I used to feel awkward going into the local vape shops here when they knew I was trash talking about them to other vape shops that had better gear,better customer service and better prices. But now seeing how they have hired better staff ,began to scope out the rivals inventory and prices I don't feel so awkward. I walk into any of the local B&Ms now and they treat me with respect. They know who I am and they know that I'm not dedicated to any certain vape shop. I would like to see all of them succeed. I just don't put up with anyone ripping off people.
anyone feel awkward in vape shops
- Thread starter jesusman22
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I agree, some are very uncomfortable because they have more of a frat boy/secret club vibe going. I've only been to a few that are like that, though. Once you find a good spot, just stick with it. If you don't have one, find a good online shop! 
Sometimes, but I try to keep my trips short. I used to find it hard to look the other people in the stores.
At the shop I liked I now feel awkward. I got my first vape lot there but the problem is their expensive so when I upgraded to the aerotank I got it online, way cheaper. I killed my last coil and didn't want to wait for shipping so hit up the shop. I got a weird vibe the guy remembered me and knew I must have got the aerotank online...awkward but when your a small business you gotta factor in your competition especially online competition.
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I used to feel uncomfortable when I first went into new shops. Now that I have gained some knowledge about things not so much anymore. If I'm not treated with respect as a customer I just take my money somewhere else.
They feel awkward when I come in, but they usually get around to asking me some questions so they aren't as bad off when I leave.
While I'm almost 100% online now, I do appreciate our local vape shops in the Central Iowa area... They are very helpful, friendly, and have reasonable prices... pricing is typical prices you would see online plus moderate shipping charges added to them.
Homemade juices leave a lot to be desired though. All the shops that make their own liquids seem to be pretty proud of them ... I'm certainly not. Very "artificial" tasting, steeping hasn't helped. They're also quite expensive. A couple of the shops have a very large variety of different juices ... I'm thinking they need to reduce their catalogs a bit and focus on making a few very high quality products, if that's possible.
As for feeling awkward ... not so much. We have a "chain" shop that appears to be mostly staffed with younger, more "progressive" crowds. Employees do wear a very professional looking logo polo. They are very much approachable, helpful, friendly, and definitely interested in making you a happy customer.
The other shop I've visited is also very customer-focused, father-daughter ran business with a bit more marketing focus. Regular promotions, punch cards for juice, etc. They're not as knowledgable on the more advanced side of vaping (I believe they just got their first RTA in not too long ago) ... but still very friendly, helpful, and with reasonable pricing on mods/batteries.
As for the customers ... most of the shops I've seen are in aged strip malls in older sections of town. I've seen some pretty interesting customers, that's for sure. But true to the central Iowa social norms; teeth or no teeth, they're typically respectful, damn nice people regardless of anything.
Homemade juices leave a lot to be desired though. All the shops that make their own liquids seem to be pretty proud of them ... I'm certainly not. Very "artificial" tasting, steeping hasn't helped. They're also quite expensive. A couple of the shops have a very large variety of different juices ... I'm thinking they need to reduce their catalogs a bit and focus on making a few very high quality products, if that's possible.
As for feeling awkward ... not so much. We have a "chain" shop that appears to be mostly staffed with younger, more "progressive" crowds. Employees do wear a very professional looking logo polo. They are very much approachable, helpful, friendly, and definitely interested in making you a happy customer.
The other shop I've visited is also very customer-focused, father-daughter ran business with a bit more marketing focus. Regular promotions, punch cards for juice, etc. They're not as knowledgable on the more advanced side of vaping (I believe they just got their first RTA in not too long ago) ... but still very friendly, helpful, and with reasonable pricing on mods/batteries.
As for the customers ... most of the shops I've seen are in aged strip malls in older sections of town. I've seen some pretty interesting customers, that's for sure. But true to the central Iowa social norms; teeth or no teeth, they're typically respectful, damn nice people regardless of anything.
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I'm new to vaping, so I still feel awkward going into the shop, usually because I don't always remember the right words, lol. My one friend and I still refer to the clearomizer as 'the top part'.
I love going to my local vape shop only when one specific co owner is working. He's an awesome dude great to talk to and if you need help quick to help without an issue. The other co owner is an idiot and has no knowledge of his own product and or juices, plus he seems arrogant. No good for business. All the other workers or awesome. The only thing that kinda makes me sad about the shop is they do not carry straight up menthol e liquid. Blows my mind a little lol. But for the most part I love going to my local vape shop and just chilling and talking to the other vapers who stroll. I sometimes wish they sold alcohol. I don't think I'd ever leave there lmao.
Yes! When I go into the vape shop on my way to work and grab a quik 3 dollar tank they ask- "is that all" and might as well be like- "nope we cant sell you that cause your not dumping money into our greedy pockets".
Me: "Hey ill take two replacment coils"
The greedy vape shop owner Bobby: "O...Only two? We sell five packs. You sure thats all you want?"
"Is that all" should be their slogan.....
I went to a totaly different location and the girl was as upset and rude as posable when she found out I only wanted a coil head and a litltle starter tank.
Next time I go in I should ask to buy 7 Nautilus tanks 7 Spinner batteries and 600 ml of e fluid and tell them to do the math of how many bottles that would be, one of each flavor....then be like- opps forgot my wallet after they take it all out of the shelf....
Me: "Hey ill take two replacment coils"
The greedy vape shop owner Bobby: "O...Only two? We sell five packs. You sure thats all you want?"
"Is that all" should be their slogan.....
I went to a totaly different location and the girl was as upset and rude as posable when she found out I only wanted a coil head and a litltle starter tank.
Next time I go in I should ask to buy 7 Nautilus tanks 7 Spinner batteries and 600 ml of e fluid and tell them to do the math of how many bottles that would be, one of each flavor....then be like- opps forgot my wallet after they take it all out of the shelf....
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If anyone lives in Mesa, AZ - heck, if you live in the greater Phoenix area and don't mind a trip - I REALLY recommend checking out Kidney Puncher's B&M. (Hint: you can shop online and select in-store pickup).
First time I went in there it was crowded but the owner (Craig) came out and greeted me, helped me with my order, very helpful and informative about some questions I had. Second time I went there, was a similar experience - I went in looking for juices and a Kayfun clone and I got what I wanted and more help than I really expected.
First time I went in there it was crowded but the owner (Craig) came out and greeted me, helped me with my order, very helpful and informative about some questions I had. Second time I went there, was a similar experience - I went in looking for juices and a Kayfun clone and I got what I wanted and more help than I really expected.
I did at first as there was a couple of dudes that were just hanging around at my local shop which I didn't like
but I soon changed as I caught on that even the staff were tying to rip me of.
What happen was I was asking the shop attendant could I use my X6 Variable Voltage Battery with a Nautilus mini tank and
before he could speak a young lady who also worked there said no you will need a better battery.
She was trying to sell me a more expensive battery so I just got some juice and left.
After doing some online research I now realized the X6 was OK with the Nautilus tank so I popped in to this shop
and purchased the Nautilus tank which is working well with my X6 battery.
I cant say I will be returning to the shop as i have found a more honest seller in the town.
So the moral of my story is to shop around.
but I soon changed as I caught on that even the staff were tying to rip me of.
What happen was I was asking the shop attendant could I use my X6 Variable Voltage Battery with a Nautilus mini tank and
before he could speak a young lady who also worked there said no you will need a better battery.
She was trying to sell me a more expensive battery so I just got some juice and left.
After doing some online research I now realized the X6 was OK with the Nautilus tank so I popped in to this shop
and purchased the Nautilus tank which is working well with my X6 battery.
I cant say I will be returning to the shop as i have found a more honest seller in the town.
So the moral of my story is to shop around.
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The shop near me Vape Boss seems to be a pretty cool place. The employees I have met so far are very knowledgeable, however, they are a bit pricey on their equipment, however, their juice seems to be on par with most going rates and some of it is quite good. They have a nice set of couches that people vape and chat on the only major issue I have is their are no chairs at the testing station for the juice...
When I say pricey on their mods I mean quite often they are charging $30+ more for a mech mod. Which is not too bad but I am not sure how much they are getting them for so the profit margin may be a bit high. For instance average going rate for my Gus Lord Clone looking around is about $45 + shipping at vape boss they want $72 which I paid to give them a bit of support. I mean sure you can get the mod on FastTech for a lot cheaper then everywhere else I have found but their shipping has been horrid for me still waiting on a mod I ordered 2.5 weeks ago... So I bought my current setup at vape boss because I got tired of waiting.
When I say pricey on their mods I mean quite often they are charging $30+ more for a mech mod. Which is not too bad but I am not sure how much they are getting them for so the profit margin may be a bit high. For instance average going rate for my Gus Lord Clone looking around is about $45 + shipping at vape boss they want $72 which I paid to give them a bit of support. I mean sure you can get the mod on FastTech for a lot cheaper then everywhere else I have found but their shipping has been horrid for me still waiting on a mod I ordered 2.5 weeks ago... So I bought my current setup at vape boss because I got tired of waiting.
As i live in Northern Ireland Vape shops are very few and very far between (only three in Belfast at this time) and I have been forced to buy primarily online from sites such as Vapemate and Totally Wicked along with ebay in order to vape at all.
However just this morning i made my way to Belfast in order to see if I could find a reasonably local shop for supplies rather than fork out for shipping....
...i would say i was unimpressed but I've never been one for understatement.
Under the delusion that the more professionally owned and bigger companies that made there way to my little island would perhaps be the best option i opted to first got to KIX. I wont say that the staff were unprofessional at all but they were sadly misinformed on a number of levels. The BPD to fluid ratio was incredibly far out and they expected another customer (a 1 pack a day man) to be hitting a 1.8mg coffee juice with a caffine "KIX" and sold him a pretty standard eGo-Twist to vape from.
Now thats not too bad, the guy may well enjoy having a buzz so hard he wont sleep for a week with a throat hit and nic level that he wont be able to handle, after all who am i to judge. Then came my turn. As anyone that reads my nub Reviews! i recently bought a Maraxus v2 mech mod and needed a battery or two for it, i was recommended a UltraFire BRC 18650 4200mAh (apparently its rated at only 3amps) as suitable for various builds in my RDA. As i was running a 1.0ohm build i was told that this was "perfectly safe" and "more than within the tolerances for the battery".....yes it fired...it is NOT safe.
Just yesterday i went back and attempted to speak to the manager, the reply was epic and left me stunned...
...."im sorry sir i truly am, but how can you expect our staff to know exactly what you intend to use the batteries for? you cannot possibly expect us to have that level of knowledge on what a product that we don't now can you? after all this whole vaping thing is still very hit and miss now isnt it?"
....i left before i could say anything else and ordered a AW IMR 18650 and spent the last fourtyish mins attempting to come to terms with what i had just been told by a so called professional.
Now i did hot onle more shop in Belfast before i jumped in the car and that was a little shop inspiringly called "the e-cig shop" (apt dontcha think?) who was basically a market stall in a shop front with a load of basic twists, a few MVP style box mods and even a couple of cheap copper mechs as well as a surprising array of juice's and (clearly cloned) tanks and toppers.
10ml of cola, 10ml of strawberry, 30ml of Bavarian cream and a bottle of apple pie VG zero for baby clouding and a shiny new ViVi Nova clone in my bag all for the low low price of £24.99 as well as a few 1ml samples of some of the more unusual flavours (yes the guy is fantastic) and it put a whole new twist on the day as a whole.
What im saying is at the end of the day is that professional money makers do not good vapers make and enthusiasts wanting to pay it forward tend not to make for great buisness owners but i'll tell you this for nothing, i know which store im going back to in the future if i run low on juice and dont want to wait for delivery.
However just this morning i made my way to Belfast in order to see if I could find a reasonably local shop for supplies rather than fork out for shipping....
...i would say i was unimpressed but I've never been one for understatement.
Under the delusion that the more professionally owned and bigger companies that made there way to my little island would perhaps be the best option i opted to first got to KIX. I wont say that the staff were unprofessional at all but they were sadly misinformed on a number of levels. The BPD to fluid ratio was incredibly far out and they expected another customer (a 1 pack a day man) to be hitting a 1.8mg coffee juice with a caffine "KIX" and sold him a pretty standard eGo-Twist to vape from.
Now thats not too bad, the guy may well enjoy having a buzz so hard he wont sleep for a week with a throat hit and nic level that he wont be able to handle, after all who am i to judge. Then came my turn. As anyone that reads my nub Reviews! i recently bought a Maraxus v2 mech mod and needed a battery or two for it, i was recommended a UltraFire BRC 18650 4200mAh (apparently its rated at only 3amps) as suitable for various builds in my RDA. As i was running a 1.0ohm build i was told that this was "perfectly safe" and "more than within the tolerances for the battery".....yes it fired...it is NOT safe.
Just yesterday i went back and attempted to speak to the manager, the reply was epic and left me stunned...
...."im sorry sir i truly am, but how can you expect our staff to know exactly what you intend to use the batteries for? you cannot possibly expect us to have that level of knowledge on what a product that we don't now can you? after all this whole vaping thing is still very hit and miss now isnt it?"
....i left before i could say anything else and ordered a AW IMR 18650 and spent the last fourtyish mins attempting to come to terms with what i had just been told by a so called professional.
Now i did hot onle more shop in Belfast before i jumped in the car and that was a little shop inspiringly called "the e-cig shop" (apt dontcha think?) who was basically a market stall in a shop front with a load of basic twists, a few MVP style box mods and even a couple of cheap copper mechs as well as a surprising array of juice's and (clearly cloned) tanks and toppers.
10ml of cola, 10ml of strawberry, 30ml of Bavarian cream and a bottle of apple pie VG zero for baby clouding and a shiny new ViVi Nova clone in my bag all for the low low price of £24.99 as well as a few 1ml samples of some of the more unusual flavours (yes the guy is fantastic) and it put a whole new twist on the day as a whole.
What im saying is at the end of the day is that professional money makers do not good vapers make and enthusiasts wanting to pay it forward tend not to make for great buisness owners but i'll tell you this for nothing, i know which store im going back to in the future if i run low on juice and dont want to wait for delivery.
When I was a total n00b (so new, I didn't even know what to ask), I felt terribly uncomfortable. Like I was expected to have read 500 threads here before I even thought about walking into the guy's shop. I knew ZERO about vaping. Didn't even know we HAD a shop in town (we actually have THREE, plus gas stations). I felt like a boob. But, I suffered through - and read read read.
Now, I think I know more than some of the employees.
So it's not uncomfortable anymore. At least not for me.
Now, I think I know more than some of the employees.
So it's not uncomfortable anymore. At least not for me.
There are very few B&M stores where I live. I have only been to one which is 40 min away and they only sold only one line of cheap nasty pre packaged juice that I have never heard of, and they had little knowledge about their products. I haven't been back since. They were very focused on the fact that I was female and that made me super uncomfortable...I buy everything online, needless to say. I am encouraged to see that another has popped up a few towns over and plan on checking it out soon, because it would sure be nice to have somewhere local in case of a coil or juice emergency! It's an untapped market here and I feel like a good shop could really do well with a little effort.
Only online for me...like not having to actually talk with the salesperson. My favorite vendor so far has been viasi...they are quick and cheap for really good quality juice. Just my 2 cents...and if you use them, use coupon bubblepop (50% off)! I told them I was going to tell every single person I come in contact with about them. Vape on...
Can't say I have thusfar. Only been in two shops though, both of which had friendly, helpful staff. The second one I went into for the first time yesterday. There were a bunch sitting down vaping, the employee among them. When I walked in, he put his vape, came over and asked if he could help. As I tried a few flavours, he went back to the group, but got up again as soon as I needed assistance. Answered some newb questions I had about fluids cracking the tank (Gotta get a nautalus) and left. All in all a good time. I'd go back to either shop.
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