What Happened to Zephyr
- Thread starter Mike7752
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lwien
Well-Known Member
Ok, for those that got burned on this, I totally understand your frustration, but, and this is kind of a serious but, there may be another explanation here and/or something could be seriously wrong, health wise, with Bruce.
And yeah, I'm cutting him some slack due to the great service, communication and contribution that he made to this site for just about year now.
So before we crucify him, I think we should give him a bit of time to respond to what's being said here.
But as a side note, in reality, the vaporizer business is a very small business that is still in it's infancy, so we, as early adopters, need to go into this with our eyes wide open realizing that when we make a purchase from a start-up company, you are taking a gamble as to the longevity of that company. And yeah, you typically can buy their vape for under market value because they are so new, but in so doing, you just need to be aware that there is another side to that coin.
And yeah, I'm cutting him some slack due to the great service, communication and contribution that he made to this site for just about year now.
So before we crucify him, I think we should give him a bit of time to respond to what's being said here.
But as a side note, in reality, the vaporizer business is a very small business that is still in it's infancy, so we, as early adopters, need to go into this with our eyes wide open realizing that when we make a purchase from a start-up company, you are taking a gamble as to the longevity of that company. And yeah, you typically can buy their vape for under market value because they are so new, but in so doing, you just need to be aware that there is another side to that coin.
CombustionJunction
What's Your Function?
I'm with lwien. I'm gonna give Bruce the benefit of the doubt due to the amazing service we've all received from him. I'm waiting to hear the official story, but I'm not doubting any of the rumors. I hope Bruce is doing well and hope to hear from him soon.
herbgirl
cannabis aromatherapist
i don't know how much i can say, but here goes...
just recently Bruce, Chip and I were speaking about a potential future business relationship.
if they KNEW they were on the way out, judging by his solid customer service record, I can't see why Bruce would have even contacted me about something like that and discussed the future with some degree of certainty.
there has to be a good reason, and while the rumors are juicy and tempting, i'll wait for official word. i hope not, but perhaps I'll be waiting for a while...
just recently Bruce, Chip and I were speaking about a potential future business relationship.
if they KNEW they were on the way out, judging by his solid customer service record, I can't see why Bruce would have even contacted me about something like that and discussed the future with some degree of certainty.
there has to be a good reason, and while the rumors are juicy and tempting, i'll wait for official word. i hope not, but perhaps I'll be waiting for a while...
Beezleb
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind, Bruce was/is an employee or at least was my understanding. I would not necessarily hold ill will toward Bruce but towards the Zephyr company if need be.
Business can be tough and unforgiving. Hope its just a bump in the road but it surely does not look good at this point.
Business can be tough and unforgiving. Hope its just a bump in the road but it surely does not look good at this point.
DevoTheStrange
Ia! Ia! Vapor Fthagn!
IIRC... bruce said they have a factory in china, that they monitor for QC, that makes their vapes. So my guess is stateside it is a small amount of employees managing the final quality control and customer service.
herbgirl said:
herbgirl, the same could be said of the story I related about the helmet company in the old thread. Gil was lining up investors to open up manufacturing in China and expand the business before everything went South. In my opinion NexL was the best motorcycle hemet in the world, for a number of reasons it was truly ground breaking. Even after they crashed and I lost my money I searched my butt of to find two of their helmets in my size. Found one on Ebay and another at a dealer who still had stock and count myself lucky because I have them.
lwien said:
lwien, I understand and sympathize with your wanting to allow time for this to sort out due to past experience.... understand though time can be your enemy. I've "been there and done that"; it's how I got burned over the helmet.
Due to previous good comm and support along with satisfaction with the product I gave the vendor time to sort out "issues" they were having. After being strung along for 3 months which turned into 6 months and then became 9 months before all communication stopped. Google and my CC company told me I should have contacted them sooner about the issue. The answer was pretty much "it's been too long" and I was out of luck.
Just saying... we can only hope and pray now or if we recently bought with a CC direct from Zephyr (not sure if they did direct sales) contact the CC company for help immediately.
DevoTheStrange said:
DevoTheStrange, I am one of those recenly registered. Not taking any offense by your comment above just sharing the following.
I found this site while doing a search trying to find out what happened to the Zephyr website. I needed to return a vaporizer I had used twice before it quit for warranty. The search led me to the old thread which is gone now. I registered to try and contact Bruce who had replied to it in late December and sounded like he was the guy to get in touch with. At the very least I hoped to find out what was going with the Zephyr website and communication channels.
It is very likely other new posters relaying problems here arrived via the same route.
This happened to me on another board. I found it while searching for contact info on a company called Magazine Parts http://www.magazineparts.com/ who was unresponsive to email and voicemail. I had ordered parts for an FNH PS90 rifle and they never came.
Not the case on this board but... myself and others were almost crucified for bad mouthing Mag Parts because we were "new" and had "joined only to complain about one of their board sponsors". The vendor assured them we were unwilling to "work things out" when were only trying to get what we paid them for. Mag Parts claimed things were "lost by USPS", "we never sent the money" (purchases were through PayPal so BS on that) and they were "having issues beyond their control". Within a month or so they were no longer a sponsor and are banned form that board.
Thankfully I got taken care of but only by accepting parts other than the ones I wanted, others did not.
Just saying, alll we can do now is hope, pray or take action and get the word out so no one else buys a vap they they can't get service on like I did.
Ride Free, Ride Safe, jw (aka tireless)
steiner666
Serial vapist
wow, i hadnt heard anything about this. shitty news. i dont really care about zephyr, but i hope FC members dont get screwed over by this.
lwien
Well-Known Member
I just got off the phone with Bruce.
I can't get into specifics due to a gag order, but I can say that Bruce will try to be here on Monday to clarify what is going on here.
One thing I can say, is that Bruce is NOT hanging anyone out to dry. If people are being hung out to dry, Bruce is right there along with them.
His lack of response so far is not of his choosing and I can tell you that his frustration of not being able to respond is painfully obvious.
Stay tuned.
I can't get into specifics due to a gag order, but I can say that Bruce will try to be here on Monday to clarify what is going on here.
One thing I can say, is that Bruce is NOT hanging anyone out to dry. If people are being hung out to dry, Bruce is right there along with them.
His lack of response so far is not of his choosing and I can tell you that his frustration of not being able to respond is painfully obvious.
Stay tuned.
max
Out to lunch
In this case, you should. Anyone interested in being able to buy a quality vape from a company like Zephyr (and other reputable manufacturers) should be concerned. Like lwien just stated, I can confirm that this situation with Zephyr was not of their doing. They had every intention of being a top quality vape company with top quality service. Hopefully, they'll be able to resume their business. If not, it may set an alarming precedent for the vaporizer industry.steiner666 said:
DevoTheStrange
Ia! Ia! Vapor Fthagn!
max said:
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Any big company that has a vaporizer could potentially go after and destroy any small company that has a similar functioning product.
that's a disturbing comment ... i anxiously wait for more details to be forthcoming ... but i can't help but wonder if this is a patent infringement claim??? vaporizing in general? bag filling in particular?
AGBeer
Lost in Thought
I think everyone should (try) to be patient and wait until Bruce is able to come in here and clear some things up. Ad per Lwiens comment, S&B has little to nothing to do with what is happening. For all we know - we dont know shit, and I dont want to speculate.
Ive seen 'similar' things happen in the VW parts world, as well as the PS2 gaming world etc. Its one thing to run a legitimate business, its another to run a legitmate business that caters to a grey area.
Just be patient, and hopefully people will know how to plan their next move once we have more info.
And for the record - I didnt take Steins comment about 'not caring' about Zephyr as 'not caring' but more of 'I dont own this vape so that is one less concern I have' (Not wishing them ill will or anything)
Ive seen 'similar' things happen in the VW parts world, as well as the PS2 gaming world etc. Its one thing to run a legitimate business, its another to run a legitmate business that caters to a grey area.
Just be patient, and hopefully people will know how to plan their next move once we have more info.
And for the record - I didnt take Steins comment about 'not caring' about Zephyr as 'not caring' but more of 'I dont own this vape so that is one less concern I have' (Not wishing them ill will or anything)
steiner666
Serial vapist
AGBeer said:...
And for the record - I didnt take Steins comment about 'not caring' about Zephyr as 'not caring' but more of 'I dont own this vape so that is one less concern I have' (Not wishing them ill will or anything)
Yeah, exactly. Of course i'd prefer for them to stay in business and put out quality vapes - the more the merrier - and Bruce seems like an honest, straight-talking sort of guy - which i respect. But my main concern is for my fellow vaporists, not for the profits or well-being of a company, because its much easier for me to empathize with them and how much it would suck to have to worry about not having warranty support or whatever for their vape they spent their (presumably) hard-earned money on.
Best wishing to all involved tho, of course.
lwien said:
Thanks thats good news, at least he's talking to someone. Of course that may or may not help me with needing warranty support. Let's hope everything stays positive. Some sort of message on the answering machine without getting into specifics would have been nice.
In my humble experience, hope and prayer along with luck is needed to come out on top.
Like I said previously... if I do it won't be the first time for me or most likely the last.
Praying we all don't get hosed and things get worked out, jw
Thanks for understanding.
I've had my share of trials and tribulations in 53 years on this earth, such is life, the alternative is not pretty though.
A little rhyme I keep in the back of my mind helps me to realize where I really am should I think things are at their worst...
From the time you're born until you ride in a hearse
Nothing's ever so bad it couldn't be worse
I'll be saying a prayer for Bruce tonight, jw
I've had my share of trials and tribulations in 53 years on this earth, such is life, the alternative is not pretty though.
A little rhyme I keep in the back of my mind helps me to realize where I really am should I think things are at their worst...
From the time you're born until you ride in a hearse
Nothing's ever so bad it couldn't be worse
I'll be saying a prayer for Bruce tonight, jw
haven't been called that in a while - Status