Discontinued The Grasshopper
- Thread starter midgetsanchez
- Start date
jivebuggered
Well-Known Member
That sucks, sorry to hear that. I ordered 3 batteries myself a couple days ago, I guess I shouldn't expect them anytime soon. I might actually get my preordered hopper first.
It would be great if they could hire an extra customer support person in addition to the new members of the assembly team.
One extra person working full time answering emails would make a huge difference to the customer service experience.
My thoughts exactly, I did receive the message through FB that Caroline has been away for a week. Im sure the newbees must be struggling to try to keep up to what seems the key customer support person.
Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
I understand there may be reasons why communication is lacking. Still, they need someone to try and at least do a quick response to each email. While she's on vacation move someone over from the assembly team, give them a quick training and some stock answers to send out for the most common questions.
Instead of sending 5 emails to get an answer, after the first email a quick 2 sentence reply would take 30 seconds to write. Something along the lines of:
"We are temporarily behind on shipping accessories, rest assured we will have yours out the door as soon as possible. We are expecting new stock in 2 weeks.
Thanks,
Grasshopper team"
In my opinion customer support should always be a priority. If that means my preorder takes longer to arrive that is fine. I would rather they take care of the people who actually have hoppers.
Mr. Me2
Well-Known Member
Email auto reply?
moondog
It's an obsession but it's pleasin'
THIS.
Before every vacation, the last item on my to do list on the last day at work was "set the damn auto reply." Cuts waaaay down on the aggravated phone messages you face upon your return.
MonkeyTime
Well-Known Member
When I first saw @Mr. Me2 's response was Noooo, that'll cause more problems. I still had the suggested reply in my head.
But if the auto reply was just a vacation reminder, it would be better, but we'd all still complain!
Even small companies can hire a temp for simple replies and such.
And thanks for the reminder, vacation reminders wasn't on my list!
place_and_time
Well-Known Member
so should the grasshopper be cleaned before its first use?
Mr. Me2
Well-Known Member
I didn't. I just stared at it and fondled it, in all its glory. Okay, I MAY have given the outside of the mouthpiece a wipe...
ooo
Well-Known Member
i cleaned the threads on mine with a soft brush just in case there was any metal filings left. checked the inside of the contacts to make sure there wasn't any gunk in there and wiped down my batteries just in case too. i don't know if you need to do this, but i didn't want to take any risks with it and encounter any of the problems i've read about.
Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
I'm a dirty heathen and didn't do any cleaning at all. I did a couple burn ins and then put my lips right on that mouthpiece. I'm surprised I didn't get the Zika virus (
). Especially since my hopper went from the U.S. to the Netherlands and then back to the states before it reached my doorstep.
JoeMama
Well-Known Member
EUREKA!
I heard back from Caroline via email (the Warranty Request still "Pending", but it's to answer the same questions):
The clicking/ticking is normal. So credit (sorry, I've forgotten who) to the OP who said it was "pulses" to the heater making that sound. Whether that's actually it, it's normal. Nothing was mentioned about it being "louder" or "softer" depending on the battery strength. I have not been able to confirm that for myself. It just clicks and ticks while heating, and it's normal.
The issue "Red Light Flash" upon tapping the upside-down unit gently on a [tabletop] to empty the chamber, however, was answered vaguely: "The red light is likely flickering because you are making the connection complete with the tapping".
To me this makes no sense even for one reason: That On-Off button feels quite sturdy and "heavy duty" when you click on and off. She's saying a gentle tap can made a connection inside the backend button circuitry. That would imply that a whole device (filled and ready to vape, or empty, but just assembled) can flicker when you simply drop the vape on a tabletop.
To which I dubiously state, NFW.
EDIT: I'd like to add that the last couple of pages of posts having to do with size of load, and cleaning of threads and contacts, has really improved how I "drive" the hopper.
After 11 days with it, I'm estimating that one battery will provide me with just about 2 medium-filled chambers with 3 nice cloudy deliveries per chamber using T4, and then maybe 1-1/2 more so-so lighter ones at the end of each load, at T4.5. It may be a conservative number: 6 quality clouds and 3 weaker ones on 1 battery.
Does that sound about "right"?
I heard back from Caroline via email (the Warranty Request still "Pending", but it's to answer the same questions):
The clicking/ticking is normal. So credit (sorry, I've forgotten who) to the OP who said it was "pulses" to the heater making that sound. Whether that's actually it, it's normal. Nothing was mentioned about it being "louder" or "softer" depending on the battery strength. I have not been able to confirm that for myself. It just clicks and ticks while heating, and it's normal.
The issue "Red Light Flash" upon tapping the upside-down unit gently on a [tabletop] to empty the chamber, however, was answered vaguely: "The red light is likely flickering because you are making the connection complete with the tapping".
To me this makes no sense even for one reason: That On-Off button feels quite sturdy and "heavy duty" when you click on and off. She's saying a gentle tap can made a connection inside the backend button circuitry. That would imply that a whole device (filled and ready to vape, or empty, but just assembled) can flicker when you simply drop the vape on a tabletop.
To which I dubiously state, NFW.
EDIT: I'd like to add that the last couple of pages of posts having to do with size of load, and cleaning of threads and contacts, has really improved how I "drive" the hopper.
After 11 days with it, I'm estimating that one battery will provide me with just about 2 medium-filled chambers with 3 nice cloudy deliveries per chamber using T4, and then maybe 1-1/2 more so-so lighter ones at the end of each load, at T4.5. It may be a conservative number: 6 quality clouds and 3 weaker ones on 1 battery.
Does that sound about "right"?
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Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
I want to touch in on the customer service I mentioned earlier. I feel I may have sounded more negative than I had planned. I try to tell it like it is and not sugar coat things.
I understand Hopper Labs is a young company and I do believe their heart is in the right place. I can't fathom the amount of work they have put into this project already. Their product is cutting edge and almost feels like it shouldn't exist yet.
I'm confident they will figure it out and improve over time. I have a feeling once they are caught up on all orders they will become known for having stellar customer service. The lifetime warranty alone speaks volumes.
I understand Hopper Labs is a young company and I do believe their heart is in the right place. I can't fathom the amount of work they have put into this project already. Their product is cutting edge and almost feels like it shouldn't exist yet.
I'm confident they will figure it out and improve over time. I have a feeling once they are caught up on all orders they will become known for having stellar customer service. The lifetime warranty alone speaks volumes.
moondog
It's an obsession but it's pleasin'
Thank you for this.
While the kinds of things we early adopters are experiencing are indeed very frustrating (believe me, I know - I have another situation, which I won't go into, that makes the hopper wait look like a cakewalk), we should remember that is in our best interest for people to not get scared away from ordering a hopper by our rants. GHL needs to continue to thrive in order for us to be able to take advantage of that amazing lifetime warranty should the need ever arise.
They will get out from under the burden of their own rapid success, settle down, and apply the same ingenuity to CS and the next gen hopper. This I believe.
Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
Hopper Labs is not alone in this. There are at least a couple well liked manufacturers in this forum that became successful too fast and are currently going through similar growing pains. Scaling is hard, especially as a very small company.
I agree we need to be careful about being too negative, we don't want to penalize these great people for being successful and making an amazing product.
At the same time customer feedback is a valuable tool for any business, new or established. We just need to mindful about how it's presented.
I agree we need to be careful about being too negative, we don't want to penalize these great people for being successful and making an amazing product.
At the same time customer feedback is a valuable tool for any business, new or established. We just need to mindful about how it's presented.
moondog
It's an obsession but it's pleasin'
Absolutely. The question becomes "Is this the most effective way to provide that feedback to GHL." GHL has no presence on this forum and AFAIK, have never responded to anything posted on this forum. Some people have questioned whether they even read what we post here. It may be that they are too busy - we are a prolific bunch - but I myself find it hard to believe they don't read this stuff.
There is certainly value in all of us sharing our experiences, but it feels like if we don't ALSO communicate directly with GHL (phone and email messages), it's not effective feedback.
JoeMama
Well-Known Member
As someone who himself has thrown his own hissy fits over the long wait and has waxed quite negative at times, albeit mainly about the aspect of customer service, I agree that is in our best interest to curb the dissing. In my response to Caroline, although I said I didn't understand her response about the flashing red lights, I concluded with praise for the product and thanks for the response.
I want GHL to be very successful... but whatever happens, Just please never stop making these batteries.
TheWhisper
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. The question becomes "Is this the most effective way to provide that feedback to GHL." GHL has no presence on this forum and AFAIK, have never responded to anything posted on this forum. Some people have questioned whether they even read what we post here. It may be that they are too busy - we are a prolific bunch - but I myself find it hard to believe they don't read this stuff.
There is certainly value in all of us sharing our experiences, but it feels like if we don't ALSO communicate directly with GHL (phone and email messages), it's not effective feedback.
They were active and posting on the forum years ago when the Hopper was still called the Zenpen. But I think some members scared them away with invective (some of which was warranted, though the tone was probably too harsh).
Kalessin
Well-Known Member
I think they were actually banned for some kind of alternate account nonsense, weren't they?
TheWhisper
Well-Known Member
I don't believe so, but am not sure. Their account is @Zenpen (http://fuckcombustion.com/members/zenpen.14287/).
I think there was a kerfuffle because there were suspicions that they were using a puppet account to help hype the vape, but I don't know what the outcome of that was. I attributed it to them being overzealous and not experienced marketers.
I think there was a kerfuffle because there were suspicions that they were using a puppet account to help hype the vape, but I don't know what the outcome of that was. I attributed it to them being overzealous and not experienced marketers.
There was never a ban. At one point @vtac suspected some shilling but after they presented their response we never took any action. GHL participated here for quite a while after those suspicions were raised. They stopped using their account and never gave a reason, but the atmosphere here was quite hostile at the time. We had to restrain several members.
Kalessin
Well-Known Member
Ahh, okay, thanks for clearing that up, it was before my time and I was just trying to recall posts I didn't pay much attention to in the first place
I received a response from Caroline this morning, stating that my batteries would be shipped today.
vapognak
Well-Known Member
Not really a fix, more a tip: when inserting the battery into the grasshopper, keep the unit head's up, so you will have to push the battery upward into the unit.
Otherwise - if you let sliding down the battery too fast - you might damage a bit the connexion point where comes the positive pole of the battery.
I think I might have done that and when I look inside the body with a flash light, some of the connecting metal seems off.
I know I'll be more careful from now on.
Otherwise - if you let sliding down the battery too fast - you might damage a bit the connexion point where comes the positive pole of the battery.
I think I might have done that and when I look inside the body with a flash light, some of the connecting metal seems off.
I know I'll be more careful from now on.
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