Continued from http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...n/612240-b-m-clerk-observations-part-1-a.html
Hello All. Well, it's been a few months since I started a job at a vape shop. It's a small franchise, well stocked and (I've been told by customers) with reasonably priced markup on items. The store has gone through a couple of employees recently so it's a little frustrating to get someone in to work just to lose him (I'm the only female worker), but so far at least everyone has been friendly and eager to do a good job. Sometimes life just gets in the way.
That aside, here are some more thoughts I have on the matter of working at a B&M.
It makes me really unhappy to read about bad experiences in the shops. I buy a good deal of my gear online, as I guess I could be considered a "seasoned vaper" at this point. I don't begrudge ANYONE getting a good deal. I've come to realize that most of my customers are
A) Brand new to vaping and need hands-on advice
B) Coming by for their regular e-liquids/coils
C) Having a problem with some gear
D) trying to satisfy an impulse buy.
I don't work on commission and I make very little hourly so I work at a vape store due to the fact that helping people transition to e-cigs from traditional smoking is my passion. I'm not in my teens or 20s though, so I've had enough life experience in other retail work to anticipate how individual customers need to be serviced. Some customers need and want very hands-on attention and some want to be led to water but left to drink on their own, so to speak. But courtesy and availability is paramount for a person in the customer service/retail environment and some of that skill set is learned and some of it is inherent.
The guys I've had the pleasure to work with have all, at least, presented themselves as eager to support and attend to the needs of the customer. They listen and are creative when some problems call for thinking outside of the box. Choosing flavors is, in my opinion, one of the more "difficult" aspects of the job, as that aspect is almost entirely up to the individual preference of the customer. To show enthusiasm and hopefulness that a suggestion or selection will genuinely please and benefit the customer can be tedious after a while. Fortunately I believe that I have seen a genuine desire to please come from those I have worked with, and frankly, by the employees of every single vape shop I have ever patronized as a buying customer.
New vapers, in my experience, are intimidated by the large selection of stock in our store. I try to break it down for them by saying that each item in the store is comprised of the same parts: battery, tank, and coil, even if each part looks different on many things. Battery makes the e-cig "go," the tank holds the liquid and the coil is like the "brain." If the brain is no good then the rest of the body won't work. (I am aware this sounds condescending and I am always sure to read my customer before phrasing things a certain way. It depends on the individual. In this particular instance I'm talking about someone who is BRAND NEW, a little scared, and has NO IDEA how these things work.) When I hold up an Evod, an Aspire starter kit or pointing to a mech mod, I try to show how essentially they all depend on the same parts.
That technique can be especially handy when someone is sincerely coming in to upgrade from your basic kit or Vision Spinner I. An ELeaf IStick looks huge and unwieldy to someone coming from an Evod, and very understandably so. Keeping myself tapped in to the mind of a new vaper is essential during times like these. Generally the promise of extended battery life (I'd say that's 80% of the reason why people, at first, want to upgrade, followed closely by "more power") is enough to soften their idea that something the size of an iStick is worth the adjustment in vaping style. If a customer is demonstrating that he or she isn't "ready" for the shape of even a small box mod, the conversation is moot and I show them other options (like a 1300 mah battery if they're using a 650 or 900 mah battery).
Problems with Aspire BDC coils have seemed to wane a bit since the BVC coil has been introduced and circulated into the vaping mainstream. Thank goodness. However, I still get customers who do not know they are supposed to change their coils -- at all.
I've only had one customer who didn't know he couldn't put an Atlantis on an MVP. My coworkers and I were on that like white on rice. Poor guy must have felt bombarded, lol.
So, these are just a few more thoughts and observations. I'm really sorry that there are so many bad experiences inside shops. I'm not putting this out here on the internet to try to make excuses or defend myself...I don't take B&M criticisms personally. But there are good shops out there and I try really hard to make the one I work at one of them.
I hope I haven't written anything here that anyone would find offensive or otherwise distasteful. Have a great day and happy Vaping, everyone.
Hello All. Well, it's been a few months since I started a job at a vape shop. It's a small franchise, well stocked and (I've been told by customers) with reasonably priced markup on items. The store has gone through a couple of employees recently so it's a little frustrating to get someone in to work just to lose him (I'm the only female worker), but so far at least everyone has been friendly and eager to do a good job. Sometimes life just gets in the way.
That aside, here are some more thoughts I have on the matter of working at a B&M.
It makes me really unhappy to read about bad experiences in the shops. I buy a good deal of my gear online, as I guess I could be considered a "seasoned vaper" at this point. I don't begrudge ANYONE getting a good deal. I've come to realize that most of my customers are
A) Brand new to vaping and need hands-on advice
B) Coming by for their regular e-liquids/coils
C) Having a problem with some gear
D) trying to satisfy an impulse buy.
I don't work on commission and I make very little hourly so I work at a vape store due to the fact that helping people transition to e-cigs from traditional smoking is my passion. I'm not in my teens or 20s though, so I've had enough life experience in other retail work to anticipate how individual customers need to be serviced. Some customers need and want very hands-on attention and some want to be led to water but left to drink on their own, so to speak. But courtesy and availability is paramount for a person in the customer service/retail environment and some of that skill set is learned and some of it is inherent.
The guys I've had the pleasure to work with have all, at least, presented themselves as eager to support and attend to the needs of the customer. They listen and are creative when some problems call for thinking outside of the box. Choosing flavors is, in my opinion, one of the more "difficult" aspects of the job, as that aspect is almost entirely up to the individual preference of the customer. To show enthusiasm and hopefulness that a suggestion or selection will genuinely please and benefit the customer can be tedious after a while. Fortunately I believe that I have seen a genuine desire to please come from those I have worked with, and frankly, by the employees of every single vape shop I have ever patronized as a buying customer.
New vapers, in my experience, are intimidated by the large selection of stock in our store. I try to break it down for them by saying that each item in the store is comprised of the same parts: battery, tank, and coil, even if each part looks different on many things. Battery makes the e-cig "go," the tank holds the liquid and the coil is like the "brain." If the brain is no good then the rest of the body won't work. (I am aware this sounds condescending and I am always sure to read my customer before phrasing things a certain way. It depends on the individual. In this particular instance I'm talking about someone who is BRAND NEW, a little scared, and has NO IDEA how these things work.) When I hold up an Evod, an Aspire starter kit or pointing to a mech mod, I try to show how essentially they all depend on the same parts.
That technique can be especially handy when someone is sincerely coming in to upgrade from your basic kit or Vision Spinner I. An ELeaf IStick looks huge and unwieldy to someone coming from an Evod, and very understandably so. Keeping myself tapped in to the mind of a new vaper is essential during times like these. Generally the promise of extended battery life (I'd say that's 80% of the reason why people, at first, want to upgrade, followed closely by "more power") is enough to soften their idea that something the size of an iStick is worth the adjustment in vaping style. If a customer is demonstrating that he or she isn't "ready" for the shape of even a small box mod, the conversation is moot and I show them other options (like a 1300 mah battery if they're using a 650 or 900 mah battery).
Problems with Aspire BDC coils have seemed to wane a bit since the BVC coil has been introduced and circulated into the vaping mainstream. Thank goodness. However, I still get customers who do not know they are supposed to change their coils -- at all.
I've only had one customer who didn't know he couldn't put an Atlantis on an MVP. My coworkers and I were on that like white on rice. Poor guy must have felt bombarded, lol.
So, these are just a few more thoughts and observations. I'm really sorry that there are so many bad experiences inside shops. I'm not putting this out here on the internet to try to make excuses or defend myself...I don't take B&M criticisms personally. But there are good shops out there and I try really hard to make the one I work at one of them.
I hope I haven't written anything here that anyone would find offensive or otherwise distasteful. Have a great day and happy Vaping, everyone.
Last edited:
