You know, I really didn't want to have to write a bad review about this shop. I really didn't, but after a recent interaction with the owner, I feel like I have to, in the hopes of saving others from the experience I have had with this store.
First off, the staff is great, especially Dylan and Jeremy. They are very cool people, very knowledgeable and friendly, and always willing to help out. If you see them, give them a high-five, and maybe a burrito, they deserve it.
However, I feel that Troy, the owner, has grown greedy. After a recent trip to Washington, DC, he apparently got dollar signs in his eyes when he saw that the shops there are charging money for RDA/RBA rebuilds, and decided to start charging, as well (making this the ONLY shop in town I know of that charges for rebuilds).
This was first sprung on me when I was already in the middle of getting a rebuild; he apparently "struck a deal" with me that I could purchase a stand from him rather than paying for the rebuild. I did not have the funds at the time, but told him that I would purchase it as soon as possible. After my build, I thanked them profusely, hung around and chatted for a bit, then went on my way, thinking nothing was amiss, and planning on purchasing the stand in question as soon as I had the available funds.
Then, I call them today, to find out that they want to charge $18 for a rebuild. Normally, this would be okay, yeah, because I have a dual coil genesis that takes time to build. However, this is nearly $20 for roughly three hours of waiting on said build, while the builder has to get up every few minutes to assist a customer that just walked in. I fail to see the fairness of this, making a paying customer wait for another customer to finish their (typically long-winded) purchases. I would GLADLY pay the amount asked if I had an uninterrupted build, keep in mind, just not to sit around for three hours waiting for his builder to have enough time between other customers to finish the job.
I attempted to work with the owner, Troy, on this, explaining that while I would happily pay that amount for uninterrupted building, I do not feel it is worth three hours of sitting, with nothing to vape in the process; perhaps $10 for three hours, but not upwards of $20. I would gladly pay the full price asked if his builder would be able to sit and work on the build without interruptions, as well. When he refused to budge, I politely informed him that I would pay for the rebuild this week when I had the funds, but I would no longer offer patronage after that, as it is far cheaper to purchase my own supplies.
The owner then grew angry, and informed me that they would no longer be offering dual Genesis builds, at all. I said fine, that I would no longer be recommending them to other vapers as a result of this poor service. I asked to purchase some Ekowool on Friday, at that point, so I could build my own, and was told (after asking once and being told that they would be happy to sell it to me) that they were out.
Then, I was accused of stealing, because I did not purchase the stand that he had 'made a deal with me' for, after he sprung a cost on me for a service that I had gone in expecting to be free in the middle of getting said service. I was accused of theft because I did not pay for a service that I did not know was not free until after my current build had already been torn out and I had a blank coil deck. I was ACCUSED OF THEFT for...not spending money that I was not legally obligated to spend. I never signed anything, I was never even told about the cost until after my current functioning build had been destroyed already. But I STOLE FROM THEM, according to Troy.
I love every one of the employees at this company, they have been great. However, I feel that the owner has become quite greedy, and has lost his goal of good customer service in the interest of profit. I was more than willing to work with him on this, but he refused, got rude, and then refused to even help me (or let his employees help me), and then chose to paint me as a horrible stupid customer who takes advantage of their kindness.
I was NOT going to leave a bad review for this shop, because I still love the employees, but I have to, after being WRONGFULLY ACCUSED OF THEFT for a service that was and always had been FREE -- up until he decided in the middle of my build to charge for it.
If you want rebuilds, learn how to do them yourself, or go to Altsmoke. If you want to purchase overpriced clones and be pressured into purchasing more than you want and be charged for a service that everywhere else in town offers for free, and if you want to be falsely accused of theft after having a sudden cost sprung on you after they have already started the service you had been led to believe was free, then by all means, go to Derb-E Cigs and get ripped off. read more