Testing of products at factory before release for sale

[SMOKEYMASTER]

I would like to make a suggestion to Totally Wicked.

Is is possible, in your manufacturing process, to test products prior to release for sale?  I guess one product that would be easy to test are the attys.  Simply screw them onto a small machine that measures negative pressure to make sure the draw of air through a new atty meets certain specifications.  I have only two attys out of the ones I have purchased in the past that acutally draw air in propertly in order to have a smooth consistant vape.  There are inexpensive negative pressure air gauges on the market that are used for such purposes.  It seems that new attys differ greatly in air draw and performance and they need to be more consistant.  The differece has nothing to do with use because the draw is very evident from atty to atty right out of the box.   It would be a simple process to screw the atty on to a dummy, slip a small hose over the top, turn the machine on and take a reading.
What do you think?  Need me to make one for you?  Its possible.  Have Mr. Wicked try an atty till he finds the one that gives the best draw, measure the negative air flow on that item and make it a standard at the factory.  If it doesnt meet the standards of the required test then the people at the factory making them should re-do the item until it performs as expected.  After all the attys made, you should by now, be able to get some consistancy in them.  The gauge used is called a MAGNEHELIC.  If your not a paid member of the TW team there is no need to post to this suggestion unless you have some constructive input.  The goal here is to get constructive input from consumers, not to make comments like, "it cant be done"  its too much work" it will drive the cost up" etc.  If it means an increase in cost then so be it.  I would rather pay for quality products than keep spending money until I find products that work.  I am a dedicated customer for TW and am only interested in seeing and paying for the best quality vape product on the market.  Working in the manufacturing field in the past gives me insight into what is required to build quality products and to make customers happy.  In my experience, customers that can't find a consistant quality product they are paying for from a vendor, then they stop purchasing from that vendor and either have someone else improve their product for them or stop buying altogether.  I am interested in becoming a vendor for this product in South east Wisconsin and so far have more than 5 people who come to the Packer games that use your product.  I show it to everyone, let them try it, and still have to explain that the product may still have some problems from item to item.  TW----KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE.  PLEASE.  Oh and by the way, I give credit to TW for letting us openly posting on this web site and taking it square on the chin.  This is the way to get information flowing and to get consumer imput.  A good start for a potentially great product!

[Customer Service Rep (US)]

I will pass this along to our quality control team as well as our management staff. We thank you for the suggestion.

[wannakickit]

I will pass this along to our quality control team as well as our management staff. We thank you for the suggestion.

Its not just the Atty's, its the Carto's too, at least the Dual Coil Mega Carto's. Something needs to be done, this gear can be bought cheaper elsewhere, and I don't see a "quality advantage" to sticking with TW, as the quality is clearly not there in some of the products they stock and sell to us customers/victims.

Check my post in the ask TW section of the forum, I wish someone from TW would, or phone/email me as you've said you would, but have so far just let me down!

[SMOKEYMASTER]

Well I would not go as far as to use the word victims.  I am sure TW is going to do whatever it takes to make things right as far as product.  I have faith in them to see to that.  Its up to us as consumers to point out flaws in any product so the company can make adjustments.

[D4u2s0t]

I would love to see something like this done.  I don't think that as a customer, I should have to be taking apart and "fixing" brand new parts so that they work propperly.  I do it, but it would be nice not to have to...  I was going to buy a kit for my mother and a few other people for christmas, but after thinking about what I do to my attys and clearos to get and keep them working, I just know some of the people would not be up to doing it, so I didn't purchase any kits for them.

[Tahir]

Petty much agree with all that has been said here.
The 'perfect' vaping ecig is not here yet.

Better quality control is one route but the other is price.

90% of the time I am using the CE2 clearomizers utimates- cheap as chips and therefore I don't mind
if I get the odd dud one (haven't had one yet tho).

On the other hand with all the, much more expensive, metal attys I have owned a significant
percentage of those haven't worked properly. And that p's me off because of the price paid
for them.
I am seriously considering not to bother with the meta ones and stick to
the cheaper, more simply designed, clearos.

[8Ball]

I would love to see something like this done.  I don't think that as a customer, I should have to be taking apart and "fixing" brand new parts so that they work propperly.  I do it, but it would be nice not to have to...  I was going to buy a kit for my mother and a few other people for christmas, but after thinking about what I do to my attys and clearos to get and keep them working, I just know some of the people would not be up to doing it, so I didn't purchase any kits for them.

Well, it's probably too late for you now, but the non-tank version of the Titan 510 or the Tornado (the ones with the "old style" carts with the poly-fil) might be a good choice for a first-time vaper.  I just recommended this to an acquaintance who was looking to purchase a kit for his father-in-law for Christmas.  I know this gear has it's faults, but the 510 attys are reliable, and, IMO, they don't have as big a learning curve as the Tanks (and don't get me wrong, I love the Tanks).  Plus, they can always be "upgraded" to the Tanks just by purchasing some attys and carts.  Just a thought.

[D4u2s0t]

Well, it's probably too late for you now, but the non-tank version of the Titan 510 or the Tornado (the ones with the "old style" carts with the poly-fil) might be a good choice for a first-time vaper.  I just recommended this to an acquaintance who was looking to purchase a kit for his father-in-law for Christmas.  I know this gear has it's faults, but the 510 attys are reliable, and, IMO, they don't have as big a learning curve as the Tanks (and don't get me wrong, I love the Tanks).  Plus, they can always be "upgraded" to the Tanks just by purchasing some attys and carts.  Just a thought.

I did find that there was a learning curve, but now that I know what parts go with what, and what needs to be done to get them working properly, piece of cake.  I just don't see my mother doing this lol.  Maybe with the new kits coming out, it will be much easier for people that don't want to or can't take things apart.  I find it to be quite simple to take apart an atty or clearo that isn't wicking well, at the same time, would be nice not to.  I just don't see someone like my mother sticking with this because of the fact that things need to be tinkered with.  I just see at the first sign of a burnt taste, it gets put away and not used again.  At this point, I'm more comfortable waiting for a better "out of the box" kit that just works consistently.  I'm yet to find a tornado atty that has worked out of the box.  Same with the ultimate clearos that were supposed to be fixed, granted I've only used 1 box, but not one of them was even halfway decent out of the box...  I have another delivery on the way, so we'll see how those go.  After they were working, they lasted about a week each, so for 2 dollars each I think that's pretty dang good.  And they still work, just starting to taste a bit "off".   I would just hate to spend $100+ on kits, replacement parts, juice, etc. for someone, they put it together, tastes like crap, and they never use it again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with all this stuff, and I love everything I have tried.  Again, would just be nice to have them work out of the box.   These posts probably sound like complaints, but it's more like a wishlist.  I'm going to continiue using everything, and I'm sure they will continue to improve as time goes on, and  Iguess I'm not alone with those that are waiting for that perfect vape right out of the box.  I guess the best we can do is keep voicing our opinions, and giving feedback,   so that TW has a better idea of what can be improved upon.

[Musikron]

 I agree, something needs to be done.

 I received 2 510 tank atomizers that no air would pass through at all right out of the box. It took over a month and me getting called a liar by your customer service reps "No way you got two dead attys the failure rate is less than 4%, what do you want me to do?' he said. I WANT YOU TO  GIVE ME WHAT I PAYED FOR AND NOT CALL ME A LIAR YOU ASSHIOLE!

 I am now looking for another vendor, you have dropped the e-liquid I like, your shipping and customer service is horrible, and your prices reflect a premium service, but you do not provide it. TW has the worst customer service I have received in over two years from ANY company.. Time to shop around and find a new vendor that WANTS my business.

 This forum rocks, but I will no longer be buying from TW. Anyone have any suggestions for vendors to try?

[Customer Service Rep (US)]

Musikron please contact Daniel at 888-761-9425. We will make the situation right. There is no reason we should not have replaced the items for you.

[8Ball]

Well, it's probably too late for you now, but the non-tank version of the Titan 510 or the Tornado (the ones with the "old style" carts with the poly-fil) might be a good choice for a first-time vaper.  I just recommended this to an acquaintance who was looking to purchase a kit for his father-in-law for Christmas.  I know this gear has it's faults, but the 510 attys are reliable, and, IMO, they don't have as big a learning curve as the Tanks (and don't get me wrong, I love the Tanks).  Plus, they can always be "upgraded" to the Tanks just by purchasing some attys and carts.  Just a thought.

I did find that there was a learning curve, but now that I know what parts go with what, and what needs to be done to get them working properly, piece of cake.  I just don't see my mother doing this lol.  Maybe with the new kits coming out, it will be much easier for people that don't want to or can't take things apart.  I find it to be quite simple to take apart an atty or clearo that isn't wicking well, at the same time, would be nice not to.  I just don't see someone like my mother sticking with this because of the fact that things need to be tinkered with.  I just see at the first sign of a burnt taste, it gets put away and not used again.  At this point, I'm more comfortable waiting for a better "out of the box" kit that just works consistently.  I'm yet to find a tornado atty that has worked out of the box.  Same with the ultimate clearos that were supposed to be fixed, granted I've only used 1 box, but not one of them was even halfway decent out of the box...  I have another delivery on the way, so we'll see how those go.  After they were working, they lasted about a week each, so for 2 dollars each I think that's pretty dang good.  And they still work, just starting to taste a bit "off".   I would just hate to spend $100+ on kits, replacement parts, juice, etc. for someone, they put it together, tastes like crap, and they never use it again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with all this stuff, and I love everything I have tried.  Again, would just be nice to have them work out of the box.   These posts probably sound like complaints, but it's more like a wishlist.  I'm going to continiue using everything, and I'm sure they will continue to improve as time goes on, and  Iguess I'm not alone with those that are waiting for that perfect vape right out of the box.  I guess the best we can do is keep voicing our opinions, and giving feedback,   so that TW has a better idea of what can be improved upon.

Hey, I recommend you try a Tornado-C when they become available (you can find my review here on the forum).  The flavor I'm getting from the "C" is at least as good, if not better than, the flavor I'm getting from the CE3s.  I've only had the "burnt" taste once with this "C" atty, and that was my fault because I was vaping away and not paying any attention to the fact that I was vaping it completely out of eliquid *DOH!*.  Once I put a fresh cart in the burnt taste went away and it's been fine every since (unlike the other Tanks where you have a hard time getting rid of the burnt taste unless you do some form of deep cleaning).  I really think the "C" is going to make a great kit for the first-time vaper.

[drahcir]

   There are some ecigs out there that are pretty close to being perfect but with all things you get what you pay for. These super ecigs are great but carry a premium price since most are made in little shops and are handmade. I just got an atty that cost almost 150USD. yes I said atty. But what this one does is it can be used as a tank or to direct drip. all the internals are replaceable and can be worked on fairly easy once you go through some trial and error. They make a small batch every couple of months and they sell out in a couple of hours. They also test it to make sure that the threads will work on just about every ecig with a 510 connection and had to scrape a batch because it wouldn't work on a certain high end mod. Also instead of a wick in the spike it has a metal mesh wick that works better than having a wick in there and it will take the ego tank cart. I call it the everlasting atty or the last atty you will have to buy.
    If you got the money you can get anything made. But I think the tornado was a great break through with technology for a mass produced ecig and the ego-c will be even better from the reviews I                have   read   
    As far a customer service I have never had a problem and even when I posted something on twitter about a problem someone called me that night saying that Jason say your problem on twitter and asked me to call you. Now that is premium service that I am willing to pay for. Most of the time if there is something going wrong with an atty or such it is user error and is sorted out on here. But to call them a-holes that is just to far and I hope you find a vendor that is more open about there products and QC like TW. What other company can you see lab reports on there liquid or post videos about going to manufactures and checking out there goods. Nowhere the most you get is customers doing reviews on youtube.

[SMOKEYMASTER]

Like I said I give TW credit for taking these comments on the chin.  Successful company's rely on customer inspired innovation.  81% of successful product improvement are cultivated by contact with their customers and their ability to incorporate customer insights into research and development.  This is a well known fact in business.  Well here we are, customers, asking for quality control on the products.  I don't know of any other product I go to the store to buy where I walk in and ask the clerk "what modifications or adjustments do I have to make after I purchase your item to make it work properly."   For TW to be a customer sensitive firm, the real or felt needs of the buyer control the business, from early in the development stage to well past the point of sale.  Make it easy as possible for us customers so we dont have to work at discovering what your selling and what goes with what.  (reference to the structure of your web site).  We want to know what your selling.  We want to believe in the quality of your product.  We want to know that it is a good buy.  I belive TW is on the verge of something great with their products but certainly have failed to show me that what I am buying is going to be consistant in quality.  You want to determine what the customers think is good and what is not so good, where the problems are, what kinds of resistance may be keeping customers from buying, and how you stack up against the competition.  The owner of successful firms try to "think like the customer."  The best way to do that is to listen to the customer.  I would ask that the people responding to this post also show respect to the company by voiceing complaints in a professional manner.  We are on to a good thing here with TW so lets help them so they can help us purchase a quality product that we can be proud of and enjoy.  If you really want feed back on your products why not create a space on this web site for rating your products?  Example:  Tornado tank--batteries ***** (five star)  metal atomizers * (one star) etc.  Gather the information over the coarse of a month and post it.  Its a very simple thing to do and creates instant feed back while at the same time showing not only your company but us, the customers, that you are in fact gathering input and putting it to use.  Discovering what makes us customers tick and how we customers relate to your company's goods and services is a matter of sensitive listening.  Its useful to get us to relax and "think out loud' about our needs and preferences.

[drahcir]

All ecigs have faults in them when they are mass produced and TW could do QC on products but they couldn't do it on every single piece they have in inventory, They could test maybe 1 in 10 and still with those test there might not be anything wrong with the one they test .
       When the customers saw a problem with the clearos he reduced the price and I sent Jason an email informing him that they had upgraded the construction on the tubes so they would not crack. He checked into it and we now have the better clearo. The ce3's there where only a handful of people that where having problems with them but he posted a warning and reduced the price until they got new stock in. I have the old ce3's theat where causing the short circuits and I haven't had a problem with them at all.
          Thats how it is when you mass produce something that is still a very new technology. In the past 2 years there are more styles of ecig bats and attys out there that it boggles the mind. His company is growing and when they get settled into there new warehouse he might have a dedicated QC department and a R&D department. But for right now we are the QC and R&D to a certain point. And if something is wrong with a product they will make it right for you. But there is no reason to loose your cool with them because it gets nothing accomplished except making you look like a fool. Why post this angry negativity on here when all you have to do is call them or email them and they will take care of you. Now when you post something calmly like" just to give everyone a heads up there might be a problem with such and such and I m contacting TW about this and I Will keep ypu informed of what they are doing about it or what they say." Its that easy.
     Another example was when he decided to bring out the big bat mod with the large tank on it. Some people brought up concerns about how some liquids might leech out the chemicals from what the tank was made out of and from what I understand Jason asked these questions to the manufactures and they didn't give him the answers he was looking for so he scraped the whole thing.
   The booster is another monster in its own. Its not built like a tank and can break very easily. I have gone through 2 and the 2 things that went wrong should not have happened with a device that cost that much. I hope artisan vapes got some of these complaints but they and are redesigning it so that it is built into the battery as an all in one piece. I wouldn't mind having one when that comes out.
                                                                                                     But thank you for reading my rant and Happy vaping.

[SMOKEYMASTER]

If you think the post was angry I suggest you read it again.  You are sadly mistaken.  I made it quite clear that I do in fact support TW and am simply making suggestions out in the open.  I was under the impression thats what forums are for.  INPUT.  Do you work for TW?  Your making the claim that product cannot be tested through and through so I assume you are on their staff since you are speaking for the company?  Try telling the electronic industry that mass produced items can't all be tested.  They would give you a different opionion.  Anyways for you to come on here and call me a fool is un-called for.  I asked people responding to my post to be professional about their comments not to come in here and tear people down.  If you knew as much as I do about manufacturing you would know that you should not have to test products for reliability once they get to you.  That is supposed to be done where they are made.  THATS WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR.  A product that works.  Lets all try to please act out age.  OK?

[drahcir]

I'm sorry if you thought I was directing that last post at you I was just stating some facts and observations from post that previous people have posted over the time I have been a member on the forum. Those comments where my opinion and not directed at you.

[SMOKEYMASTER]

I knew you were better than that lol.  thanks

[Customer Service Rep (UK)]

Hi Tony

I kinda like your idea on rating our products. Leave this with me and I will see if it is a feasible idea for us to put something on the forum.

Thanks
Louise

[SMOKEYMASTER]

Thank you Louise.  I think it would be a great idea!

Tony

[8Ball]

       When the customers saw a problem with the clearos he reduced the price and I sent Jason an email informing him that they had upgraded the construction on the tubes so they would not crack. He checked into it and we now have the better clearo. The ce3's there where only a handful of people that where having problems with them but he posted a warning and reduced the price until they got new stock in. I have the old ce3's theat where causing the short circuits and I haven't had a problem with them at all.
         

There's new stock of the CE3s?  I'm not seeing where they're at on the US website.  I've got a lot of the old stock, but I'd love to have some that I could use on my Tornado batteries w/o having to worry about killing one.  How about posting the link to the new stock because I can't seem to find it?