Vaping Zone

Rude staff !
Few mods and outdated tanks.
Lots of DIY supplies for e-​juice.
It’s a stretch to call this a vape shop.
Did I mention Rude Staff ?
Yeah, won’t go back!

I give this to reviews because the gentleman that helped me was polite enough. He wasn’t really interested in going out of his way and seem to be really preoccupied and kind of ready to get rid of me. But he was not rude by any means. This is a very interesting place. You walk into what is a very disorganized laboratory looking facility with crap scattered about everywhere. There’s little to no merchandise to look at. They have you go to a computer and basically asked you what you want go there and find it and then go to the back to get it for you. There is no merchandise to sit there and look at or anything and there’s no juice to taste or try out and they definitely don’t offer you anything as far as trying to upsell you or just ask if there something that you may want in addition to what you came in for. Most shops you go to ask you what you are using what flavors you like and just make some suggestions for you. None of them really trying to hard sell you they just try to be helpful. This place is not helpful in the least it’s a very rush in and rush out type of place. I imagine the majority of their business is online. This was my first time here and it will definitely be my last. Personally I don’t care if their prices are cheaper than the competition locally, there are times where I want to go in and see the product and touch it in my hands and actually have a conversation with the people that I am about to give money to. If I want to stay home and order online I will do just that. When I walk into a store I do not want an online ordering experience. Probably the dumbest place I’ve ever been.

Customer service was TERRIBLE! Wasn’t greeted upon entering the store. When asking about products, the old man with glasses was extremely rude. I don’t car how cheap the products are. I would never spend a dime at this store.

This place gets my business solely for the lack of other viable options. As stated in many previous reviews, customer service is pretty much the last thing on the minds of these nimrods. So why you ask do I give these people money? Even with their ridiculous hours, their storefront that is basically a computer lab where no one is willing to assist you in any way with any questions, and most especially with every employee literally lounging as you wander alone through a store and are generally forced to pick up your own items from a completely insecure bookshelf? You got it, I live off of Harbison and haven’t found another place with as many options for a decent price. But back to the point at hand, if you can, please for the love of all things holy find any place in the world to sell you your vaping accessories and goodies because between the bevy of princesses in the back who don’t talk to anyone but themselves, and father vapin time who has the best staring problem (don’t get your hopes up, he’s not talking to you either) you would be better off getting a new setup from one of Columbia’s finest homeless than these douche canoes. At least then, when trying out a new setup and sitting for 15 minutes in the computer lab waiting for someone to acknowledge your meer existence, you’ll get a simple question answered such as ‘where do I load this thing?’.
For the TLDR crowd: They suck. Find anywhere else.

Pro: Prices on equipment are better than online stores. They send out coupons that can save you a bundle on juices weekly.
Con’s: Customer service is the worst. The staff is very rude. I am an experienced vapor guy so luckily I don’t need any help when I go in but if you are new to the scene I would suggest going to another place. The girls that fill the juice always act like you are bothering them when you come in and order. You do not want to ask questions and you have to order everything off a computer.

Prices are ok. But the customer service is terrible. One person in particular. This person doesn’t seem like he wants to be bothered with questions about anything. If you hate your job that much, leave. Because you just lost a customer because you are an ass.
Now, aside from that… if you happen to be in this area, it is a convenient place to stop. But just don’t ask any questions. Go in there blindly and act like you are a complete moron. Maybe. just maybe someone will condescend to help you or at least point you to a computer. Because customer service means dick here.

ALWAYS INSIST ON ORIGINAL PACKAGING WITH UNIQUE AUTHENTICATION CODE. WITHOUT IT YOU COULD BE GETTING A KNOCK-​OFF (fake) PRODUCT!!!
Vaping Zone (VZ) has a 15 day return policy on batteries. I found this out 1.5 months after buying a defective Innokin CLK 1280 battery ($ 35, without packaging). VZ had 3 opportunities to repair the problem. I emailed the manufacturer in China and received this translated response, «Vaping Zone is an authorized innokin vendor, we give them 3 month warranty, if there are quality problems, they will replace the parts or product, we will send free replacement to vendors, thanks .»
I showed this email to the owner (4^th trip to VZ) who still refused to replace the battery. After spending roughly $ 100/​month at VZ for the last 9 months, I decided to take my business elsewhere.
This is the link to the warranty:
. UNIQUE AUTHENTICATION CODE FROM ORIGINAL PACKAGING REQUIRED.

Vaping Zone was the first vape shop in Columbia, and they have grown because of that. Now that there is some competition, I see how bad this shop is. They are really geared towards online sales, and not in store sales. Becasue of this, they don’t really take the time to help their in store customers.
Juice is not great.
Prices are on par with other brick and mortar stores
Customer Service is non-​existent
They do have a large selection of DIY juice supplies
I would not recommend this store to a new user.

In a word the experience was… Unpleasant
Of the three times I’ve been there I have walked out thinking why go back?
The owner who is a peach (not) runs the business like it is meant to be online.
They will not sell you an item unless you create a online account and order through that venue first. They state it is for fraud prevention due to customers stealing E-​liquid. Their hours overall suck for working adults and if you want to pay with credit card you have to use their Kiosk’s (home computers commissioned for the task) to pay for your order.
Between the bickering about the time off and the cold absent minded why are you bothering me stares, I seriously need to find another E-​store to work with while I’m in Columbia, South Carolina. They have to be the outright rudest, most miserable employees I have had to deal with in awhile.
As a positive they have a overwhelming selection of E-​liquids/​Accessories and make the juice there in front of you. As a rule I prefer not to order my E-​liquid online and mostly deal in stores throughout the US (I travel for work).
The E-​liquid and selection at Vaping Zone is solid which is why I gave them a 2-​star review.:
–1 Star for the horrible Customer Service and store hours.
–1 Star for unfriendly and not secure checkout policies.
–1 Star for being 10−15% higher than their competitors.

The e-​liquid i bought was fine (Hawaiian punch vg/​pg mix — very tasty and smooth) but the girl behind the counter just kind of stared at me when i asked her questions. I’m new to the whole e-​cig thing and i was hoping that she could have been more informative and helpful, but she almost seemed like she was high or something.
Also, i bought my e-​cig in Montréal and they had a tasting bar where you could try out the different e-​liquid flavors before buying. I’d have purchased a larger amount of liquid, but didn’t want to waste my money on something i might not have liked. so, yeah, I’ve experienced better.