I’m going to take the next few minutes to explain exactly what I expect from the vape shops near me, not because I am a picky customer, but because the owners I am surrounded by have a great business ethos and they keep their customers (from the beginner walking in off the street, to the hard-core cloud chasers) happy.
If you’re wondering about why you should care about how we are treated locally, you can use this as a guideline for your own experiences when you venture into a vape shop. There are good ones, bad ones, and some that should close their doors around this country – we as vapers know who fits into which category. Over the next couple of minutes, without blowing vape up any particular shops behind, we will look at what makes a shop successful from a customer’s perspective.
A New Customer Walks Into A Vape Shop
- Here we have a 25-year smoker, has no idea about vaping other than the fact that 4 of his friends have used it to get away from cigarettes.
- He tried the cig a likes at the Gas Station and they did nothing for him.
- After talking to the friends who had quit, he took their advice by going to the shop they recommended.
- He walks in and is greeted by the employee’s and asked if he needs help with anything.
- When he tells them his story he is shown the starter kits that were right in front of him as he walked through the front door. They talk to him about why this is the best way to start vaping, using pen style devices, rather than jumping in with high-powered mods, trying to keep his vaping journey as simple and painless as possible.
- After setting him up with a starter kit that they are giving him at cost, they set him up with flavors that match the profile they have helped him build.
I see this kind of interaction almost daily, not in one, but several of the vape shops near me. The new customer is given one-on-one attention from the second that there is an associate free to help them. Even if no one is free at that second, they will make sure that he knows as soon as they are able they will help him. All the employee’s have been trained to know their products and how best to send that smoker out of the door with the best chance possible of quitting smoking. The store has been set up in such a way that a potential new vaper isn’t immediately inundated with insane looking devices that look more like sci-fi laser guns than the cigarettes he is trying to get away from. The store makes sure that they know what kind of flavors he will be interested in before standing him in front of a wall of glass bottles filled with e-liquid, he doesn’t know what flavors he wants let alone the brand that he will eventually fall in love with.
One really important rule that they follow is that when one member of the vape shop staff begins to help that customer, they are the only person that is giving advice. I know we have all been in the shop with the helpful customers, the poor store clerk is trying to set a customer up for the first time and there is that one guy who knows what the customer needs better than anyone else.
You will never quit with that, you need 200 watts and a Sub-tank…
While he may think he is being helpful, he actually just told the new customer that the staff have no idea what they are talking about and now the potential new vaper is confused and may end up buying an expensive device that may not work for him. The staff in these stores have been trained to be able to keep Mr. Helpful from interfering with new customers. They don’t have to be douchey about it, just remind him that although his opinion may be valid they are setting the customer up to succeed.
Even though this particular vape shop is a vaper lounge, with couches and tv’s and around 20 people just hanging out and being vapers, the new customer wasn’t hit in the face with this crowd when he walked through the door. This area is at the rear of the store, away from the front door and glass cases filled with merchandise. From the street, you probably wouldn’t even realize that so many people were inside, it was designed to be warm and inviting.
When he walked in, he wasn’t overpowered by loud music, this place felt like a business he could trust. When he walked out of the door with his new vape set up, he was as satisfied as the friends who had originally recommended the place.
An Experienced Vaper Walks Into A Vape Shop
When we walk into vape shops as experienced vapers, there are many things we are looking for without realizing it, and, contrary to popular belief, neck beards, tattoo’s and half-dressed vape models aren’t on that list.
When I walk into a store, and I am sure you are the same, I look for a variety of e-liquids. One brand on the shelf isn’t really putting the customers best interest forward. All the shop is doing is encouraging vaper’s to go elsewhere for juice. Tene-liquid lines on the shelves are plenty, but the store makes sure to rotate between companies on a regular basis to keep the customers coming in to try new things. If the same thing that I didn’t like 6 months ago is still sitting there, I will take my business elsewhere as variety is the spice of life.
I just spent all morning looking up the latest and greatest devices on the internet, if you don’t have at least one or 2 of the devices I was looking at, I will shop elsewhere. What is worse than seeing shelves full of outdated merchandise is seeing it at last years prices. As customers, we understand that you have to make money, but my local vape stores understand that they will make more money by focusing on the new stuff and bringing the prices down on the items from last month. The customers who want the new gear have it in front of them and maybe someone who couldn’t afford that last month will be more comfortable with the lower price.
As an advanced vaper, my biggest let down when I walk into any shop is asking for information on a device that the vape shop is selling and I know more about it than an employee. The local vape shops I am talking about make sure that if it is on the shelf, their staff not only understand the specifications on the device but they have used it and can actually talk to the customers about it. If I ask about a specific e-liquid, the sales associate can not only tell me the flavor profile, but also the things about the liquid that aren’t written on the card.
I wouldn’t put my money into a bank if I didn’t trust the woman sitting behind the desk and I will surely not take advice about a device that could be potentially dangerous from someone who acts like he doesn’t want to be working today. Professionalism at the forefront of this industry will make or break a local vape shop and having faces that people can trust is paramount. These vape shops make sure that they have associates who can talk to the teenagers AND the older generation, unlike some places that feel like they are run by kids, for kids.
Conclusion
These are just a couple of examples from some local businesses that are successful and have customers that will refuse to shop anywhere else, the service that they receive when they are inside is exemplary. I know that there are thousands of shops around the country that live up to these standards and more, but the idea behind this post is simple. If your local vape shops sound nothing like these places, maybe its time to take your business elsewhere.
As always, enjoy your vaporizer and vape safe!
GREAT article! This should be required reading of all vape shop employees. Many owners too.
Kind of enjoyed the article all the way up till you made an asinine comment about “neck beards and tattoos”. Although I agree with beard needing scaped and trimmed I do realize you are one of the few still living in the past and not realizing that people such as yourself that are such short minded and uneducated about such things are some of what keeps a few people from evolving with the times. You do realize that a recent study shows that an employer not hiring someone with tattoos is now cutting his/her potential workforce by 33.5%.
Now I’ve been a Vaper for many, MANY years and I also do not go into a shop that there are a TON of newbies and just old enough to Vape blowing HUGE amounts to see how quickly they can fill up the room.
VAPE SHOPS….. Call your local HVAC guys ( or barter with one I’m sure come into your shop) and get a GOOD exhaust!!
JMHO
Russ, I completely agree with you about the good HVAC systems in stores and at the time of writing this piece it wasn’t something that readily came to mind, although since seeing your comment I realized that most of the shops I frequent are using powerful systems. As for the asinine comment, I truly appreciate your honest opinion but living in the past has nothing to do with presenting a professional appearance that will appeal to the general public. As it happens, this was a tongue in cheek reference to one of the biggest digs at our industry from the outside, the caricature that has been painted of the vaping community which doesn’t appeal to the majority of people. In any business, public image is everything, and to the 60-year-old woman who attends church 3 times a week hobo beards and tattoos on every inch of skin is not acceptable. We still share a planet with several generations who were raised to believe that you should dress for the job you want, not the prison yard you want to end up in and until they have all moved on from this life the stigma will still be there. As a person who has tattoo’s and a beard I understand where you are coming from, but at the same time, it’s not too much to ask that the person standing behind the counter doesn’t look like they live on the streets.