Ended Smoktech giveaway! 250 Cloud Machines to win...

[Opinionated]

I wonder how many people have Bugged madvapes about this matter.

Simple answer is

It ain't happening until it happens and bugging a Vendor caught in the stink, just like us don't really change anything.

Added employee expense, time taken from purchasing customers, delays in support assistance...........just saying

I'll go back to life now and wait.

A lot, I was by far not the first one. I promised them I would post what they said here on ECF because he told me they have been bombarded with calls from winners wanting information.

He said, "tell all your friends what I said to you, as many as you can"

lol.. so lots..

 

[NancyR]

Yea, I don't think people meant to sound impatient or ungrateful, they just wanted some info.

Even if you tell us we might not get them till Christmas, so be it, but just tell us that

Exactly!!

I guess this is what I don't understand. smok has answered your questions right? Anytime you sent an email or message on the forum they have responded?

Personally I am grateful for the contest. I understand there is a language barrier but they have responded anytime I have sent them anything. And to top it all off I am getting one of the best mods and tanks on the market for free. I can wait and be happy doing it.

If this was something I paid for I might have a little concern, but even still they said it would ship the 21st, so I wouldn't expect it for another week or so anyways.

I am grateful for the contests as well, but in regards to the first part of your post, no they haven't answered most questions, either on here or in messages.

I for one don't care when it arrives, but like most here I DO want to be kept updated.

 

[Opinionated]

Exactly!!



I am grateful for the contests as well, but in regards to the first part of your post, no they haven't answered most questions, either on here or in messages.

I for one don't care when it arrives, but like most here I DO want to be kept updated.

Yes, it is nice when everything goes smoothly and we are kept informed and up to date, yet at the same time there are always two sides to every story.

This is the first contest Smoktech has ever had if I am not mistaken, and as such will provide a learning curve for them. It is difficult on your first go around with anything to forsee each and every eventuality and possible hurdle that must be overcome. You do your best, and you learn.

There is so much we don't know from Smoktech's side, as so many things could have happened to cause some of what we are seeing, such as was the person originally in charge of the contest even with the company anymore? Did they think someone who was supposed to do x-job or x-job had done them, when they hadn't actually ever been done?

Too many things... they actually appear to be scrambling to catch up, and that leads me to think they are missing someone important running this contest, or they never had one person in charge of just the contest in the beginning, perhaps boss-man thought it would be easier and that x-employee could do it on top of their other responsibilities, and x-employee couldn't manage both jobs.. (some bosses are dense like that.. lol)

But they do appear to be trying to get things done, it is just they appear to be scrambling a bit to do it.. and I think we should give them their mistakes and their own learning curve. Hopefully should they do something like this again, they will be able to do the next one a little more smoothly.

Patience on our part is all that is needed really as that 'nice' bit never materialized.

 

[AndriaD]

Yes, it is nice when everything goes smoothly and we are kept informed and up to date, yet at the same time there are always two sides to every story.

This is the first contest Smoktech has ever had if I am not mistaken, and as such will provide a learning curve for them. It is difficult on your first go around with anything to forsee each and every eventuality and possible hurdle that must be overcome. You do your best, and you learn.

There is so much we don't know from Smoktech's side, as so many things could have happened to cause some of what we are seeing, such as was the person originally in charge of the contest even with the company anymore? Did they think someone who was supposed to do x-job or x-job had done them, when they hadn't actually ever been done?

Too many things... they actually appear to be scrambling to catch up, and that leads me to think they are missing someone important running this contest, or they never had one person in charge of just the contest in the beginning, perhaps boss-man thought it would be easier and that x-employee could do it on top of their other responsibilities, and x-employee couldn't manage both jobs.. (some bosses are dense like that.. lol)

But they do appear to be trying to get things done, it is just they appear to be scrambling a bit to do it.. and I think we should give them their mistakes and their own learning curve. Hopefully should they do something like this again, they will be able to do the next one a little more smoothly.

Patience on our part is all that is needed really as that 'nice' bit never materialized.

They may also have come to realize (too late to do anything about it) how important it would be to have someone really *expert* in English communication. Being able to *read* English is no guarantee of actually being able to communicate in English. I can read a bit of Spanish, but communicate??? I could ask where the bathroom is. Whether I could understand the answer is a different matter entirely.

Andria

 

[Opinionated]

They may also have come to realize (too late to do anything about it) how important it would be to have someone really *expert* in English communication. Being able to *read* English is no guarantee of actually being able to communicate in English.

Andria

So true!

 

[GPC2012]

Yes, it is nice when everything goes smoothly and we are kept informed and up to date, yet at the same time there are always two sides to every story.

This is the first contest Smoktech has ever had if I am not mistaken, and as such will provide a learning curve for them. It is difficult on your first go around with anything to forsee each and every eventuality and possible hurdle that must be overcome. You do your best, and you learn.

There is so much we don't know from Smoktech's side, as so many things could have happened to cause some of what we are seeing, such as was the person originally in charge of the contest even with the company anymore? Did they think someone who was supposed to do x-job or x-job had done them, when they hadn't actually ever been done?

Too many things... they actually appear to be scrambling to catch up, and that leads me to think they are missing someone important running this contest, or they never had one person in charge of just the contest in the beginning, perhaps boss-man thought it would be easier and that x-employee could do it on top of their other responsibilities, and x-employee couldn't manage both jobs.. (some bosses are dense like that.. lol)

But they do appear to be trying to get things done, it is just they appear to be scrambling a bit to do it.. and I think we should give them their mistakes and their own learning curve. Hopefully should they do something like this again, they will be able to do the next one a little more smoothly.

Patience on our part is all that is needed really as that 'nice' bit never materialized.

You get paid for this?

 

[LilWhiteClouder]

Glad to hear I am not the only one waiting for the prize. I reached out to Smok last week and have not gotten a response. I actually just e-mailed Madvapes to get an update so we'll see what they say. I run contests here at work with prizes being shipped out to many winners so I understand some of the frustrations. But communication is key to help calm the participants. Otherwise, you have a bunch of angry people knocking on your door. I am not hurting for vape gear so can be patient. I have a terrible case of shinyitis though, and the waiting game only makes it worse.

 

[Daddy]

They may also have come to realize (too late to do anything about it) how important it would be to have someone really *expert* in English communication. Being able to *read* English is no guarantee of actually being able to communicate in English. I can read a bit of Spanish, but communicate??? I could ask where the bathroom is. Whether I could understand the answer is a different matter entirely.

Andria

I agree completely. I have no idea how large of a company SMOK Tech is, but they are lacking a good translator, but that could be a financial thing on their end.

I have reached out to them about helping with the communication a couple weeks ago but I have not heard back. My wife is Chinese and speaks fluent Cantonese and some Mandarin. She has family about an hour away from SMOK HQ and we were actually there in 2007 and 2009 - long before I knew anything about vaping.

Ironically that is the only communication they have not responded to from me.

 

[FringeChief68]

Something to think about

The original contest webpage stated that the contest would end on 9/16, and that was only 4 working days ago

So SMOK said it would end on 9/16 and anyone that gets or has gotten packages from China can tell you sometimes there can be delays.
And not only China, anytime packages go through customs there's always chance of delay.

Anyways, if you start at 9/16 as the end of contest date, then add a few days to get all the winners info to the right person.
Now add your normal shipping times on, which in most cases is up to 10 days.

I'm thinking mine will be here sometime between Oct. 5th - Oct. 9th

 

[Daddy]

Glad to hear I am not the only one waiting for the prize. I reached out to Smok last week and have not gotten a response. I actually just e-mailed Madvapes to get an update so we'll see what they say. I run contests here at work with prizes being shipped out to many winners so I understand some of the frustrations. But communication is key to help calm the participants. Otherwise, you have a bunch of angry people knocking on your door. I am not hurting for vape gear so can be patient. I have a terrible case of shinyitis though, and the waiting game only makes it worse.

I guess the frustrations are that some have received responses to their inquiries and others have not? SMOK has responded to everything I have asked except the example in my previous post. I thought all the relevant questions were answered publicly. Have contest. Select winners. Give a rough idea ("gradually") when they would ship. Winners be patient. Wasn't all of that done publicly? I'm not sure what more needs to be asked or answered.

 

[Daddy]

Something to think about

The original contest webpage stated that the contest would end on 9/16, and that was only 4 working days ago

Pretty sure someone said SMOK web site said international winners packages were shipped on the 14th.

The only issue, other than your standard customs issues, seem to be with USA winners and some miscommunication between SMOK and MadVapes.

 

[Daddy]

If you figure full retail on the x cube ii and tfv4 tank at $100. We are talking a $30,000 contest. Add another $10 for shipping to each and you are at total spent $33,000. Even if you figure SMOK's cost at 25% of retail you are talking about $7,500 + $3,000 shipping.

This was a pretty big project and contest for SMOK to hold. I am sure they have learned a lot and I just hope they are willing to have more in the future. It was a great way to give back to the community.

 

[crxess]

A lot, I was by far not the first one. I promised them I would post what they said here on ECF because he told me they have been bombarded with calls from winners wanting information.

He said, "tell all your friends what I said to you, as many as you can"

lol.. so lots..

Understand.................and feel for the vendor trapped in the middle.

Don't think this will stop the dozens and dozen of Social winners bugging the heck out of MV

 

[kkiet]

I'm just very let down how this was allowed to be handled. Lesson learned.

Totally agree with you, very poorly handled.

 

[danjaman]

Understand.................and feel for the vendor trapped in the middle.

Don't think this will stop the dozens and dozen of Social winners bugging the heck out of MV

The only thing that would stop that is some information on what is going on and what to expect.

Most people will need to take time away from work to receive a delivery, so a bit of information would be appreciated by most, for sure.

Innokin set the tone for these big ECF giveaways and I think people are expecting the same kind of service...

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[aceswired]

Ha, you wanna hear poorly handled? Last winter a vendor held a contest, picked a winner (lucky me!!!), messaged me for details, then never logged onto ecf again!

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[AndriaD]

I agree completely. I have no idea how large of a company SMOK Tech is, but they are lacking a good translator, but that could be a financial thing on their end.

I have reached out to them about helping with the communication a couple weeks ago but I have not heard back. My wife is Chinese and speaks fluent Cantonese and some Mandarin. She has family about an hour away from SMOK HQ and we were actually there in 2007 and 2009 - long before I knew anything about vaping.

Ironically that is the only communication they have not responded to from me.

And really, "translating" isn't quite good enough -- just look at how garbled a google translation can be! It really needs to be someone, like your wife perhaps, who is expert in both languages, because some things don't really "translate" -- one needs to know how the language is used, in both languages, to make it really effective. I suspect this is what makes the english we've seen from Smok so laughable -- they're using some type of "translation device" rather than someone who actually understands both languages.

I've always heard that english is one of the most difficult languages, and considering how english was formed, that makes sense -- it comes from so many different sources, "mother tongues," and is such a hybrid of syntactical styles -- germanic in its syntax construction, yet with a HUGE number of greek, latinate, and [norman-]french (a latinate language, probably with nordic quirks!) imports. When you throw in the fact that Chinese doesn't even use roman characters... huge room for many errors.

Andria

 

[Daddy]

And really, "translating" isn't quite good enough -- just look at how garbled a google translation can be! It really needs to be someone, like your wife perhaps, who is expert in both languages, because some things don't really "translate" -- one needs to know how the language is used, in both languages, to make it really effective. I suspect this is what makes the english we've seen from Smok so laughable -- they're using some type of "translation device" rather than someone who actually understands both languages.

Yes a good translator is fluent in both languages, including slang.

I used to work a lot in automotive factories and picked up bits and pieces of Japanese. They always had amazing translators who would stay about 6-8 words behind you when you spoke. It was very annoying at first as you always felt like someone was interrupting but once you got used to it, it was amazing how they could translate tone, body language and even "slang" when things got a little hairy. It takes a truly unique person.

But yes, what I proposed to them was to send the information to us in their native written form and we would translate it back and they could publish the English version. I suspect what they are doing not only here, but on their website as well, is using a google translator or some other translation device with out actually using a real person to smooth it out - both languages spoke in China are rough around the edges, much like the translations we are getting.

 

[FringeChief68]

Pretty sure someone said SMOK web site said international winners packages were shipped on the 14th.

The only issue, other than your standard customs issues, seem to be with USA winners and some miscommunication between SMOK and MadVapes.

Yea I understand that people are getting them earlier, I was just making a point that when people signed up and it said the contest ended 9/16 that,
If they won, they would have to consider they might not get it till October
The Fact that SMOK sent some out before that, is just a Bonus

 

[Opinionated]

Glad to hear I am not the only one waiting for the prize. I reached out to Smok last week and have not gotten a response. I actually just e-mailed Madvapes to get an update so we'll see what they say. I run contests here at work with prizes being shipped out to many winners so I understand some of the frustrations. But communication is key to help calm the participants. Otherwise, you have a bunch of angry people knocking on your door. I am not hurting for vape gear so can be patient. I have a terrible case of shinyitis though, and the waiting game only makes it worse.

I posted the official madvapes response, which i will copy to you here


This is so everyone knows... I just spoke to Madvapes and this is what they said:

(QUOTE) "We have not yet received the list of winners and their shipping addresses from Smoktech, but as soon as we do we will start processing and getting those kits shipped out. There seems to have been a breakdown in communication between us and Smoktech along the line, but this is mainly resolved now and all we are waiting for is that list of winners and their addresses to begin shipping to the US customers.

I (the person I spoke with) believe we will do normal processing for shipping, and all those who included an email will or should receive shipping confirmation with tracking information from us ( Madvapes), I believe - but cannot promise although I cannot see any reason why we would not follow our normal shipping process for the winners. So if there is an email included, then once shipped you should receive shipping confirmation and tracking."

That is the extent of the relevant conversation.. hope this is a help to everyone!

That said, They are being bombarded with questions from winners, and they asked me to tell as many people as I could so that they weren't slammed so much with questions from people.. I promised to post this on ECF for all to see.