Let me start off, I've seen numerous threads about vaping in public, mainly where smoking isn't allowed. This isn't really the topic about this thread, but a topic about the input of store management and their opinions on it!
So let's start off. To begin, I'll go ahead and let the cat out of the bag: the store managers input will be mine, the store I manage (a big box retailer, which I WON'T release the name of), and 2 others from my two good friends who also are on management teams.
So let's begin, shall we?
I'm very lenient on vaping in my store, obviously! I do it myself. I can understand why you would do it. I'll reveal one part of my job, and that's a pharmacy (doesn't really narrow anything down, most stores do!). We have a ton of older folks coming through and getting medicines and prescriptions, and other various groceries and items. Believe it or not, older folks are the majority of the vapers I see coming through!
But they are also ones more likely to complain, since a lot of them aren't aware of what it is.
So lets say you are walking around, shopping and checking items out. You're more than likely gonna be confronted by me for 2 reasons.
1. You are blowing decent sized clouds, not trying to be stealthy. A customer has seen this, and has complained.
Or
2. I happen to notice you doing it.
Now, both of these scenarios are gonna play out the same. I'll walk up to you, make sure your shopping experience is top notch, and then I'll ask you about your vape. I love seeing vapers in the wild! I'll ask about juice, your mod, ect. I may even mention this site but after we exchange friendlies, I'll let you know that you need to be stealthy to avoid bad attention. I'll pull out my gear, and show you I'm not your enemy, but in case you get enough complaints, I'll unfortunately have to ask you to stop completely. I've had some bad experiences with this, I'll tell later on.
So that person will be completely (hopefully) comfortable using their vape more discreetly. This is 99% of my encounters. However, there are some bad ones.
But as you can see, I'm not out to get anyone. And I've talked to a lot of other managers at my meetings from other stores, and they are the same way. They'd much more like if you asked a member of management before you start, but more than likely it won't be a problem. There are a few uptight managers, so watch out for those.
Now I mentioned my friends who are also managers. They work the same way as me! We are all different ages (22-38) and as long as you are nice, and respectable, they won't have a problem either.
So let's talk about my bad experience. This guy was definitely a rotten apple. He was chucking huge clouds straight up, and you can definitely see them over the isles. I had (I counted) 4 different complaints from different people. So I went over to him and gave him the usual talk, but he was negative about it completely. He told me he wasn't smoking, he was vaping, before I could even reveal I was one of him! He shrugged me off and walked away. I told him if I get enough complaints I'll have to ask him to leave. What did he do?
He walked back to be about 2 feet away, took a toot on his rda, (it looked like a doge, can't be sure!) and blew it straight into my face. It tasted like gummy bears.
This particularly irritated me, so I told him one last time to be more discreet, but before I could finish he cussed me out, and threw up some gestures that left a taste in my mouth worse than his gummy bears.
I told him if he doesn't leave, I'll call the police to escort him out. He basically shrugged it off, and continued shopping. So I called the police. Within a few minutes they were there, taking him out to write up an official banning from the property. I went out there to sign papers and he told the officer I kept telling him he was "smoking" and he had to stop.
Wwwwweeellll I pulled out my gear and basically started vaping quietly as I signed papers. I asked him if that's sure what I said, and help up my mod.
I'm hoping to share my experiences and my opinions with you guys and gals from a vaper, and retail manager. As well from some of my friends opinions, and they don't even vape! Most store workers (through these store chains) don't even mind as long as you aren't getting a ton of attention from other customers.
There are so many vape shops in my immediate area now that I can't even keep track of them all.
Even though I still qualify as a newbie vaper, since I've only been vaping for a few months, I now know enough about vaping to know a terrible vape store when I see one.
I was in a vape shop some weeks ago, and what I witnessed shocked me.
This vape store sold the typical premium juices and brands that you'll find everywhere and they also sold some hardware, like clones and mods.
They also had their own brand of cheap, in house juice which they sold and which they would also give out to customers as part of their rewards system, where customers who earn enough points will get a small, free bottle of juice.
While I was in the store looking around, another customer was there and they were getting a free bottle of that in house juice, and they were sampling different flavors, to see which one they wanted.
The sales person asked the customer what nicotine level they wanted, and after the customer told them, I saw the sales person walk towards the middle-back of the shop, and in less than 30 seconds, the juice was mixed and ready to go. The sales person was just eye balling the nicotine content! And it was being mixed right there in the open, in the middle of the shop!
I don't need to be an advanced vaper to know that this is not good at all, and I am shocked that somebody with such bad knowledge would even dare to open their own vape store. Needless to say, a vape store like that probably won't stay in business for long, when there are so many other better options around, with more knowledgeable people working in them.
I live on the East Coast USA.
Walking down the street, it's hard to notice that vaping is taking off in any meaningful way, because most people that I see still smoke analogs, that includes both young people and older people too. I'm not going to judge them, because it wasn't that long ago that I was still puffing on an analog, and I had failed to see the awesomeness of vaping.
Besides myself, I don't really see too many people vaping outside on sidewalks. I vape outside in the same way that I'd smoke analogs before, so that means practically all of the time, and especially when I'm walking outside. I'm using a thin e-cig, so I don't usually get too many strange looks. I can imagine what kind of looks somebody walking down the sidewalk must get if they're using one of those big, fancy and shiny looking mods to vape with.
Just 6 months ago, there were no vape shops at all in the immediate local area where I live, and now there are 4 that have opened up, all within a very short walking distance of me (10 minutes or less). I'm pretty sure that a lot of non vapers who live here are walking past those stores every day and wondering, what the hell kind of store is that and why are so many of them opening up in this neighborhood?
One of those four stores will probably fail though, because their sign says tobacco/vape store, while the other 3 are dedicated to vaping only. A store can't be both in my opinion. That's a bit of a contradiction and a stupid combination to put it bluntly.
I've been to a couple of the vape stores so far, and in the short time that I was in those stores there were always new customers there who were smokers who were looking to start vaping.
So while I might not notice how popular vaping is by walking on the sidewalks, I think that it's safe to say that vaping is taking off big time with so many small vape shops opening up, and the amount of people vaping will only increase, because there's still a lot of smelly smokers out there who haven't yet given up on their cancer sticks.
And if this is happening where I live, then I bet that similar things are happening all across the country. Every small town should have at least one dedicated vape shop! I like the quick and easy access to all sorts of liquids and brands.
Just today, I was reading online about some premium liquids, and instead of ordering it online (I didn't want to wait), I had acquired a bottle of that exact liquid five minutes later, after sampling it quickly, and I was already at home and vaping it 10 minutes later.
I was out of town visiting a friend who, like me, owns the provari P3. We were talking about the update they recently came out with for the P3 and was discussing perhaps sending them back to Provape for it.
He had a local shop nearby that was listed as a provari dealer. We gave them a call asking if they could download the update for us. They told us the guy who could do it would be in later the very same day.
We decided to go over and check them out, all the while keeping our expectations low.
We're two older guys, a little rough around the edges, weather beaten if you will. We walked into a store that was packed with vapers of various ages, and I do mean packed to the hilt.
I figured this will be a long wait if we get helped at all. They had a small group of people playing a video game on a large screen TV, vape was heavy in the air.... but I felt at home.
Within seconds of walking in the door we had an associate come to us. We told him what we were there for and he directed us to a guy in the back, who was talking with other customers. As soon as we approached he stopped talking and asked us if we needed help. We asked about the update, and he apologized saying he left the software at home, however, if we didn't mind waiting he could download it to his laptop within 10 minutes.
No prob.
Less than 20 minutes later we had our mods back in our hands with latest bells and whistles. We asked the guy how much, and he shook our hand and said, "have a nice day!".
I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. So my friend and I bought $75 worth or juice instead.
My only issue with the place is I wish they were closer.
Skeebo
I'm new to vaping, I started vaping because I'm getting tired of people complaining about the smoking odor after I smoke. And I don't even smoke that much, maybe 6-8 cigs a day.
I started trying out the Stlth about 3 weeks ago and got used to it, so I went to a store to get the refillable stuff. I bought a Caliburn device and the guy in the store recommended a juice from his own store brand.
After I got home I put the juice in the device and tried it but I couldn't feel the throat hit at all, the juice was 3mg, the Stlth I used was 3.5mg which had the perfect hit for me.
I went back to the store and asked if I can exchange for one with a higher Nic. He told me he can't take it back because I opened it, strange that if it's his own brand, couldn't he just refill it and reseal it in another bottle? I only used about 2ml so far.
But anyway, he told me the ejuice has smoother draw that's why there's no throat hit as NIC salt, I did some more research and found that it's the opposite of what I've read, everything I read are saying that ejuice has more throat hit than Nic salt.
Sorry for the long store, the bottle he sold me was 60ml ($30) which is a big waste to throw away. Is there anyway I can salvage this bottle by mixing it with something else to give me that little bit of a throat hit when I draw?
I was wondering what people think of such stores. I know most of us are against the very thought of tobacco now that we are vapers and I have seen people slam such stores in a couple groups I belong to.
I personally don't mind them because the one I go to is actively trying to turn their tobacco customers into vaping customers. But I know other people who see them as nothing more then cancer merchants since they also profit from tobacco.
One thing I found really interesting is how certain vendors will not do business with them. For instance, on the B&M's Facebook page, they said they were getting Five Pawns juice. I went to the store to buy some and was told that it will only be in their couple vape only shops because Five Pawns refuses to sell their liquid where tobacco is sold. This is a bit disappointing to me because if it wasn't for the tobacco store getting me to switch, I might not be vaping.
Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part 5
Welcome to the ‘Front Porch’ for Older Folks and Vaping. This thread is a continuation of the original started over 4 years ago by ˇTxtumbleweed’. It grew to over 21,000 posts and the ‘part 2’ continuation thread was begun about a year ago. The ‘part 2’ thread over the next 11 month’s hit 15,000 posts. Part 3 reached its max and now it’s time for part 4.
The original and continuation threads are still around and you can find them he
Original (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping
Older Folks and Vaping
Part 2 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch Part 2
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part 2
Part 3 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Part Three
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part Three
Part 4 (Closed - Older Folks and Vaping Part 4
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part Four
The Porch for Older Folks is dedicated to Txtumbleweed, Randal Fortenbury. He started the ball rolling and helped so many of us when we first started our vaping journey. He offered us encouragement, shared his knowledge and told us great personal stories ranging from riding the rails as a kid, working as a lineman, lumberjack and fishing the cold waters of the Bering Straits.
Randall (Tex) has since passed on and we are honored to continue the Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch in his memory.
The mods have asked us to stay on topic about vaping in this thread. Please adhere to this guideline.
Feel invited to join us in the lounge, on our Back Porch, where we can chat about vaping and any other ‘topic of the day’ that meets your fancy.
original, (closed) - Older People 55 and Up
Older People 55 and Up
Part 2 (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part 2
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part 2
Part 3 (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Three
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Three
Part 4 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Four
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Four[/QUOTE]
Part 5 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Five
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Five
Part 6 (Active) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Five
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch-Part Six
Please, don’t be fooled by the old folks in the title. The range of vaping experience and gear spans a wide gap. We’ve got folks content with basic setups using carto tanks and we’ve got folks using temp control mods and the latest RDA/RBAs.
So if you’re just starting out or your more experienced this is the place to be for us older folks. You got a question - we’ve got an answer or three. (And we good at spending other people’s money - so be forewarned). So pull up a rocker and make yourself at home.
And - oh, oh, oh - there’s no age limited or checking done here. Most of us can’t see good enough to read your legal id anyway. The only age criteria is that today your a day older than yesterday.
I going to ‘prime the porch’ with a few posts from the early days. It’s fun to look back just a few years and see not only where we where but were the state of vaping was w/ respect to equipment.
Not sure where in the forum to put this but thought I would update on my vaping experience so far. I ordered my Aspire Nautilus Mini kit from World of Vape and it got here just as promised. Since no one was familiar with that company I thought I would let you know my experience. Beside at the time they were the only ones who had the kit!! LOL So at least it was a good experience so far with them.
I live in the Medford area of Oregon so I went into ECBlends and was pleasantly surprised on the willingness to help a newbie. I didn't buy the kit from them but they told me to bring it in and they would show me how to use it. Wow they really didn't have to do that. But I was very grateful to be able to talk with someone and have questions answered as the instruction book isn't all that and a bag of chips. I got some e=liquid from them in the 6ml of nicotine. Also they were very impressed with the new kit as they hadn't seen one yet so they had to show it to everyone in the store and they told me I got a very sweet deal. So far it is working great.
I tried out some flavors of theirs and wound up getting carmel cappicino and Dragons Café to start me out at
6 ml nicotine. I couldn't smoke it once I got home!! It was very strong. So I went back to the store and they determined that it wasn't the PG because some people are sensitive to it and I had to go down to a lower nicotine level!! So I bought a bottle of 0 nic and am working into my tank. Also until the end of the month (May) the website has 30% discount on all e-liquids!! The store has 20% discount. The code is
NOTOBACCO-30 on checkout. I know some of you are EC Blend users so thought I would pass that along. You are probably already aware of that though. Anyway the code is all caps and no spaces and make sure to put the dash in there. I saved 13.05 on my order of almost 50.00 and I am getting free shipping because I live near the store so I had it shipped to their store and I will pick it up from them. So I saved another $4.25 in shipping.
Thanks again for all the people who helped me on this forum. I haven't given up analogs yet but I am hopeful. I hope you all don't mind me posting an update. Trying to kind of give back info as I learn it maybe it will help someone else.
So I thought I'd share this....
Everyday on my lunch break (really a breakfast break since my shift starts at 5am and break around 10am) I enjoy a nice bowl of oatmeal and an apple. After eating I like to go out to my truck to have a vape while checking emails, FB, IG, forums, ect.
I had a particularly proper build running today and was giving the chevy a nice fogging. windows were up because it was a little chilly and after about 5-10 minutes I honestly couldnt see the steering wheel while sitting in the driver seat
I hopped out and went back to work for about an hour or so. While I was taking my morning inventory I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard a stern voice anounce my full name... a police officer to my suprise!
"Do you mind if I have a talk with you outside sir?" he asked.
"Not a problem officer," I replied a bit worried as I thought perhaps someone had hit my car in the parking lot or maybe someone I knew had gotten hurt or in trouble... Not the case however.
"Is that your truck sir?" he questioned, pointing to my truck with what looked to be a cumulonimbus still lingering on the the interior.
"Yes it is"
"You got anything in there?"
Puzzled I replied "Anything as in...?"
He raised his eyebrow and gave me a stern look. "Anything I should know about?"
I understood. "Oh you mean, like...?"
He stopped me. "well sir we had gotten a phone call earlier from a woman saying that someone might have been sitting in there smoking ....."
I loled as I handed him my work setup. (an IPV3 and the Hobo v2.1)
"Its a personal vaporizer sir." I stated still laughing quite uncontrollably.
"And what kind is this? What do you put in here?" still implying that it was drug related and possibly a '.... vaporizer'
"Its a box mod, Its for nicotine." I pulled my juice from my pocket and held it up for him to see.
He was so confused. Baffled really. Just then a second officer walked up looking even more stern.
"you know we have a k9 here. You're sure you dont have anything you;re not supposed to? you weren't smoking any .....?"
"Not at all sir. Like I have just explained and showed you, it's a vaporizer. I use it for nicotine. Haven't smoked a cigarette in a year..."
"Oh like a vape pen!?" exclaimed the second officer.
"Yes like a vape pen..."
They apologized for the mistake and walked away.
And Im just standing there, in 2015, wondering why they know what a ..... vaporizer is but not an actual PV?
Has anyone had any similar experiences with law enforcement and vaping?
Tonight I took my Mom grocery shopping, and as we were walking down the cereal aisle of Meijer (large chain supermarket in michigan, a little more upscale that walmart) this guy, probably late 20's early 30's comes around the corner with his girlfriend/wife, holding a box mod of some sort in one hand and a bottle of juice in the other, then proceeds to take a huge hit and blow a huge cloud, fogging out part of the aisle for a few seconds. There were a couple other shoppers in the area and I didn't see their reaction, but I was a little disgusted- not at the vapor, which smelled like vanilla or something as we walked through it, but that he didn't even try to hide it. I mentioned to my Mom a few minutes later that "those" kind of people are going to ruin it for everybody. Not an appropriate place for blowing clouds- not that there are any rules against it, but still, have some courtesy for others. Not everyone likes walking through clouds while shopping. I didn't object, however I had left mine at home after taking a few hits, and was fine until we got back- about an hour and a half. If I had gone by myself, I would have vaped in the car, but left it above the sun visor in the locked car while I shopped. No need to take it inside, even though mine isn't capable of producing thick clouds. The whole time we were in the store he carried it around in plain sight, even when he wasn't hitting it. Just an observation. No, there is no secondhand smoke, no horrid smell, and no messy ash, but it looks like smoke. That's all it takes for some people to complain.
I just returned from my biannual Doctor's visit. While there I told her that I was over 90 days cigarette free. She asked me if I had gone cold turkey. I told her about vaping and how it had allowed me to quit. She was very happy that I had quit. She did not mention anything about vaping, positive or negative. She just focused on my quitting and ask about food taste and smells. Continuing through the visit, while she was renewing my med prescriptions, she continued to reinforce my decision to quit and all of the positive things along quitting. As she left she was still smiling and happy. I also talked to one of her nurses about vaping and quitting and gave her my number and told her that I could set her up with a beginners kit from my gear that I don't use. Now I will sit back and see if I have recruited a new convert. Overall, I left the doctor's office with a smile on my face, too.