How is the consumer experience for you?
I do not wish to write these words so late at night, but I truly don't like where the IL cannabis market is going. I find the menus incredibly overwhelming and I feel like an asshole when I spend 15 minutes talking to a budtender about what to get. They'll recommend a product, I get it, but it doesn't tickle my pickle like I need it to.
Before legalization you could hit up a trusted source, hang out, sample product, and maybe exchange some brisket for 7g. Whatever product was offered was always the best and the freshest; and when you're tapped in with growers the medicine isn't taxed. It provided me with peace of mind and it didn't cost me an arm. It truly felt medicinal and the dispensary products I get now make me cry.
The 'plugs' had a reputation to defend and one bad batch could mean losing clientele. These corporations have an established license so it guarantees a certain amount of people. Thus they are less likely to care about quality because the bulk populus will be an uninformed consumer just looking to get 'high'.
All these brands have so much packaging and I really worry about the environment. What happened to potheads being tree huggers? Why don't dispensaries offer recycling programs? Why do we need so many brands?
Maybe I'm a snob idk, but there are 4 things I want to see when purchasing flower.
A grading system - A, AA, AAA, AAA+
Strains only - no brands - name of head grower and a public review system for the head grower
Legit quantity options- not "we only have that strain in 14g bags we can't break it down to a g"
Experiencing the nose- smelling the product before a purchase has been the standard quality assurance practice for thousands of years.
What do you want to see redesigned in the consumer experience? Do you also agree these corporations are just cosplaying the culture?