VaporShark rDNA

[alicewonderland]

Got my response from my VaporShark ticket today. It is prettymuch the same email that has been posted earlier, except I did also ask about the Cyber Monday sale situation. This rep did mention what had happened:



It was a really nice email. I have been kind of a baby about the whole thing but their communication has been really refreshing to be honest. I'm also glad they've posted on Facebook about the reason behind the whole thing.

see, to all those who have been calling us stubborn and impatient. we get a response from vaporshark finally. If consumers did not complain, companies would not be pushed to deal with them. im glad vaporshark has officially anounced on their facebook about this issue, and will be waiting for my order.

 

[NoLaSlim]

Cotay, I agree. I think it may have had something to do with people going to their Facebook page and asking about order statuses.

Sounds less like CS and more like PR to me.

 

[cjpeltz]

Maybe its different for those that have ordered from VS in the past. For me, their customer service has been excellent in the past. I am willing to overlook this as a problem given my past history and the fact that the fault is not theirs. And I dont need them to send me an email because I know whats happening from this forum. And thats good enough for me. They stand behind the quality of their products and I see what they are doing here as an extra check to ensure the boards arent bad. We ordered on cyber monday knowing there would be a backlog. So I wait patiently. If it gets to Feb and no device, then I might worry

 

[Cotay]

Maybe its different for those that have ordered from VS in the past. For me, their customer service has been excellent in the past. I am willing to overlook this as a problem given my past history and the fact that the fault is not theirs. And I dont need them to send me an email because I know whats happening from this forum. And thats good enough for me. They stand behind the quality of their products and I see what they are doing here as an extra check to ensure the boards arent bad. We ordered on cyber monday knowing there would be a backlog. So I wait patiently. If it gets to Feb and no device, then I might worry

I have ordered from VS in the past too. I'm happily vaping my DNA30 tonight and I expect I'll have the same experience when my rDNA40 finally arrives. I don't have any issues with the delay; it is unreasonable to hold VS accountable for a schedule delay that is beyond their control. But appropriate customer communication is within their control and it is reasonable to expect that some folks will want to cancel orders in time for Christmas. By not ensuring that a batch email goes out, VS is running the risk that many folks will not get the message; those customers are likely to be even more ticked off when it becomes too late to make alternative arrangements. If you want bad PR, that is the way to go about it.

 

[pistolpete08]

if you click on their rDNA 40 combo packages with the russian it still only says 15 days but if you only select the rDNA 40 it states 30 days. Don't know if thats an error or why some have gotten theirs before others. Good question for VS

 

[jsx821]

And you were doing so good till this point.

Cool story..

 

[markophonic]

As others have mentioned, their response is more public relations than customer service. Its a pretty low key attempt at damage control. Facebook...really? That is the only place I can learn about what is going on with my order? A simple email would go a long way with keeping me in the loop and then put a notice right on the front page of the website explaining the situation...that would work for me.

If they would just get in front of the situation and inform people it would go a long way. We know whats going on because we frequent a forum that is staying on top of the situation...I don't like having to find out "through the grapevine". Just send me an email explaining the issues and I'll understand.

 

[alicewonderland]

As others have mentioned, their response is more public relations than customer service. Its a pretty low key attempt at damage control. Facebook...really? That is the only place I can learn about what is going on with my order? A simple email would go a long way with keeping me in the loop and then put a notice right on the front page of the website explaining the situation...that would work for me.

looks like from this section of their facebook post:

"Regardless of your decision, we appreciate your business and from the bottom of our hearts apologize for this unforeseen inconvenience. Moreover, we appreciate your patience. If you are a customer whom purchased an rDNA 40 after November 24th then you fall within this category; you will receive an email with this same information as well as a promo code for a free Vapor Shark 30ml e-liquid as a token of our appreciation."

that people are supposed to get emails as well.

 

[yoitstj]

So, I'm curious about something. VS came out and apologized for the massive delays. Does that mean that all the people on this thread in the past few weeks that have said they ordered one and received it in less than a week are just lying? Or were they extremely lucky? Perhaps some of both? Just a thought. Mine was ordered Oct 30 and still hasnt shipped.

 

[StrikeIII]

So, I'm curious about something. VS came out and apologized for the massive delays. Does that mean that all the people on this thread in the past few weeks that have said they ordered one and received it in less than a week are just lying? Or were they extremely lucky? Perhaps some of both? Just a thought. Mine was ordered Oct 30 and still hasnt shipped.

Wow! Oct. 30th! That does not seem right. Have you tried giving them a call. I personally know a couple people that ordered around your timeframe and have received their devices before Thanksgiving.

 

[txfordguy]

So, I'm curious about something. VS came out and apologized for the massive delays. Does that mean that all the people on this thread in the past few weeks that have said they ordered one and received it in less than a week are just lying? Or were they extremely lucky? Perhaps some of both? Just a thought. Mine was ordered Oct 30 and still hasnt shipped.

Which device did you order? From what I can tell, the backup is with the rDNA 40 devices. I got the DNA 30 and got it in 8 days.

 

[JoppaRoadCruiser]

So, I'm curious about something. VS came out and apologized for the massive delays. Does that mean that all the people on this thread in the past few weeks that have said they ordered one and received it in less than a week are just lying? Or were they extremely lucky? Perhaps some of both? Just a thought. Mine was ordered Oct 30 and still hasnt shipped.

Extremely lucky I guess. It seems to be with rdna40 single orders. I ordered the Russian 91 and rdna40 combo and it shipped out the next day. I still don't think anyone has received an explanation as to why they were fulfilling the "combo" orders before others. October 30....what!!!! Crazy man. Sorry to hear that.

 

[NOVA jon]

Someone posted or I read somewhere that a few orders that were place on the cyber Monday sale got sent out by mistake due to a software glitch and that future orders will be be filled FIFO

 

[RebelGolfer72]

Hey folks, just want to chime in and throw down my two cents.

My biggest gripe isn't the wait, I understand that these orders take time to fill, and these are very well made devices and are clearly worth the wait. My issue with this is the fact that I sent them my hard earned cash with the expectation of having the unit shipped within the promised 15 business day time frame, and that these unforeseen delays with the bad boards from Evolv are not actually unforeseen at all. The bad chips have been a known issue for a while.

I feel like the responsible practice would have been to simply list the item as out of stock until production caught up. I think we have all experienced wanting the next new shiny, only to find it out of stock on through all of our favorite vendors. This just leaves a horrible taste in my mouth for future dealings with this company. It feels too much like a cash grab with little or no regard for the actual end user experience from shopping cart to vape mail. It feels like they were afraid if they were listed as "out of stock," they would have lost sales due to people who would have spent money on their product instead buying the Vapor Flask or the Hana, which still have a few available for purchase last I checked.

Bottom line, I feel stuck. I really wanted the VS rDNA 40. But I also really do not want to reward this company with my money for what I feel like is bad behavior. It will take four or five days to process a refund back to me, which pretty much means the money will not get back to me in time to get another dna 40 product shipped to me before Christmas.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, companies do not wait until they have a mega distribution center fully stocked before offering items for sale. They base their items for sale on quantity on hand + quantity en route + promised quantities to be delivered. Now when you are dealing with offshore manufacturing, you can have bumps in the road that sometimes do not become known until later than you expect. Add in a much higher than estimated demand, and longer delays. It happens. So why offer products, even though they are going to be slow delivery (and note it at the top of your page)? The more who are ordering now isn't helping VS profits, but is giving them the funds necessary to try and expedite the fulfillment from China, try and bring on extra hands to assist clearing the backlog they have. Add in that this is the time of year where there is no shortage of part time/short term jobs available, so in this case, finding workers is harder, and come at a premium...if they are not raising the prices, what is paying for it? They are cutting in to their profits. Again, this is a small company, not Amazon.com

Got my response from my VaporShark ticket today. It is prettymuch the same email that has been posted earlier, except I did also ask about the Cyber Monday sale situation. This rep did mention what had happened:



It was a really nice email. I have been kind of a baby about the whole thing but their communication has been really refreshing to be honest. I'm also glad they've posted on Facebook about the reason behind the whole thing.

Actually, you admitting that is one of the more adult comments I've seen here in a while

 

[Cotay]

looks like from this section of their facebook post:

"Regardless of your decision, we appreciate your business and from the bottom of our hearts apologize for this unforeseen inconvenience. Moreover, we appreciate your patience. If you are a customer whom purchased an rDNA 40 after November 24th then you fall within this category; you will receive an email with this same information as well as a promo code for a free Vapor Shark 30ml e-liquid as a token of our appreciation."

that people are supposed to get emails as well.

My opinion is that VS should have been prepared to send those customer emails at the same time they posted this on Facebook or at the very least the same day. I have still not received such a communication from VS.

 

[Elyptic]

Someone posted or I read somewhere that a few orders that were place on the cyber Monday sale got sent out by mistake due to a software glitch and that future orders will be be filled FIFO

That's my understanding as well. I don't think they meant to jump orders in the queue.


Bits scrambled by Tapatalk...

 

[RebelGolfer72]

My opinion is that VS should have been prepared to send those customer emails at the same time they posted this on Facebook or at the very least the same day. I have still not received such a communication from VS.

Understandable to believe that they should be getting updates (I have gotten updates like this from Shapeways, Amazon and many other retailers over the years). To play devil's advocate, though, we don't know how their merchant software is written, the access they have to the customer/order records, if they actually control that information, or if it is even possible to get that for a bulk mailing of selected software. May be something that would cost more than they can spare at the moment, may be something that will take time to implement, may be something that is a strictly manual process. Working for a major corporation, I have tools available for mass emails, and can get mailing lists from various applications, but a smaller company may not have these luxuries.

with the crunch that is going on now (larger than expected order volume, supply chain delays, holiday rush) now is NOT the time where they can afford to take the risk of any changes to their systems. Or devote a number of individuals and man hours to personalize communications. I would imagine that all resources are in a "all hands on deck" scenario, and any extra cash flow is funding temps to assist. If that is the case, then I would say: "You see the delay mentioned on the website, you know about the mass communication through Facebook, so you know why, what is going on, and you are informed, and VS is offering something to help make it right with you... So now I ask: do you still need a personal email sent to you, or would you like your device a day or so sooner?"

Even ProtoVapor is going through the same pains, but with them being a US company and producing a much smaller quantity, it may not be as pronounced, but between their 5-9 business day lead time + 4-5 business day shipping delay, you are looking at 2-3 weeks (14-21 calendar days) plus actual shipping time in addition to actual transit times to get a device... vS isn't that much behind them there

Status 12/10: Nautilus TSC coils in! Plus things | Protovapor.com

 

[Cotay]

Understandable to believe that they should be getting updates (I have gotten updates like this from Shapeways, Amazon and many other retailers over the years). To play devil's advocate, though, we don't know how their merchant software is written, the access they have to the customer/order records, if they actually control that information, or if it is even possible to get that for a bulk mailing of selected software. May be something that would cost more than they can spare at the moment, may be something that will take time to implement, may be something that is a strictly manual process. Working for a major corporation, I have tools available for mass emails, and can get mailing lists from various applications, but a smaller company may not have these luxuries.

with the crunch that is going on now (larger than expected order volume, supply chain delays, holiday rush) now is NOT the time where they can afford to take the risk of any changes to their systems. Or devote a number of individuals and man hours to personalize communications. I would imagine that all resources are in a "all hands on deck" scenario, and any extra cash flow is funding temps to assist. If that is the case, then I would say: "You see the delay mentioned on the website, you know about the mass communication through Facebook, so you know why, what is going on, and you are informed, and VS is offering something to help make it right with you... So now I ask: do you still need a personal email sent to you, or would you like your device a day or so sooner?"

Even ProtoVapor is going through the same pains, but with them being a US company and producing a much smaller quantity, it may not be as pronounced, but between their 5-9 business day lead time + 4-5 business day shipping delay, you are looking at 2-3 weeks (14-21 calendar days) plus actual shipping time in addition to actual transit times to get a device... vS isn't that much behind them there

Status 12/10: Nautilus TSC coils in! Plus things | Protovapor.com

Fair enough. However, even if we grant that VS isn't capable of sending notices to actual rDNA40 customers, they at the very least could send a notice to all customers who subscribe to their email newsletter. I'm willing to bet that most customers have opted to subscribe to receive such notifications during the checkout process.This is a big enough delay and the issue significant enough, that it would warrant notification "by any means necessary".

 

[Heespharm]

This is déjà vu all over again ... Exactly like the preorder...

Vaporshark is a great product with great reliability ... Great unit to unit consistency.. Good customer service by phone... But horrible customer service in difficult times ..


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[nelsonm64]

this is starting to kinda sound like the "Futura" DNA mod debacle.... not good, they should have put them out of stock until they caught up.