Via

Congrats on your 2year Vapeversary, big guy! As I sneak up on my one year celebration, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you fr your help and mentorship...I know I'm not the only one you have inspired to make a permanent change, but few are as grateful as I...

Hi there, BH!! So happy to see you and Mr Morandir and mr Smilin here too!! My success as a Vaper is due to the mentorship that I received from mr Morandir a year ago. (He will always have a place in my vaping heart!). And You, mr BH have such a wealth of knowledge as well! New vapers are in good hands!! As always, sending hugs your way, glad to see ou are here!!

Well, my list is long... 1. Honesty. If you are just re-branding some Chinese battery that has been on the market for eons, don't try to tell me that this is "new and improved" just because you changed the threads and possibly offer colors that no one else has...AND if you are selling me juice that has a "use by date" that has already passed, don't charge me full price and not tell me that this juice is 2-3 years old. Tell me that I am buying old juice and that you are trying to dump inventory. I will respect you more for your honesty. If I discover that you have lied to me, I cannot trust anything you say in the future". And, if you are discontinuing a juice line, be HONEST...just because YOU don't tell us, doesn't mean WE don't know...doing so makes you look dishonest and unreliable. Be aware of your client base, and what they are doing...if the client used to spend $200-500 a month for several months in a row, and then, suddenly their orders drop to a bottle of juice every month or two...you need to find out whats going on,,, that $200-500 went to another vendor...unless, of course, you have so many clients that losing big orders don't bother you...why has your forum gone from a vibrant, busy site to nothing but spammer posts? You have a problem... 2. Don't discount your clients intelligence...some of us have owned our own businesses, some have been employed in marketing, purchasing and every other aspect of business...the other thing to understand is that when you hire a new employee, you get what you pay for. Customer service, shipping, fulfillment are YOUR face to the customer. The best customer service is forthe customer not to need customer service! If you hire a warehouse/shipping employee at $10/hour versus one at $12/hour, you are "saving" $80,plus taxes, etc...but what is it costing you? When I order from you, and the $10 guy makes a mistake on EVERY order I make...I will eventually take my business to the vendor who hired the $12 guy, who ALWAYS gets my order right the FIRST time...you may have "saved" $80, but how many $100 orders did you lose? 3. Batteries..be upfront that the battery you offer is 350 mAH. Beauty works for a while, but, again, we aren't stupid, we will catch on eventually...and we will eventually realize that one one 900 mAH ego works 2-3 times longer than the pretty little batt we paid triple the price for! And speaking of price...if you copy an ego, rebrand it and now call it ID, it's still an EGO...we aren't so dumb that we will pay $40 for an ID, when everyone else sells an EGO for $20...being honest about what you are selling, giving a good price is MUCH more important than focusing only "battery longevity". Most of us realize a 1100mah batt will last longer than a 350 mAH battery...and th batteries have their uses. I own a little 350 mAH "mini ego" that I use when I go out and want to stealth vape...but at home, I want my tube batt with the 18650 batteries. EVERYONE wants "longer battery life, bigger carto capacity, better throat hit, flavor and big, huge vapor...I can't think of one Vaper I know that seeks a carto that doesn't hold enough juice which as awful flavor and has no vapor...like, DUH! 4. Offer a wide selection. Not all vapers want a stick batt that looks like a cigarette, nor do all vapers want a difficult rebuildable. The products you offer should be easy to use, work "right out of the box" and give us "good value". Some of us want just cartos, or clearos...others want expensive rebuildables...the vapers. Have talked to have one wish: to be able to have one vendor that offers EVERYTHING they need...they really don't like shopping at 5-6 vendors to get their batteries, cartos, tanks, wicks, mesh, and juice. We seek that ONE shop that has everything...and the ability to tell the vendor "I sure wish you would carry Kanthal and..." Be responsive to your clientele, and you will win their loyalty. Be sure to offer QUALITY products at a reasonable cost. Perhaps carry the unique works from modders who offer quality driptips, tanks and batteries. Serve the needs of the gadget geek! 5. Not all of us want 70/30 juice. I only patronize vendors who allow me to order "Juice X, 50mg bottle of 50/50, 16mg, extra flavor". Not everyone wears a size 5 shoe....offer small samples at a reasonable price. I've purchased from some vendors who offer NO samples at all, a client is forced to buy a 30ml bottle by only a description (and it's non returnable if its awful), as a newbie, I bought more bottles than I care to confess to, only to discover I didn't like the juice. To be honest, I felt abused. And one last suggestion, make the samples affordable! It seems grossly unfair to be charged 6-8 dollars for a 5ml sample when the 30ml bottle sells for $10-15! And if you have 3 or 4 juices that are your best sellers, please offer those juices in larger sizes...50ml, 75ml, 120 ml , etc...there are some juices that I use 90ml each month, which means I must order between 2-3 bottles...which I must recycle... 6). Give as much information, honest and truthful, to your clientele. Make some knowledgeable veteran vapers available to answer questions on Facebook or your ECF thread 24/7/365. New vapers have a lot of questions at all hours of the day. Nothing is worse for a new care to not have his new equipment work when all e needs is a simple fix...like pressing the ego button 5 times to turn it on. 7) Offer ECF discounts and customer loyalty perks...or maybe even free priority shipping for clients whose purchase history exceeds a certain level...we like to have our loyalty recognized. I hope you forgive my rant...my purpose is only meant to improve a vendors ability to communicate with his clientele. The SALE is what it is all about, and customer retention is a major goal, isn't it? Good luck with the reinvention of our product line!!

Oh, and. "I don't stink of cigarettes" and "I don't burn holes in my clothes". And "I don't have to smoke in the ice and snow and rain" and "I'm not a pariah anymore" and "I can smell things better now" and .....

Where is the "all of the above" button?

I prefer 16mg, but not many vendors offer 16...so I end up with 12 or 18.,, I ALWAYS buy 50 ml bottles, and prefer 75ml, but again, not many offer it...o e thing for vendor to note..I tend to patronize vendors who offer 50 ml bottles...I NEVER buy anything less than 30...and it takes a juice I can't live without for me to buy a 30 ml bottle! ALSO..when vendors add a sample to my order, more often than not, I end up adding that juice into my rotation. I purchase juice for 3 people; my som, sister and myself, so I order between 300-400 ml of juice every month...I appreciate even a little note saying "Via, thanks for your order!" Calling me by my first name, and acknowledging my ongoing patronage insures more orders...and a little sample helps TOO!!

Good luck...let us know the results!

Unfortunately, budget cuts have reduced the availability of services for the mentally challenged...too many people who really need services are denied access to mental health care. Additionally, as far as society has progressed in the past 30-40 years, the one thing that hasn't changed is the societal stigma attached to mental health issues. Folks who know they need help tend to not seek assistance because friends and family, and society in general, do not understand, and condemn rather than support someone who needs help. This man obviously needed help long before this incident...it's very sad that someone close to him didn't find help for him... I pray for the families who are coping with the loss of loved ones...

Always good to get a good explanation of volts/watts/ohms/mAH...if I hear it another 100 times, it might finally stick...my mind is more feeble than it used to be!

Congrats on your (almost) two years!! Glad to see you here, dear Mr Morandir!! Welcome, welcome!! Small world, eh?