Thought those of you not on FB might enjoy some thoughts from Tim Klerekoper, the former Director of Marketing for Provape:
(with his permission)
"I spent two years as the Director of Marketing for ProVape ... and I want to put this on the record. The company's commitment to quality and safety was unmatched. They literally never compromised on quality ... even when it meant it made it harder to compete in the industry. The dedication of literally every employee to
vaping, and ProVape, and its products was inspiring. And there wasn't one day in the years I was affiliated with the company that they didn't have a desire to provide a product that could effectively get people off of cigarettes. They never wavered from that focus. I have well over 130
mods in my collection and only one company's products has the distinction of never needing repair ... and those were my ProVaris. I am deeply saddened by the news ... but they helped over a half million people get a real chance to quit ... and I truly believe they were ... and are ... the best this industry has ever had to offer. Dr.
Tim Klerekoper
And while I'm on a roll ... I also want to thank ProVape (especially its founders) for partnering with my company to design and build the ProVari Steath. The bulk of the profits from that model went to support police/fire/military chaplaincy. ProVape didn't need to do that ... but they did ... and there were many of you whose purchase of a Stealth provided funding to help soldiers and law enforcement officers, many of them working through issues like PTSD.
It wasn't that they didn't want to help the sub ohm crowd ... it was that it took at least ten months for ProVape to produce a new model ... because of the testing (quality and safety) that every model they produced went through. (For instance, they didn't "tune" circuit boards to a certain wattage ... the board was designed and created for a particular wattage. I use mine with virtually no concern for my safety at all!) It has been estimated that China can produce a model from start to finish in less than a month. ProVape never compromised ... and yes, they paid a price for it ... but I admire their dedication to making a quality product. The letter truly was an ad agency employee coming up with a lousy idea and pushing "send" instead of "forward." Unfortunate, but not ProVape's fault.
I left ProVape early in 2016 because my role as a Bishop of the Diocese of Seattle for the Church of England was expanding ... but I still have a deep appreciation of and a love for the company. I have never been a part of a company or worked with employees that were more dedicated to their product and their industry.
But I do know that whereas people often complained about the price of a ProVari, I can tell you of an absolute certainty that the company made less profit than any other company in the industry. Why? They refused to compromise on quality and safety. It is impossible for me to criticize them for that. I was honored to work for the company ... and I'm
vaping on a ProVari this evening as I write this.
After I left people asked me to give them the "real scoop." All I've ever been able to say is that I loved the company, it's owners and employees, it's products, and it's desire to get people off of tobacco. There's no dirt. Do I wish they could have been faster to get out products and respond to the market? Sure. We all wished that ... but they simply would not put their customers at risk even if it cost them market share. Some people call that stupid. I call that monumental.
I truly wish every US company had that kind of dedication to their customers. The company wasn't perfect ... but not for lack of effort!"
