SO FRUSTRATED I WANT TO SCREAM! (converting a friend to vaping)

[texastumbleweed]

One of my best friends finally decided to try vaping, desperate to quit smoking. I have vaped for 2 years so she has seen me use my ecigs, and seen the progression from the penstyle ecigs back a few years ago, to the "heavy duty" eGo model.
I told her to do some research, especially spend some time reading ECF forum. She knew I highly recommend the eGo type ecig. I really wanted to make sure that she had a "good successful" introduction to the world of vaping so she wouldnt waste any money or be disappointed in quality, durability of hardware that she would order.
Not sure why, but she surfed the internet for reviews on "best e-cigs" and then decided on the V2 because apparently it was rated one of the highest on the sites she visited. I am VERY savvy about e-cigs, spending time on this forum daily for the past 2 years and had NEVER even heard of V2, and was very concerned....because I really have my reservations on any ecigs that are not "most talked about" on this forum, which is immensely popular and has lots of "traffic". I looked at some of the websites that touted V2, and saw that those sites listed many of the ecigs that are low caliber, or are ecigs that i read many disappointing reviews on ECF about.
She ordered her V2 on NOVEMBER 27. She has yet to get her ecig, despite many contacts to the company to complain and check on status. Current status is that the company says it should arrive tomorrow or Saturday. INCREDIBLE. THREE WEEKS.
I told her that I have ordered MANY ecigs from reputable suppliers and always have gotten my shipment in several days, and definitely no more than a week, EVER.
She says they are backordered.....I dont understand, V2 is SO popular that they cant keep their ecigs in stock and I can barely find posts/threads/discussions about this ecig here on ECF????
She is an intelligent woman. She knows that I am intelligent, educated, and well-read, and have lots of experience and knowledge with ecigs and vaping. I am just frustrated that I failed at steering her in the right direction. I reckon everyone must learn for themselves. I just hate to see her have a bad start to all this.
Any thoughts/feedback/insight?

 

[breaktru]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them vape.

 

[adeline]

Order her a $30 Riva from L-F and when it gets here in 3 days, she can go ahead and cancel the V2 crap. No idea what this company is about, but it's sounding a lot like Blu and she hasn't even received her product yet. I'm guessing the "rave" reviews were paid for or sponsored. Sorry you two have to go through this.. just don't give up on her!!

 

[texastumbleweed]

oh she wants to vape! thats not the issue. its just her first ecig purchase/decision that is the frustrating part

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them vape.

 

[texastumbleweed]

good idea. i may just do it, i am at that point of aggravation. i sure hope she didnt pay alot for that V2. i saw the website for V2 and they are very expensive (though she says they had a very good black friday sale)...but it just frustrates me that i DOUBT it was anywhere near as inexpensive as the heavy duty performers like the eGo or Riva or similiar type ecigs..

Order her a $30 Riva from L-F and when it gets here in 3 days, she can go ahead and cancel the V2 crap. No idea what this company is about, but it's sounding a lot like Blu and she hasn't even received her product yet. I'm guessing the "rave" reviews were paid for or sponsored. Sorry you two have to go through this.. just don't give up on her!!

 

[emanguba]

Do have extras that you can supply her for the interim?

 

[grandmato5]

As frustrating is it is for you, you need to remember that YOU DID give her good advise, and the path that SHE chose was to order a V2 . She's watched you vape for two years and had the opportunity to learn a great deal from your experience. She really must learn some things for herself. Who knows, maybe she really will be happy once she actually gets her V2 (whatever that is). And if she's not happy, it was her decision, not yours, so absolutely nothing for YOU to be upset over. You're a good friend to be concerned but don't put what may be her mistake on your shoulders. If it turns out to be a mistake, its her, not YOURS.

 

[texastumbleweed]

no, i just keep two batteries and two atomizers on rotation, and they have been the same ones since JULY! that's how good the eGo product is...and i am a HEAVY vaper.

Do have extras that you can supply her for the interim?

 

[texastumbleweed]

thanks so much for the encouraging words and for "listening" to me. yes i know you are right. i just really wanted to ENSURE a good start....and if she had just listened to me, she would have had an ecig 3 weeks ago!!! (and a better one)

As frustrating is it is for you, you need to remember that YOU DID give her good advise, and the path that SHE chose was to order a V2 . She's watched you vape for two years and had the opportunity to learn a great deal from your experience. She really must learn some things for herself. Who knows, maybe she really will be happy once she actually gets her V2 (whatever that is). And if she's not happy, it was her decision, not yours, so absolutely nothing for YOU to be upset over. You're a good friend to be concerned but don't put what may be her mistake on your shoulders. If it turns out to be a mistake, its her, not YOURS.

 

[grandmato5]

no, i just keep two batteries and two atomizers on rotation, and they have been the same ones since JULY! that's how good the eGo product is...and i am a HEAVY vaper.

Oh PLEASE do yourself a favor and get backups for yourself before you're borrowing your friends V2 to keep you going while your backups arrive at your house

 

[757girl]

I introduced my boyfriend to vaping and it was tough at first because he rather have me explain everything to him about vaping instead of looking for it himself with the links I gave him. I was sooooo frustrated to the point I was about to just say forget it and let him continue with analogs. But I ended up remembering that I was the one who introduced him to it and I really wanted him to stop. So I got on my computer with him and went through the Newbie Guides with him, helped him place his first order which he picked a 808 model, when he got it I put it together and talked to him step by step what to do.

I have been there before but don't get upset because your friend chose something else then what you recommended. When she gets it just try to help her the best you can OR you can buy a cheap kit for her yourself and she can cancel the order for the V2. Just remember alot of people got ripped off by some companies then they finally did the research and found out about better and cheaper vaporizers.

 

[texastumbleweed]

ha ha...actually i am not worried about having backups, because:
1) i have a stash of eGo mega cartomizers that i never use, in case both my atomizers die
2) i am 20 minutes drive from an ecig supplier (Breezesmokes)...and those folks are so cool, they will even meet me at the shop on off-hours for emergencies!!!

Oh PLEASE do yourself a favor and get backups for yourself before you're borrowing your friends V2 to keep you going while your backups arrive at your house

 

[atom48]

I'm watching "The Big Bang Theory" on TV. Is this one of their episodes?

 

[ShannonS]

It's a human nature thing You are probably too close to the situation to see why she ordered a different ecig than the one you quit with.

I have a friend who is trying out vaping who is hiding it from everyone because she doesn't want to build up her friend's and family's expectations of her quitting. I'm the only one who knows she's vaping right now. She doesn't want to deal with disappointment and pressure if she fails at quitting. Because I know how sensitive she is about it, I'm very careful that she doesn't feel pressure from me, only support.

She has a reason why she went with something other than what you use that makes perfect sense to her, if not to you. People are funny about their addictions. Perhaps she needs a feeling of control over quitting that she feels she isn't possible if she chooses the same model as you?

LOL we need a support group for people who give support to new vapers.

 

[BradSmith]

I feel your pain. One of my best friend's wife will not follow any advice at all. I should have told her not to get any of the good models then she might have bought one. Sad to say but she is no longer vaping and back to two packs a day of marb lights. I actually gave her a box mod but of course that's no good because it doesn't "feel" like a cig. OK I can kinda get that. So then I gave her my old 510's with four batteries. What does she do? She goes and pays a bunch of money on pre-filled cartomizers from some place I never heard of and every single carto tasted like perfume. I had actually given her a list of great suppliers for juice (she didn't want to fill) so then I made her another list of places that had good reputation for their prefilled carto's nope she paid twice as much or more for junk. Now everything she has is gathering dust.

I honestly wonder if she sabotaged herself on purpose. Her husband my buddy quit using snus, so she was going to quit, but I don't think she really wanted to. I honestly think she just wanted to act like she was trying.

 

[kristin]

Those are some good points, Shannon!

As far as your friend is concerned, maybe remind her that she doesn't need to put so much pressure on herself? E-cigs are an ALTERNATIVE and she wouldn't be so worried if she had simply changed cigarette brands, right? If she looks at it as a switch, rather than quitting, she may relax a bit!

It's a human nature thing You are probably too close to the situation to see why she ordered a different ecig than the one you quit with.

I have a friend who is trying out vaping who is hiding it from everyone because she doesn't want to build up her friend's and family's expectations of her quitting. I'm the only one who knows she's vaping right now. She doesn't want to deal with disappointment and pressure if she fails at quitting. Because I know how sensitive she is about it, I'm very careful that she doesn't feel pressure from me, only support.

She has a reason why she went with something other than what you use that makes perfect sense to her, if not to you. People are funny about their addictions. Perhaps she needs a feeling of control over quitting that she feels she isn't possible if she chooses the same model as you?

LOL we need a support group for people who give support to new vapers.

 

[BradSmith]

Well the site did say that there is a 30 day money back guarantee. I read a few reviews and it sounds like it's a cheap model that was rebranded. Poor battery life expensive carto's that don't last long and everyone has the same problem with shipping times. So if she is going to re-order carto's make sure she orders with three weeks in mind.

 

[ShannonS]

The V2 I saw looked like a KR808, there is also a Janty Stick V2, no way to guess which one she ordered, LOL. If the first V2 is an 808, she should be okay with it as a starter. I can't really comment on the Janty Stick V2, I've never tried one.

 

[xg4bx]

if its any consolation the v2 is an 808 so its not like she ordered a smoking everywhere or something.

 

[venkman]

It's a re-branded 808. Or it is at least 808 threaded. My buddy was interested in getting a pv, so i told him to check out the forums, and gave him a list of some reputable suppliers. My biggest piece of advice to him was to avoid any company selling branded ecigs without disclosing what model they were. This is often a good sign that you are about to get ripped off. What did he do? Ordered a v2, along with his brother and father, and paid easily 2x as much as other vendors charge for good 808 starter kits. Something like half of the batts they ordered were DOA, and others died not long after. Could this have been bad luck? Sure. Could it have happened with another vendor? I suppose so. But their customer service was miserable dealing with this situation.

So, I feel your frustration. All you can do is be there for your friend if (when) she runs into problems with her v2.