Smiley's Distributor

[kornkitten42]

I got a different packaging than the normal blue cobalt jars. It STILL has not flavor. I smoked it last night again to see if it might have needed acclimation. It was CHOCK full of stems, and no flavor. I dont understand how 150g was in this tiny jar.

I'll take a picture of it and put it on here when i get off work tonight.
I bought it from MN a couple of days ago. Not sure if this is the "new and improved" packaging.. if it is.... LAME.

[aldonb1]

it really shouldn't need acclimation seeing as it is washed... at least from my understanding... I'm probably wrong though.

hehe watch this flavorless, stem'y, super packaged stuff be the "new and improved smiley's" (Edit: I meant this to be a joke, not a stab at smiley's... sorry. Haha, I was telling everyone to be nice then I make a cheap shot, whoops.)

And as for 150g in a tiny jar I always felt that majority of the weight from Smileys came from a huge pool of juices at the bottom.
(Edit: This refers to the old Smileys, I have no knowledge of the new and improved smileys)


Edit/Addition:
Also, I'm sorry that you feel college students are cheap and dont care about quality. We do, we are just looking for the best ratio. Also, from my understanding at least around my area, College Towns/Neighborhoods are the best markets for hookah/shisha. But then again you are not targeting individuals stores/lounges/etc. So maybe you have the right idea. Edited July 10, 2007 by aldonb1

[OPD]

I'm not saying that it wasn't cooked right, it was just a bad piece of meat and yes the steakhouse replaced it...but it can't be guaranteed,----

UMMMMM....... if they replaced it because it was bad.. then that means... *gasp* it's guaranteed....

two ways to handle bad sevice/ food/ or even products.......

Either get a new dish or dtell them you dont want a replacement and have them take it off your bill...

if the server says tough titty.... then say let me speak to the owner/ manager.

edited because i'm getting annoyed.

That isn't a guarantee, that is customer service.....I will state clearly....If a package showed up dry and disgusting, I would replace in a heart beat, especially now a days when I can ask for a picture of said defective product to prove, unfortunately people take advantage of everything, but I guess if you call that a guarantee, then I will give you one...
have you ever seen TommyBoy....? I have the same opinion of Guarantee's....

[hookah hippie]

I'm not saying that it wasn't cooked right, it was just a bad piece of meat and yes the steakhouse replaced it...but it can't be guaranteed,----

UMMMMM....... if they replaced it because it was bad.. then that means... *gasp* it's guaranteed....

two ways to handle bad sevice/ food/ or even products.......

Either get a new dish or dtell them you dont want a replacement and have them take it off your bill...

if the server says tough titty.... then say let me speak to the owner/ manager.

edited because i'm getting annoyed.

That isn't a guarantee, that is customer service.....I will state clearly....If a package showed up dry and disgusting, I would replace in a heart beat, especially now a days when I can ask for a picture of said defective product to prove, unfortunately people take advantage of everything, but I guess if you call that a guarantee, then I will give you one...
have you ever seen TommyBoy....? I have the same opinion of Guarantee's....

Will you take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed?

(this is a quote from Tomyboy apparently. Mushrat) Edited July 10, 2007 by mushrat
Clarification of comment intent.

[kornkitten42]

I'm not saying that it wasn't cooked right, it was just a bad piece of meat and yes the steakhouse replaced it...but it can't be guaranteed,----

UMMMMM....... if they replaced it because it was bad.. then that means... *gasp* it's guaranteed....

two ways to handle bad sevice/ food/ or even products.......

Either get a new dish or dtell them you dont want a replacement and have them take it off your bill...

if the server says tough titty.... then say let me speak to the owner/ manager.

edited because i'm getting annoyed.

That isn't a guarantee, that is customer service.....I will state clearly....If a package showed up dry and disgusting, I would replace in a heart beat, especially now a days when I can ask for a picture of said defective product to prove, unfortunately people take advantage of everything, but I guess if you call that a guarantee, then I will give you one...
have you ever seen TommyBoy....? I have the same opinion of Guarantee's....

OK and again i state... THE SHISHA WAS DRIPPING!!!!!! IT WAS SO WET IT WASNT EVEN FUNNY that isn't my problem with smileys..... That still doesn't mean that it didn't piss me off that i paid 18 dollars + shipping for 300 g of shisha that not only doesn't taste like prickley pear or blueberry, but tastes like nothing but gylceren, some sugar and tobbaco.

and OPD I know how these two products are supposed to taste and they def DO not taste like they should as I've had these flavors before. So i feel like i just took 20 bux flushed them down the tube and just got a swift kick in the ovaries as well. so please go ahead and joke about the tommy boy guarantee *sh*t in a box and a cracked out tooth fairy will knock up my future daughter.

[DrunkenWizard]

So it looks like I'm going to have to go down to Smiley's and try some of his stuff out and then come post a review huh. Gonna have to do that on my day off. And gonna have to get some money, it sucks being broke.

[boomhauer]

if you truly stand behind this product and say that there will be no more bad batches and that they will all be almost identical in terms of smoke/flavor/smell then i would see no problem with you having a satisfaction guarantee. there are some factors which will prevent this such as the person is bad at setting up a hookah so constantly destroy the tobacco every time they pack the bowl incorrectly or too much heat.

with those factors personally even if i smoked the product before it came out two-thousand times and every time i got a constant quality i would be weary of backing up the product for a 100% money back guarantee. The error would be a human error caused by the customer themselves by their inability to set up a hookah correctly (not saying any of you guys dont know how to). if a customer buys a lawn mower and they take a sledge hammer to it the home depot will refuse to give a refund and get vendor credit to replace it. now if the customer bought it and it fell apart on them within the first month of use they will happily take it back and give the customer their money back or a replacement because this is a problem with the manufacturer not the customer. Then again the home depot is a huge company so can take cuts in their money by returns because they will make it back at least ten time within a a few hours. smiley's distributor is a much smaller business so cant take those huge hits if many people return the product over and over because they setup correctly

[OPD]

if you truly stand behind this product and say that there will be no more bad batches and that they will all be almost identical in terms of smoke/flavor/smell then i would see no problem with you having a satisfaction guarantee. there are some factors which will prevent this such as the person is bad at setting up a hookah so constantly destroy the tobacco every time they pack the bowl incorrectly or too much heat.

with those factors personally even if i smoked the product before it came out two-thousand times and every time i got a constant quality i would be weary of backing up the product for a 100% money back guarantee. The error would be a human error caused by the customer themselves by their inability to set up a hookah correctly (not saying any of you guys dont know how to). if a customer buys a lawn mower and they take a sledge hammer to it the home depot will refuse to give a refund and get vendor credit to replace it. now if the customer bought it and it fell apart on them within the first month of use they will happily take it back and give the customer their money back or a replacement because this is a problem with the manufacturer not the customer. Then again the home depot is a huge company so can take cuts in their money by returns because they will make it back at least ten time within a a few hours. smiley's distributor is a much smaller business so cant take those huge hits if many people return the product over and over because they setup correctly

Thank you so much.....I wish I said that....you never know what people will do..

[ahwahoo2006]

So are you going to deny a replacement to someone because you think they might have set up their hookah incorrectly?

Also, please keep us updated on the status of your samples website - I look forward to ordering mine.

[kornkitten42]

not saying a "money back guarentee"..... but If I get another can of crappy tasteless tobbaco I expect a replacement at your expense. Since you're telling me it's SOOooOoOoOoo much better............

and trust me... It's not my hookah set up that's giving me WONDERFUL CLOUDS... but no taste. I think I know how to set smileys up......

[aldonb1]

So are you going to deny a replacement to someone because you think they might have set up their hookah incorrectly?

Also, please keep us updated on the status of your samples website - I look forward to ordering mine.

It is a reasonable thought. I mean not everyone is perfect every time. But then again, how many people who are unsatisfied with a product they bought at the grocery store, actually call that number on the back that says "Satisfaction Guarnteed"... Practically no one. I see it as a reasurance thing, they are just saying that they are so confident and dedicated to making you happy and their product the best.

[OPD]

So are you going to deny a replacement to someone because you think they might have set up their hookah incorrectly?

Also, please keep us updated on the status of your samples website - I look forward to ordering mine.

no, I am not saying that..I am saying that taste is very subjective and to guarantee a taste is hard..
I will keep you informed..

[ahwahoo2006]

There's a big difference between guaranteeing a certain taste and guaranteeing a taste at all. Obviously no one expects that every flavor taste exactly as advertised. Moreover, because of differing tastes, what tastes like orange (for example) to one person, might not taste like orange to another. I think people just want to be sure that if there is a negative condition then it is rectified.

[boomhauer]

people take my statement as OPD's statement. my entire thing was that its a product which has so many variables its impossible to guarantee.

chips are easy to guarantee because the manufacturer just makes it and puts it in a bag, all the consumer has to do is open the bag so there is no way the consumer can mess up the product to where its not acceptable unless they open it and it falls all over the floor then it is human error on their part. if they opened it and it was stale then it was a problem with the manufacturer which requires a fix.

now for shisha it gets packaged and sent out to people, it lasts a while so lets say that time is no factor. the only way that he could do a guarantee is if he went and set it up for you that way it is done perfect every time. what can be done is smoke different flavors and time it, come out with an average time for each flavor and say you guarantee the flavor to last so long. this way people will get the flavor they want to last for a certain time. then if there was a huge climate change and the person didnt accimilate (sp) it properly then it will not get what they want. what you will have to do in that case is have a phone line they can call and ask them if they did it correctly and if they did then offer a replacement. if they did not then have it that they will not get the money back

having "rules" will give people the safety they want in a guarantee while at the same time making sure it was a bad batch and not just someone who is bad at setting up properly.

[Furio]

I get banned for 24h and this thread goes to pot. Dear o dear.

I have to say that to offer a guarantee and then say, actually, a guarantee is not what I am offering in essence as there are many variables that could allow people to "cheat", is stupid reasoning.

People might do that with products like CD's or DVD's where they can copy them and return then to the store, however you are talking about a usable good with the nature to be consumed. Tobacco is bought by people who want to smoke tobacco, not mess around with refunds and returning the item in the post. I am in the UK for example. Do you think I would order from the states and then return it for a refund? Get real. Look on the back of a chocolate bar. They usually have something along the lines of, "if you are not satisfied with this product, please send it to 123 blar blar blar street for a fell refund". How many people do you think they have working in that department? Who would honestly waste their time sending back your shisha for a refund to "screw you over" unless the shisha was TRULY against what you said it would be.

If I was you, I would offer the full refund guarantee as if you sell a defective product, then the buyer is covered under statutory rights and is entitles under law to a full refund. Again I ask, how many people use this legal guarantee? Harley anyone. Especially on tobacco of any kind. So to offer a guarantee shows a good side to your company and the product you are selling but in actual fact offers nothing more and nothing less that what buyers are entitled to by law.

[Sonthert]

What a thread! Its like watching one of those chess guys play 100 guys at the same time!

Tangiers is made in the U.S., not Arizona, but California. I thought I remember somebody asking what other brands were made in the U.S..

Tangiers wholesale: $25/Kg outside California, $27/Kg inside CA. (250g packaging). No suggested retail price...$14/250g might be a good guess. 100%-150% markup on tobacco is standard-ish.

That being said, Smiley's is different than other brands. I would recommend filling the bowl with Smileys, the flavor will last longer. It is a little fine, so don't load it too full. I do have a number of comments, but will reserve them as I am not in the habit of giving a competitor free information...for a consulting fee on the other hand...

I would say you're crazy to propose Smiley's is better than Fumari. Fumari is one of the finest products on the market. Romman is also excellent. Nahkla is a great smoke for the money. Of course, I think my brand is the best on the market... Somehow, there are perfectly rational, experienced sheesha smokers that think Tangiers is awful. Some people think Tangiers is great. I don't think there is one best brand. The only thing that really keeps people coming back is consistency.

[kornkitten42]

Picture of new smiley and old smiley - Not saying this is the new offical packaging... but different that the blue cobalt jars....... and I just recieved this 3 days ago, well like 4 now..... but you get my point.


edited because i was a dumba$$ and put the wrong picture in the post ahahah sorry Edited July 11, 2007 by kornkitten42

[Furio]

OPD, can you confirm if this is the new packing?

[MechAnt]

Phew! I went through ALL NINE pages at once. That was one helluva read.

Anyway,

Personally I have never smoked Smiley's and can bear no judgment on it. However, I do have to question such a great spike in the prices though. When the market average for 250g's of shisha runs at around $11.50 (based on averages of all major brands that I personally did from several different online retailers) how can one release a product so drastically priced? It is quite a brazen move. Praising a product on new packaging is useless. Letting the packaging do the talking is fine though.

There was a market test done with Tide Detergent recently where they sold the same exact detergent side by side in markets across America to see if the new packaging made any difference in sales. There were slightly more new packaged ones that sold than the standard old ones. HOWEVER!!! Statistically, there was no significant evidence to prove that the new packaging helped sales at all. (I'm a minor in Statistics so I love to rip on this kind of stuff!)
Therefore, there is no way that anyone can claim that new packaging will help sales whatsoever.

Selling this shisha is like selling the Playstation 3 without the release of the XBOX 360 before it. The 360 was expensive but was a segue into the higher pricing we would soon see with the PS3. Directly jumping to that newer, higher price will have some hardcore buyers go for it but have the great majority of consumers gawking at such a ludicrous price.

If you have not already, read Lee Iacocca's autobiography. If you don't already know him, he was the president of Ford in the sixties and is fondly known as "The Father of the Mustang". However, after some trouble with Ford, he was fired and eventually picked up by an ailing Chrysler in the late seventies. Iacocca (I-uh-coke-uh) saw that Chrysler was in a complete shit-hole and had to bring it back up onto its feet. The car quality was horrible, the business was insanely inefficient, everything that could go to hell did. His main emphasis to make Chrysler's name good again was, and I quote, "to restore consumer confidence." Right now, Smiley's is like Chrysler of the late seventies and early eighties albeit minus the $1 billion debt. To establish yourself back into the market you have to restore consumer confidence in your product and stand behind it with all your passion and heart. Just as Iacocca said in those famous car commercials, "If you can find a better car, buy it!!!" So your guarantee would run like, "If you can find a better shisha, buy it!!!"

-Mechant OUT! Edited July 11, 2007 by MechAnt