[B]Tip to vape store owners!! [/B]

[OzarkTroutBum]

I was in Dallas over the weekend and hit a few of the NUMEROUS vape stores. Notice I say NUMEROUS because you do have local competition.... plus the internet. People have a choice as to where they spend their cash.

Remind your employees they are they there to help customers and to sell your gear and not to fiddle with their OWN mods and have a job where you can vape all day. 1 store I went to getting answers to questions was like pulling hens teeth as the kid was completely distracted with his own crap. Fix your coil on your own time, I have better things to do than try to get/hold your attention.

Another store had employees rebuilding their own coils on the counter where all the APV's were. I couldn't see the products because of all their crap in the way. Get a work bench! Not a good idea to cover the most expensive products in your shop with the cheapest items in your shop so your employees can have a sub ohm cloud contest.

If a customer comes in and starts asking questions about specific products, open the case and HAND it to them. Don't make them continually ask to see it. Also maybe a card identifying the product and the price would be a good touch. I was looking for tanks and continually had to ask can I see it, how much is it? I felt like I was putting the sales people out while they dialed their mod in and enjoyed their vapes.

If you don't have a juice bar, I'm not buying your juice. If I want to buy juice blind I'll order it off the internet at 50% off of what you are selling it for. Putting bottles out for sniffing or whatever is a poor substitute but works out great for your employees topping off their own tanks which I saw them doing.

Educate your employees and setup regular training and have them use the various types of devices and not just drippers or carto tanks or whatever they are personally into.
I got one kid that was so clueless and couldn't really explain to me the difference between a vivi nova and a protank other than the protank was glass. He had NO IDEA that one was top coil and the other bcc or why you would want one over the other except that glass was better. Sadly he was one of the most attentive sales people I got all day, must have been his first day.

So several stores in Dallas let my $100 walk right out the door. Was it yours??

 

[Myrany]

PM me the list of stores to pass by in Dallas. I go there a few times a year and Dallas really is the closest B&Ms for me.

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

PM me the list of stores to pass by in Dallas. I go there a few times a year and Dallas really is the closest B&Ms for me.

I wouldn't pass any by based on my recommendation. 2 of them I went based on recommendations I got here so I guess its a YMMV situation.

None of them were just outright rude or anything. Just poorly managed and in dire need of a tuneup. Pretty sure they were all in their first year of B&M business and they'll either find their way or fail. They occupy expensive real estate and have multiple employees and letting money walk out the door isn't going to keep them open.

 

[blklion77]

I'm in NC and there's 1B&M vape shop where I live. They guy that runs will admit if doesn't know something but will try to find out for you. If your ever Rocky Mount NC its called the vapor shoppe

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

I'm in NC and there's 1B&M vape shop where I live. They guy that runs will admit if doesn't know something but will try to find out for you. If your ever Rocky Mount NC its called the vapor shoppe

I know. I live in rural Arkansas and the closest shop for me is 60 miles away. The owner is a walking vape wiki and has pretty much been there and done that.

His shop is stocked to the hilt with ALL levels of gear and he can explain the advantages or even disadvantages of all of it. He is not afraid to give an unbiased opinion on an item he stocks even if it costs a sale. Subsequently his stuff is flying off the shelves and the established vape community embraces him wholly.

I guess I was spoiled from the get go.

 

[DC2]

Some of the vape shops I have been to around here are exactly as you described, but there are some really good ones here too.
It really all comes down to how knowledgeable and motivated the employees are.

Of course, that is pretty much true for most any business.
But for some reason it seems to be more of a problem in this business.

 

[Cjax]

I know. I live in rural Arkansas and the closest shop for me is 60 miles away. The owner is a walking vape wiki and has pretty much been there and done that.

His shop is stocked to the hilt with ALL levels of gear and he can explain the advantages or even disadvantages of all of it. He is not afraid to give an unbiased opinion on an item he stocks even if it costs a sale. Subsequently his stuff is flying off the shelves and the established vape community embraces him wholly.

I guess I was spoiled from the get go.

You are very lucky. Up until a few months ago we had only 1shop here and if it was more advanced than a 650mah ego-t upgrade they were useless. I think they still had a Chuck in the display case! Nothing wrong with Chucks, but how much has come out in the last year alone?! We now have a couple more really good shops in the area, but being a b&m, their stuff is kinda pricey, still at least they give a crap about their customers and don't get pissy when someone walks into the store and makes them put down the x box 360 controller.

 

[nnote]

I'm basicly self sufficient in all things vaping, (diy and rba and homemade mods) so I don't need to visit any B&M's but I did once. They had a juice bar of CE4's filled with juice. I wanted to sample one and I was offered a battery if I needed, but I had my own so no need. When I put it on my battery I asked the owner what the ohms were so I could adjust my battery "Hm, I don't know... I'll have to look into that", was NOT the answer of the day for sure.
There's a local G+ vapors group. One eve a new vapor posted that she bought a carto tank combo at a local B&M and that it tasted horribly burnt. Turns out the shop sold her the tank and carto, and didn't bother to inform her anything about how to fill it and use it.
To many people see the growth in the ECIG buisness as a money in their pocket opportunity only.

 

[DigitalVI]

I feel pretty lucky. The local B&M near me is the best I have found in the area, and living in the DFW metroplex there is a lot of B&m's. Well informed, very helpful, great selection. The owner is the staff, and this is what makes the difference in my opinion. He started vaping and decided to open a shop. Takes time to explain how things work, has 120 flavors of juice to sample at your leisure. No pressure for you to make a purchase, but full support if you decide to.

Dan

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

Of course, that is pretty much true for most any business.
But for some reason it seems to be more of a problem in this business.

Reminded me of the snooty record store employees back in the 70's.

For all you younguns out there, a record store was where we used to have go to buy music, mostly vinyl, but they sometimes had 8 tracks or cassette tapes too. You'll have to Google 8 tracks....
Anyway, the people that worked in these record stores generally had their heads up their a$$es if you weren't buying what they were into or were recommending. Whatever it was you were buying was already old news to them.

but being a b&m, their stuff is kinda pricey,

I expect to pay some markup at a B&M. Nobody is giving them that real estate to operate from. Hard to compete with an internet only store being run out of someones 2 car garage.

 

[Fulgurant]

Of course, that is pretty much true for most any business.
But for some reason it seems to be more of a problem in this business.

It's just a young industry -- plagued by all of the practical problems in any retail business (most notably the high turnover rate of low-paid employees, which makes training them properly a difficult and often thankless task), combined with the difficulty of keeping up with an inchoate and quickly evolving marketplace (complete with the looming threat of apocalyptic government regulations). Add to all of that that vaping is a stigmatized and widely misunderstood activity, which limits the practical pool of employees before you even think about training them.

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that the OP didn't find worse conduct in some of the stores he visited. Clueless employees in any technically oriented retail position aren't exactly rare even in mainstream stores; the tech-inept Best Buy techie is a cliche for a reason. But usually it's not entirely the employees' fault; we shouldn't be too tough on them. Given what they're paid, and given what passes for training at most any retailer, I tend to think that a retail associate who admits ignorance on a technical question is refreshingly responsible.

Far better to have the employee tell you he doesn't know about this-or-that piece of vaping hardware (which, in niche cases, could blow your head off) than to have him pull an answer from his backside.

EDIT: None of the above is to say that employees shouldn't be attentive and professional, but again I think it's just a matter of the employer not necessarily knowing how to run a tight ship. Which, after all of that, is kinda the OP's point.

 

[03FXDWG]

The St. Louis area is the same as the Dallas area it would seem. I have been to 2 shops where the owners are actually in attendance & extremely helpful & knowledgeable but the other 3 I stopped in had employees fiddling with their own stuff, ignored confused looking customers, rude salespeople, prices seemed to be made up on the fly because they weren't marked anywhere, etc. The newest, high rent one was the worst even though terrorizing the {MODERATED} behind the counter was fun! I know it is a satellite of another one so I still plan to stop in the original store when I'm in the area but if I lived closer to the metro area; I'd cash in a 401k and open my own store in a heartbeat. My favorite store so far is one of the oldest and is run out of the owners garage. It is just one block from a mall and a very high traffic area. It is cramped but the personal service he and his staff give can't be matched.

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

Far better to have the employee tell you he doesn't know about this-or-that piece of vaping hardware (which, in niche cases, could blow your head off) than to have him pull an answer from his backside.

EDIT: None of the above is to say that employees shouldn't be attentive and professional, but again I think it's just a matter of the employer not necessarily knowing how to run a tight ship. Which, after all of that, is kinda the OP's point.

Other than fiddling with your own crap instead of paying attention to customers, it's all about the owner/manager. Low paid, high turnover employees should not be expected to purchase and use high end APV's and half a dozen different delivery devices but this falls back on management making training for those devices available even if its as simple as providing different toppers and getting them to use them a day or two before swapping for another device (after cleaning and recoiling) that another employee has been using.


To their credit I really didn't get any bad advice BUT I wasn't interested in or asking about mechs where I could have really gotten in trouble. My interest was specific and I get more info here than in any of the shops I visited.

 

[DC2]

I tend to think that a retail associate who admits ignorance on a technical question is refreshingly responsible.

Oh my.... I think....... I think I feel a rant coming on..............

[RANT]
You know what I hate?
What I really, really, really hate?

I call Customer Service to ask a question about a product...
And I get a reply that includes the words "I think" somewhere in there...

Q: How many bobbinsnaps can the widget hold?
A: Ummmm, I think it holds five bobbinsnaps.

This is where you don't want to see a picture of me on the other end of the phone.
But I can assure you that if I wanted an opinion instead of answer, I could have gotten one from my dog.
[/RANT]

 

[wharr]

Nice post. We have one just like that here in Ga. Employees vaping and building thier own while talking to customers. I havent been back
They used to be the only show in town. Now they are surrounded by good clean competition.

 

[oxygen thief]

I ran 5 stereo stores from the mid 70's to mid 80's. I constantly had ads running for people. It was straight commission and intense pressure to sell. But I had to keep at it--training all of the time, how to sell, product knowledge. Even if a guy was brand new, he could sell if he showed that he wanted to and would find the answers. You have to be motivated.
I would never tolerate sales people doing what I've read here and I was never some hard ... but I was sincere that we had a job to do.
If those people didn't have me on the sales floor to help with answers then what you got was what you get.
Retail is tough but owners have to find answers to those issues. Most of those sales people were probably left on their own day after day. I had a VP of sales to answer to and I liked when he smiled.
That's the owners fault and like someone said it's not just ecig stores.

 

[DougFNJ]

I've been in customer service for over 20 years. Whether I was high paid, or low paid, I was still being paid. I wanted to make an impression and build bridges by impressing my bosses, building a good resume, and if I needed to work there again, I had a job. I do not find this much in the service industry. Too many times I walk into stores of many types and find I am inconveniencing the person behind the counter with my mere presence. I reward that attitude with going elsewhere.

Unfortunately in NJ there are not a lot of shops yet. The few there are do not realize the gold mine they are sitting on with low competition, and as someone else mentioned, if they don't grab the opportunity, they will be gone as others rise and flourish.

I also don't understand what the business owner is doing with their day that is so important that they can not manage daily operations on site, but that is their own business. If I weren't so busy on my own job, I would be so tempted to open something...such great opportunity out there......

 

[Brian Catalino]

It was a completely inappropriate comment. I just ignored him, people like that crave validation and they won't get it from me.

I didn't get the impression he was talking about EVERY single person who gets food stamps. Just he ones who abuse them. There are of course many people who really do need them.

 

[Nermal]

If a customer comes in and starts asking questions about specific products, open the case and HAND it to them. Don't make them continually ask to see it. Also maybe a card identifying the product and the price would be a good touch. I was looking for tanks and continually had to ask can I see it, how much is it? I felt like I was putting the sales people out while they dialed their mod in and enjoyed their vapes.

Now, that strikes a major chord. I've been in two vape shops in Farmington, NM, and three in Albuquerque and not a single one has marked prices. I should probably not be thinking the sales person is sizing me up to decide how gullible and how rich I am, but that is the first and last thought that comes to mind. And how 'bout those brand names? I spend some time on ECF, so if they're selling an Evod, I have an idea of what it is, or can look it up. Two of these stores use their own brand name, so what am I supposed to make of a TKO WhizBang? Is the WhizBang head compatible with a Kanger head, or am I locked in to buying from the same store forever more?

At least one store in Farmington has a good line of known brands in and amongst the clones. Some of the people have good knowledge and are willing to share. Some seem to be reciting for reading from little cue cards. This is my favorite store, for better or worse.

 

[Myk]

Some of what you mention is marketing (the hiding of prices). It may not work on you but it obviously works on the brain dead masses. You often see people working in clothing going around hiding price tags, if you have to pause and look you pause and consider buying, even better if you have to ask someone. It may not work on you but it does work on others.
I would never buy anything from a 30 minute paid programming commercial (and because of too much paid programming I stopped paying for cable TV before paid programming stations were invented), but obviously that marketing works on others.

Having people work on their coils is actually good, although doing it to block the merchandise or delaying helping a customer is not. That gives the customer the impression they know something. More marketing that may not work on you but does work on others.

I agree about tasting. If they won't let you taste you may as well go online.