Horrible experience with Vapor4Life

[njric71]

My nightmare with this outfit began over a week and a half ago and their continued lack of response has left me so far from “smilin” it isn't even funny. In fact I wouldn't even be registered here if it wasn't the only way for me to get my 1 and only response from Mark.


V4L has been the only vendor I've dealt with and I'm so hoping others are better, because I am done dealing with them!


For a little over a month I was a happy member of the V4L cult. I'm now invested in over 100 cartos and several batteries, trying to get my favorites dialed in. I found that I really liked the XL manual batteries. I went to order a couple more and that's where my problems started! They apparently didn't have the color I ordered so they took it upon themselves to send me the color of their choice. Unfortunately I hate their choice!


The second I received my order I immediately called the phone # on the card trying to catch another order I had that was in the “processing” stage so they could send me 2 batteries in a color I would actually use. I got no answer by phone so I sent off an e-mail to customer service, still hoping to catch the outgoing order. Several hours later I received a response that basically said only that my last order had already shipped and there was nothing they could do. No offer to resolve my issue.. basically just “too bad so sad”


Needless to say I was mildly ticked off about that. So I sent an e-mail to Mark directly. I waited a day and still had not gotten a response. Now I was a little more than mildly ticked off.. this is their “legendary second to none” customer service? So I decided to register here for the sole purpose of being able to send Mark a PM. This time I finally at least got a response. He was going to check stock and if he didn't have the blue single logo batteries that I ordered he was going to send out 1 blue multi logo.


WHAT!?!? I ordered 2, and received 2 that were NOT in the color I ordered, and he's gonna ship me out 1?!?!? Now I was more than aggravated, but I responded very nicely asking him to please send 2 and that I would happily return the 2 that were not what I ordered and that I had no intention of using!



After a couple of days I still had not gotten a response. Yesterday afternoon I sent another PM saying “Just want to make sure I didn't get forgotten, still haven't received anything. Did these ship out?” Still no response and I see some posts by him today about stock updates so I know he's been on here. So I guess roping in more suckers is more important than taking care of the ones who've already been alienated.




What's even more troubling to me is the recent deletion of the sticky they used to have on their forum bragging about their oh so wonderful customer service. I guess they've now grown too big to have to worry about that!


So now I'm stuck with 2 batteries I paid for that are NOT what I ordered and are in a color I will NEVER use. At this point I'm thinking I might have to write this off as an “I got burned” experience, but I figured the least I could do was warn others.

 

[basilray]

When I recently ordered some juice and cartos, they included some business cards. Did you try calling the number listed?

I am a trainer for an internationally recognized company's customer technical support. Sometimes, misunderstandings like this are better handled via phone. Just remember my "golden rule" to customer service: Regardless of how upset you might be, screaming, cursing, being unreasonable, being excessively rude and/or curt gets you nowhere. The friendlier you are, the more likely you will be to get the result you want.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience w/ them. While I wasn't a big fan of their cartos (Was using them on a 510 via adapter), their juice is good. Hopefully, they get it fixed for you!

 

[murtcepS]

I have to second your opinion about V4L customer service. I bought over 100 defective blank cartomizers from them while stocking up. I filled a few,and noticed the cartos didn't thread on my V4L batteries correctly. They were loose fitting,and would wobble when fully attached. They certainly didn't thread on like the previous cartos I purchased from V4L,so I posted my problem in the sub-forum. Mark replied later and posted "I want to work with you on this...sent you a PM". He wanted me to send him a few blanks,and one of the batteries I was using. I PM'ed back...no problem,where should I send the package? Three days later he replied with the address. I should have taken this as a sign of things to come. So I go ahead and send them with delivery confirmation,and they were delivered on a Monday morning. I left voice mail,emailed,and PM'ed once a day through Thursday with no response. He finally calls and says "it's against V4L policy to accept returns,or exchanges on cartomizers,and the best he can do is send out 20 replacements" He also says that he didn't find anything wrong with the blanks I sent. That was a outright lie! I received some new blanks from Vapornine that week,and they threaded on my V4L batteries perfectly. No looseness,and zero wobble. I pointed this out to him,and said "I don't want anything for free,and feel justified in requesting a return,or exchange of all the defective blanks". This didn't get me anywhere because V4L policy was the bottom line when conversing on the phone. What pushed me over the edge is when Mark posted in one on the threads I started that he "would swap them out for me" He puts on this act like he will take care of things while in the forum,but basically tells me to get bent on the phone. Oh....I got bent alright.

 

[bornagainst]

Just to let you know, the sticky was removed as V4L wants to update the policy to something clear and concise for all customers. Having a thread pages long with outdated information is somewhat confusing to people, admittedly. Should be up in the middle of the week, if all goes well.

Anyhow, sorry that you had a negative experience. I do know that Val and Mark do try their best, and sometimes things slip by, but after a year of hanging out, and vaping, they bat a pretty good average.

Even though you had to post in ECF about your experience, hope it works out for ya....as long as you keep vaping, not smoking.

Vape happy bro.

 

[njric71]

Per my post I called the # on the card immediately upon receiving my order. (I got no answer)




Lets recap in bullet form (perhaps that would be easier to follow)


My email to customer service received a reply that offered no resolution.


I escalated the matter to Mark via e-mail as his e-mail is the one on the cards.


Upon receiving no response within 24 hours I registered here to send him a PM


As you seem to be knowledgeable in the customer service field I ask you.. Is that reasonable customer service that I should have to chase them down?


Mark indicated he'd send 1 battery out to makes right the 2 I received that were wrong.


Yes I was aggravated but still responded politely including all appropriate pleases and thank yous asking him to send 2 batteries and that I would happily return the 2 I didn't want that were in a color I didn't order.


Never once have I cursed, haven't screamed, and I don't think I'm being unreasonable in asking to exchange two items that they sent that were not as ordered.


I also deal with customer service on a daily basis in my capacity with my employer. We don't claim to have any where near the level of customer service that V4L once used to openly brag about, but I can tell you that this lack of responsiveness would not be tolerated where I work.


In my business if we send out the wrong material or even send it late I end up with a customer who's paying a crew full of high dollar union guys to stand around because they are not able to work. The calls I get (which are thankfully few and far between) are usually from people who are quite understandably and justifiably upset, and sometimes even cursing and screaming at me. In a down market due to this crappy economy if I didn't go out of my way to keep our customers happy, even the ones who are cursing and screaming at me, I'd be looking for new employment.


Once Mark indicated that he'd do something to make this right I didn't feel the need to get any other people involved lest it look like I was trying to get over on them. I don't need 2 or 3 people there to each offer to send me replacements. I'm not asking for anything free here. I'm just asking that if they can't send me the 2 batteries in the color I ordered, I'd at least like 2 batteries in a color I will use.


As I mentioned in my previous post at this point I'm ready to write this off as that I got burned here. In the grand scheme of things the ~ $30 or so is not the end of the world for me, but I wanted to warn others.


If they do eventualy make it right I'd be happy to post that here too, but at this point I'm done doing business with them. I'm just not willing to send any more money their way not knowing what they might feel like sending me instead of what I actually ordered. It's that old adage “screw me once shame on you.. Screw me twice..” well lets just say I'm not about to let that happen. I've also advised the 3 co-workers that I've turned on to the V4L product to look elsewhere for their next order.

 

[minxy_fox]

My nightmare with this outfit began over a week and a half ago and their continued lack of response has left me so far from “smilin” it isn't even funny. In fact I wouldn't even be registered here if it wasn't the only way for me to get my 1 and only response from Mark.


V4L has been the only vendor I've dealt with and I'm so hoping others are better, because I am done dealing with them!


For a little over a month I was a happy member of the V4L cult. I'm now invested in over 100 cartos and several batteries, trying to get my favorites dialed in. I found that I really liked the XL manual batteries. I went to order a couple more and that's where my problems started! They apparently didn't have the color I ordered so they took it upon themselves to send me the color of their choice. Unfortunately I hate their choice!


The second I received my order I immediately called the phone # on the card trying to catch another order I had that was in the “processing” stage so they could send me 2 batteries in a color I would actually use. I got no answer by phone so I sent off an e-mail to customer service, still hoping to catch the outgoing order. Several hours later I received a response that basically said only that my last order had already shipped and there was nothing they could do. No offer to resolve my issue.. basically just “too bad so sad”


Needless to say I was mildly ticked off about that. So I sent an e-mail to Mark directly. I waited a day and still had not gotten a response. Now I was a little more than mildly ticked off.. this is their “legendary second to none” customer service? So I decided to register here for the sole purpose of being able to send Mark a PM. This time I finally at least got a response. He was going to check stock and if he didn't have the blue single logo batteries that I ordered he was going to send out 1 blue multi logo.


WHAT!?!? I ordered 2, and received 2 that were NOT in the color I ordered, and he's gonna ship me out 1?!?!? Now I was more than aggravated, but I responded very nicely asking him to please send 2 and that I would happily return the 2 that were not what I ordered and that I had no intention of using!



After a couple of days I still had not gotten a response. Yesterday afternoon I sent another PM saying “Just want to make sure I didn't get forgotten, still haven't received anything. Did these ship out?” Still no response and I see some posts by him today about stock updates so I know he's been on here. So I guess roping in more suckers is more important than taking care of the ones who've already been alienated.




What's even more troubling to me is the recent deletion of the sticky they used to have on their forum bragging about their oh so wonderful customer service. I guess they've now grown too big to have to worry about that!


So now I'm stuck with 2 batteries I paid for that are NOT what I ordered and are in a color I will NEVER use. At this point I'm thinking I might have to write this off as an “I got burned” experience, but I figured the least I could do was warn others.

'Tis a brave person who posts such comments here, and I applaud you for doing so! I decided to keep my negative experiences with this company to myself, considering the sheer volume of supporters it has, and the possible backlash I may receive.

I hope you manage to get your issues sorted. There is no excuse for such bad customer service. They lost my money long ago.

 

[njric71]

Thank you for your support. I was hoping not to have to post something negative and did try to handle this matter privately, but I'm not one who's easily intimidated. Let the backlash be what it may.



I have seen negative posts deleted from the V4L forum. Their forum is kind of their house their rules so I can't speak too negatively about that, but it is the reason that I chose to vent my frustrations here instead of in their house. I think it's only fair that others be warned before getting taken in as I was by a large active forum full of only happy customers.



I think I posted fairly and honestly about my experience with them and hope I'm not coming across as too unreasonable here. Hopefully other vendors will still be happy to have my business.

 

[minxy_fox]

Thank you for your support. I was hoping not to have to post something negative and did try to handle this matter privately, but I'm not one who's easily intimidated. Let the backlash be what it may.



I have seen negative posts deleted from the V4L forum. Their forum is kind of their house their rules so I can't speak too negatively about that, but it is the reason that I chose to vent my frustrations here instead of in their house. I think it's only fair that others be warned before getting taken in as I was by a large active forum full of only happy customers.



I think I posted fairly and honestly about my experience with them and hope I'm not coming across as too unreasonable here. Hopefully other vendors will still be happy to have my business.

I don't think you've been unreasonable at all. Had you come here with a big rant, without first trying to settle the issue with V4L, then yes, that would have been unreasonable. But that isn't the case.
I wish you well.

 

[njric71]

how about that.. I did receive a PM from Mark that my batteries were shipped and that I should see them in a day or two. I'm not impressed that I had to call them out publicly in order to get a response, and to me it's still an empty promise until I see batteries in my hand.


Thank you for the heads up re vapornine. That is where I've advised my co-workers to go for future orders. The reviews on their blank turbo cartos seem to indicate that they are great. Juice selection doesn't seem to be as varied as V4L , but I'm thinking to try tasty vapor for that.

 

[minxy_fox]

how about that.. I did receive a PM from Mark that my batteries were shipped and that I should see them in a day or two. I'm not impressed that I had to call them out publicly in order to get a response, and to me it's still an empty promise until I see batteries in my hand.


Thank you for the heads up re vapornine. That is where I've advised my co-workers to go for future orders. The reviews on their blank turbo cartos seem to indicate that they are great. Juice selection doesn't seem to be as varied as V4L , but I'm thinking to try tasty vapor for that.

Geez, funny that - who would have thought huh? LOL

You can't go wrong with Tasy Vapor, btw.

 

[bornagainst]

I admit, when I saw this post, I did bring it to Marks attention immediately.

Just thought it the right thing to do.

Regardless of any affiliations/friendships/cameraderie, I am a vaper first and foremost, and just wanted to see if there was anything that could have fallen through the cracks.

Anyhow, like I said, at the end of the day, its vaping NOT smoking that really matters, so hope this is the only roadbump that you have to deal with.

 

[me who]

In my business if we send out the wrong material or even send it late I end up with a customer who's paying a crew full of high dollar union guys to stand around because they are not able to work. The calls I get (which are thankfully few and far between) are usually from people who are quite understandably and justifiably upset, and sometimes even cursing and screaming at me. In a down market due to this crappy economy if I didn't go out of my way to keep our customers happy, even the ones who are cursing and screaming at me, I'd be looking for new employment.

Yep, that's how it works where I come from!!! Have your "A" game on or stay the "F" home.

 

[basilray]

OP:

Glad you got what will hopefully be a sastisfactory outcome. I wasn't saying you were out of line or anything, but whenever someone has a bad customer service experience, I like to point out my perspective on how to get best service possible. It is unfortunate that you had to go to this length to get assisted. I'll keep your experience in mind the next time I need to order juice.

Hope

 

[candre23]

This is exactly why everybody should post their bad experiences on this forum. Sometimes suppliers (especially bigger ones like V4L) need to be reminded that their "policies" don't work for every situation, and that sticking to them no-matter-what can have consequences. If you have a bad experience with a supplier and they won't make it right, you owe it to the community to let them know.

And in some cases, like this one, the supplier just needs a kick in the pants as a reminder that we expect a certain level of service from them. Some will simply ignore any criticism and keep providing poor service (TW). Some will take even the tiniest hint of criticism as a personal attack and lash out at their customers (Nhaler, H2O). But the smart ones will take the criticism constructively and try to fix the underlying problem. It may have been a hassle for you to get V4L to fix their screwup this time, but hopefully because of it, they'll do the right thing from the get-go next time.

 

[Mary Kay]

I am a big fan of V4L. But I have dealt with many vendors on this board also. Not one of my many transactions have had a negative outcome..yes, mistakes on my part and on theirs..but with satisfactory outcomes in every single case.
If I had ever had a problem I would have done things just like you did..call, e-mail..P.M. and then post a complaint here and on their sub forum. I applaud your vey methodical efforts to have your problems resolved.
I hope the vendors you choose in the future meet your every need.

 

[ImYourSalt]

just trade the batteries you don't want. Check the Pay It Forward Social Group or the V4L Sub-Forum for swap threads.

 

[njric71]

Just a quick update.


I received my replacement batteries, with a couple bonus items as seems to be V4L's style. I'm willing to chalk the slight delay in getting this taken care of up to just some growing pains as this vendor grows at an exponential rate. I see from their forum that they've added at least 1 new staff member (congrats Ryan) so hopefully things will flow a little smoother with the added assistance.


Thank you V4L for getting this taken care of for me!


Yes I am “smilin” again.

 

[Neo]

Good for you. I'm glad to hear you had a happy resolution.

I am in the midst of the same type of situation myself. Twice now I've been sent items I did not order because they apparently were out of stock of what I did order.

I am not happy with this because, although I received items, they simply were not what I ordered. If I had wanted to order what I was sent, I would have done so initially.

So far, I've not been able to get it resolved via email. My first email was ignored. The second email got me a one sentence apology but no offer to rectify the situation. The third email I escalated to Mark and has not been answered, although it's been one day.

I too am not looking for a free ride on anything. I only want to receive what I order, not what they feel like sending me. I've never had this sort of experience with any other company, PV or otherwise.

I'm waiting to see if they walk the walk cuz they sure talk the talk.

 

[Lightgeoduck]

I am glad too.. now this is one less thread I have to monitor

all seriousness... glad your situation had a happy ending.....

 

[njric71]

I am not happy with this because, although I received items, they simply were not what I ordered. If I had wanted to order what I was sent, I would have done so initially.

That's EXACTLY how I feel! Hopefully if enough of us complain about that policy they will change it.

Although I am happy that they took care of this for me, that particular policy of theirs does still have me a little gun shy to want to order again not knowing what I might receive instead of what I ordered.