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Kinda pissed at one of my favorite b+m's

Droogbc

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So there's this b+m in town I've been frequenting since February 2015. Owned by a couple of good guys. Good mod prices, compared with other local b+m's.

They always treat me well, we chat, and I spend money. In fact, every regulated mod and 18650 battery I've purchased in the past 14 months has been from there (ipv3 Li, ipv d2, 2 rx200's, a Nitecore d4, an efest Blu6, 11 LG HG2's, 4 HE4's, 4 25R's, 6 VTC5's... plus a couple rda's, 140ml bottles, battery boxes, sometimes juice, etc.).

Yeah, I could order online and even after shipping and duty would be saving quite a bit of money, but these stores serve a purpose and I want to help support them.

Anyway, a few days ago I went in and bought that 2nd rx200, 6 HG2's and a Blu 6. I also had my original rx200 with me and had intended on asking them to update both rx's to the latest firmware for me since I don't own a pc and don't have one easily accessible. That day one of the owners was there and I'm sure he would have done it without any problem, but I totally spaced and forgot until I had gotten home.

So fast forward to yesterday. I finish with work, and looked like a scrub. A scrub holding about $500 in vape devices and with enough cash in my pocket to buy one of everything in the display case had I wanted to, but a scrub nonetheless.

So I walk into the vape shop to find neither of the owners in, but there were 3 guys working there. 2 of the guys (who happened to be Philippino) were awesome, friendly, and treated me just as well as the owners themselves do. Chatted with them and explained that I had forgotten to ask for the update when I was in a few days earlier. They tell me it's no problem at all, pull the batteries from my mods, and just as they're about to connect the usb cable the one white guy on staff walks up and quietly tells the other employee not to perform the update for me; it's not a service they provide. Then he walks away without even acknowledging me. The other two employees then turn around and apologize, saying they can't help me. (The whole thing happened literally right in front of me, 2 feet away.)

I was stunned. Reinstalled me batteries and walked out, pissed, with no intent on ever returning.

That same white guy has either ignored me completely, been a condescending prick, or otherwise made me feel unwelcome every time I've gone in while he's working... and before anyone calls me a cracker-hater, not only am I white, but I'm probably whiter than he is... kinda blows away the whole white privilege theory imo.

Annnnyway, I may or may not visit "The Vapory" www.thevapory.com again. Perhaps I'll pop in and have a chat with one of the owners, see if they'll be more receptive to pressing the update button for me, and talk about the value of good customer service.

(Fwiw, the only reason I mentioned white and Philippino at all is because he is literally the only white employee there, and I don't know any of the employees names. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out who I'm referring to should the management happen to see this post.)
 

UncleRJ

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Wow, what a dick!

You really should talk to the owners and let them know what happened though.

Hopefully they will put him in his place.

In the unemployment line.
 

pescadore

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Wow, what a dick!

You really should talk to the owners and let them know what happened though.

Hopefully they will put him in his place.

In the unemployment line.


I agree, I would definitely talk to the owner. This guy is a jerk and has no business working in retail. Hope you get the situation resolved and that jerk gets what's coming to him.
 

martnargh

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Tell the owners.....

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
 

BigNasty

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Wow, what a dick!

You really should talk to the owners and let them know what happened though.

Hopefully they will put him in his place.

In the unemployment line.
Sounds like the asshole is related to the owner in some fashion or the manager because that is not a PEON move to dictate about services.
 

Droogbc

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Sounds like the asshole is related to the owner in some fashion or the manager because that is not a PEON move to dictate about services.
I got the impression he might have been the manager, not only by seeing him jump at the opportunity to intervene in another obviously competent employees attempt at good customer service, but also by his completely dismissave attitude towards customers on some of my previous visits.
 

MrScaryZ

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I can understand whey they did not want to flash your firmware. Firmware flashing of any device always has the possibility of causing an issue. And if it went wrong they would owe you a new device. Flashing of firmware has never been a policy of any store. Its at your own risk
 

Droogbc

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I can understand whey they did not want to flash your firmware. Firmware flashing of any device always has the possibility of causing an issue. And if it went wrong they would owe you a new device. Flashing of firmware has never been a policy of any store. Its at your own risk

Stating that they are not going to be held responsible for anything related to a bad flash, then asking the well informed customer if that is an acceptable risk to them before proceeding would be the obvious answer to that. I mean, chances are if I'm holding two of these things and asking about firmware updates and tcr curves, I'm not a clueless noob. I can accept the risk (and obviously did by even asking, imo) or walk away.

Two minutes and they could even come up with a form you'd have to sign, proving the customer was advised of the risk and decided to proceed anyway.

My thoughts on the matter, anyway.
 

MrScaryZ

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Stating that they are not going to be held responsible for anything related to a bad flash, then asking the well informed customer if that is an acceptable risk to them before proceeding would be the obvious answer to that. I mean, chances are if I'm holding two of these things and asking about firmware updates and tcr curves, I'm not a clueless noob. I can accept the risk (and obviously did by even asking, imo) or walk away.

Two minutes and they could even come up with a form you'd have to sign, proving the customer was advised of the risk and decided to proceed anyway.

My thoughts on the matter, anyway.
Poor customer service is almost a given in just about 95% of all the B&M's I have visited and thats across the nation as I travel alot.. you are correct if they cared about their customers then they would have assisted you. But that brings the conversation into a much darker arena of why most B&M's exist in the first place..
 

Droogbc

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That's what bothers me the most about this situation. This store generally has incredible customer service, and I'm sure had I come in at a different day and time this situation would have never transpired. I happily pay more than online prices there, but less than neighboring b+m's who also happen to know me by name and have earned a bunch of repeat business.

Let's put it this way... I went in to buy a 4nine clone, what seems like an eternity ago, and they straight up told me not to buy it, stating that it was problematic and had the tendency to auto fire. Good folks.

There are a lot of terrible b+m's around as well, but I'm too well informed to deal with them. It just sucks that I may end up avoiding one of the better ones from now on because of this issue. I honestly don't want to see the guy again, because why would I do business with him if he's not even willing to directly discuss the issue with me? I don't feel that he respects the customer, and I'm probably not going to feel good about contributing to his salary... despite the fact that I like the owners and the store.
 

freemind

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Then you should TALK to the owner, and tell him what you have told us.

Give him the ultimatum of firing the jerk off, or you'll NEVER return to his store again.

Problem solved.

There are too many places to get vape gear, then to mull over this one B&M that you liked. Fuck them.
 

Droogbc

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That's pretty much the plan... should I decide to go back at all. Frankly, I've been looking for a reason to start shopping for vape gear online aside from the cost savings. Up until now, it was the instant gratification and the customer service that kept me going back to the b+m. Without the latter, the former isn't quite as important... especially if I can save a substantial amount of money per year by ordering from the 'states.
 

JuicyLucy

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That's pretty much the plan... should I decide to go back at all. Frankly, I've been looking for a reason to start shopping for vape gear online aside from the cost savings. Up until now, it was the instant gratification and the customer service that kept me going back to the b+m. Without the latter, the former isn't quite as important... especially if I can save a substantial amount of money per year by ordering from the 'states.

I'd be pissed about the interfering guy's attitude, but not the fact he stopped the upgrade.

I own and operate my own business (Not a vape shop) and will not allow my employees to allow customers to attache their technology with ours --- too much liability.

And even if an operation is successful, if something goes wrong with their devise later, they would probably blame us. Just not worth it.

With that said, the guy didn't have to be such a jerk about it. That also would no fly in my business.
 

Lost

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I get this is too simple of a thing to dwell on that long. But here's some dwelling anyway.

If I stopped going to every vape shops that pissed me off, there wouldn't be any vape shops to go to. At this point, they have to reach the proper level of bad. Not excusing bad customer service... that's just the way it is.

That dude who whispered to the employee. I guarantee you he had some inner logic in his brain that convinced him it was OK to do that. Who knows... he thought discreet was better than telling you in person, or he was leaving it to the underling to continue helping the customer without butting in.

Personally, I think refusing to do a favor is forgivable. It's how they handle your afterward that could the deal breaker. I guess you'll find out whether they want your business or not.
 

celticluvr

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I would definitely speak to the owners, especially because you've previously had such good service there. I hope they do something about that ass.
 

Droogbc

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In better news, after work today I stopped into one of my other favorite b+m's. Picked up a 180ml bottle of One Hit Wonder's My Man, used points to score a free 30ml bottle of Ice Cream Boy, and they happily updated both of my Rx200's in seconds.

Many thanks to Digital Vapor (www.digitalvapor.ca) for helping out a customer in need.
 

Zamazam

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Looks like the other B&M lost a customer due to a asshat employee. Let the owners know the guy was an asshat and treated you like a sack of yesterdays turds and that another B&M helped you out with courtesy and good customer service.

A local B&M was losing sales due a douchbag employee, turns out it was the owners son. After a conversation with Dad, his son got moved to shipping and away from customers.
 

Lost

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Our B&M had to let a dude go, maybe late last year. He refused to clean the store... even while the display cases were all nasty with vape gunk. Also, he was the type to get all excited about selling the most expensive/most powerful products to noobs... was scaring them off. Gave a noob a triple-batt sub-ohm monster to vape off... the noob immediately left, coughing and freaked out.
 

skt239

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i don't frequent many vape shops but by and large they seem to offer great customer service. That mainly has to do with the glut of competition they are dealing with in a 5 block radius. My other hobbies shops, the shooting sports, is jammed packed full of dicks, know it alls and asshats. For that reason I stick to one store and one store only. But even at that shop I've had a couple experiences that have left a bad taste in my mouth. Best thing to do is not write them off completely and just let the owner know what happened and who did it. It's hard out there and smart businesses do what's necessary to retain their customers.
 

SteveS45

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One of my favorite most helpful vape shops lost my business because his employee was more interested in playing with his Fidget Spinner than helping me find a Pen Style MOD for my GF. When I was leaving I pointed out to him wasn't this what I was asking about? Made a phone call a few days later and spoke to the manager who reprimanded the employee and I have never seen a FS in the store again but I have never made a purchase there since. I made a point to tell the manager that he lost her business to a company located in the UK which he happens to be from. Since that day if I see an employee dealing with me at any store playing with one of them I ask for a manager and tell them they will have a Disability Claim because their employee needs it removed from their rectum.
 

Droogbc

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Roughly 28 months later, I still haven't been back to "The Vapory." I occasionally check out their website, and it doesn't look like I'm missing anything either. Whoever is doing their purchasing these days clearly doesn't have experienced users in mind. Smok and Aspire, as far as the eye can see... And leftover Tobecco Super Tanks. Lol

The other shop that went out of their way to help me update mods they didn't even sell to me earned my business. Plus, they're closer to my home and have better parking. So, Digital Vapor has been getting my business, to the tune of approximately $150-$200 a month.

I like helping to support them, but I really need to research recipes and make an order from diy-ejuice to reduce that monthly expenditure a bit. I'll still frequent DV though, just to make sure they stay around and accessible for as long as possible.

I'd tell you who moved this thread to the mud pit, where it doesn't belong, but I bet some of you could venture an accurate guess without me having to say another word. Hint: It wasn't me.
 
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SteveS45

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Yeah I was kind of surprised this is in the MUD Pit when I saw it. Doesn't require too much brain power or extreme summation to figure out.
 

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