There can be a number of things important to the flow of a company that, when interrupted, can cause big problems. We're all familiar with computer crashes or some other sort of data/phone issues that can make it quite difficult for some of you to order or otherwise get pipes from us. When these things happen, they flat out stink. Sykes and Tommy figure out what is wrong as fast as possible and we get up and running again, but what about when other stuff goes wrong?

Tom and Bill work upstairs as full-time estate restoration guys. They also put in data, and Bill helps inspect new pipes when they're piled up to our ears, but their main tasks revolve around cleaning and refurbishing estate pipes. As it happens, when I came in to work last Friday, Tom informed me there was something wrong with one of the buffing machines. Actually, it was the MAIN buffing machine. Something as simple as a toggle switch deciding to no longer toggle or click, because it's been turned on and off thousands of times over the years, really throws a monkey wrench into the operations. Bill took the machine apart and Chuck called a local shop (30 miles away, as it happens) that, we desperately hoped, would have a suitable replacement part. Of course they did, they naturally assured us, and I drove there to pick it up. And sure enough, it turned out instead to be more of an "almost-close-enough" part. Nonetheless, between Bill, Tom, and me, we MacGyver'd some pieces from the old switch to modify the new one. Three screwdrivers, some pliers, improper files, and one band-aid later, we brought the buffer back to life.

Guys coming together to fix stuff without the proper tools and not knowing exactly what they are doing is just something guys do. We all got some coffee and a few cigars to celebrate, as if we'd just landed on the moon, or at least fixed some important part of the spacecraft, rather than, say, an important tool for pipe-restoration workflow.

As I read over this intro prior to submitting it, it seems like one of those "you had to be there" kinds of moments. It really was a big problem, though. Our moms would be proud of us. I even put the band-aid on all by myself.


Tonight you can check out some new cigars we listed from Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, and Low Country. The Low Country brand is our store name, and this listing is where you can find some great deals on sample packs we made up. New arrivals from Michael Lindner, Tsuge, Radice, Dunhill, Castello, Chacom, and Sebastien Beo might catch your eye. Oh yeah, don't forget about the two dozen estates. Twelve from England and twelve from Italy. Oh yeah; had we not fixed the buffing machine, there wouldn't be any! ;)

Adam Davidson: Quality Control & Pipe Inspector