Issue with many vape shops...

[listopencil]

If you actually believe a minimum wage salesperson or worse a commissioned salesperson has your best interests at heart and not just selling you the most expensive thing they think they can talk you into then you deserve to be ripped of.

Try going into a place like Best buy and talk to their min wage sales people about a TV, start asking them questions about all the different technology. They are going to keep looking away in some direction that isn't you hoping you will get the hint to stop asking questions and just buy something already. Now if you go to a place with commissioned sales people they give you their undivided attention, BUT if you only need a 32" 720p TV they are going to do their damnedest to sell you a 65" UHD latest and greatest, but will settle for somewhere in between. In neither case are you going to get the right help.

Expecting more from a min wage employee at Mom & Pop's Vape shop is just silly. The B&M prices ARE higher as you said due to their business model, the real estate costs, and labor costs. Their prices are NOT higher b/c they provide exemplary service. Most people pay those higher prices, not b/c of service but b/c we live in an instant gratification society where if people have to wait for something for more than 10 seconds they either get mad or bored and go do something else. Patience is a virtue that few still have and stores are more than willing to capitalize on that.

I do, however, think most people here on ECF have developed an unprecedented level of patience waiting on orders from fasttech.

I bought a PC from Best Buy just last year. I got everything I described in my post from them. I don't shop at places where I get crappy customer service. And I'm certainly not paying more for it.

 

[listopencil]

I agree 100%...1000% even. However, that is why a custom tailored suit costs thousands while an off the rack suit can be a couple hundred. So how do we get that level of service without having employees that have to go through serious training to ask the right questions and match the right products to the right situation, then get paid enough to actually stay put WITHOUT having that $50 mod cost $300?

That is my whole point here. Ripping on Stores for prices while simultaneously ripping on them b/c they don't have high paid, high trained staff is dumb. You can't have it both ways.

The two examples I gave in this thread don't qualify as expecting "highly trained" in the least. In the first one the guy gave me the wrong product, and then denied that the right one even existed. In the second one the guy lied about the specs of the only battery that the vape shop sells.

 

[ScottP]

There is a burger joint near my house that I eat at about once a month, I always ask for extra seasoning. Except one time I got an idiot taking my order who kept insisting they didn't have any seasoning anymore, "we got rid of it" he claimed. Yet every time since then it has magically been back. The point is when offering min wage you aren't always going to get cream of the crop people applying. Yes getting an idiot to serve you is absolutely frustrating but it is bound to happen occasionally. Just think some of those idiots sell guns too. "Sure you can fire this 12ga ammo in your 10ga shotgun. As long as it fits right?"

 

[Eskie]

In a small business, the owner bears the burden of assuring the folks they hire do the job expected of them. If a B&M is fortunate to have grown into a little collection of shops, then the owner(s) hire managers and monitor that the employees are doing the job expected. Attitude towards a customer does come from above. The same way new hires are the responsibility of the owner. Sure, money is needed to attract a helpful staff who are motivated to provide great service IF that's the owner's wishes. If the owner just wants fast bucks, then even knowledgeable staff won't be too motivated to spend 30 minutes with a potential customer.

 

[R2sojr]

I agree 100%...1000% even. However, that is why a custom tailored suit costs thousands while an off the rack suit can be a couple hundred. So how do we get that level of service without having employees that have to go through serious training to ask the right questions and match the right products to the right situation, then get paid enough to actually stay put WITHOUT having that $50 mod cost $300?

That is my whole point here. Ripping on Stores for prices while simultaneously ripping on them b/c they don't have high paid, high trained staff is dumb. You can't have it both ways.

When your dealing with a product that can vastly effect someone’s health., that should be a standard requirement. Not just hiring some kid outta high school that thinks vaping is cool. You can also go to Men’s Wearhouse and get a tailored suit for $300.

Most vape shop owners never even ran a business before but yet can tell someone how much nicotine they need? It’s a dangerous product and Should have form of training and aid instead of just retail experience or that they build coils and sell them on the internet.

 

[Alien Traveler]

I feel that vape shops are generally looking for the sale first, definitely not the wellbeing on the customer,

You are so right...
And what about grocery stores? I love brain cutlets (veal, pork, venison...). You know, the ones well breaded and fried with a lot of butter. Grocery stores are not catering for me. They are just looking for a profit from a lazy crowd than cannot tell apart tasty from not tasty. Such a shame...
EDIT: I am not joking. Not at all.

 

[EIHYPI]

You are so right...
And what about grocery stores? I love brain cutlets (veal, pork, venison...). You know, the ones well breaded and fried with a lot of butter. Grocery stores are not catering for me. They are just looking for a profit from a lazy crowd than cannot tell apart tasty from not tasty. Such a shame...
EDIT: I am not joking. Not at all.

There can be some exemptions still I think. I went out to eat with my sister and grandpa about a month ago to a Chinese restaurant. The food was really good and I had myself sesuan beef amongst other stuff. When it got time for dessert my grandpa wanted some kind of fancy cake for him and us. What I saw next was something I couldn't believe. The waitress told my grandpa, "Don't order that because it's doesn't taste good and not as fresh as it should be so instead get this". The second thing she suggested was a lot cheaper. I was mesmerized, thinking like wow this waitress actually cared more about my grandpa than her job.

 

[ScandaLeX]

Nowadays I only get dragged into vape shops by friends/family to help them find equipment. Usually what happens is that I bash the guy behind the counter (not really fair to a guy working part time at a minimum wage position) because he knows nothing about the gear he's selling.

I’m late to this thread & haven’t read it all but this portion of this post grabbed my attention!

“because he knows nothing about the gear he's selling.”

This has been my initial experience. Walk into a vape store with the assumption the person selling you the equipment knows what s/he is talking about.....Such a novel idea!!!

It’s a shame my knowledge of vaping came from Google, ECF & YouTube!

i also learned very quickly there’s a huge difference between actual vape shops and stores that just so happen to sell vape products.
4 years ago (my experience) the difference weren’t that much apart.....the goal was to make the sale- throw lack of knowledge to the wind- and pray that sucker you just sold a $20 eGo to for $70 will come back!

This was me coming out of the store that happened to sell vape products....
This was me when I realized I’d been duped...

These new jacks buying mechs isn’t new.
The fact they do no research before buying isn’t new.
Employees not knowing anything about the gear they’re selling isn’t new.

What’s also not new is we still tend to treat John & Jane Q Public as though they’re part of forums and vape venues and should somehow have the knowledge we here have. They dont and wont. They just want to vape and want us to mind our business.

 

[ScottP]

When your dealing with a product that can vastly effect someone’s health., that should be a standard requirement. Not just hiring some kid outta high school that thinks vaping is cool. You can also go to Men’s Wearhouse and get a tailored suit for $300.

Most vape shop owners never even ran a business before but yet can tell someone how much nicotine they need? It’s a dangerous product and Should have form of training and aid instead of just retail experience or that they build coils and sell them on the internet.

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

 

[EIHYPI]

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

A manager or owner of a vape shop, it's them who are hiring and it's their responsibility as to who they hire to run their shop. There are plenty of people out there that can be working at a vape shop, those who know a lot about vaping technicalities and who have been vaping for a while. I guess this is what differentiates a good vape shop to a not so good one.

 

[ENAUD]

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

How many gun stores have you been in lately?

 

[Alien Traveler]

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

Guns? Dangerous? In real life?
I suppose you are joking. Or you have not heard about dietitians which argue for gluten free diet and such.

 

[ENAUD]

Guns? Dangerous? In real life?
I suppose you are joking. Or you have not heard about dietitians which argue for gluten free diet and such.

Hey, I have Celiac disease, I resemble that remark

 

[Breen]

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

People don't even need any special information about dogs or cats they sell and those are living creatures.

As far as vape shops/lounges/b&m retailers are concerned, I'll settle for the ones who don't know something to say it. I have no problems with someone not knowing, as long as they state it.

 

[Alien Traveler]

Hey, I have Celiac disease, I resemble that remark

Hey, I know, I remember. These guys are a blessing for you, but they are dumb villains to me.

 

[listopencil]

Let me put this into perspective. You don't need special training or knowledge to sell GUNS, nor do you have to prove you know how to use them to buy them. Yet they are FAR more dangerous than ecigs. How can you expect to hold a vape shop to a higher standard?

I see that you live in Texas. I live in California. When it comes to buying and selling guns we may as well be in two different countries.

 

[ScottP]

I see that you live in Texas. I live in California. When it comes to buying and selling guns we may as well be in two different countries.

LOL I live in the land of Freedom meanwhile the Democratic People's Republic of Kalifornia thinks Happy Meals should be banned. It is quite different.

 

[Tonee N]

LOL I live in the land of Freedom meanwhile the Democratic People's Republic of Kalifornia thinks Happy Meals should be banned. It is quite different.

Should be Democratic Prop65 of Kalifornia.[emoji6]

Sent from the future

 

[ScottP]

Should be Democratic Prop65 of Kalifornia.[emoji6]

Sent from the future

I went the way I did to draw a parallel to the "other" DPRK (AKA: North Korea), but yours woks too.

 

[listopencil]

LOL I live in the land of Freedom meanwhile the Democratic People's Republic of Kalifornia thinks Happy Meals should be banned. It is quite different.

I went the way I did to draw a parallel to the "other" DPRK (AKA: North Korea), but yours woks too.

Oh yeah, many of us up here in NorCal refer to it as the Democratic People's Republic of Kalifornia. Or Just the PRC (People's Republic of California). I'm sure they'll eventually pass a law against that too.