10 seconds. They have a good selection and a large humidor, just don’t expect to really be acknowledged in here. Prices are okay too.

The Mister and I have been customers of John Crouch for more than five years. We’ve never gotten a kind word, helpful hint or proactive gesture from the staff there. In fact, they usually look pretty pissed off we interrupted their iPad browsing or dinner delivered from Bugsy’s.
We keep coming back because they fit a niche in Old Town and they actually know how to store cigars. In a competitive market, they would never stay in business with such surly attitudes and nonexisistant customer service.
But where else can you get a quality cigar selection for a Saturday evening walk down King Street to the water? We’ll be back.