anyone feel awkward in vape shops

[imsoenthused]

To be real honest, I find that if you pull up on a nice loud motorcycle and have a handlebar moustache the question is more if they feel awkward. I wouldn't say I felt awkward even in the stores that I thought were bad, so much as disappointed and disapproving.

 

[AndriaD]

I feel awkward trying dozens of flavors and then leaving without buying anything. It's even worse when I'm the only person in there and the person working is just sort of watching me try flavors. I have found shops with good atmosphere though. I go to them before anywhere else.

Yeah, the guy running The vaping Shack, which I started going into when it first started up, is just such a nice guy, I won't go in and take up his time tasting stuff, unless I know I'm going to buy at least one flavor. He knows I don't buy much, but he seems quite cool with spending an hour or more letting me taste stuff, because he knows I'll buy *something* -- and I got my first T3S there, and my first "real" drip tip.

Andria

 

[iamthevoice]

One of the shops that just opened up recently is the one that I've been going to and any awkwardness is generally caused by the fact that the place is fairly small and usually full of people! If you're in Ottawa, Canada, stop by Sir Vape A Lot, great place with a great owner!

 

[landoawd]

I've been incredibly comfortable in the local vape shops (Vapor Girl). I think that, and the juice bar/quality of liquid have been major components in my success.

The down side is that my wallet gets lighter with each visit, and I've gone from "gateway" VV mods to mech builds.

 

[Beatlemania]

I think if you feel awkward in a shop you are in a bad shop, I spent two days doing research before I went in and was still overwhelmed. The staff was awesome and went through every product I wanted to try and many I didn't even think to look at. I got burnt by a crappy $40 Kangar clone from there that the battery came apart the first day, but still will go back because the staff were very helpful.

 

[LJFinFLA]

Most of the time I don't feel awkward. I basically just go in to browse, since most of the shops are over priced and I want to see what something looks like up close instead of a picture on a web site. I understand that they have overhead but marking something up 5 times what you can pay for on the web is not exactly good business. I mean even juices. I went to one store and bought a 30 ml bottle on someones recommendation. When I got home on looked on their web site that same bottle was half of the cost even with shipping. Really???

 

[RainbowBabz]

The actual vape stores I go to (mini-chain, four locations, three of which I go to) I don't feel uncomfortable in. One of the locations I've actually made friends with some of the staff and hope to work at sometime soon. The smaller smoke shop that actually started me vaping, I had been buying my cigarettes at for a few years before making the switch, so I feel pretty comfortable there too. But I'm still looking towards getting stuff online as it could be cheaper in the long run. And I could see myself feeling awkward in different stores though.
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[Jaylah]

I do buy stuff on-line. Like I can get rebuilt coils at my B&M shop for $1.50, but can get new ones on-line at $1.47 or so.

But I do buy things at my local B&M sometimes, even if they're a bit more than I would pay on-line, because I want them to be able to stay in business. What if I'm not paying attention and run out of coils? Do I just stop vaping for the 4 or 5 days (assuming there's no weekend in the middle) it takes for an on-line order to reach me? Or what if I break my battery? (Okay, not such a big problem now that I have two, but still...)

And they are very helpful, answering all of my questions both when I was a total newcomer to the idea of vaping, and now that I know just enough to be dangerous. They made my transition from smoking to vaping painless enough that I want them to be there for others.

I've never felt any pressure to buy anything when I'm there, although I usually at least buy a 5ml bottle of juice when I stop in just to play around at the tasting bar.

No kids there bragging about their clouds. I think the funniest thing I've ever seen there were these two guys that came in asking about weed-juice. Of course, Doris told them they didn't sell it. They were acting like they didn't know a thing about vaping and wanted to know, so Doris was starting to explain and then the guy doing all the talking pulled out a battery. So after they left (because they were only looking to find something the shop didn't sell ) Doris and I were laughing about them wanting her to believe they knew nothing about vaping, but -- somehow -- had a battery.

 

[SoftSell]

We have four in my area. One "big" shop where everyone is very helpful, but I was very uncomfortable going to for the first few months. Shiney mods in one "experts" area (so I thought), egos in another area which was always packed. I feel very confident walking in there now, usually only to get batteries/kanthal, maaaaybe juice. The other 3 shops are jokes. Unprofessional, not helpful, subpar juice, I feel awkward in them because of how god awful they are.


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[KiMB00P]

I felt awkward the first time I went into a vape shop, but the more comfortable I got with my devices, the more comfortable I got with the staff at the b&m's I frequent.

 

[kinggirl]

I never felt awkward about knowledge or learning, but there is one particular store by me that seems like everyone there is MAYBE 20 years old and they are chain vaping. Most of them have lanyards and I seriously questioned if they had a vape quota they had to hit. The awkward part was that the sales person helping me seriously couldn't complete a sentence without vaping 3 times in the middle. It was like imagining someone being on an oxygen tank to breathe and replacing it with vaping. That made me feel awkward. I wanted to ask them "OMG are you ok?" They looked at me like I was crazy for not chainvaping. Yeah, didn't go back there.

 

[Lurch]

Luckily I have a great shop within a mile of home. They got me started, answered my questions, walked me through it. Now I go in at least once a week and take them a cup of coffee!

 

[landoawd]

Now I go in at least once a week and take them a cup of coffee!

My personal favorite SERVES coffee. I can't even show up without flushing an hour down the drain.

 

[Christina Pennington]

Yes, uncomfortable is an understatement. I go in and it's like 5 dudes acting like seagulls that just got thrown bread. They all hover over to me because apparently it's weird for a girl to go in a shop that vapes. Enough to the point where the attention is annoying and I just leave and order online.

 

[amolson]

My personal favorite SERVES coffee. I can't even show up without flushing an hour down the drain.

Yeah, my favorite barber shop of all time had coffee and Jack while you were waiting. Very old fashioned. Great haircuts, too. especially for $12. They got really healthy tips, especially when I got one of the old guys who really knew how to do a good flat top.

Now that's the kind of B&M I could get behind. My two local ones, well, they're fun. But like school, they're pretty much for the regular college age crew. Don't get me wrong, I love the 'kids' I teach, but there are times ...

Wonder if the occasional B&M for us old critters will ever make a go of it. More like a cigar lounge, and less like a college lounge.

 

[Big Southpaw]

Yes, uncomfortable is an understatement. I go in and it's like 5 dudes acting like seagulls that just got thrown bread. They all hover over to me because apparently it's weird for a girl to go in a shop that vapes. Enough to the point where the attention is annoying and I just leave and order online.

This will probably shock you but many of the shops around here actually have more female employees. One small chain has nothing but women working the counter. I am usually pretty uncomfortable at shops, but have found one I like…it looks professional and is well stocked and the prices are close to what you can get on line.

The thing I dislike but understand about shops is the they immediately push you toward the juices, especially the house juices…wonder where the profit margin lies?

 

[dbrandt01]

i agree with you on that, the local shope does that too here in Alabama

 

[DaveP]

If a smoke shop is "also" selling ecigs there will be one counter section for ecigs. The rest of the store is about tobacco and head shop items.

I'm fortunate to have Stormy's Vapor Cellar about 5 miles away. Nice people who talk vaping and do everything they can to make sure you get what you want or need. There's a vapor bar with at least 60 juices in Vivi Nova tanks and a free Keurig coffee maker with all sorts of flavors. They have tables and chairs to sit and talk and vape and prices are fair.

Carolyn, the owner decided at opening that she would price everything as low as possible to try and match what a typical customer would pay for an order online vs in the store. I think that's completely fair since she has far more overhead in a store front than in a warehouse location. So I pay a buck or two more at the shop, but I get it now and would have had to pay for USPS Priority shipping if I used the web site and waited a couple of days for the order to arrive. Plus, if something isn't right and needs to be returned, they do it over the counter with a smile and an apology for your trouble.

It's worth a little extra to be able to walk in and handle the demos to decide if something is really what you want. For years I had to look at pictures and read reviews. I still do that, but when I buy I get to pick it up and check it out in person. It's amazing how heavy and massive some mods are and you don't see that in the online pictures.

 

[vicarvayp]

Although there aren't a huge amount of vape shops in London, I get the feeling that most (not all) are overpriced trying to rip off people new to vaping. I used to feel guilty trying their samples, but when they mention that their prices are double what I have seen online I feel no guilt walking straight out the door.

Also as a side note, too many sop assistants who don't know enough to try and sell you, quite a few have even admitted to me that they don't even vape. Seems liek quite a few shops a started by passionate owners struggling to find knowledgeable staff

 

[MalkinMania71]

Try walking into a vape shop as a 40 year old woman with a business suit on. They look at you like you may be lost or something.