EternalSoil Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 does it have to be productive? cause i can do either. my other posts are great examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furio Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I don't see why it is being closed. The thread started wanted to ask questions and get feedback. If he feels that he has got it that fine but you should ask him first. We don't want a new world order forum now do we Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalSoil Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 i think he wants to close it because there was a whole lot of tension and he doesnt want it blowing up again. Works for me! there will be another once the distributor gets things worked out! I hope to see the shisha soon! kinda glad i waited so this smileys will be really good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 as long as people stick to the topic and are civil....i'll let it live.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) Furio, you're new here aren't you.... Edited July 9, 2007 by mushrat added his name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symptom CY Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Man, this is bizarre -- OPD's lack of professionalism is on par with Smiley's! I don't mean to be insulting, but man... what a way to explain yourself to the consumer base I don't see how OPD can call people wrong for criticizing that "preliminary" pricing -- even if it's just a guide, anywhere NEAR that 1000% price increase is preposterous. The way he brings discussion of quality to the table really seems to indicate that this stuff will in fact be priced higher than any other shisha on the market, whether it be $60 or $30 for 300g. I hope people don't actually pay that, cause that's when it all starts to go downhill for the rest of the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kornkitten42 Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Coming from someone who JUST bought smileys 3 days ago ..... The stuff has not changed. Which is disappointing since I shelled out 9 bux for it. Plus it was in a weird jar that I did not like compared to the cobalt blue ones. I hope this isn't the new and improved packaging. If so... Yikes.I hope the new stuff has the kinks worked out of it. I ordered prickley Pear and Blue Berry... 18 bux + shipping for 300g that tastes like nothing. I'm heart broken, as my first several jars of smiley had great flavor. I would highly suggest that you take up online websites. If not, even if the product is better I wont be able to get my hands on it. There is one store that carries tobbacco other than nakhla in all of Jacksonville FL. They are sooooo snoody they wont pick it up. It's called Nicotine in Jax fl. But good luck trying to sell it to them. I do all my HOOKAH shopping on-line. I hope you dont cut out online retailers. BTW- Tangiers has minimal packaging and a GREAT product. He's an awesome guy, with an awesome product. He distibutes to Online retailers, they ship the items out quickly and promptly. Recieved my online order in 4 days. Not bad from Minnesota. to FL. (and 4th of july grrr)I refuse to by HH shots at 1.75 ? i think it is? and I smoke HH on a regular basis. I wont buy the snacks for 5.99 unless they are made of gold. That's ridiculus. (I understand that price fluctuates but the possibility of paying 5.99 for 15 g? when i can buy 250 g of nakhla for 5.99 at my local bazzar is crazy. Also wanted to say - i have purchased a lot of smileys over the past few months. I bought it from him even though the batches weren't consitant because I wanted to help him improve his product, give him feedback and he was a contributor both forums. Now I wont pay another 9.00 for it unless it's on the money with a money back guaruntee if it's NOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symptom CY Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) Yea that's another thing... I thought those cobalt blue jars were f'in awesome. A change seems unnecessary... Edited July 9, 2007 by symptom CY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hey, our forum broke a few records today. Fastest growing thread of all time, and the most posts invisibled in that thread of all time!Great job guys! WOOHOO GET NAKED! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furio Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 QUOTE (yashman19 @ Jul 10 2007, 12:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>the most posts invisibled in that thread of all time!Great job guys! WOOHOO GET NAKED!Yea. Not sure I like all of this cencoring. But this is not my forum (yet ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPD Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 QUOTE (symptom CY @ Jul 9 2007, 04:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Man, this is bizarre -- OPD's lack of professionalism is on par with Smiley's! I don't mean to be insulting, but man... what a way to explain yourself to the consumer base I don't see how OPD can call people wrong for criticizing that "preliminary" pricing -- even if it's just a guide, anywhere NEAR that 1000% price increase is preposterous. The way he brings discussion of quality to the table really seems to indicate that this stuff will in fact be priced higher than any other shisha on the market, whether it be $60 or $30 for 300g. I hope people don't actually pay that, cause that's when it all starts to go downhill for the rest of the market.Sympton, who are you to speak of lack of professionalism here? Are you a moderator of this forum, I was explaining myself all day today quite clearly I think, I have spoken to a few who agree with me that I have made my point quite clear, let's just say crystal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerznPerversion Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 ok.. number one thing is business is THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! do not let this get out of hand, the customers are outraged i guess??? Dont fight back incoherently.Number 2 you do not discuss business in a forum BECAUSE of peoples opinions and it can bite you up the ass. You talk to each customer personally and work out all the problems.Number 3(this is for smiley) YOU DO NOT name call or make up lies about people in a forum..There im done =-) and if you dont understand 3 then dont worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPD Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 I would like to bring the discussion of quality to the table again... I believe Smiley's is the best shisha on the market today. (It is all your rights to disagree, but be informed and don't give an opinion on personality of me or of Smiley, judge the shisha....fairly) I am not speaking as a distributor right now, I am speaking as a smoker with a nice little pumpkin sitting on my desk, smoking one of my fav's watermelon/bubbleberry from of course, Smiley's. I have tasted as many brands as I can find either online or in Tucson or New York, where I visit quite often. I personally love what Smiley's has done and have had no indication of inconsistency what so ever. This whole distribution idea is not something that we just decided one day to do. Smiley and myself have been planning for a long time and customer input in quite important to myself and Smiley. But also realize, I have done a good amount of market research offline, where a tremendous amount of business takes place. So this is not a fly-by-night idea or company.....please, if you have comments, suggestions, whatever, write me, obviously, I am going to write you back, if you want, I have already posted my phone #, call me, let's talk...But let's just keep it easy here, look I believe that the quality demands a price equivalent to what the competition has set. Therefore, given that Smiley's quality is top-notch(I checked out the reviews....10/10...of course some bad, but who doesn't get a couple of bad reviews)price will be reflective of that. I would like to put an offer to all of you...as you all have made clear that quality is what counts, you all write me privately an address in which to send a sample to. I will be more than happy to send out samples to all who do business with us. Look buy one 15 gram sample from me for $5.99, I will give you two flavors so that we aren't "lucky" in that flavor being so good....I wil keep this offer open til midnight tonight....so jump on it...I want to also ask all of you a favor....When you taste how good Smiley's is....please have the same umpph that you did today to attack me....I look forward to working with all of you.....-aI know how great the shisha is, Let me show you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 (edited) QUOTE (Furio @ Jul 9 2007, 11:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (yashman19 @ Jul 10 2007, 12:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>the most posts invisibled in that thread of all time!Great job guys! WOOHOO GET NAKED!Yea. Not sure I like all of this cencoring. But this is not my forum (yet ).Our job is to keep things civil. When something becomes uncivil, we delete it. Don't like it? T.T Believe me, we aren't going around and deleting what we don't agree with. Just when posts go off topic and become more hostile than constructive. Edited July 10, 2007 by yashman19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopooshaboo Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I hope someone takes advantage of his offer, because I'm not going to pay $6 for less than 50g of tobacco, but I would like to know if it is as good as he says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kornkitten42 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 well OPD.1 How fresh are the samples? I just bought some smileys PP and BB 3 days ago and it's the same complaint most have had all along, no flavor.2. Is it 5.99 for the two including shipping?3. What happens if we dont like it? 4. are they independantly packaged like hh shots? or will they come in some plastic bag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victim026 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'd love to take advantage of this offer just to give OPd the opp. to change my feelings but I still don't think I can bring myself to pay almost 6 times the previous price of the product fixed or not.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furio Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 OPD came on to the forum to ask for feedback regarding the new product. This is stupid for 2 reasons.1 - How can you judge quality on something you have never used or seen?2 - No pricing was given so no realistic answers could be given.The pricing has been given so the only issue remaining is that in our eyes, the product does not exist.You have been told that people feel your RRP is over the top for the shot size you are talking about and that Smiley's customer care is poor. Take away this information and use it how you feel fit. However unless the pricing is reviewed by yourselves/smiley then I cannot see either of the issues resolved and you could look at distributing a product that nobody wants. Even if the new product is so amazing that it warrant's a stupidly high price, nobody would buy it due to the past issues with the company.Maybe the best way of launching this new Smiley's could be to offer it at 50% of the RRP for a month or so and agree with stores a price that would reflect the discount. This would allow lots of people to try the new product at a cheaper price which would in my opinion lead to many follow up sales at the full price (assuming it lives up to the hype you have associated with it). This is called a loss leader and most companies that use it tend to see the rewards of it, assuming that the product is as good as they say it is and lives up to the hype expectations.If the marketing strategy works, then you will gain many good and positive reviews of the product and in turn, they would show the new "professional style" that you say Smiley's has converted to. What with the new reviews on how amazing the comapny and product are, people will buy it at a premium.By the way, if this theory is used and works, I expect 10% of your profits.Only joking ........I expect 10% anyway regardless of if you use it or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symptom CY Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 (edited) QUOTE (OPD @ Jul 9 2007, 05:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Sympton, who are you to speak of lack of professionalism here? I'm the consumer reading the sloppy hissyfit-style defensive commercial thing you've got going on here. QUOTE (OPD @ Jul 9 2007, 05:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I would like to bring the discussion of quality to the table again... I believe Smiley's is the best shisha on the market today.... Look buy one 15 gram sample from me for $5.99, I will give you two flavors so that we aren't "lucky" in that flavor being so good....I wil keep this offer open til midnight tonight....so jump on it...I want to also ask all of you a favor....When you taste how good Smiley's is....please have the same umpph that you did today to attack me....I look forward to working with all of you.....-aI know how great the shisha is, Let me show you?Honestly man, it would be in your best interest to just stop talking before you turn off any more potential customers. No more freakin out and getting all defensive like a good businessman shouldn't, just try to at least have a little composure, respect for the community, and then worry about improving your sales pitch which right now is something along these lines -- "GUYS LISTEN: SMILEYS SHISHA IS SOOO GOOD THAT I GUARANTEE YOU'LL PAY ANYTHING FOR IT! NO WAIT, GUYS LISTEN! HEY, LIS--SHUTUP!! LISTEN!"edit: Would you believe it -- OPD PMed me and asked me to be quiet I thought the businessman was the one who had to mind his manners, not the other way around? I didn't realize we were supposed to let businesses infiltrate a consumer based network to convince everyone that they should pay 1000% for their new, ultra quality product without criticism. Personally, I see this as an attack on the consumers and the hookah tobacco market -- if people actually are silly enough to pay this much for shisha, just imagine how much other brands will raise their prices. I don't know about you guys, but I blow enough of my money on shisha as it is. If you don't want to start paying $20+ for 250g of Layalina, don't start paying $6 for 15g of the SUPERULTRAPREMIUMAMBROSIASHISHA. I know, a little exaggerated, but that's how it happens... Edited July 10, 2007 by symptom CY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macho555 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 (edited) As usual I watched the thread grow in size for a while before I bothered giving my opinion. I have to be honest, I have tried a few flavors of smileys (all samples) and I havn't yet found any flavor that was worth paying 9 bucks for, (or barely anything at all). I was severely dissapointed, mostly because the shisha almost seemed to more hype than anything. That, however, is just my opinion. Now I must say I am dissapointed again, for exactly the reason many people on here have already stated...Smiley started off well, always giving people samples, surveys, a special club...in general, he was very nice and helpful (as annoying as I personally though he was.)I won't bring up every single drama afterwards, but I will mention that with each new hissy fit, I grew more and more lacking in will to even bother myself to BUY any more of Smileys product. It wasn't so much my own bad experiances (after all, being a chef I can appreciate that sometimes the first few batches just plain don't work out...), but I just plain didn't like the COMPANY. Now I'm afraid I have to ask...why on Earth would I want to purchase anything distributed by you, even if the actual maker of the product hadn't acted the way he did? So far you keep yelling "quality, quality, quality", but when pressed for samples, we can't get any. When pressed for outlets its getting sold to, we can't get info on that either. I understand that as a distributor, you can't say for certain for what its getting sold for, but I know for a fact you are able to give a projection on it.Even all of that, I could handle...BUT...If challenged on anything at all, you seem to switch over into a tactic that involves almost every childish behavior that doesn't include just calling them a "poopyhead". So far, its all been about challenging the customers intelligence in the field, their basic knowledge, with statements like "How you DO know, etc etc."I don't care HOW good this stuff is. If that's how the business is conducted, not many an educated person will give a merrydamn even to think about the product during their next purchase. I know for certain that I won't. Sorry for the length. That's my .5 cents.~~Macho Edited July 10, 2007 by Macho555 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
web250_is_mad Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Nothing to me will beat $9 for Layalina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingjunkie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 OK, so I read almost 4 pages of this thread, and I don't even need to read the rest. Someone get a trumpet and play taps... Smiley's Sexy Shisha has committed suicide. RIP guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeMojo Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I think we got the answers we wanted thus far. No need to hassle him any further. We know that the MSRP does sound high, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps Smileys is great, and it requires some tricks like Tangiers does to smoke correctly. Lets give it time and see what unfolds. I will say that if the MSRP of the snacks are reflective of the price tags on the larger containers.. This could be a bad move on Smiley's part. OPD I left you a PM, please get back to me asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookah hippie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I finally finished reading this topic all 7 pages of it. I am flustered as to why a person who wants are business wouldn't come off as more friendly. Furthermore if the "quality" product is so good then wouldn't it be a good idea to send out samples to the naysayers and win them over not charging them a ridiculous $6 for a tiny 30g of shisha. Perhaps I am just a customer who is not persuaded to purchase your product and after reading this I am less likely to purchase this product due to the hostility I felt when consumers where asking questions about the product. Being a consumer I expect producers to be able to answer questions of mine and if they are unable to I wish for them to flat out tell me they don't know. I don't want them to tip toe around my question. I feel insulted when such a move is made. I wouldn't mind trying your product but with the negative reviews and high price it does not seem possible. Good Luck with your business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldonb1 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Welcome to the forums OPD,While I am not as much of a hookah guru as some other people on here I have tried almost every brand of shisha on the market. While I obviously have no experience with the new super improved smileys, I did experience the old. At first it was great, horchata was amazing; however, over time the quality diminished. I think the main concern I have with trying Smiley's right now is that, yes it may be incredible right now, but as it is pricier than almost everything else on the market, what quality assurance is there? (i.e. I buy a few shots in a month, and i love it. Few months later I buy 250grams+ and spend some serious cash. I would be scared that it will follow the same route as old smiley's and suffer a serious quality decrease.)Also, packaging should not contribute significantly to any cost at all. I personally just use heavy duty air tight zipper bags. Most of the people at my college (at least those in the hookah club) do this as well. If packaging is a significant cost, maybe this should be downgraded in favor of additional savings for the customer. (Or perhaps start with a less expensive packaging just to get initial sales and let people understand how great the new improved shisha is and then improve the packaging which justifies a price increase.)This is just me personally, but I was very interested into the pricing also because while quality is important... I am in college and I am broke 80% of the time. What I look for in a shisha is the best Quality : Price : Quantity ratio. So even if Layalina doesn't meat the quality of Starbuzz, I personally believe the reduced cost more than compensates for the minor lapse in quality. So far I believe Tangiers has the best Q : P : Q ratio. I'm sorry for repeating what people have said but I feel that the posts needed to be reworded in a much friendlier manner. OPD is new to the forums and I think we should be polite and respectful even if we disagree with the business methods at hand.Also what business school did you go to? Just curious not try to bash or anything.--aB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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