Bridging the gap between old and young vapers?

[rgerber]

Hello Brothers and Sisters!
A few days ago, I stopped by my local B&M for a freerebuild. For those of you that don’t know me, I am the Cranky Old Man thatstarted smoking pipes and cigars back in 1955. Have been tobacco free since Mayof this year. I do not smoke...I vape!
Anyway, a young man approached me and asked if I’d like toappear in a commercial they will shooting soon at the store. Turns out, he isthe owner of three vape Shops in two states.
As we got acquainted. I steered the topic to people in myage group (I’m in my 70’s) and their reaction when they first walk into a vapestore. I told him the first time I went into his store, there was a haze fromabout 3 feet of the floor to the ceiling. I couldn’t hardly see the back of thestore. There must have been about 20 young people, 21-to 25 years old and maybefive employees. Some were blowing magnificent billows of clouds and everyemployee was vaping. Did I mention lots of tats and piercings? Did I mention that employees were vaping into customers faces?
Now don’t get me wrong here. I grew up in the 50’s where wewore greasy hair and Duck Tails, cigarette packs rolled up in our tee shirtsleeves, black leather jackets, some of us and a love of loud music that washated by anyone over 22. And we were smart asses to boot.
So you could say I was experiencing a culture shock. I musthave looked as crazy to them as they did to me. My natural instinct was to getmy cranky old ... out of there fast. But, I had done a lot of research, knewwhat I wanted to try, so I dove in through the clouds of vape. Much to mysurprise, a much older gal, maybe 30 years old with more tats then a sailorgreeted me. I was astounded! She spoke clearly and showed a lot of knowledgeright off. She patiently let me try several flavors to see what the experiencewas. I was already there to look and an MVP 2. Turns out, it was a great first choiceand I still have and used it along with MANY others that somehow ended up in mycollection. They made sure my new system was working and as I was learning the ropes, gently helped me along.
Subsequently I sent some other senior friends there who werelooking to quit tobacco. Sadly, they stepped in, gasped, and ran out.
So, what can we do to help bridge this gap from stodgy oldfarts that should be learning more about our hobby and the younger folks thatseen to dominate the vaping world? I walked into another Vape Shop here where Ilive. There were about 8 people in there with two behind the counter. At firstI thought maybe I farted when I walked in. Not one person met my eye or even acknowledgedI was there. They acted really uncomfortable at my appearance. Of course, I didn't get the welcome home fuzzy feeling either.
The owner of the Vape Lounge I go to has agreed to spend sometime with me on this topic as it’s one that he sees as something that should bebridged somehow. While I have not experienced anything but an acceptance atthis site, it seems there must me a way for the older folks to come into thefold with some sort of comfort level. We need to get them "Off The Front Porch" and into the land of vape.
Am I nuts? By the way, since there are only two shops where I live, I could have this all wrong!

 

[r77r7r]

Welcome!!!

Hopefully as more shops pop up there'll be some that are just business related and not hang-outs.


If you can get your older friends to navigate the interwebs to get to ECF, we have a lot to offer, and it's anonymous.

Keeping our older generation healthy is a great part of vaping. All kids want their grammas and grandads to stick around longer.

 

[PaulBHC]

There are two vape only stores here owned by the same people. The others in the area are in smoke shops, tattoo parlors, a pub, etc.

The vape only stores discourage clouding and seem to be more inclined it help people quit smoking than show off behavior.

You have valid points but money talks and all that. Old folks tend to be frugal, get one thing that works, and stop spending.

 

[alicewonderland]

no i see this happening in local vape shops as well. I am 28, not as old as you. I have tried around 4 'vape shops' in my area, and I get the same atmosphere you are explaining. Mostly filled with tatted up fellas and younger customers. It seems like if the owner is not on premises, they most likely wont go out of their way to help you if it is a 'lounge' type vape shop. Most of the workers seem to be the 'trendy' type and it seems these type of shops aren't exactly welcoming to those starting out or wanting to venture into vaping, as most of the time they will bombard you with more advanced personal vaporizers, as well as not exactly clue you in on how to do things right (as most employees I've ran into dont know 100% the workings of how APVS/Coils/Resistances interact). In my opinion what would help TONS, is if these vape lounges had two separate areas instead of just one giant area that is filled with dense vapor, it can be quite intimidated. Maybe a divider or separate room that is the lounge and taste room, then one room where there are products and an employee who is up to date on the inner workings and products they sell, that way they can kind of separate the business from the casual lounge and massive amounts of vapor. That would reduce the intimidation factor I think. Some of these places are just too casual and when you walk in, it doesn't really seem like a business at all.

 

[readeuler]

Hm, reminds me of what I always heard about spiders - "they're more afraid of you, than you are of them"

I don't do a lot of my vaping or purchasing around others, honestly. I've only been to one local shop, and it was geared to new/intermediate vapers, with many, if not most, of the customers being older than myself (25). It could be all about what is primarily sold.

There's a shop I've been meaning to go to that clearly caters to the mech/rebuild/higher-end crowd, and I'd be willing to bet that the demographics would be pretty much opposite to what I experienced at the other shop. I'll have to go and check them out to see - though my wallet would vehemently prefer that I didn't!

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Hi RG, am glad you are turning to a healthier way. For me, it needed to be a hobby and I love it. in a couple of days I will have (God willing) a year. It has been a great year.
I, also, like to go to vape shops, mostly for the lounging and tasting. As a former teacher, I think I can get along with those young whippersnappers well enough. My wife said I should have a foghorn so I can get through the fog without running into anything. I don't mind.
But, it would be great to find a vape shop that had a front porch, too.

Anyway, glad you are here. It is a great place!

 

[skoony]

in Minnesota we have it both ways.
most if not all tobacco shops have a vaping section.
more of the traditional type setting.
we also have many vape only shops springing up.
they go from a very professional type setting to
what you might describe as a youth hostile(i mean hostel).
a little something for everyone here.

regards
mike

 

[tj99959]

There are two vape only stores here owned by the same people. The others in the area are in smoke shops, tattoo parlors, a pub, etc.

The vape only stores discourage clouding and seem to be more inclined it help people quit smoking than show off behavior.

You have valid points but money talks and all that. Old folks tend to be frugal, get one thing that works, and stop spending.

Well ...... maybe 10 things that work ...... and stop spending.

As someone that got over midlife crisis & the need to impress others with my BS a long time ago (I'm 73), I just don't find the need to visit the local vape shops anymore. I already have everything that I need.

 

[alicewonderland]

i wish there would be more proffesional type vape shops closer to home. but maybe thats what i get for living in california

 

[rgerber]

And that's not all you get by living there! <GRIN> We escaped over 20 years ago....

 

[RandyF]

It would be nice to see a 2 story vape shop. Sales down stairs, vaping lounge upstairs. Even better would be if the upstairs was a bar as well. If there are any potential vape shop owners thinking about opening a new one in Arizona, make this happen.

 

[supertrunker]

Get some tattoos and steal his girlfriend; that'll get you noticed!

Youth is wasted on the young.

T

 

[Train2]

There will be a "thinning" of the vape shops. There are a lot of them run by people that don't have the right stuff to operate a business well. And it's not an easy business to run profitably. I can't imagine anyone covering their expenses unless they launch a line of liquid with repeat customers. You're not going to cover rent and staff and insurance with the margin on wire or cloned devices...

You're absolutely correct - some shops are not "walk-in new vaper friendly". And some stores - like the first one you described, actually ARE - but might not seem so at a glance. Improvement perhaps possible on both sides of that: a shop should probably take SOME steps to entice the new prospective vaper to stroll in and ask questions. After all - they're as likely to drop $300 on a new setup as not. And new vapers should be open to the possibility that YES, there is a "hang out and fill the room with huge clouds" culture - but that those people may still be very helpful, knowledgeable, and excited to help you quit smoking!

For the shops that are JUST hangouts, and NOT helpful, knowledgeable, and professional at some level: if you are losing money already, close the doors...it'll only get worse.

 

[Moedog]

I'm old (66) and never been in a vape shop I didn't enjoy. Really like the lounge aspect and talking and vaping with the young people. Un curl your lip and leave your judgement at the door. You may find the sub 30 crowd to be good people.

 

[alicewonderland]

It would be nice to see a 2 story vape shop. Sales down stairs, vaping lounge upstairs. Even better would be if the upstairs was a bar as well. If there are any potential vape shop owners thinking about opening a new one in Arizona, make this happen.

the one decent one i've found in my area is a va'pour' room, locating in the back of a restaurant/bar we have named 'the pour house', its pretty awesome you can get beer and food and go to the back to vape. not much in hardware is sold, but the idea of having them scrunched in with another business is nice. beer, vaping and food together.

 

[supertrunker]

Some refreshing pessimism!

However, go to any store selling anything and see how knowledgeable the staff are - and you'll be amused. Take a phone store or a garage for instance.

It's also not the job of vape stores to educate people - see what you like, buy it..or don't.
Same as anything else.

T

 

[Wolfenstark]

Most of the world and everything most people do is run or controlled by people 40+

Myself i use my special judging abilities to follow advice - It is not affected by age or any other non relevant factors.

No vape stores near me - all online but many online should realise that many people have the internet and we can go to other stores - in regards to prices and items they have for sale.

 

[ScandaLeX]

I'm one of those people who always happens to be in the right place at the right time. I'd gone to what I thought was a vape shop but it was a store that sold some of everything that can't be mentioned here. Anyway, an older couple came in the store & not one employee acknowledged their presence by way of coming over to assist them. They did look up at them in a passing glance sort of way & must have deduced in their heads that this couple must be lost- walked into the wrong store.


At this point I no longer wanted to buy anything from them although I have before this incident.


I helped the couple pick out what they needed to get started. I gotta give major props to this couple though- it appeared to me they were clueless as to how they were being treated when in fact they weren't. They told the chick behind the counter if it weren't for me they'd have left & bought cigarettes 2 doors away. I dont know if they're still vaping but they did say they'd never come back to that store again.

 

[englishmick]

Well I'm 64. I went into a real vape shop for the first time yesterday. Someone told me about this place a while back but I misheard the directions and ended up a block down the road at a head shop with a small display of Evods and Chinese juice in one corner. I got some Evods and went back for juice a few times. I thought that's what vape shops were. Got onto the internet after that.

I finally figured it out and went to the real vape shop yesterday. It really was full of kids with tattoos and rings vaping and shooting the breeze (mind you anyone under 30 looks like a kid to me). I got some funny looks. Maybe not surprising since I hadn't shaved for a week and I was on my way home after an afternoon repairing air vents in a filthy crawlspace, I must have looked as odd to them as they looked to me. I wonder if those kids are somewhere else on this forum talking about the unwashed old homeless guy who stumbled into their vape shop. It would be nice if we didn't make assumptions about each other based on appearance, but that's homo sapiens for you.

Anyway as soon as I walked up one of the guys behind the counter came right over to me and he was really friendly and helpful. I only needed a bit of juice to tide me over while I waited for an online order but I had a look in the display cabinet. Rows of huge scary looking copper and brass gizmos with even scarier pricetags. I would probably have spent more time there and tried out more juices but I honestly felt a bit out of place.

It was an OK visit for me. But I've been vaping for a while and I knew what I wanted. Might have been a bit intimidating if I had just heard about vaping and wanted to get started.

I don't know what the answer is. Surely there is a large market for us oldies, we are the ones who've been smoking for a long time and need to quit. Maybe we all do it through the internet. I wonder if anyone has produced a breakdown of vapers by age group.

 

[alicewonderland]

yeah i think its mostly business perspective. hiring employees that just work and lounge there isnt the way to go if you want to open a succesful vaping business. Most the ones here are empty the majority of the day. Some just aren't the welcoming type to people 'wandering' into the shop. Vaping looks huge online but when you take it out to the public, it is still very unknown and untalked about. With garage shops, cell phone shops like a previous poster listed, they have existed for a while and most everyone will say oh this garage is good go here, or oh this cell phone service is good go there. In my opinion and as another posted above, if you want a succesful business you need to cater to more people, and especially since not everyone knows about vaping, you have to have well-informed knowledgable people on staff. Of course its not their 'job' to be knowledgable, but most vaporshops I've gone to arent moving tons of stock therefore their poducts are much pricier than online. Why go to a vape shop in the first place if they arent helpful, knowledgable, and cheaper in price? You can educate yourself online, and not only buy cheaper stuff online but have a wider variety of products to chose from. If they bring nothing new to the table then why even go there?

Given this is just my view on the vape shops that open up and arent really helpful and seem like just a 'hangout' spot.