Brick and mortar shops

[spr258]

I was just wondering if this is what is happening to local shops?

I have been going to my local shop for many things instead of using online dealers. I like to shop local and sometimes it better with warranty and juice. I know I could save money but I would rather see local shops survive. They have helped me with building coils and getting into vaping. I am very glad I have visited.

BUT today I go down to the local shop. I have never been charged for testing and the manager has been nothing but nice. The manager just left and I have to deal with the owner. I bring my wife in to try some flavors. She just stopped smoking and it is going to be hard for her. She does no like the juice I use and is tired of smelling it. I ask the owner if it is ok to try some juice. He rolls his eyes and tells her she will be charged for sampling. If she wants to put it on her hand and taste it then there is no charge. She tries a couple flavors and they are not what she wants. All she is looking for is a lemon flavor. Not lemon and strawberry, custard, or anything mixed with lemon. Each time the owner is giving her attitude and tells her she is not tasting it right. It will be better when she vapes it. She doesnt want to spend $20-$30 on something she is not going to like. She finally decides on one and we get it. When we walk out she is so mad and says she never wants to go there again.

I have been going there for almost 5 months and have had nothing but nice things to say. I have bought a mod, build kit, wire, cotton, coils, juice, and many other things. Had to drag her there because she did not want to go and now the owner is an ass. Now I know why so many others use online shops.

 

[Raymcconn]

In my state you have to be charged to sample the juice. Just the law.
Most charge a $1.00 and you sample all you want.

 

[spr258]

In my state you have to be charged to sample the juice. Just the law.
Most charge a $1.00 and you sample all you want.

I would have no problem with that but why all of a sudden? I asked the manager and he said no charge. Now the owner says yes. I was at the shop a week ago and tried 3 different juices before I got one.

 

[Letitia9]

The lemon and lemon drops from Zeus E Juice are pretty good. Glas Pound cake is a good lemon vape as well. The Zeus lemon drops was my first adv before I aquired multiple tanks.

 

[Raymcconn]

I would have no problem with that but why all of a sudden? I asked the manager and he said no charge. Now the owner says yes. I was at the shop a week ago and tried 3 different juices before I got one.

That you would have to ask them. Might be possible the Manager just wasn't enforcing the Rule. Don't know.
I should add it could be a new rule that took affect since the last time you were in.

 

[ScReWbALL]

Where I’m at, the laws have started gumming up the works. Like mentioned before there are no longer free samples, but I’ve only been charged it once and didn’t mind because the proceeds they used from the sampling were donated to the children’s hospital, but the one that took effect the last year or so has really stung. Unless you have a business license to sell e-juice, you can not have any juice delivered to you...so, I can’t buy juice online anymore. This has limited my options to only what they sell at the B&M shops and from any DIY’ers and I hate that because the shops here are notorious for changing the flavors they carry so often that it’s pointless to even look at a book of what they carry and none of the shops here have updated their websites juice bar since they first started. Another one that came down in the last 6 months or so hasn’t effected me, but it just seemed strange...none of the employees of vape shops here are allowed to speak of vaping being an alternative to smoking or that there is any health benefit from moving from smoking to vaping anymore. They started posting signs on the entrances asking to not even broach the topic with workers of even pointing out the differences between smoking and vaping. Yet all of the smoke and cigar shops around here are free to verbally bash the hell out of vape shops and people that vape and I’ve even seen literature printed up and passed out....ridiculous! I understand that the jury still seems to be out on if there are any negatives to vaping as opposed to smoking and so forth, but to completely shut down one side of the argument from being able to bring up the topic while practically giving the other side a megaphone to spout their opinions just seems ludicrous to me!


You're not drinking water are you?! You realize that stuff is found in antifreeze!?!

 

[Zamazam]

I was just wondering if this is what is happening to local shops?

I have been going to my local shop for many things instead of using online dealers. I like to shop local and sometimes it better with warranty and juice. I know I could save money but I would rather see local shops survive. They have helped me with building coils and getting into vaping. I am very glad I have visited.

BUT today I go down to the local shop. I have never been charged for testing and the manager has been nothing but nice. The manager just left and I have to deal with the owner. I bring my wife in to try some flavors. She just stopped smoking and it is going to be hard for her. She does no like the juice I use and is tired of smelling it. I ask the owner if it is ok to try some juice. He rolls his eyes and tells her she will be charged for sampling. If she wants to put it on her hand and taste it then there is no charge. She tries a couple flavors and they are not what she wants. All she is looking for is a lemon flavor. Not lemon and strawberry, custard, or anything mixed with lemon. Each time the owner is giving her attitude and tells her she is not tasting it right. It will be better when she vapes it. She doesnt want to spend $20-$30 on something she is not going to like. She finally decides on one and we get it. When we walk out she is so mad and says she never wants to go there again.

I have been going there for almost 5 months and have had nothing but nice things to say. I have bought a mod, build kit, wire, cotton, coils, juice, and many other things. Had to drag her there because she did not want to go and now the owner is an ass. Now I know why so many others use online shops.

Some vape shops are biding their time before they go out of business. With the owners condescending and prick attitude, it will happen sooner or later. Some vape shops are really great, but unfortunately I seem to find them less and less and more of the poor service ones.

 

[SMOKIE]

Any Newbie with under a year of vaping should use a shop before buying online to get the knowledge, and experience first.

 

[MrMeowgi]

The lemon and lemon drops from Zeus E Juice are pretty good. Glas Pound cake is a good lemon vape as well. The Zeus lemon drops was my first adv before I aquired multiple tanks.

The glas is really good.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[CJ-3]

I disagree. A local shop is not needed even for first timers.
Anyone willing to do some research or ask some forum questions can order what the need online.

 

[ScReWbALL]

Any Newbie with under a year of vaping should use a shop before buying online to get the knowledge, and experience first.

View attachment 94848

Hate to play devils advocate, but you’re running under the assumption that the people in the shops are knowledgeable, non-elitist, and willing to spend time explaining and teaching things to said newbie rather than hanging out with friends all going “Clouds, brah”. Last piece advice I saw a shopworker give a newbie was that all he needed to learn to build was a parallel coil using 22ga Nichrome 80 that ohms out to .04


You're not drinking water are you?! You realize that stuff is found in antifreeze!?!

 

[SMOKIE]

I disagree. A local shop is not needed even for first timers.
Anyone willing to do some research or ask some forum questions can order what the need online.

Right! tell the vaper who bought those shit batteries online for use in a mec mod at low ohms that blew his face up.

.

 

[Mykreign]

I went to the same shop for years and they helped me get my first set up and grow from there. The workers were all so cool and fun to talk to. Then one day everyone was new and the owner was working with customers more often. That guy was a complete ass. If you had a problem, it was your fault. No way it could be a faulty mod or coil. Got to the point where I dreaded going in there.

Then I started making my own coils and juice and never had the desire to go into another shop. Not to mention the 200%+ mark ups.

About paying to sample juice, I went to a different shop because a buddy had to pick something up, and they had an awesome way to pay to sample. They would tell you, “take a quarter out of this bowl and put it in the other bowl.” I thought to myself, why aren’t more shops doing this?

Tdlr: some shops can be amazingly helpful and some can be horrible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ScReWbALL]

Right! tell the vaper who bought those shit batteries online for use in a mec mod at low ohms that blew his face up.

View attachment 94850 .

As opposed to say, when a newcomer to mechs goes to a shop and the workers tell him the green IMREN batteries that they sold are true 40amp batteries and are the best on the market for sub ohm’ing and in mechs? (Literally what happened to me)


You're not drinking water are you?! You realize that stuff is found in antifreeze!?!

 

[CJ-3]

Right! tell the vaper who bought those shit batteries online for use in a mec mod at low ohms that blew his face up.

View attachment 94850 .

You do realize that the extension of your argument is if your area has no local vape store then by default no one in that area should vape.

 

[SMOKIE]

As opposed to say, when a newcomer to mechs goes to a shop and the workers tell him the green IMREN batteries that they sold are true 40amp batteries and are the best on the market for sub ohm’ing and in mechs? (Literally what happened to me)


You're not drinking water are you?! You realize that stuff is found in antifreeze!?!

The shops here I have been to know their stuff, if you come in with crap bats they will replace them at no charge because they care enough about your safety.

 

[ScReWbALL]

The shops here I have been around here know their stuff, if you come in with crap bats they will replace them a no charge because they care enough about your safety.

View attachment 94851 View attachment 94852

And that’s awesome and I applaud those workers, but you have to understand how lucky you are to have such a shop around. Some of us don’t. I had to learn myself through forums and YouTube vids...at the beginning, R.I.P. Tripper, though he’s a tool, breaks things down for newbies pretty well, then I moved to Twisted Messes videos, and then Squidood and M Terk and Ohmboy OC, etc...I had to self teach and learn to read mooch reports and be able to weed out crap gear for good gear. But if someone isn’t as motivated to learn about all that and just use one source and that source is someone behind a counter that quite possibly doesn’t even vape...bad deal and just as dangerous as mass produced clones from China

 

[SMOKIE]

And that’s awesome and I applaud those workers, but you have to understand how lucky you are to have such a shop around. Some of us don’t. I had to learn myself through forums and YouTube vids...at the beginning, R.I.P. Tripper, though he’s a tool, breaks things down for newbies pretty well, then I moved to Twisted Messes videos, and then Squidood and M Terk and Ohmboy OC, etc...I had to self teach and learn to read mooch reports and be able to weed out crap gear for good gear. But if someone isn’t as motivated to learn about all that and just use one source and that source is someone behind a counter that quite possibly doesn’t even vape...bad deal and just as dangerous as mass produced clones from China

You forget some people do not have the time to research with expecting a shop to know all the ins, and outs which is a shame when hey hire inexperienced vapers who know shit.

 

[Letitia9]

It simply isn't like that for everyone Smokie. We have one shop that is owned by people that don't vape. They have one pt employee that vapes, but only drips and uses mechs. Knows nothing about helping newbs.

 

[Letitia9]

You tube taught me how to vape. I feel lucky to have had at least that.

 

[SMOKIE]

You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink it,

 

[Chum]

I agree it could be a new law. One of my local shops used to have a BOGOF (buy one get one free). They had to change it to buy one , get one for a quarter because of a new law.

 

[spr258]

Wow so much has been said and I’m at work and can’t respond to everyone. Yes I did have a problem with charging for samples. But the big problem I have is an asshole owner rolling his eyes when someone wants to see if the flavor of juice is good. This is one of the only reasons I go to a local shop. That and a great manager that had no problem answering very dumb questions for a newb, showing me how to build and wick coils, and letting me try any juice I want for free. But now that the owner will be there 7 days a week and a bunch of high schoolers that have no idea of what’s going on I do not think I will be going back.

 

[Just Frank]

The closest ones to me are an hour away. Two per town in opposite directions. ALL of them have turned into EVERYTHING Smok. Only one of them sells wire/wick and he said he's phasing it out. Most of the customers just want to pop a coil in and go.

One of the places hires a bunch of jerks. The other three are really nice people. But they also sell pipes, bongs, and the reggae music plays lol. One of them still has a bunch of ego things for flavor testing free of charge.

 

[Synphul]

A lot of the places around here were head shops that just decided to start carrying vape stuff. Shops are only as good as the employees regardless of the merchandise. I didn't rely on shops when I started, I looked around online as much as I could. Much of what I've learned came from these forums, either directly from members or indirectly from finding various reviewers and youtube tutorials. Some shops have awesome employees who know their shit, others are charging triple what devices should cost and selling them efest and trustfire batteries.

I've run into the same shit anywhere I've gone, some automotive shops are great. You tell them what you need and they grab it or if you ask them for a particular gasket set they include all the gaskets for the job. They understand what you're working on and know you'll need xyz as well so you don't have to keep asking.. and that..and get me that..and that.. yes, grab that..yes two, there are two of them. I've had auto parts jockeys sit there and argue with me over what size socket to use on lug nuts because I asked for a 21mm and he tried to convince me it was 7/8". Maybe in shadetree 'close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades' logic. I knew what I wanted and while I appreciated that he was all eager after his 3hr shift at mcd's only one of us had their ase certs. Wasn't him.

A perfect example was tool trucks. One was run by a retired mechanic with 30-40yrs experience, the other was a furniture salesman who picked up a tool truck franchise thinking he'd sit on his fat ass and collect a paycheck every week. Both drove name brand trucks, both had good quality tools. The difference in who was interfacing between the customer and the merchandise made a night and day difference. One would make a special trip if you needed a tool knowing you had a deadline, the other you'd ask where your order was 5 weeks in a row because dumbass forgot to order it. Vape shops are no different.

Obviously it'd be great if shops that specialized in a certain field were actually proficient and helpful but that's rarely the case. You still find some good ones but there are a lot of tools out there who couldn't spell vape shop owner but now they is one. The good ones will thrive and hopefully the poor ones either change their ways, strive to improve or sink.