Puresmoker will not talk to me - a potential customer ready to purchase the V3?

[Lina]

I am really upset... I was already to purchase a Prodigy V3 today and their online help support is down so I sent a message asking if I could talk to someone. I did not want to sit and type everything out in an email...and play the back and forth email game - just to get all my questions answered - etc. I wanted to talk to a human get my questions answered and then go online and order.

I guess that's not possible because Casey told be no - they cannot do this - I think she said they are NOT "set up for this." This really saddens me because I really wanted to buy from them but it they cannot make an exception and call me or let me call them... well then I will take my business elsewhere.

I have dealt with many other vendors up here and nobody has ever told me that I cannot speak to someone on the phone except PureSmoker! In fact many of the other vendors called me direct to answer my questions without me even asking!

I guess customers are not #1 here!

 

[MXBNW]

Not Good

 

[doots]

Are you serious?

 

[Lina]

very...........

Are you serious?

 

[Synthnadz]

That's sooooooo them. I went through the same thing.

I'm surprised that you all seem shocked by this? ;-)

PS - for what it's worth, after going through hundreds of dollars and endless support issues with PS, I'd encourage you spending your money elsewhere anyway. There are plenty of shiny options around.

 

[anim8r]

I don't think they are set up for sales over-the-phone.

They only use online purchasing and the ticketing service for current customers.

For fairly small operations, this is business as usual. It normally doesn't make sense to have someone perform one on one sales pitches for items that generate only a few dollars of profit.


I'd suggest posting the questions on their new forum or on this one. Maybe someone's already asked the same questions.

I'm not excusing the practice, but having owned a small business, I completely understand the reasons behind it.

 

[TommyGunBC]

I don't think they are set up for sales over-the-phone.

They only use online purchasing and the ticketing service for current customers.

For fairly small operations, this is business as usual. It normally doesn't make sense to have someone perform one on one sales pitches for items that generate only a few dollars of profit.


I'd suggest posting the questions on their new forum or on this one. Maybe someone's already asked the same questions.

I'm not excusing the practice, but having owned a small business, I completely understand the reasons behind it.

The OP was wanting to talk to someone from PS with questions pertaining to the V3 prodigy , why can PS not talk with customers over the phone ???

as for performing sales pitches over the phone for a product that they produce themselves which means maximum profit not a few dollars .

 

[Synthnadz]

I don't think they are set up for sales over-the-phone.

They only use online purchasing and the ticketing service for current customers.

For fairly small operations, this is business as usual. It normally doesn't make sense to have someone perform one on one sales pitches for items that generate only a few dollars of profit.


I'd suggest posting the questions on their new forum or on this one. Maybe someone's already asked the same questions.

I'm not excusing the practice, but having owned a small business, I completely understand the reasons behind it.

Sorry, this is nonsense. A small startup manufacturer that refuses to speak to a potential customer over the phone? Wretched practice in every sense.

Want to discourage phone interactions? Fine - don't publish a number if your that ill-equipped. But refusing to speak to a customer is unheard of. At least within the real of businesses that actually survive.

And regarding the 'little profit' thing: come on now. This is a direct to customer supplier - it's about as much profit as any retail scenario could offer. I mean, Best Buy makes pennies on a $500 item, but even they know they have to answer the damn phone. ;-)

 

[anim8r]

Wow... just giving the perspective from someone that actually ran a small business in the digital age.

That's all.

I answered e-mails at the end of my day. I posted product info online and had demo reels for those interested. During the day, we were editing or filming for our customers, not waiting by the phone for one on one sales.

As a general rule of thumb, you talk to 5-10 customers to make a sale. It simply doesn't make business sense when selling an e-cig.

Best Buy is a huge company with people that are hired for the sole purpose to answer the phone. PS is what? 4-5 people?

And Best Buy would not be in business if they made pennies on every $500 purchase.

Buy from them, or don't. It's your dime and you can do what you want with it.

 

[Synthnadz]

I run 3 startups, all self funded and bootstrapped to the hilt. When someone wants to talk to us, we answer the phone. Even when there's no immediate sale to be made.

 

[anim8r]

I run 3 startups, all self funded and bootstrapped to the hilt. When someone wants to talk to us, we answer the phone. Even when there's no immediate sale to be made.

And I'm sure others do as well.

Not nearly enough profit in it for me and it only distracted us from the tasks at hand.

Demos and online bookings reached far more customers (and simultaneously) with very little overhead.

Like I said before. I'm not excusing the practice, I really am custormer oriented, but the use of automated systems and e-mail made it easier for customers to get what they wanted and under budget since everything was clearly written down or on video.

 

[Synthnadz]

Again, coming up with general practices that reduce your time spent on the phone is acceptable. It's absolutely refusing to speak with a customer when they demand it that is downright ridiculous. It's also the kind of thing that kills small businesses.

And being small is no excuse for delivering a bad customer experience in any context...especially if you want to get big. ;-)

 

[anim8r]

Again, coming up with general practices that reduce your time spent on the phone is acceptable. It's absolutely refusing to speak with a customer when they demand it that is downright ridiculous. It's also the kind of thing that kills small businesses.

And being small is no excuse for delivering a bad customer experience in any context...especially if you want to get big. ;-)

That may be.

But the rule will always be to try and please most of the people most of the time and most people are content with online shops/info and forums for these products.

You will never, in your wildest dreams, be able to please everyone.... unless you're Apple

Ironically, I earned a sweet gig after having a very successful small business and I (now) actually provide quotes for our products over the phone.

The difference is that the my sales are in the $10,000 - $200,000 price range instead of $100 - $3,000 range.

 

[Lina]

I don't think they are set up for sales over-the-phone.

They only use online purchasing and the ticketing service for current customers.

For fairly small operations, this is business as usual. It normally doesn't make sense to have someone perform one on one sales pitches for items that generate only a few dollars of profit.


I'd suggest posting the questions on their new forum or on this one. Maybe someone's already asked the same questions.

I'm not excusing the practice, but having owned a small business, I completely understand the reasons behind it.

I simply wanted quick answers to questions I had.. the best ordering options.. would the charger I have here work.. etc. I did not expect a "sales pitch" I did my homework already which led me to PS!

I also own my own business and you CANNOT rely solely on the Internet to do everything for YOUR BUSINESS. You must have something set up for your customers so they can talk to you. I was not even a customer who had a complaint or an issue... I can only imagine how it would be if I had.

Look I am not trying to cause a big stink. I am just telling everyone like it is or was today. I was hoping to have all my questions answered quickly... jump on the net... order it and pray it were shipped yet today. I DID NOT want to try to comb through Forums for my answers or play email tag. Is that so awful? If they want to cut down on customer contact then they need to make their site even more informative than it is.

Obviously, PS has had success... they save money because they do not need a Brick and Motar Business or Store Front. However, they cannot cut all the corners! They owe it to future and current customers to set something up so we can talk to someone... the Internet will not provide you with good customer relations... it is only an avenue to get the word out and inform... you must go further. It seems to me it is Business 101!

So what do I decide on now? I really loved the look of the V3... I was so set on it --- it even got great reviews from Grimm and others.

 

[harpo]

Why doesn't this surprise me. I can't believe I spent the money I did with PS. I'm just glad I no longer own any of their products.

 

[Casey@PS]

I'm sorry that this is so upsetting, but let me clear something up.

We have NEVER posted a phone number for PureSmoker.com. The reason for this is simple- we don't have enough people to handle a phone system. I sit on the computer and strictly answer tickets and live chat all day long. And it even took us a year to have a staff big enough to even open the live chat option! Even then, it sometimes takes me 2 days to catch up on e-mails. With a phone ringing all day, we'd never get everything accomplished.

That being said, I will not make exceptions to call customers from my personal cell phone number. This is my personal choice. I made an exception to this in the first 2 months of working there, and then had my phone number abused- called at all hours (early in the morning, late at night, on weekends, etc etc). I had to change my phone number, and simply refuse to go through this process again.

Again, I apologize that you feel we were neglecting your needs. I explained that I was more than willing to answer your questions via email or live chat, because those are the options we have available at this time.

 

[anim8r]

I simply wanted quick answers to questions I had.. the best ordering options.. would the charger I have here work.. etc. I did not expect a "sales pitch" I did my homework already which led me to PS!

I also own my own business and you CANNOT rely solely on the Internet to do everything for YOUR BUSINESS. You must have something set up for your customers so they can talk to you. I was not even a customer who had a complaint or an issue... I can only imagine how it would be if I had.

Look I am not trying to cause a big stink. I am just telling everyone like it is or was today. I was hoping to have all my questions answered quickly... jump on the net... order it and pray it were shipped yet today. I DID NOT want to try to comb through Forums for my answers or play email tag. Is that so awful? If they want to cut down on customer contact then they need to make their site even more informative than it is.

Obviously, PS has had success... they save money because they do not need a Brick and Motar Business or Store Front. However, they cannot cut all the corners! They owe it to future and current customers to set something up so we can talk to someone... the Internet will not provide you with good customer relations... it is only an avenue to get the word out and inform... you must go further. It seems to me it is Business 101!

So what do I decide on now? I really loved the look of the V3... I was so set on it --- it even got great reviews from Grimm and others.

Lina, I suggest you just ask the questions on the forums. They set one up a brand new one just so they could address all the questions for each and every device they sell. I know it's not the most ideal, but PS (and their customers) do answer questions. They are also on twitter.

Personally, I'd rather ask a customer, but I'm a hopeless cynic.

And I'm not trying to be-little your complaint, so please don't think I am. I don't work for PS, but I really like their products, so I only offered to share my own business experience and like them (and like you) I had to make hard decisions based on my business model.

 

[doots]

I'm sorry that this is so upsetting, but let me clear something up.

We have NEVER posted a phone number for PureSmoker.com. The reason for this is simple- we don't have enough people to handle a phone system. I sit on the computer and strictly answer tickets and live chat all day long. And it even took us a year to have a staff big enough to even open the live chat option! Even then, it sometimes takes me 2 days to catch up on e-mails. With a phone ringing all day, we'd never get everything accomplished.

That being said, I will not make exceptions to call customers from my personal cell phone number. This is my personal choice. I made an exception to this in the first 2 months of working there, and then had my phone number abused- called at all hours (early in the morning, late at night, on weekends, etc etc). I had to change my phone number, and simply refuse to go through this process again.

Again, I apologize that you feel we were neglecting your needs. I explained that I was more than willing to answer your questions via email or live chat, because those are the options we have available at this time.

This make sense to me seeing you don't have enough staff to handle calls plus all the other duties required.
I know from experience how much time it takes to just answer emails providing support.

I would think that questions pertaining to mods or parts could all be answered in an email or live chat and there would be no need to offer phone support. IMO

 

[Mister Hyde]

With a phone ringing all day, we'd never get everything accomplished.

Just playing the devil advocate here, not trying to flame....but even by not having a phone ringing all day, still you can't get everything accomplished, due to the fact that you just lost Lina’s sale. Competition has increased dramatically around here, and with vendors popping up every day, and alot of them are willing to bend backwards to help a customer or potential one, loosing even one can't be good, every little bit counts, customer service at this point reigns supreme.....just my

 

[bornagainst]

As a former customer service rep (for a different company), I'll chime in.

I'll gladly speak to you over the phone about stuff, but will NOT take your order over the phone. A secure internet server is just that. I will not take your credit card info over the phone. If, after speaking to me, and reading the reviews of product, you aren't ready to purchase, I wish you all the best.

Fact is, for every honest joe out there who just wants a transaction, theres a hundred idiots out there who want to mess with a vendor. It's for your own security.

Keep in mind, for every minute spent answering questions readily available elsewhere, thats a minute spent away from filling orders, working on new products, etc etc.

You can't please everyone all the time, and some people, you can't please AT ALL.