begin : Rant

[dirty_luck]

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

ok, now that's out of the way.

I was in a vape shop yesterday, one I had never been in before. They had just opened in the last month or so. anyways, i was sampling some of the goods and juices (had a couple of ok flavors, but none were really "spot-on" with what they were supposed to be) and after i found one i really liked I asked the girl behind the counter what pg/vg ratio they use and she told me 70/30. so i said ok, do you have anything with more vg like a 20/80 or even 100 vg mix? i told her i can't do high pg juice because it makes me feel reallly jittery and panicky. her reply is a dumb-founded look and she just says i can just give you 100% vg juice, i'm like yeah.....then she asks if i want any flavoring in it.......so i say yeah....her next question, do you want any nicotine in it?..........yeah...she says ok and hops up and starts to head to the back saying she can mix up any of them i want, she makes it about half way there and stops and says, i can't do it. we are out of nicotine juice. we mix all of our juices twice a week and i just got done mixing for this week. i can have you some next week. so i said no thanks, i live almost an hour away and can't promise i'll be in next week and left.

the moral of this story and my rant is what is the deal with people opening vape shops or even working at a vape shop and they honestly seem like they know absolutely [MODERATED] about what they are doing or even selling.

I don't get it, that lady was the juice mixer for that shop and she had never heard of mixing 100 vg juice or 20/80..she is the juice maker for them....

it's not just that one shop, i have been in several where the employee's were either just rude or didn't know what they were doing but acted like they knew everything.

another case in point and i will shut up

i went do a different shop a couple of weeks prior to the juice lady incedent. same scenario, new shop, different town. only this time the people running it had been working at another vape shop and have been around it for awhile and weren't absolute n00bs to vaping. i go in, they start trying to push how great their products they carry are and yada-yadda and how i should get one of their glass tanks (at this point they haven't seen what i was vaping on nor had i told them what all i own and use) i just let him keep talking and i kept looking through the cases at the various ego knock off's and evods and tumbler tanks...not one single drip-tip or RDA in sight...so after a few minutes of him talking about how great these tanks are and that they are what he personally uses (like he is some vape guru god) i pull out my mvp2 with my nimbus on top and sit it on the counter. he stops talking and starts eye-.......ing my nimbus like it's from another planet and he had never seen a dripper before. i simply say yes the tanks are nice, i have 4 glass tanks i use (2 davide bdc and 2 mini pt2) but when i want full vapor and unmuted flavor i use my drippers. he became speechless at that point....

so you are the manager at this store and have been in the vape game for a couple of years now and you have never seen a dripper, you don't even sell rda's or even drip-tips in your shop..???? i don't get it.....

end:rant

thanks for listening , now i need a vape.

 

[oxidus]

From my experience with the local shop here, they hire sales associates, no entirely people who vape. The owner is usually the fountain of information and they train the employees how to sell their products, and nothing else. It's probably some guy that was hired and required to vape instead of smoke at work. They are required to carry something, even an ego, and then sell that product.

There's also the idea of being a leader as a salesperson. You have to be confident, maybe even cocky about it to customers. They need to feel like you know what you're talking about. Experienced vapers would get annoyed, but they can lure in the inexperienced and keep them coming back for more tips / knowledge.

My 2 cents

 

[Completely Average]

Welcome to the wild world of ecig B&M shops.

I would say that probably 75% of the ones I have been in are run by newbies who are looking for a quick buck and have no idea about the products they sell. I have become so frustrated with B&M owners and employees who don't know what they are doing that now when I walk into a new one the first question out of my mouth is a knowledge test. I'll ask about something that a newbie knows nothing about, but a store owner that sells the product should (For instance, which gauge of kanthal heats up faster if I make a 1.5 ohm coil using 28g and one using 30g kanthal)

If they can't answer specific questions about the products they sell then I won't buy anything from them. I would never buy a car from dealership that doesn't know anything about cars, why would I buy ecig stuff from someone who doesn't know anything about their own ecigs and liquids?

 

[mikonei]

I've only been vaping for a couple of months and I feel your pain. The store closest to me has juices that I like, but the employees seem like burnouts and I get blank stares when I start asking about anything that isn't premixed juice. I got my mother to try vaping and she's been doing really well, until she needed more juice. She went to the store, asked for the flavor and the nicotine content. They couldn't even mix nicotine into a juice for her. It's not easy keeping a new vaper going when they have to drive an extra 30 minutes just to get juice.

 

[dirty_luck]

I've only been vaping for a couple of months and I feel your pain. The store closest to me has juices that I like, but the employees seem like burnouts and I get blank stares when I start asking about anything that isn't premixed juice. I got my mother to try vaping and she's been doing really well, until she needed more juice. She went to the store, asked for the flavor and the nicotine content. They couldn't even mix nicotine into a juice for her. It's not easy keeping a new vaper going when they have to drive an extra 30 minutes just to get juice.

thank god for mt baker vapor.

 

[chellemmm]

I LOVE rants...

 

[djwyman]

before I came along our vape shops were like the second story. I have been vaping a little over 2 years now. both of our shops here are less than a year old. the first one I have no hand in helping or influencing but the second is owned by a long time friend of mine and he hired me on to help expand the knowledge base and product lines to cater to not only the beginners but the advanced vapers as well. That is what I have been able to do. when I started we had visions and egos now we carry many different mods and rebuildables. Also it is good for a shop to not only sell the stuff but have some one with knowledge of how to use the stuff.

 

[rurwin]

COmputer tech support has the same problem. The vast majority of people they talk to are clueless and the customers who gloat about their A+ Microsoft certifications are often worse than those who admit to knowing nothing.

The trick is to gently demonstrate your knowledge without stuffing it down their throats. Before long you'll be conversing as respected equals. If you need to demonstrate that you know more than them, then you need to be even more careful. A reasonable salesman/tech-support will accept that, but you have to prove it to them without humiliating them. If you start being loud and arrogant, they'll just put you in the "ignorant customers" bucket and you've lost. Remember, it's an unusual situation for them; 95% of their customers know less than they do, even if they're only selling eGos.

 

[dirty_luck]

i agree djwy, if you are going to sell a certain "specialized" product, please be knowledgeable about it to some degree other than "man this thing hits like a beast".. be able to do basic trouble shooting please! and if you are selling RDA's atleast know how to wrap a coil.

 

[patkin]

just breath

 

[dirty_luck]

rurwin, yes. being tactful in the situation is key. but it seem's like that falls off the boat somewhere down the line most of the time.

 

[Lucky1384]

Welcome to the wild world of ecig B&M shops.

I would say that probably 75% of the ones I have been in are run by newbies who are looking for a quick buck and have no idea about the products they sell. I have become so frustrated with B&M owners and employees who don't know what they are doing that now when I walk into a new one the first question out of my mouth is a knowledge test. I'll ask about something that a newbie knows nothing about, but a store owner that sells the product should (For instance, which gauge of kanthal heats up faster if I make a 1.5 ohm coil using 28g and one using 30g kanthal)

If they can't answer specific questions about the products they sell then I won't buy anything from them. I would never buy a car from dealership that doesn't know anything about cars, why would I buy ecig stuff from someone who doesn't know anything about their own ecigs and liquids?

I've found this too. It's just like a lot of other businesses opening while any 'craze' is still big. I've told employees what they should know many times, but I guess for a lot of people it is just a job, they have no or little passion for it. Gun stores and electronic stores are the two main culprits for me.

We have a huge chain of hardware stores in the UK called B&Q, and while others hire a lot of people who don't know the difference between a nail and a screw, they actively encourage older applicants who have been tradesmen or hobbyists. I know if I wanted to open a vape shop, I would try as best as I can to recruit from forums and actually ask people what they know. Even if they just have an interest in it, it becomes much easier to train them and they have the drive to learn.

 

[djwyman]

You are completely right rurwin. 90% or so of the customers of a vape shop know very little about the product. Us who are on these forums and watching reviews and such are a small percentage and most people just going in wanting something simple that works because they don't want to smoke anymore. From working at a vape shop I have learned you kinda have to have 2 sets of terminology and two modes. One for the ones like us who are into the advance stuff and one for the beginners and keep it simples.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[dirty_luck]

wow, didn't expect so many good comments and people stopping by to hear my rant lol. I know i am still new to the vaping world and I do not claim to know everything, but i do know what i have tried and what did and didn't work for me. it just irk'd me that more and more shops i am going in are these people that know very little about it all. it's like going to a mechanic to get an oil change and he rotates your tires instead..

but thank you all for being helpful and offering good comments and conversation, i wish you peeps were closer to me in real life, we could hang out. i love this forum.

 

[KenD]

I don't really see what was so terrible in your first example. The shop didn't have what you wanted premixed so they offered to mix something up for you on the spot, asked if you want flavouring (and what flavour) - some people do vape unflavoured liquids, and if you wanted nicotine (and how much?) in it. You were given the opportunity to get some custom-mixed liquid. Great service I'd say. Yeah, turned out they were out of nicotine, but if they don't normally do on-the-spot mixes then that's understandable, and means that they most likely always work with fresh batches. I just don't see what's so horrible here. Perhaps I missed something?

As for your second example; you're in a shop and the guy's trying to make a sale by recommending their products - not strange at all. Quite frankly, it's you who comes across as a bit of a know-it-all who knows what's best for everyone. A vape shop employee should never recommend something like a RDA to customers s/he isn't sure are experienced enough, and tanks are often the best solution to the average vaper.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[realsis]

I've found its best to order offline. My local stores don't have much to offer and you can mix to your specifications online. Much less frustrating!

 

[coldgin96]

Ha! I've visited 2 B&M and neither of them of heard of ProVari's, PBusardo or ECF...

 

[edyle]

Yep; ecigs are a big booming business right now, and people don't get into it because they are interested in vaping; most that get into it are people looking make money running a business that is currently booming.

And who are they going to hire? Well you don't hire an alcoholic to sell at the liquor store! You hire somebody that needs a job and willing to do the work.

Where's the $boom$ in the industry? Starter kits! The $money$ is in the smokers who are converting; after they convert to vaping and figure their way around, they're not going to be $spending$ all that much after a year; so you won't see much in the way of rba's and rda's in the common vape shops; those aren't going to pay the rent.

Turn things around in your head and figure out what that store is good for; maybe they have a good price on eliquids; maybe its a good place to pick up a backup battery when you're in a bind; do they carry 18650 batteries? Maybe they just got nothing you'll need.

 

[DurtyZ]

I'm lucky to have a great B&M near me. The guys there are all very knowladgable, really cool, and are willing to help an point everyone in the right direction.
They mostly carry high end stuff tho with a few basic item here and there. Lots of authentic mech mods, drippers, rbas and such, but they have very good prices.

 

[Agamer]

Eventually you will find a decent B&M but even in my favorite vape shop there are sales people that if they are working I will just try some liquid and make small talk with them but not expect good customer service and will just end up coming back on a day where the people that I like to deal with are working. Its still kinda hit or miss with the good ones.