Purchased an item five weeks ago with a two to four week drop ship time. Over the last week, I've been given a runaround by customer service and optics "pro".
First customer service rep stated three additional weeks as product isn't in stock. Discovered there was a new sku on the site for the same product but 10% more and in stock. The original sku specs, product info, etc deleted.
Second customer service rep verified the products are the same but due to the new price, couldn't fulfill. He "escalated" and the following day stated it shipped provided a non-existent tracking number (day 5 still doesn't work).
Third rep stated it hasn't shipped. Escalated to supervisor, "highest priority" with drop ship team to get status and email later in the day. No email. Next day same supervisor stated they havent received status after 32 hours. Wouldn't provide info for drop ship PO.
Contacted the manufacturer and received a response 1:26 hours:minutes later stating its on B&H to provide status. Follow-up email responded to by manufacturer in 7 minutes confirming product is in stock.
Love having my $2300 held hostage... thank B&H. Never use you again...
The category is optics. It was originally special order with 2-4 weeks lead time. Fast forward four weeks from order placement, a second SKU is now on the website with "In Stock"; customer service confirmed the same item.
Customer service wont fulfill with In Stock SKU as the price has since changed (10% increase) and only offered a $80 discount ($220 more than original price after discount).
I'm being told they're fulfilling the special order but one customer service agent said it has been shipped while supervisor said it hasn't and hasn't heard from manufacturer of stock status after 32 hours even though I received status one less than 1.5 hours.
Seems like I'm getting the run around as they don't want to honor their original price...
The "stock availability" of many products is in a rapid state of flux due to the tariffs.
A new computer I was buying went up 30% from December because of chip shortages and tariffs.
That aside, I would have asked for my money back and shop elsewhere.
I have never had a problem with B&H but that doesn't mean there are no problems.
When Henry Posner, B&H Manager, had a presence here, most problems like this were resolved by him.
When Henry retired, all things "problematic" with FM'rs and B&H went haywire!
Good luck!
Dan
As an update, I received a phone call yesterday from B&H rep stating he couldn't provide me a manager and he would talk to their drop ship team in person. He continued to ask if I wanted to cancel the order (*hint hint*). He called back two hours later stating "they are working it but do not know when it would ship. It could be tomorrow or in two months. Would you like to just cancel the order?" Throughout this whole process, I was offered to cancel the order multiple times and to replace at the higher price.
After that phone call, I file a complaint with NY Customer Protection Agency and two hour after receiving an email from a case manager stating they are working it, THE PRODUCT SHIPPED!!!, which I received ~20 minutes ago. Funny how things just shifted...
As an update, I received a phone call yesterday from B&H rep stating he couldn't provide me a manager and he would talk to their drop ship team in person. He continued to ask if I wanted to cancel the order (*hint hint*). He called back two hours later stating "they are working it but do not know when it would ship. It could be tomorrow or in two months. Would you like to just cancel the order?" Throughout this whole process, I was offered to cancel the order multiple times and to replace at the higher price.
After that phone call, I file a complaint with NY Customer Protection Agency and two hour after receiving an email from a case manager stating they are working it, THE PRODUCT SHIPPED!!!, which I received ~20 minutes ago. Funny how things just shifted......Show more →
"Right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing!"
This is totally unacceptable to me BUT I would continue to "shop" at B&H. But I WOULD check "availability" with other stores.
I have found that Amazon Prime has become my "go to" shopping store.
Never a hassle..if I don't like, have an issue, etc....I can ship right back on their "dime"..never a problem. Yes stock can be limited. Funny thing is that many of their photography items are in stock BUT ship directly from Adorama.
I avoid special ordering like that if at all possible. Probably BH did not update their prices with the latest from the supplier, but they should have honored the older price instead of giving the runaround.
Amazon has become a nightmare lately. About 1 of 5 are late and just today a package was delivered to another home a few addresses away.
EB-1 wrote:
I avoid special ordering like that if at all possible. Probably BH did not update their prices with the latest from the supplier, but they should have honored the older price instead of giving the runaround.
Amazon has become a nightmare lately. About 1 of 5 are late and just today a package was delivered to another home a few addresses away.
EBH
Sorry you had a bad experience. I have not had any issues as a Prime member for many years. Now I am NOT saying that a the few issues I did have went "south" as the OP's circumstance did. All issues were resolved withing 24 hrs.
Just reinforces what I mentioned that "issues with orders" is everywhere. I have been lucky I guess.
Dan
I have bad experiences frequently, though at over a hundred orders a year some minor ones like 1-day delays are expected.
Once they sent me a spool of wire instead of a $600 hard drive. One of the common problems is that they misdeliver seemingly randomly, take a photo, and then say they have proof of delivery. Sometimes it then gets stolen and no simple recourse. But it's not right because it was NOT on or adjacent my property. I mostly buy cheap items from Amazon nowadays that I can afford to lose.
I don't feel like BH is anywheres near perfect, but I have had very few issues and products are as they should be. The only time I order if not in stock is a pre-oder of a new camera or lens, but at least they don't charge. Fedex can deliver to an Office store in some cases to reduce any delivery risks.
Ive purchased from B&H multiple times previous without issue so thats why I was scratching my head. I havent had an issue with Adorama so that'd be my new default. I'd prefer to support other than Amazon if I can.
