Vape stores and the over 30 crowd

[lownote2]

First store I went to is the one I keep going back too. They were super helpful there first of all, and cared about getting me switched off of analogs. Completely analog free now for 1 1/2 months. And that's good business for them too.

Point is they made me feel welcome. I enjoy going there. There are times I may only spend $10-15 for some juices. But I have spent more on different occasions. Even boughy my MVP from them recently. I told him I could have gotten it cheaper online but I wanted to do business with him. I'm all for supporting guys local as long as their prices aren't outrageous. (which his aren't)

There are about 6 more shops around the town I live in. None of them make me feel as welcome. Some of them, as the OP pointed out, just don't make us over 40 crowd feel as welcome. I haven't been treated poorly in any of them, but there are a few who seem to be more oriented to the younger crowd and when I go in just don't appear to be overly helpful.

It's nice to have a local shop though. Haven't dived into ordering juices online mainly because I seem to be a bit picky on juices and while I know there's some really good ones out there I am afraid of ordering them online and hating them. I like the local places where you can try before you buy. The local guy here that I like has some really good juices, but I do go to one other place for green apple because there's is really good and he doesn't carry any green apple.

 

[Racehorse]

I was in a clothing store a while back and the cashier offered some kind of cell phone code to the 3 young people in front of me. When she got to me, she didn't offer it. That cracked me up. Maybe she thought since i was 40 years older then the youngsters in front of me, I must not know know to text or use a cell phone. Or, just maybe, she forgot to say it having gotten tired of repeating the same line all day.....no point taking something personal if it isn't really pointed, direct, etc.

I really don't care either way, I go into a store to buy something, I just want to get in and get out, I am usually not even noticing their "image" and who is in the store. As long as they are polite to me, answer any questions I might have, and complete the transaction with relative alacrity, its fine with me.

Pink hair, tats, t-shirts w/names......it's just all part of the *landscape* of humanity. No different than my squinting out from behind my cheapo $1.00 magnifying readers when I have to read a label..... they probably think I'm weird too.

I have a lot of friends in town who run stores, some are 80 years old and some are 22 years old. I feel equally comfortable in both places.

 

[sc12]

Every store should be welcoming to any customer regardless of age, ethnicity, etc. The goal is to be profitable. If you're opening a vape shop as a hangout for your friends, save your cash and build a tree fort.

I should say...by every store, I mean stores of all types; not just vape shops.

 

[DaveP]

Most people who work in retail will be a part of the younger crowd unless the merchandise requires extensive knowledge and will generate enough profit to afford commissions to be paid. I don't have a problem with twenty somethings waiting on me but I expect them to be knowledgeable. Most of them know their stuff and can talk the talk and demonstrate the walk. I know which ones in my local vape shop who have some experience.

The more knowledgeable also don't always have customers who know what's going on and they appreciate that you have some experience with the finer points of vaping. I've been in both kinds of shops and sometimes I have to explain what I'm looking for and why. That usually brings about a response of, "Cool, where did you learn how to do that?".

It's all up to the owner to find competent people and train them sufficiently. My local vape shop does that and when I ask for something they turn around and go right to it and come back with exactly what I asked for.

 

[Giovanni99]

THeBestTest....
Love your response. Yes.. I was going to head shops before most of these people's parents were even married! And I don't mind a good blacklight poster. I do think it is a huge mistake on the part of the shops to mix glass pipes and head gear with e-cig /vape products. Maybe later, after vaping is well accepted by the masses. But for now, in our infancy, please do not send the wrong message to the community. Just because we vape doesn't mean we smoke anything illegal. But I saw today how it is screwing up the public's perception of vaping. Went into Omaha and visited 3 vape shops after work. 2 of them had head products and in one of them as we were waited to be served, I struck up a conversation with two women, probably around 45 or so. It was their first time in a vape shop, they were both long time smokers and wanted to quit cigarettes. When they saw the glass products they got very concerned and asked me if vaping was a cover for [Moderated] or ..... I assured them it was not but they wound up leaving anyway.
Ok, you are either a head shop or a vape store. You either sell shoes or you frame paintings. Pick one and stick with it. The money you make with glass will be pennies on the dollar when vaping really takes off. But by carrying glass in the store, you make us vapers guilty by association.
The states are eyeing laws. Laws that can severely affect vaping. Lawmakers will grab at anything to discredit vaping and give credence to their side. Please don't give them the ammunition to hurt vaping. Dump the glass for now or at least keep it behind the counter. Or, open a separate head shop.
This should have some interesting responses.

 

[1/2 fast]

A classy juice sampling bar and vapers lounge can be inviting and appropriate for all age groups.

View attachment 321740 View attachment 321741 View attachment 321742

Go there all the time.....it's a very diverse crowd...... young, old and everything in between. Sales force is top notch. I'm 62 and never feel out of place there. So it can be done right....just have to be fortunate enough to find or have the right place nearby.

 

[Bunnykiller]

I'm 73 year old. Walked into a local vape shop a while back, and when I walked in the store manager says "hi tj", a minute later a clerk says "hi tj". A customer that I had never met before then turns around and says "hi tj". We all had a good laugh! (she was kinda cute too)

So my question is, why don't the folks in the vape shop already know you?

becuz I wasnt wearing my shirt that sez " Im BunnyKiller" on it

 

[Giovanni99]

Now that's what I am talking about.
Some of the shops around here do have a couch, but it looks like the one that someone threw out and got rained on!

What is so cool about the vaping scene is that it is history in the making. If I am right, and I hope to God I am, kids born today won't know what a tobacco cigarette is by the time they are 18. They will ask their parents if people really smoked tobacco, what are the Beatles, and how could you watch a black and white TV set, and how did we attach the monitor to a typewriter, and what did we do before everyone had a 3d printer, and why did phones have a dial that you stuck your finger in and rotated?
I hope we don't screw it up.
This is why I am so against Chinese juice products. It will take just one bad batch, tainted with Gods know what, (maybe Melamine again), to get people sick. And the news will be all over it! Communities will demand that legislators do whatever it takes to stop the sale of vape supplies, or they will tax it out of existence.

 

[Robino1]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ation/255864-why-we-dont-allow-drug-talk.html

Please refrain from mentioning illegal substances on ECF. Thank you

 

[Saltraker]

RoseB, I love the term "quality vintage." Yes, those of us older folk can get into vaping just as far and just as easily as any younger person. We may not be tatted, we may like Motown or other other '60s music, we may not party as much as we used to. But we do have money to spend. I haven't spent much time in a B&M, so I can't offer any opinions...but I would hope I would be treated as any other vaper when I walk in. We're all in this together.

 

[DetraMental]

I wish I had a decent B&M around me to complain about service. The one that is around (45min away) only sells beginner kits and juice. I'm a DIY'er and so I'm not much into buying juice. He only sells 15ml bottles at $7 a pop, not bad but not what I'm looking for. I'd want the same as the rest of you. Good customer service without feeling like an outcast at a teen hangout. I wouldn't take kindly to being ignored and would definitely take my business elsewhere. But as fate has it I shop online so I don't have it to worry about.

 

[HoseGarden]

But, I don't have any tats or piercings and I don't wear tee-shirts with names of metal bands on them.
Nothing wrong with any of that, my kids enjoy it... but it's not for me.

thanks for the gross over-generalization

color me offended

 

[3mg Meniere]

RoseB, I love the term "quality vintage." Yes, those of us older folk can get into vaping just as far and just as easily as any younger person. We may not be tatted, we may like Motown or other other '60s music, we may not party as much as we used to. But we do have money to spend. I haven't spent much time in a B&M, so I can't offer any opinions...but I would hope I would be treated as any other vaper when I walk in. We're all in this together.

???? Hannibal isn't a very large town. Is there a vape store in Quincy? Or do you have to go to St. Louis? I originally came from somewhat north of there. I never have been comfortable living very far from the river, LOL.

 

[Yankez]

There's 2 vape stores close to me and service in both are good.

One has staff that are in there 20's and I've never felt "unwanted" in any way.

The other store are more in my age bracket ( mid 40's ) . One particular employee there has been super helpful and vows that through all my frustration as a new vaper, he will see me succeed

IMO if a vape store becomes the local hangout for the employees friends and customers are being ignored / mistreated..I wouldn't worry about it. Because before long the front window of that store with show a " FOR LEASE " sign

 

[Bolivar]

Any business owner should realize that 1) anybody that walks through their door is probably willing to give them some money before they leave if you have what they want at a price they find agreeable. 2) they came through your door of their own free will. Whether they come back is up to you and/ or your staff and your products, and if they have enjoyed their experience.

No business owner should allow any customer to be ignored. The 60+ year old retired lady's money is just as green as the 20 year old kid with tats and piercings money is. I bet you couldn't tell the difference between the 2 once it's in the cash drawer.

I think a vape shop owner that employed an older person the more mature crowd could relate to in terms of long term smoking habit cessation and general shared experiences would have a valuable employee.





Sent from the north 40 via messenger cow

 

[Grimwald]

I have 2 B&M stores in my town. One I frequent just to do my part to keep around. It seems to have customers around my age (well OK, within 20 years of my age...but still way above 30) and reasonable prices. The other store...let's just say I don't have enough tattoos and piercings (I don't have any BTW) to fit in.

 

[Racehorse]

A GOOD salesperson knows how to spot the customer with the money ready to spend, and knows not to ever pass up a potential sale to someone who very obviously has money.

Which is EXACTLY why, when I go to buy something expensive, like a new truck, I purposely dress down in jeans and t shirt.

I want to see if there is any kind of "bias" going on and if people are going to treat me "better" based on my appearance.

If that is the case, sorry, but they are not the person I want to get the commission. I was raised to treat everyone the same, whether it be the waitress in the local coffee diner, to the CEO of a major Fortune 500 company.

You find that out in life....the well bred and higher class of people don't treat people in "beater cars" any differently than they treat a Senator.

I guess you've never been around real money........."old money". They don't flaunt it.


There's a lot of interesting biases and predjudices coming out in this topic though. "Sleeved", "business suits".....all of that stuff. People seem to be saying that a business should have an air of serving certain kinds of "looks". I say that went out with Studio 54 in NYC back in the '70s when you had to dress a certain way so that the bouncers would let you in.

Vape shops are for vapers. We all share a common thread. Look for the commonality you have with others, instead of the differences, and you will find that we are all kinda in the same boat. Appearance judging just seems like a kinda shallow way to view other people. Be impressed with who people ARE, not what they HAVE.

 

[xanderxman]

I am in the over 30 crowd and almost in the over 40 crowd. I have stretched ear piercings, 12 tattoos and enjoy all types of music. I also enjoy the company of the people who work at my local B&M. Not everyone in the over 30 crowd fits the same mold. I would hate to walk into a B&M to hear Hall & Oates playing and be greeted by someone's grandmother. Vaping, as with most other fringe trends (which it is right now), attract the younger crowd. How many people wanted to go to an Elvis concert chaperoned by their parents?

Maybe I am different because I stay young at heart. No one at my B&M had any idea I was as old as I was, until I told them. Most B&M stores cater to the younger folks because they have mommy and daddy's money to spend. That is the extent of parenting for most people today. Give them the card and send them off.

Sometimes the guy that is overinked and looks like a metal band groupie actually has a rather large bank account and is ready to make a purchase.

 

[montara]

Hello Ignoring Vapers of quality vintage is a bad bad business move for these stores. I've been on this forum for a while. The folks that had been smoking for decades...they've got the best stuff! Especially the folks who smoked 20-40 plus years!! Most of them have more money to spend. Especially the folks who's kids are grown and out of the house. Some of the most awesome gear I've ever seen on this site belonged to grandmas and grandpas. No joke.

At least someone get$ it... and not a clone in the house

 

[PantherNipples]

The B&M near me has people of all ages, it's not overrun with a certain age group, despite the fact that I live in a college town.

With that said, I prefer to spend less money online