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j.curtis
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p.1 #1 · Adorama's Customer Service


Anyone else try to get a hold of Adorama's customer service lately? Always a busy signal. Has not replied to emails either.

Foolish me for trying them again.

Jan 02, 2008 at 04:45 PM
Stefano7
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p.1 #2 · Adorama's Customer Service


For what it's worth on my recent experience, I had no response on an e-mail relative to a return and a couple days later 20 minutes on hold waiting for customer service. Perhaps just many inquiries after the Holiday season? I did finally get my return resolved to my satisfaction.

Jan 09, 2008 at 03:15 AM
jvarszegi
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p.1 #3 · Adorama's Customer Service


In my experience Adorama customer service is as bad as it gets. I wound up posting a poor review of them, truthful in every detail, on resellerratings.com, only to have the customer service manager, Jerry Greenbaum, go and lie in response! I won't deal with them further and steer my family and friends away at every opportunity. They were tough-to-impossible to get hold of and gave me the runaround on multiple occasions. They also committed consumer fraud against me on several counts, although it would have been tough to prove (for example, telling me that they had instituted a package trace when they had not).

Jan 09, 2008 at 10:41 AM
veroman
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p.1 #4 · Adorama's Customer Service


I've had my share of problems with them as well. I stopped buying from Adorama on any regular basis about a year and a half ago.

There are occasions when they have something no one else has, or they have it at a price too good to pass up.

Only after I've exhausted all other possibilities will I initiate an Adorama purchase ... and this in spite of the fact that they double-tax me! They initiated a double tax for those of us who live in New Jersey. They apparently warehouse much if not all of their gear here, but since they're a NY Corporation, orders from New Jersey are charged both NY State tax and New Jersey tax due to the warehousing situation. Which means I NEVER order anything expensive from them.

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to visit the Adorama and B&H stores in New York City, let me give you an analogous comparison between these two retail outlets: shopping at B&H is like shopping at the largest and most sophisticated high-end supermarket you have ever seen in your life; Gelson's in California and Publix in the Southeast both come to mind. By comparison, shopping at Adorama is like buying milk, ice cream and bananas at a gas station quick-stop ... and that is no exaggeration.

— Steve




Edited on Jan 11, 2008 at 02:01 AM


Jan 11, 2008 at 02:00 AM
henryp
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p.1 #5 · Adorama's Customer Service


veroman wrote:shopping at B&H is like shopping at the largest and most sophisticated high-end supermarket you have ever seen in your life; Gelson's in California and Publix in the Southeast both come to mind.

Thank you.
--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Jan 11, 2008 at 04:41 PM
veroman
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p.1 #6 · Adorama's Customer Service


henryp wrote:
veroman wrote:shopping at B&H is like shopping at the largest and most sophisticated high-end supermarket you have ever seen in your life; Gelson's in California and Publix in the Southeast both come to mind.

Thank you.
--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video


You're quite welcome Henry. I can't imagine what my photography life would be without B&H to rely on. Great product inventory. Excellent pricing. First-rate service. Fast delivery. And a wonderful, wonderful store to browse through when I feel like driving into the city for an afternoon. I have a niece who just recently graduated from photography school. I took her through B&H for the first time during her senior year. We spent over 5 hours there!...she bought her first Lowepro backpack that day and has since visited the store at least a dozen times ... and she lives in Virginia! I'll be there this Sunday myself.

— Steve

Jan 11, 2008 at 09:34 PM
Savas K
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p.1 #7 · Adorama's Customer Service


I once sourced an out of production Gitzo table top tripod at Adorama, who had one left in the basement that was a floor model. No box or papers, no Bogen warranty, just the tripod. They would not budge an inch from what was five dollars off the normal selling price of a new one. They lost an opportunity to get rid of it. That tripod will just sit there for years.

I later got the same model brand new elsewhere for the regular selling price. If B&H had it, I would have gone there instead.

Jan 17, 2008 at 11:21 PM
oster
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p.1 #8 · Adorama's Customer Service


Anyone out there ready to give Adorama another chance?

Yes, you're all absolutely right; we were getting it wrong, but we haven't been sitting on our hands. Over the past couple of months we've been going through a big shake-up (actually, we haven't finished yet), but I'm sure you'll find that Adorama is becoming a better place to buy your gear.
It's true that we are smaller than our biggest competitor, but we will match their prices.
Our website is undergoing a long overdue revamp and our customer service department has been under the spotlight.
Just check out these great reviews of Adorama Camera, from last week:

http://www10.epinions.com:80/content_424820641412/s_~na
http://www.epinions.com/content_424842661508/s_~na
http://www.epinions.com/content_424865861252/s_~na
http://www.epinions.com/content_424926023300/s_~na

We still have a way to go, but Adorama is definately worth giving another visit.

If you have any difficulties with any order - shipping, packaging, overall service - whatever - please contact me directly, and I will give your problem my full attention.

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com

We really look forward to welcoming you back to Adorama Camera!

Sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

Apr 13, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Jeff
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p.1 #9 · Adorama's Customer Service


I recently got an Epson P-3000 which had a stuck pixel. Adorama customer service was great, and replaced the unit with very little gyrations on my part. It was the first time I'd used them, so I really didn't know what to expect. I would use them again, though B&H is (and will always be) my mainstay.

Edited on Apr 13, 2008 at 06:13 PM


Apr 13, 2008 at 06:13 PM
corndog
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p.1 #10 · Adorama's Customer Service



Ambassador Helen, your post is very respectable, and reads honest.

One thing that concerns me is your location. Has Adorama outsourced their customer service to Israel? That kind of stuff makes me want to set things on fire.



Apr 13, 2008 at 07:16 PM
Bebe56
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p.1 #11 · Adorama's Customer Service


I buy from both, Adorama AND B&H.
'til a few years ago they were within walking distance (B&H was on 17th Street - before they moved on 34th, humongous store) i did prefer Adorama just because their customer service. It had this ma and pa store feeling, you can talk to the sales person and get their opinion or suggestion about a product - never being pushed to buy something. More than one time i bought something else than what i had in mind (and cheaper, which i guess was not in the best interest of the store) and not once i regret it. They'll take their time to demo and explain the product AND showing the differences with other brands. Prices are similar, or a bit less, with B&H, never higher.
Gosh, i miss that store Now they're going through a major renovation, i see, i understand things are not quite the way they're suppose to be, but i hope they'll get back to normal soon.

B&H was always more business oriented, nevertheless it has knowledgeable staff (wihthin their department, if you ask the counter guy which monopod will be better for this body they'll send you to the tripods area) and VERY well organized. As long as you know exactly what you want, you're in and out in no time! (again, it's a huge store, maybe more than 100 sales persons, 1 dozen or so cashiers and an army or helpers). There is a no hassle return/refund policy (within 15 days), never had a problem. I just wish they'll expand their used department, i visit that one almost daily - forget about eBay, Craigslist, etc, B&H beats them hands down, and, if you don't like it, you can return it, no questions asked!

I have no experience buying from their web site - it just doesn't make sense for me, but, in theory, they should be the same...
Now, big $ items i buy mostly from Amazon (hey, i live in NY, paying those taxes hurts ).

Apr 13, 2008 at 08:03 PM
rad468
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p.1 #12 · Adorama's Customer Service


I recently made a small purchase from Adorama. Order was done completly online. A complete and correct order arrived in days (actually sooner than I expected). I had been looking to jump to DSLR and had researched prices for some time. At the time, and with what I purchased, Adorama had a better price than B&H. Not knocking B&H, they come highly recommended for a few friends. WIth the money I was looking to expend with this "hobby", I tried to save a few bucks. Was very happy with the service.

Apr 15, 2008 at 10:53 PM
chingbaby
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p.1 #13 · Adorama's Customer Service


I went in to Adorama once during the transit strike. We were about to leave on a trip to Hawaii, and the strike made it too hard to go to B&H. I wanted a Pentax Optio WR, because it was water proof down to 10 ft. The guy didn't have one on display.

He brought one up from the basement or back or whatever. I asked him to turn it on. He said "Sir, we're not set up for that. If you want to try it, you'll have to go somewhere else." I said that I just wanted to see what the response time was like and if it was reasonable, I'd buy it. He still refused. I ended up buying it just because of the time crunch, but that was the last thing I ever bought from them.

Apr 15, 2008 at 11:29 PM
oster
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p.1 #14 · Adorama's Customer Service


chingbaby

I was concerned to read your posting, & would firstly like to offer my sincere apologies for the service you received in our store. I would very much like to discuss this with you in more detail, outside the forum.
It does sound from your email as though we didn't provide you with the standard of service which Adorama expects from our staff, and I would like to look into this further.


Please do contact me directly, at helen.oster@adoramacamera.com.

I look forward to hearing from you

sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

Apr 29, 2008 at 06:37 PM
waynemac
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p.1 #15 · Adorama's Customer Service


Just bought a used Sigma 2x tele from them,first problem is it's not for a Canon as the description said,Excellent minus condition,what a joke that was,the thing was more used than I don't know what...lastly,it came with just one lense cap(said Minolta),the other end was used to tape the bubble wrap around it ! Hung up on twice by broken english speaking reps,no response to email....sent one to this Helen Oster who posted as their CS ambassador a while back but it bounced back...

May 20, 2008 at 10:03 AM
oster
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p.1 #16 · Adorama's Customer Service


waynemac wrote:
Just bought a used Sigma 2x tele from them,first problem is it's not for a Canon as the description said,Excellent minus condition,what a joke that was,the thing was more used than I don't know what...lastly,it came with just one lense cap(said Minolta),the other end was used to tape the bubble wrap around it ! Hung up on twice by broken english speaking reps,no response to email....sent one to this Helen Oster who posted as their CS ambassador a while back but it bounced back...



Dear Wayne

My apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused; I'm not sure why your email to me would have bounced back.

Please do come back to me again: helen.oster@adoramacamera.com, with your order number, so that we can sort this out for you.

I do look forward to hearing from you

Sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

May 20, 2008 at 11:21 AM
rachp
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p.1 #17 · Adorama's Customer Service


I am in the process of returning a flash and I have had excellent service to this point.

May 20, 2008 at 03:58 PM
oster
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p.1 #18 · Adorama's Customer Service


rachp wrote:
I am in the process of returning a flash and I have had excellent service to this point.


Thank you

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador


Jun 01, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Sagar
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p.1 #19 · Adorama's Customer Service


I had submitted a quote online for selling Oly camera I bought here. To my pleasent surprise, next day morning I got a call from Adorama for asking the details of the camera.

While I had sold it here already, for me it was a glimpse of service from them and I will definitely consider them when I buy something

Jun 03, 2008 at 06:40 PM
rachp
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p.1 #20 · Adorama's Customer Service


I am glad this thread was brought back to the top. My return was completed and the service was perfect! I bought a Canon refurb flash and it was a mess - the flash head was on backwards!!! Way to go Canon techs

Anyway, I was one day passed my return period when I contacted Adorama but they accepted the return and refunded my money quickly. Couldn't ask for more!

Jun 03, 2008 at 08:40 PM
waynemac
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p.1 #21 · Adorama's Customer Service


To finish my earlier post,bought a used teleconverter,wasn't the right mount,used tape not only outside but inside for a cap on one end,condition was nowhere near as described.Took 10 days after they rec'd it to get a refund credit to my paypal account.Initially I couldn't get any response from customer service until Helen Oster saw my post.She was professional and apologetic.Something I can't say at all for the guy I talked to on the phone (I won't use his name) from the used department. He was far from apologetic,if not rude.I probably sent atleast a dozen emails to resolve something that I felt was quite simple.Adorama needs a bunch more like Helen Oster and some pink slips for a few others.

Jun 04, 2008 at 12:52 AM
oster
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p.1 #22 · Adorama's Customer Service


waynemac wrote:
To finish my earlier post,bought a used teleconverter,wasn't the right mount,used tape not only outside but inside for a cap on one end,condition was nowhere near as described.Took 10 days after they rec'd it to get a refund credit to my paypal account.Initially I couldn't get any response from customer service until Helen Oster saw my post.She was professional and apologetic.Something I can't say at all for the guy I talked to on the phone (I won't use his name) from the used department. He was far from apologetic,if not rude.I probably sent atleast a dozen emails to resolve something that I felt was quite simple.Adorama needs a bunch more like Helen Oster and some pink slips for a few others.


Wayne

Thank you for your lovely posting, but you know, it's all team work; you were generous enough to give me another chance to help you - even though you hadn't had the best experience with Adorama - and after a couple of gentle suggestions from me, the used department did come through.

I am just so pleased that (eventually) the team at Adorama was able to get this right for you.

Please do keep a note ofmy direct contact details: helen.oster@adoramacamera.com, in case I can be of any help to you in the future.

Best wishes

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

Jun 04, 2008 at 09:20 AM
jacobzking
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p.1 #23 · Adorama's Customer Service


I bought my 1st digital SLR from Adorama (Fred I believe) about 6 months back. it was a used 20d, I also bought a used Tamron 28-75. the 20D was supposd to be in good-fair condition; it arrived in excellent conditon. far better than expected. the Tamron was a super sharp copy and very clean as well. I've purchased several other lenses, muslin backdrop and more from Adorama. every order has been shipped within 24 hours and delivered by, or sooner than promised. only mishap I had was with a cheap reflector stand/arm kit that arrived damged. it was obviously UPS's fault by the damaged box and outter packing box. since the piece was under x amount, they refunded my credit card (took about 2 weeks) all with little hassle (did have 2 make 2 phone calls to check on the UPS claim with Adorama). overall I've been super happy with Adorama. I do also buy from B&H, but typically look at adorama first. (I do like that B&H is closed on Shabbat)

Jun 04, 2008 at 12:17 PM

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