Dinosaurs of vaping and useless B&M, again

[Racehorse]

I don't need a 20ish year old to tell me how to vape.

Sounds to me like the employee was at work. I am pretty sure they are expected to sell things.

Maybe her boss was in the back room, listening in.

He probably knows how his store makes money, and on what.

I'm pretty knowlegeable about vape gear as I have vaped for 3+ years. but to be honest, I've never seen a kracken, and don't know anyone who has one, so I doubt I would be trying to sell you one.

I have no idea why people expect B&Ms to have the inventory of fasttech or something. Floor and display case is limited, as well as the owner's pocketbook to buy inventory (which may sit and never sell). Most stores keep in stock what will go out the door en masse, and try to sell as many of those "widgets" as possible.

I do agree that some niche stores, that cater to advanced equipment, would be a good idea. I am not entirely convinced that they would make enough sales to keep their doors open.

 

[papergoblin]

There's nothing wrong with regulated; the problem is one of modularity;
the best system is an optionally regulated mech, for the same reason that the subtank type has advantage over the strict clearo or strict rta

the thing to watch out for is if they have those centerpinless mechanical mods, the so-called "hybrid look" mods.

I meant government regulation, I have no problem with reg. devices at all.

 

[Liskrig]

The only store I go to now (which is maybe once every two months) is Worcester Vapor... They have ego starters, up to full copper authentic mechs (I'm not a mech user so I wouldn't know the names ), and everything VV/VW/TC in between. They only sell VTC4 and Samsung 25r batteries. They do have a couple of eFest purple batteries, but not one employee ever offered them to me for sale, they're just in the case.

Sucks that some shops have such a "well, it's in, lets sell it" attitude. If the employees don't know what a carto-tank is, genny, reyon, hybrid-mech, then they have some homework to do. Just because they work at a vape shop, doesn't mean they know it all, but damn... I've only been vaping since Feb of this year, and I feel like I know more than most OWNERS of the vape shops I've been into.

 

[NancyR]

I don't expect B&M's to cater to veteran vapers, but I do expect the owner at least to have a clue about what is out there. As WA has been trying to ban online sales in the state, when I have had the chance to talk to some B&M stores I keep a look out for places that might carry or be willing to get in the stuff I use. I know not everyone is going to want things like a 901 or 306 atty, but when I ask a shop owner if they carry them and get told "yes we have ce4's" I hold little hope for the shop to be somewhere I would do business with.

I even had one shop owner get on a rant that a 510 connection isn't really called 510 but how china won't put the - in it, as it should be 5-10 and so we call it the wrong thing. (I hung up on that guy after telling him I understood why my friends warned me he would be a waist of time)

When visiting one of my local shops, I had my empire mod with me that day, the guy I was talking with actually did know what it was and called a young girl over to look at it saying it was a piece of vaping history, her reply was oh it looks like a k100.

 

[tj99959]

The funniest one that has happened to me was I walked into a new store using a simple carto tank. The kid behind the counter had never seen one, and proceeded to tell me how lame a vape it was. Then he pulls out his Billit Box to show me!! (which are made here in town) I didn't have the heart to tell him that his vape was as lame as mine.

 

[papergoblin]

My thing is, I don't expect a shop to stock this or that but it is nice to see shops that do stock "advanced" mods. I also don't think it is completely age related as to if a person is qualified, it is more of the younger sales people that are "out spoken". I have no problem with people being out spoken but when they talk about things they don't know is an issue. I know most shops don't pay well and I understand why, it's no different than fast food or mall stores and the like. The have to keep the margins in check and a lot of people just aren't going to pay but a certain amount of money.

The thing is, why can't people be trained? I don't expect someone to know everything but when it comes to safety, they should. If someone wants to work at or own a vape shop, they should have more knowledge than push this button and it works. Granted purchasers should do their own homework as well but there are many people that don't have a pc or internet and a shop is their first and last line of knowledge. It's just bad form to sell someone a battery and saying it can do this and this, when in reality it cannot. It is not an issue of overstating performance, it then is an issue of safety and hence we see people get hurt.

I have traveled and been in shops where the sales person will say, I don't use this or that but let me get someone that knows. I have seen owners and sales people crawl other employees for giving out unsafe advice. I don't think it's asking too much for a shop to give out sound safe advice. How many people would buy a car from a dealership that couldn't tell you what models they have on the lot or the differences in them? A job is a job for many people and that's fine but when it comes to health and safety of others, it is no longer just a job. When a sales person doesn't know, they shouldn't be telling people what is safe and what is not.

I still laugh when I think of the sales person that didn't know efest batteries are Chinese and when I showed him they are mislabeled (pulse rating) he said people should sue. The sad part is he was building and recommending .16 builds on mechs with 35 amp efests. This is the stuff that is going to give the FDA and the like the "proof" to remove things many of us really enjoy. Yet many people want to complain about it being brought up over and over again. If we want vaping to stay successful, we have to get the clowns out of the mix. We have to shine light to where the problems are and not let the media put it out there the way they do.

I for one don't think I could continue to vape if they passed laws to where we could only get prefilled cartos and the like. DIY supplies can only last for so long and then what, hope things change? I remember a president running on hope and change, yeah that hasn't worked so well.

 

[empteeteacup]

I guess I don't understand why the age of the employee always seems to come into play when the subject is B&Ms. I'm 54 and have no doubt there are people who are much younger than me (even "twentyish") that know more than I do about many things.....including vaping.

Although that may not be the case in this scenario, it seems to be a common theme in these types of threads.

I, too, am a little irritated by the ageism toward younger people on this forum. An employee's lack on knowledge has nothing to do with their age. It has to do with the training they receive from those in charge and their own motivation in doing their own research. It doesn't matter if they're 20 or 90.

 

[bluecat]

I thought Dinosaurs were extinct.

Not sure what she said for a rant. Sometimes I wish clerks could say what they really want to consumers. As a consumer, I can exercise my right to say what I ever I want to the yahoo that decides to go off on a lowly store clerk. and have done so in the past because consumer A decided his 5 minute rant about 5 cents off a jar vaseline was more important than wasting my 5 minutes of my time because I was unfortunate enough to be in line behind his attitude. He got an earful of my disdain for him and I offered to pay his extra 5 cents to get his nasty self out of there.

I always remind myself this young person may be someone's daughter or son. I wouldn't want some yahoo that thinks they are better than the clerk to go full on gorilla rage on them. It is amazing. The clerk probably went home and told her family what this yahoo said her to her today.

Regulated have some advantages over mechs and mechs have some advantages over regulated.

Congratulations, you use a mech and a gennie.

 

[tj99959]

I, too, am a little irritated by the ageism toward younger people on this forum. An employee's lack on knowledge has nothing to do with their age. It has to do with the training they receive from those in charge and their own motivation in doing their own research. It doesn't matter if they're 20 or 90.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, working in a vape shop has kinda become an entry level job. Kinda like working the counter at the local Burger King. Learning how to wait on customers is part of the deal.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Sounds to me like the employee was at work. I am pretty sure they are expected to sell things.

Maybe her boss was in the back room, listening in.

He probably knows how his store makes money, and on what.

I'm pretty knowlegeable about vape gear as I have vaped for 3+ years. but to be honest, I've never seen a kracken, and don't know anyone who has one, so I doubt I would be trying to sell you one.

I have no idea why people expect B&Ms to have the inventory of fasttech or something. Floor and display case is limited, as well as the owner's pocketbook to buy inventory (which may sit and never sell). Most stores keep in stock what will go out the door en masse, and try to sell as many of those "widgets" as possible.

I do agree that some niche stores, that cater to advanced equipment, would be a good idea. I am not entirely convinced that they would make enough sales to keep their doors open.

Sounds to me like an untrained, uninformed counter clerk.
Common today in cookie cutter stores of all kinds.

Hour milkers. Worthless liabilities to a company.

Product knowledge is key to sales.
It's extremely important. It's the one part of the job you can't fake.
If you don't know the product, you can't effectively sell it.
You end up wasting potential customers, costing the business money.
Either do the job right or don't bother.

No wonder they have to sell $20 clones for $75.

 

[bluecat]

Sounds to me like an untrained, uninformed counter clerk.
Common today in cookie cutter stores of all kinds.

Hour milkers. Worthless liabilities to a company.

Product knowledge is key to sales.
It's extremely important. It's the one part of the job you can't fake.
If you don't know the product, you can't effectively sell it.
You end up wasting potential customers, costing the business money.
Either do the job right or don't bother.

No wonder they have to sell $20 clones for $75.

Difference of paying a clerk minimum wage vs 100k plus benes.

Personally I would rather do my own research from 1000s of sources than relying on a single person at a B&M. I can also do it at 3 in the morning when I have insomnia.

 

[thetrucker]

I run a mech mod about 90% of the time, of course I'm home 90% of the time. I run tanks, sometimes, usually in bed. The majority of the time I drip or run a genesis tank. I broke from my usual routine when out and about the other day. I brought out my mech and my kraken clone, when I went to check out a local shop that I haven't been in yet.

I walked into a cloud, which didn't bother me, actually figured this was gonna be a cool experience. I saw cases of mechs, batteries, box mods and vw devices galore. This seemed like the shop for veteran vapers not the cookie cutter starter places, which anyone vaping for over a year knows we need more veteran aimed shops.

I spoke with a young woman saying I was just checking out what they had to offer. She walks away a bit and comes back. This is when I begin to lose faith in the shop. She asks me what I'm using, I explained it was an infected mod with a kraken clone. Then says that the kraken sounds familiar, and I explain it's a genny.

She then tells me I'm not getting enough out of it and need a vw (cube II she points to) and a sub ohm set up. I would enjoy it more, get more satisfaction. I hold my cool, and say I'm more into mechs, it's just the way I am. She then points out the mechs they have and offers me a deal on a mod that includes this awesome Imren 40 amp battery, since it is a better mod than I have ( I'm using the original infected and the mods they have are clones).

My inner a hole awakes and like the comic, I have the right to remain silent but not the ability. I go off, explaining there are no 40 amp batteries, let alone Imrens. I tell her I have drippers and can cloud with the best and that my genny produces awesome flavor regardless of clouds.

I then educate her on Chinese relabeled batteries, knock offs and real mods, and that big clouds do not equate to big flavor. I don't need to measure myself by clouds and am no old grump, I'm just 34. On the other hand I don't need a 20ish year old to tell me how to vape.

My point is big clouds do not mean big flavor. Mech mods are safe if used correctly and can provide the same satisfaction as a vw device. Genesis tanks can be awesome or a burden but for those that hang in there, the reward is something amazing. They both go hand in hand, as the genny wasn't designed for high wattage, since it didn't exist when it came out.

There is a lot of new stuff that is awesome but the dinosaurs built what is. The dinosaurs can still teach new and old vapers a thing or two. I see and hear people say this is hard to build on, really. I have a suggestion, try rebuilding the coil on an Evod tank at 8pm sunday after a few drinks, cause you forgot to buy more and no one is open. If you can build one of those, you can build anything.

Too many people think that to get the best vape, you need something made in the last 2 months. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against high watts, blue tooth, and calendars or subohm tanks. What I hate is when people say those are the ruling groups and that you are cheap, unsafe, and blah blah blah because you run a mech.

I suggest to anyone out there with the sales coming up, get a genny tank and get it to work. If you're on a high watt, just turn it down but try one of the flavor queens of days past. If you can stick with it and build it, you will be truly amazed.

Sorry for the rant, it's been a long day. I also thought since in the US, we are remembering our heros and past. We should remember our vaping past as well.

I still run a RSST original single coil and steel mesh wick and power it with my Smok Natural and cannot forget the original equipment that got me started.....

 

[thetrucker]

Sounds to me like the employee was at work. I am pretty sure they are expected to sell things.

Maybe her boss was in the back room, listening in.

He probably knows how his store makes money, and on what.

I'm pretty knowlegeable about vape gear as I have vaped for 3+ years. but to be honest, I've never seen a kracken, and don't know anyone who has one, so I doubt I would be trying to sell you one.

I have no idea why people expect B&Ms to have the inventory of fasttech or something. Floor and display case is limited, as well as the owner's pocketbook to buy inventory (which may sit and never sell). Most stores keep in stock what will go out the door en masse, and try to sell as many of those "widgets" as possible.

I do agree that some niche stores, that cater to advanced equipment, would be a good idea. I am not entirely convinced that they would make enough sales to keep their doors open.

This is a good post you made--- this is the "Cold Truth"---hahahahahahahah

 

[Bad Ninja]

Difference of paying a clerk minimum wage vs 100k plus benes.

Personally I would rather do my own research from 1000s of sources than relying on a single person at a B&M. I can also do it at 3 in the morning when I have insomnia.

That's a really pathetic excuse, and an entitled attitude.
Want $100k and bennies?
Earn it.

Half-assing a job sure as he'll won't get you there.

The clerk volunteered to work for the wage.
No one forces anyone to work in sales at a vape store.

Again, they are worthless hour milkers, who will never make 100k unless they change the way the carry themselves.
Professionalism is important.

 

[empteeteacup]

Well, in case you haven't noticed, working in a vape shop has kinda become an entry level job. Kinda like working the counter at the local Burger King. Learning how to wait on customers is part of the deal.

I'm a 27 year old retail manager, and I realize that when customers aren't satisfied with the service they receive from my ENTRY LEVEL employees has a lot to do with me and their desire to learn the job, regardless of their age. When they fail, I ask myself "What can I do to help them grow?" It all comes down to management and helping your employees want to learn. Even then, sometimes you have employees who are just there for a paycheck, and don't want to learn anything from me or on their own time. I've encountered this in both 18-20somethings and in 70 year old employees. It really doesn't have anything to do with age. Unfortunately, I don't have hiring or firing power, but if I did, employees like that would be gone in an instant. My store manager is a pushover, and refuses to fire anyone, so sometimes I just have to deal.

 

[thetrucker]

I thought Dinosaurs were extinct.

Not sure what she said for a rant. Sometimes I wish clerks could say what they really want to consumers. As a consumer, I can exercise my right to say what I ever I want to the yahoo that decides to go off on a lowly store clerk. and have done so in the past because consumer A decided his 5 minute rant about 5 cents off a jar vaseline was more important than wasting my 5 minutes of my time because I was unfortunate enough to be in line behind his attitude. He got an earful of my disdain for him and I offered to pay his extra 5 cents to get his nasty self out of there.

I always remind myself this young person may be someone's daughter or son. I wouldn't want some yahoo that thinks they are better than the clerk to go full on gorilla rage on them. It is amazing. The clerk probably went home and told her family what this yahoo said her to her today.

Regulated have some advantages over mechs and mechs have some advantages over regulated.

Congratulations, you use a mech and a gennie.

Very Well said...................good point.........

 

[empteeteacup]

I thought Dinosaurs were extinct.

Not sure what she said for a rant. Sometimes I wish clerks could say what they really want to consumers. As a consumer, I can exercise my right to say what I ever I want to the yahoo that decides to go off on a lowly store clerk. and have done so in the past because consumer A decided his 5 minute rant about 5 cents off a jar vaseline was more important than wasting my 5 minutes of my time because I was unfortunate enough to be in line behind his attitude. He got an earful of my disdain for him and I offered to pay his extra 5 cents to get his nasty self out of there.

I always remind myself this young person may be someone's daughter or son. I wouldn't want some yahoo that thinks they are better than the clerk to go full on gorilla rage on them. It is amazing. The clerk probably went home and told her family what this yahoo said her to her today.

Regulated have some advantages over mechs and mechs have some advantages over regulated.

Congratulations, you use a mech and a gennie.

+1 on the well said point. There's really no reason go apecrap on ANY retail employee. Trust me, we get it all day, every day, and it never gets easier. Again, the clerk's attitude toward selling probably has a lot to do with management. Some still subscribe to the "say whatever it takes to make a sale, regardless of whether it's true or not" method of selling. If you have a problem, take it up with management, not some poor clerk who's probably making minimum wage. I personally use the "tell the customer about the product truthfully in order to help them make a decision" method of selling, even though it's a huge pain in the .... to my store manager and district manager because they want us to make sales by using sometimes shifty tactics. Thank you big corporate company attitude.

 

[bluecat]

That's a really pathetic excuse, and an entitled attitude.
Want $100k and bennies?
Earn it.

Half-assing a job sure as he'll won't get you there.

The clerk volunteered to work for the wage.
No one forces anyone to work in sales at a vape store.

Again, they are worthless hour milkers, who will never make 100k unless they change the way the carry themselves.
Professionalism is important.

Not really? Do you really want to get paid 100k to be doing minimum wage work, or vise-versa? Look at the company, I think in Washington, the dude paid everyone 70k a year. He didn't last long. There has to be fiscal responsibility at every level of business.

Maybe she wasn't half assing it. I agree half assing won't get you there. Its a 50/50 shot whether putting in 100k of work to get paid minimum wage is worth it. Maybe you will move up or maybe not. Personally I would look elsewhere.

She did. Unfortunately the consumer was upset. Personally I didn't see anything that constituted a rage out by him. Certainly not on a clerk who didn't recognize his infected mod and kracken clone. Was it the clerk fault or the consumers. Quite frankly, I was fired yesterday by a client. I did everything I could to appease them. I also had every bit of proof that his accusations were just wrong. I had time stamped data that proved it. Unfortunately, he left. Some customers/client can not be appeased. That is a fact in any business. Moreso, I sat there and took his verbal abuse for the greater good of the company even when everything he said was just completely wrong. I ended with I am sorry I did not meet you expectation. Have a good day sir.

 

[tj99959]

+1 on the well said point. There's really no reason go apecrap on ANY retail employee.

I'm sure tempted when they lie to me tho'! (young or old) Happened to me yesterday, a clerk told me that xxx brand was the only brand of the product they have ever carried. I looked down at the YYY brand of the product in my hand thinking "where in the hell do you think I bought this one"!

 

[thetrucker]

Not really? Do you really want to get paid 100k to be doing minimum wage work, or vise-versa? Look at the company, I think in Washington, the dude paid everyone 70k a year. He didn't last long. There has to be fiscal responsibility at every level of business.

Maybe she wasn't half assing it. I agree half assing won't get you there. Its a 50/50 shot whether putting in 100k of work to get paid minimum wage is worth it. Maybe you will move up or maybe not. Personally I would look elsewhere.

She did. Unfortunately the consumer was upset. Personally I didn't see anything that constituted a rage out by him. Certainly not on a clerk who didn't recognize his infected mod and kracken clone. Was it the clerk fault or the consumers. Quite frankly, I was fired yesterday by a client. I did everything I could to appease them. I also had every bit of proof that his accusations were just wrong. I had time stamped data that proved it. Unfortunately, he left. Some customers/client can not be appeased. That is a fact in any business. Moreso, I sat there and took his verbal abuse for the greater good of the company even when everything he said was just completely wrong. I ended with I am sorry I did not meet you expectation. Have a good day sir.

Very professional on your part !!!!!!!