Let me start by saying that I’m a sucker for a good marketing campaign. A good marketing campaign can lead me to buy a product that I never thought of buying just because I want to support them. 

And this was exactly what happened with the Glo cigarette heating device. 

I have been seeing everyone currently using Iqos, but I just was never fully convinced with the idea of heated cigarettes. I wanted to try it, but it wasn’t worth the risk with the hefty price tag on the Iqos.

Then lo and behold, Glo makes it to the market with just 500 EGP. The marketing campaign is good, and the sales kids at every supermarket are better.

I was convinced, I bought one, and I disappointed.

It takes forever to charge:

One of the key selling points for me was fast charging cause I just have no patients charging and almost always outside the house with no time to charge anything. I definitely won’t leave it to charge overnight cause that would be just a fire hazard waiting to happen.

Now I usually get my work done at Iconia, and the salespeople are located there. Everything I go to the market, they start telling me about its specs, including fast charging. 

When I decided to buy Glo, I would get my regular cigarettes because I ran out but was convinced to buy them. I thought it’s fast charging, so it’ll be alright for the day.

Turned out their definition of fast charging is “an average of 2 hours”. 

I wanted 2 hours only to taste the smoke from hell…This takes us to my next point. 

The neo sticks flavors are just bad and very limited:

Glo sticks use neo sticks are their cigarettes. I tried the blueberry before my purchase, and to be fair, it was alright.

The rest of the flavors are just disgusting. This isn’t just a personal opinion, I have spoken with some people who tried them, and all agreed. 

In fact, no one but me thought the blueberry was even good.

The worst part is that none of the flavors actually taste like a cigarette, making the transition from regular cigarettes to heated ones very difficult.

Inhaling it is just painful, literally:

After several conversations with several heavy smokers, including a cigar addict, who have tried Glo, we all agree that it’s just painful to inhale.

The worst part, it actually stopped working after a week:

For me, the best thing about heated cigarettes is the lack of ashes when you smoke. 

During my 8th smoking session (I counted how many cigarettes I had), ashes when everywhere when I took the cigarette out of the device. 

I waited till it was no longer heated, followed all the instructions, everything.

Trust me, I follow the rules!

 I thought, fine, maybe it was just one faulty cigarette. 

Went later to have a new one, and it won’t get into the device because something was blocking it.

After an investigative look with my phone’s torch, I realized that the last cigarette’s outsides were stuck in the device. 

After some research, mainly from Reddit and international users of the brand, this is a common issue with faulty devices, and it means that the neo sticks melted on the device.

No worries, though; they have a customer service hotline. They’ll tell me what to do.

But their customer service folks have no idea what they’re doing:

The phone conversation went as follow:

Me: (explains the situation and ask if this can be fixed on the spot, change device, and how long the process would take)

Customer service: You can go to any mall, and they’ll help.

Me: I don’t have any malls close enough and no time to go soon.

CS: Okay, which mall is close to you and I’ll tell you where to go.

Me: I said no malls are close to me…

CS: You can go to Tagamo3.

Me: It’s too far.

CS: Okay, go to Mall of Arabia

Me: I need to know how to get it fixed

CS: Okay, go to Tagamo3.

Me: (Repeats my actual question)

CS: Our store that’s in Mall of Egypt is in this location.

No, people. No joking here. This was the actual conversation…

So I decided to check the website and see their warranty rules. Mind you, the salespeople made it clear that their warranty work on the spot, no questions asked. But turned out there are a lot of questions. 

Their warranty exclusions are indeed fascinating…

Warranty exclusions:

The following faults are excluded from the voluntary warranty:

• Damage caused by normal use of the product to the components of the product or to other elements supplied;
• Accidental damage (such as scratches or small dents);
• Damage caused by incorrect or non-compliant use (such as electronic overload, improper handling, contact with a liquid);
• Malfunctions caused by use with incompatible products or connection to such products;
• Damage and malfunctions caused by the purchaser or an unauthorized service provider result from an attempt to open the product or an unauthorized modification to or repair the product, the product’s components, or other elements supplied.
• Damage or malfunctions resulting from a failure to comply with the instructions for use.

These literally include all possible scenarios.

The rules continue, though. With all their locations being nowhere near Cairo’s actual city, only Zayed and Tagamo3, they have severe conditions on how you can report issues with the device.

Reporting of faults:

The warranty only applies if the fault is reported correctly. The purchaser undertakes to report the fault immediately after it has been identified (contact details below). The purchaser must report the fault by telephone or in writing. If the fault is reported in writing, the purchaser must describe the fault or problem and return the product with proof of purchase (confirmation of the purchase date).

Yes, leave everything behind and fly to the other side of the city immediately to report their shitty faulty device!

I’m honestly really disappointed with Glo, especially cause I mainly bought it for a positive review, not to be a Karen all over it.

It’s just that it’s tough to find anything redeeming about the device, especially after the terrible customer care and the warranty rules they set.

I thought of not writing the review until I go to their stores to see how they deal with the situation, but I don’t care enough to drive all the way to them. Especially knowing that there’s a 90% chance they won’t fit any of the issues that are a part of the warranty.

With that said, if you tried Glo and have a better experience than us, please share it!