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

[tapout1003]

I've said this before and I'll say it again. There are people opening ecig businesses that shouldn't be in business. The investment to get into this business is so small it's too easy. It happens online and brick and motor locations. We've had 4 stores open in my area in the last 3 months. All 4 of them have no clue.

 

[budda1114]

Here in Orlando we have several stores. One of the B&M has 2 stores and functions on line as well. They actually have some well trained staff that really helped me out. But, that being said, that was with beginner information. The moment I mentioned something about rebuilding several employees turned their heads in disbelief.

I have been in both of their stores and they are constantly busy. I wait patiently for my turn and honestly their staff is great. The prices are a little higher than I would like to see but I do support them and pick up a few things there. I do refer people at work to the store so they can get the basic set up and basic information.

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

I've said this before and I'll say it again. There are people opening ecig businesses that shouldn't be in business. The investment to get into this business is so small it's too easy. It happens online and brick and motor locations. We've had 4 stores open in my area in the last 3 months. All 4 of them have no clue.

They do seem to be popping up like weeds in springtime.

 

[DABinTX]

If you're in the Dallas area, there's DFW Vapor which is a pretty decent store. They have a couple stores and an online store. The 2 times I've been there (the one in Lewisville), they were packed. They seemed to be helping customers, until the customer was satisfied. Answered all my questions.

As for the new place in The Colony, I wouldn't ever recommend them. I ran in quickly to just get a few eGo toppers, to hold me over until my Provari arrived in the mail. I explained this to the lady, then proceeded to ask her opinion and she gives me a blank look and says, "What's a Provari?" It was time for me to leave.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Prreach it, brother, preach it!!! I agree with everything you said 110%.

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??

 

[Amd6547]

I wish we had even bad service stores here...I have not found a single store in Cleveland. In fact, I sometimes feel like the only vaper in town...

 

[Maggie3199]

Sadly, this story could be applied to just about every minimum wage paying business in our country. The Hubs and I travel all over and this attitude is rampant. If there isn't a pv to mess with, it's their phones. Sometimes you can't even get waited on because of the texting and such. Now, I LOVE gadgets but work is work and too many of our young people cannot/haven't been trained to know the difference. Their employers do them no favors by allowing/looking the other way on this. IMHO, these jobs are less about making money and more about teaching a decent work ethic to the young people that will someday run this country. Keep watering it down and watering it down and eventually you have nothing!

 

[Rocketpunk]

I am ashamed to even admit this, our B&M has an employee like that, too. Will completely ignore customers to fix hot spots on his RSST or fiddle with his set-up. Since I work with him, it's gotten to be very, very, very annoying.

 

[danca90]

I won't go to the best stocked B&M because of things like that. 3 local shops have really nice employes, 2 of them have very knowledgeable employes. Sadly, the one with the best price, nicest set up, and biggest stock only hire people who are too good to work.

 

[Maggie3199]

I wish we had even bad service stores here...I have not found a single store in Cleveland. In fact, I sometimes feel like the only vaper in town...

I'm 40 miles south of you and there's nothing down here either. I've heard there's one in Akron but haven't been over there. Earlier someone talked about a market ripe for the taking but I don't know enough about vaping yet to even consider it. Thinking Toledo has at least one store and not sure about anything in between. That's a pretty big radius there for the plucking.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Nashville has THREE B&M's now?! Wow. I thought there was only one! My GF worked at Vandy but moved to Chattanooga recently. She visited Nashville all the time and pointed out the B&M to me.

 

[Maggie3199]

I am ashamed to even admit this, our B&M has an employee like that, too. Will completely ignore customers to fix hot spots on his RSST or fiddle with his set-up. Since I work with him, it's gotten to be very, very, very annoying.

In our house we call that the "Bobby syndrome", everyone has worked with one of those people that will fiddle fart around all day and let the others pick up his slack. Yep, he's a Bobby!!

 

[Rocketpunk]

I'm 40 miles south of you and there's nothing down here either. I've heard there's one in Akron but haven't been over there. Earlier someone talked about a market ripe for the taking but I don't know enough about vaping yet to even consider it. Thinking Toledo has at least one store and not sure about anything in between. That's a pretty big radius there for the plucking.

I think there might be an AltSmoke store in Cleveland. Or it may be Cincinatti. Or Columbus. I hate Ohio's "C" cities, I always get them mixed up.

 

[EvilZoe]

I wish we had even bad service stores here...I have not found a single store in Cleveland. In fact, I sometimes feel like the only vaper in town...

You'll have to go all the way to Mayfield Hts. for one.

E-Cignificance - Mayfield Heights, OH - ECF E Cigarette Store Locator

 

[Maggie3199]

I think there might be an AltSmoke store in Cleveland. Or it may be Cincinatti. Or Columbus. I hate Ohio's "C" states, I always get them mixed up.

I know that one is in Cincy, not sure if they're a small chain or it's just there. Was looking it up for a relative and wow, the pics from that store were amazing!

 

[Rocketpunk]

AltSmoke is an awesome vendor.

 

[danca90]

Nashville has THREE B&M's now?! Wow. I thought there was only one! My GF worked at Vandy but moved to Chattanooga recently. She visited Nashville all the time and pointed out the B&M to me.

A lot more than 3, but only 3 are on my weekly routs.

 

[Maggie3199]

I wish we had even bad service stores here...I have not found a single store in Cleveland. In fact, I sometimes feel like the only vaper in town...

This is all that I found for Akron/Cleveland area.............Ohio vaping shops.

Might have to make a trip over to the one in Macedonia, looks pretty nice!!

On second thought...........scratch that!!

 

[glittle75]

Altsmoke is in Cincy, Columbus, and a few other cities, google them, they all come up.
GREAT store, and great people there. I go to the one in Cincy. I have not ONCE seen an employee on the phone texting, messing with thier own PV, or anything. They are very customer oriented. They will not let that money walk out the door.
One thing that keeps me coming back is the juice bar, which is awesome, and the fact that whether they sell an Ego-t, Mech, or an APV, they make sure that you know how to use it going out the door.
When you buy, you check out at the register, then they put everything in a little basket, take you to a table, sit down, and show you how to fill, charge, and use whatever it is you buy. If you have questions, anyone there will stop what they are doing to help.

Very top-notch store, and they are constantly busy. I buy hardware online, but I go there for juice, even though I could get it cheaper online, because they have EARNED my business.

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

They are very customer oriented. They will not let that money walk out the door.

You'd think that would be the goal. Getting people what they need, within their budget and keep them coming back.