Actually i was ''planning'' to buy the 17-55 f2.8 from John 3:16 ... my fren recommended me this shop and I have to pay alot of compliments about their services and attitudes!
This guy Daniel serves us during the course and his untiring effort to explain every details on flash, lenses, tripod, prime, ... surprises me.
(btw we walk in with sloppy tees and jeans)
We left the shop w/o buying anything... after walking around FDM bumping into shops with really lousy attitudes, we found ourselves walking back to John316
In the end, we bought a prime, b+w CPL and couple of accessories despite the fact that they are not the cheapest, but their customer service makes every single cts worth!!
Daniel gave me a 'strange' look when i approach him for the 17-55mm ... he compliments the lens though but advise me to consider 24-70mm f2.8 instead, becos it the 17-55 are overpriced for a DX lenses. On the other hand, he saw that i have the 10-24mm ... he recommend me to go 24-70mm to partially complete the ''Trinity''.
for you information, he even text me asking if i enjoy my prime lens!!
I used to buy most of my family's photography needs from Alan photo, but i personally find that their service quality drop over the years ...
why doesn't these people learn their F* lesson ... you open up shop to sell things, you should built long term relationships with circles of customer by rendering good services and humble opinions.
And not just simple ask ''can i help you.. no stock ... you go anywhere also no stock ... cheapest liao ... cannot bargain ... bye''
If this is the case, just ask few bangalis or TKBs to mend your shop enough liao ... cheaper some more.
For that 2hrs in John316 ... never did I came across any of these phases.
I think i will be visiting them alot in this process of gearing up!