Which shop offers a better price and good customer service for year 2012?

[avsquare]

I've been impressed with SLRR. Looks like those Sim Lim square kind until you talk and buy stuff from them. They're actually very reasonable and forthcoming with info.

JO316 is a best place to gather info. Samuel is a great guy and so are his staff but find their prices are wee bit expensive. Service is impt but price is king unfortunately to me. Unless is grey set else its the deciding factor.

Don't like Cathay. Just find their service rather high handed.

I actually like the stores in peninsula too. Like sgcamerastore or artworkfoto.

High handed from Cathay? How so?

IMHO, they are very good imo. They acknowledge your presense as soon as you enter (unless very very packed, but they do try to acknowledge ASAP) and offered help. They are not pushy also and quite knowledgeble for most of the staff.

And if you a frequent customer, they can even recgonize your voice on the phone and remember your name.

I don't see the guys at TK able to do so. Not picking up the phone is already a failure. They even openly admit to customers that they DON'T pick up the phone when they ar busy. What kind of customer service is that lol..

 

[5now5torm]

I don't see the guys at TK able to do so. Not picking up the phone is already a failure. They even openly admit to customers that they DON'T pick up the phone when they ar busy. What kind of customer service is that lol..

Lol, reminds me of my experience with JO316. I have never been able to reach Samuel through his mobile or shop line. He openly tells everyone in his shop that if he gets calls from unknown numbers, he will never pick them up if he is attending to a customer. On the whole, it is still a good shop to go to.

 

[avsquare]

Lol, reminds me of my experience with JO316. I have never been able to reach Samuel through his mobile or shop line. He openly tells everyone in his shop that if he gets calls from unknown numbers, he will never pick them up if he is attending to a customer. On the whole, it is still a good shop to go to.

haha :bsmilie:

Well, TK is also a good shop to go to. There's this skinny and bespectacled relatively young guy who really know his stuff well and pretty friendly too. Last Sunday I was there, and it was really a joke. I was looking for a flash holder that can hold multiple flashes - for gang lighting or using multiple speedlites on a huge umbrella. Asked 2 guys, they say don't have. It turned out that only this skinny guy know what I'm asking and "suan" the others anyhow tell customers. :bsmilie:

What I like about TK is that their prices for accessories and filters.. which is quite cheap and competitive..

 

[strikeback4]

Lol, reminds me of my experience with JO316. I have never been able to reach Samuel through his mobile or shop line. He openly tells everyone in his shop that if he gets calls from unknown numbers, he will never pick them up if he is attending to a customer. On the whole, it is still a good shop to go to.

I think its common practise is that when the shops is busy they will never pick up the phone... I recall someone posted before he has a problem with his memory card & call SLRR but got blasted because the staff are busy with customers...

 

[avsquare]

I think its common practise is that when the shops is busy they will never pick up the phone... I recall someone posted before he has a problem with his memory card & call SLRR but got blasted because the staff are busy with customers...

nope, I do not have this problem with Cathay Photo.

there was many times I was at the shop and it was really filled with customers, but when their phone rings, someone will make an effort to quickly pick up the call.

 

[5now5torm]

Haha, well it appears everyone looks for different types of service when it comes to their preferred camera shop.

Anw in the case of Jo316, when they dont answer the phone, they are usually busy attending to customers, and there are more waiting to be attended to. IMO I guess they might have the belief that attending to customers present in the shop is more important than answering a probable customer enquiry. It just boils down to their business practice/priorities.

Overall, I would say going by the no. of votes for TK CP and Jo316, they have their fair share of supporters, so they each must be doing something right

 

[linkk]

Cathay Photo for me, i bought almost all my gears specially lenses from them. One time a new sales staff mistakenly quoted me a lower price, the price offered was for a different camera but they still honour the price that was offered to me

 

[HafizAziz]

mind if i ask where is this place?

 

[fmeeran]

mind if i ask where is this place?

Peninsula plaza. Next to funan.

 

[Niced77]

I am a newbie in photography and I have done the walk-around in Funan and Sim Lim Sq to hunt for the best pricing. My conclusion was Funan shops offered a better and honest pricing than Sim Lim Sq. I had very good experience with SLRR in Funan and TK photo. SLRR would be the best in pricing and I find the salesperson quite honest, not pushy. They have a fixed price so I don't have to worry about getting the 'wrong' salesperson. I go to TK photo only when SLRR doesn't have the items that I want, such as GND filters. There is a young, bespectacled guy that was knowledgeable and helpful. And I like TK photo for accepting credit card payment without surcharge, something that not all retail shops in Funan would do.

John 316 has the best service, the staff are always full of energy and serve you with enthusiasm and are clearly knowledgeable. However, I only buy there when they have something that the others do not have. Their pricing is slightly higher than the previous two I mentioned.

I can't say that my experience in Alan Photo in Funan was totally negative as the lens quoted to me was really the cheapest, but it was the other accessories that they cross-sell that were more costly than the rest. I knew this may happen when the Alan Photo salesperson quoted us for filters that we didn't research on. But I went ahead as I was tired from all the comparison on the lens. The next time I went back to Alan Photo, the same salesperson gave me a very lousy quote for another lens. Either he thought I was guilable enough to think he will give me the lowest quote or he was just not keen on making a sale. So with that two experiences, I have decided that I wouldn't go back to Alan Photo.

 

[azurebluee]

Customer service doesn't matter much to me so long as they are not rude. How knowledgeable they are, I think we can be better reading reviews, doing our own research etc before making the purchase. These guys may be well versed, but can't possibly know all the products they are selling inside out.

Price wise, whoever offers a lower price will get the deal. As an example, I won't specially buy from MS Color in AMK just because they are say $20-30 cheaper if I am putting up in the east. Prices at Funan may be a bit higher but its closer in terms of locality and of course you get to see other stuffs as well. BBB virus!

 

[scampy138]

I find MS a bit more exp. got a quote for 50mm f1.4 from them. Bought from john $30 cheaper. Maybe I didn't bother to negotiate hard.

 

[roDz]

No update on the Canon price guide for EOS 5DMIII thread yet, which shop gives the best/lowest price for local & grey set?

 

[trd2970]

No update on the Canon price guide for EOS 5DMIII thread yet, which shop gives the best/lowest price for local & grey set?

It's best to call and find out yourself...the usual suspects for competitive pricing - slr revo, ms color, alan photo. For grey sets, take a walk at the peninsular basement area to check the small shops who deal with used equipment they sometimes havr grey sets.

 

[Dfive]

Cathay is NOT what they used to be some 3 years ago, when the had a personal touch to the consumer ( yup - the people who pay their salaries ) now days they seem to be interested in the next fool looking at a leica S2 type of price tag, pricing is high and will follow the list price only ( unless they import that brand, upon which you'll 'get a discount' ;Domke is an example at 20-25% off. )

Cathay for their range or "that hard to get accessory" is still useful though.

Alan Photo - they just ignore you, or treat you like a tourist.

John 3:16 - Pls give me some space so I can get to the counter, I may consider.

Max Photo - good for Leica when I shot with the M system, they have / own the Leica Raffles Store also.

SLR Revo - I like their new store, I will look closer at them based on other bro's opinions ( and votes ) above.

The others.... no great experiences so I not waste my time nor give them my $$$$


BUT it's TK Foto for me !!

 

[daredevil123]

Cathay is NOT what they used to be some 3 years ago, when the had a personal touch to the consumer ( yup - the people who pay their salaries ) now days they seem to be interested in the next fool looking at a leica S2 type of price tag, pricing is high and will follow the list price only ( unless they import that brand, upon which you'll 'get a discount' ;Domke is an example at 20-25% off. )

Cathay for their range or "that hard to get accessory" is still useful though.

Alan Photo - they just ignore you, or treat you like a tourist.

John 3:16 - Pls give me some space so I can get to the counter, I may consider.

Max Photo - good for Leica when I shot with the M system, they have / own the Leica Raffles Store also.

SLR Revo - I like their new store, I will look closer at them based on other bro's opinions ( and votes ) above.

The others.... no great experiences so I not waste my time nor give them my $$$$

BUT it's TK Foto for me !!

I find cathay still very good, especially the lighting and tripod section.

 

[Dfive]

I find cathay still very good, especially the lighting and tripod section.

Ya bro, I'd agree with you here, and also for bags..... yep no doubt overall selection is very good all round.

Wish the service standard went up a notch or two... thats all

 

[MilanTristan]

I bought all my gears from Cathay because they gave me the best price compared to TK and SLR...

 

[thatnikon]

Purchase things from James at CP, price seem to be a high side but once u tell him what other shops will be selling price at, he will match for u, and CP is the only place with the most equipment so u will be spoilt for choices

 

[Blur Shadow]

Purchase things from James at CP, price seem to be a high side but once u tell him what other shops will be selling price at, he will match for u, and CP is the only place with the most equipment so u will be spoilt for choices

From my experience, most of the stores will match the "best street price". Any astute salesman will know that getting some profit is better than getting none. Unless there are other incentives, of course.