Poor Experience At Vapeking!!

[Deez]

My wife and I recently decided to invest in the craze and give this a shot in the hopes of quitting cigarettes completely. All went well till the Wife's ego-t broke. She was trying to put the unit on charge and it literally just came apart.

I was very surprised on the response I received from the owner of VapeKing (where we purchased)

Poor Service indeed, its companies like this that give other SA based suppliers a snow ball's chance in hell. To say to a customer that you sold 100 units of a product and no one reported any issues does not mean there is not a first time for it to happen. To outright say to a customer that you refuse to replace a unit without even seeing it is even worse.
Everyone I referred to you guys I will be sure to tell them to go elsewhere. I am a reasonable person who also works in a position facing customers every day and this experience has been very poor to say the least.
The unit was not dropped or broken accidentally - had you even bothered to have a look ( i was willing to bring the unit in for you to have a look - my mistake that wasnt even an option) you would see so.
Hopefully no one else has a sour experience with you guys. As an FYI, we have had the units under 3 weeks.

 

[Gizmo]

Deez, I just said I have never heard of Twist battery just falling apart. We have sold 100's but anyway, it was wrong of me to not let you bring it in. Please bring it in so I can have a look.

 

[Deez]

Why is the first thread I created closed to further replies? Is it not the point of a public forum to be able to view opinions and issues? Confused...
Thanks for the offer now mate but too little too late - I will replace the battery at my own expense from a supplier who will at least take 5 minutes to discuss the issues first before telling me to get lost.

Also I wonder greatly why it has taken a post on this forum for you to have a change of heart? It should never have come to that in the first place and yourself as a moderator on this forum should NEVER have locked the first thread I started - I want to know from other forum members what they think about this.

Hopefully this thread doesn't get locked....

 

[Gizmo]

Deez, I have offered to let you bring it in. Does not resolve the issue for you?

 

[devdev]

I want to know from other forum members what they think about this

Hi Deez,

The ego-t's I got from vapeking will split at the neck if you put too much pressure on it when it is in your pocket or bag:
Of the three I have got there I have had two do this, but it is simple enough to pop the top back in. Maybe you could post an image of how your one broke?

It's no secret that Gizmo started this forum, and if you search through posts from December, he did make an admission to the forum that he had started it, was the admin on the forum and that he also ran vapeking. We agreed as the community at the time that this did create huge potential for a conflict of interest.

I agree with you 100% that the thread should never have been locked, and that it does portray vapeking in a negative light, and appears to be an abuse of admin/mod position (Update: the thread has now been unlocked). I can't make excuses for his decision to lock the thread, but if I put myself in his shoes I would guess it was done as a gut reaction to your post and probably because he wishes to protect his brand.

Stroodlepugf and Gizmo have put a lot of time into this forum. Yes it is in their financial interests to help the community grow, but we all see a benefit from the exposure, support and learning we get from our fellow vapers because of this forum, and the other vape gear suppliers appear to be afforded an equal chance to punt their wares to community members here.

If I see Gizmo's responses to your two posts it would appear to me that he wants to make amends in respect of your complaint. He is a young guy who has put time and money into building a business for himself. I would give him the chance to remedy his mistake.

 

[Deez]

At least the original thread is now open to replies again...
And no - it does NOT resolve the issue. Big of you to offer, but I also don't appreciate having to make a stink about it just to get some service! The only reason you have decided to have a look at the device now is because this post exists and your reputation is being questioned on a public forum. Why lock the original thread in the first place??

I'm not sure how you would feel about being accused of breaking the device deliberately and being told "sorry, its your problem" without even taking the time to look at it. I know I don't appreciate it at all.

At the end of the day knowledge is power and I now know I will NEVER deal with you again. I hope you treat your customers with much more respect going forward

 

[Gizmo]

I have apologized and I am willing to make a effort to resolve this. I do believe this can be cause by pressure as with anything you can have with you all day. Tight fitting pants etc can cause this. Its hard for me to provide a warranty on these conditions. However, I do feel i was wrong not to let you bring it in, I apologize completely for this. I will even swop yours out devdev. I hope you both can understand from my point of view.

All I can do is apologies and offer a swop out and even a free liquid to compensate. If that's not enough that we all human and I am just trying to make a living then I am sorry.

 

[Sharrivz]

Hi @Deez

I was out of the office and unaware of what was happening until I got back now. I understand your frustrations and have had a good talk to Giz about this, rest assured we are willing to go out of our way to provide good customer service, I am not sure what came over him with the refusal to have a look but this is not how we deal with things, I understand he said to you that this is the first of this problem we have had and yes it could have been dealt with better.

Once again I apologize for this, I accept how you are feeling but ask again if you would bring it in for us to have a look at and we will replace the unit for you as it is still under warranty.

If you ask any other customer they will tell you that we do our best to give good service and this is highly embarrassing not only for the company but for each of us individually, however that being said I understand your point and we are willing to make amends

Regards
Sharri

 

[Smokyg]

At least the original thread is now open to replies again...
And no - it does NOT resolve the issue. Big of you to offer, but I also don't appreciate having to make a stink about it just to get some service! The only reason you have decided to have a look at the device now is because this post exists and your reputation is being questioned on a public forum. Why lock the original thread in the first place??

I'm not sure how you would feel about being accused of breaking the device deliberately and being told "sorry, its your problem" without even taking the time to look at it. I know I don't appreciate it at all.

At the end of the day knowledge is power and I now know I will NEVER deal with you again. I hope you treat your customers with much more respect going forward

Hi Deez

I do understand your frustration in this situation, but any product if there is physical damage whatsoever would void the warrantee immediately, be it a laptop, a cell phone or even vape gear, what if you brought your cell phone in to MTN and told them to replace the screen because it is not working and it turns out it is cracked, they would also ask you to replace it at your expense. Sadly things break now and then.

I myself buy all my stuff from Vape King and i am extremely happy with their service and products.

I hope you come right!

 

[Andre]

Ok, I have merged the 2 threads. This thread will not be closed unless it becomes personal or offensive. All members are welcome to contribute.

 

[Sharrivz]

Thank you @Matthee

 

[Deez]

@Smokyg - I don't think you understand at all. This is not about the device breaking, its about the service received and the manner it was dealt with.

Quote: "what if you brought your cell phone in to MTN and told them to replace the screen because it is not working and it turns out it is cracked" Unquote
At least I would have been able to take it in for inspection - that wasn't even an option.
If I walked into MTN with a broken screen, as long as I was treated with respect and courteously I would have accepted the outcome and STILL walked away a happy customer. The main thing was that I would be allowed to at least take it !

The exact same principal would have applied here. This could have gone sooo differently if I took it in and at that point if they said to me "look sorry man but I cant replace this" I would have accepted it and probably bought a new battery from them, and dealt with them in the future!

My point still stands - if I did not start this thread would anyone at VapeKing have come forward and said "look we are sorry please bring it in so we can have a look" ? I don't think so!!!!

At the end of the day, take the time and listen to your customers, don't treat them like the enemy and all situations can be handled in a way that doesn't leave the customer (who is supporting your business) feeling frustrated and angry. No customers = no business. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and respectfully

 

[Sharrivz]

@Smokyg

My point still stands - at the end of the day if I did not start this thread would anyone at VapeKing have come forward and said "look we are sorry please bring it in so we can have a look" ? I don't think so!!!!

Hi Deez,

I replied to your email before I saw the posts, so to answer your question yes we would have. We have tried to make amends and resolve the situation however there is nothing more we can do.

 

[Deez]

Sharri - Please lets take this offline
You are welcome to call me to discuss

 

[Smokyg]

@Smokyg - I don't think you understand at all. This is not about the device breaking, its about the service received and the manner it was dealt with. If I walked into MTN with a broken screen, as long as I was treated with respect and courteously I would have accepted the outcome and STILL walked away a happy customer. The exact same principal would have applied here. This could have gone sooo differently if I was allowed to bring the device in for inspection - at that point if they said to me "look sorry man but I cant replace this" I would have accepted it and probably replaced the battery with them, and dealt with them in the future!

My point still stands - at the end of the day if I did not start this thread would anyone at VapeKing have come forward and said "look we are sorry please bring it in so we can have a look" ? I don't think so!!!!

At the end of the day, take the time and listen to your customers, don't treat them like the enemy and all situations can be handled in a way that doesn't leave the customer (who is supporting your business) feeling frustrated and angry. No customers = no business. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and respectfully

Very true indeed, i do understand your point exactly!

You might have just caught them at the wrong time as they are really the friendliest people and do deliver truly exceptional service! Anyone on the forum would concur.

Im sorry you had a bad experience with them.

Have a great day further

 

[Sharrivz]

Sharri - Please lets take this offline
You are welcome to call me to discuss

I will give you a call shortly

 

[Sharrivz]

I have sent you an email, I cannot see you registered on our customer base so need a number to call you on

 

[devdev]

Guys, please don't get me wrong, I did not post the pic of the Ego T because I feel that mine is faulty. Rather I posted to show what can happen. I appreciate that you stand by your product, but I don't need/want it swapped out.

I even bought a second twist from you two weeks ago, and that was after I was aware that the bits could separate.

 

[Xero]

I don't understand why this is being blown up to this extent?
I understand that the battery broke when it was inserted into a charger, I've seen this happen and to be honest I've not once seen that happen that was not due to pressure being applied to the battery in a manner that is not normal during usage.
I understand that you may feel slighted due to the battery breaking and the level of service you feel you received but to put things into perspective.
Unless the battery ships or arrives broken, there is very little that a retailer like Vape King can do do remedy the situation as nine times out of ten it is through user error that the breakage occurs and to blame the retailer for this issue when it is clear that the only outcome you expected from this issue was for a full replacement to be issued after 3 weeks of use unfortunately seems a little unreasonable.
Furthermore, it is almost impossible to carry any type of warranty on a battery, specifically one that is designed for multiple charging / discharging cycles and is in constant use.

In regards to the level of service, sure Gizmo probably could have done better, but you also need to take a step back and look at things from his viewpoint.
Retailers, specifically local retailers in small markets such as the Vaping Market locally, often face unrealistic expectations from customers in terms of after sales service.
I commend Gizmo for apologizing and I think you should accept that as an admission from him that he admits to being able to have handled the situation better.

As for locking the thread, I've seen it a million times on the forums I run, new administrators often lack the experience to deal with posts that are deemed as being overly aggressive, I think that the post was unlocked was sufficient and therefore this should be a non issue.

Look Guys
The battery broke, a little trust that did not exist was required and things sort of got out of hand, I honestly think that this issue is not too hard to remedy.
Stuff like this happens and at least the retailer is willing to fix the issue, although from the previous posts it seems that the customer isn't, which is unfortunate.

 

[Deez]

@Xero - Wow you could not have it more wrong
quote" only outcome you expected from this issue was for a full replacement to be issued after 3 weeks of use unfortunately seems a little unreasonable."
You obviously have not read all my posts on this thread have you? I suggest you do.....This was purely a customer service issue and as stated in previous posts all they had to do was handle the issue differently.

In the meantime Sharri and I have spoken and all has been cleared up - she knows my reasons for posting and I am quite happy for this thread to be closed. I have accepted the apology and their efforts to make amends which is commendable. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours and hope they grow further. At the end of the day there is no ill feelings harboured and I hope everyone will draw on their own conclusions based on their own experiences

 

[Rex Smit]

Since we are talking about the ego-twist here, i am going to jump in...
When you have a bottom fed tank, you get the gurgling thing happening. I usually just shake then shake the excess juice out the unit. With this a day after i bought the Twist, i did the same thing, and low and behold, my Twist is now in multiple pieces. the whole front end flew off. So in my opinion, not a very well put together piece of hardware..but saying that, will also not shake the juice out again without holding onto the tank itself.

 

[devdev]

Yes, I think it is time for this thread to be locked @Matthee if you could be so kind please...

BTW, welcome to the forum @Deez and @Xero. If you have not done so already it would be great if you could introduce yourselves here:

http://www.ecigssa.co.za/index.php?threads/introduce-yourselves.24/page-22#post-12845

 

[Xero]

Deez
I read your replies but the tonality in which they were expressed lead me to believe that this was the initial root cause of the "unacceptable" level of service you received.
That said though, I don't want to argue or debate the merits of forum opinions with you, you've said your piece, I've said mine and accordingly the issue has been resolved between yourself and the retailer.

I would ask one thing of you in future though, instead of expressing yourself in this way, come online to this forum where we all sit around and vape while trying to help our fellow members with issues and ask for someone to help you.
There's a help section and trust me when I say that no one could possibly break their Battery/Tank better than I can at certain times, we are all here to help and will assist you to the greatest extent possible.

Stating that you would advise others about the level of service you received and encourage them not to buy form Vape King not only does not resolve anything but it serves to decrease the size of an already small and emergent sector of business locally. That hurts us all because less retailers mean fewer choices and less market for healthy competition

Welcome to the community, I trust that you will enjoy being a part of it
Happy Vaping

 

[Tom]

well...good to see that things can be sorted out. We are all humans, and we all make mistakes, and sometimes don't react the way we should.
I hope you will stay off the stinkies, even if you had your gear not lasting as long as one would want. This is not a train smash. And, welcome to the forum @Deez , you will see that this community is gr8, regardless if it its vendors, resellers, normal vapers...we all talk about the hobby, passion or whatever it is in each and everyone's personal view. we also talk sometimes about other things

 

[Andre]

Thank you all for behaving responsibly. This thread is now closed.