Which shop offers a better price and good customer service?

[ghost04]

went to Lords cameras on friday to check out the D90 n the available combi for my budget...served by raymond.
he know i'm just asking for price n i wont buy on the spot but he doesn't show any attitude n black face instead show alot of patience letting me hands on n try out the many products tat i'm considering...even recommend wat i should have...
end up today i went down again...
items: D90 body, tamron 28-75mm f2.8, nikkor 50mm f1.8, SB600, tokina UV filter n nikon wireless remote...
total damage:$2650...

 

[engr]

I have had great experiences with TK as well. The older folks that is. Cathay is really subjective to who you deal with but, the older staff are definitely good.

 

[MarkNKL]

May not be the cheapest, but John 3:16 has some of the best customer service and satisfaction (at least from my point of view) compared to others.
Might have to wait awhile, but for some of the advice they dispense, I think its worth the wait

 

[Nmadness]

anyone been to Cathay photo @ marina? how was the service there?

 

[evilorgi]

anyone been to Cathay photo @ marina? how was the service there?

service is average i would say... however i had a better impression of the outlet @ peninsular...

 

[evilorgi]

May not be the cheapest, but John 3:16 has some of the best customer service and satisfaction (at least from my point of view) compared to others.
Might have to wait awhile, but for some of the advice they dispense, I think its worth the wait

i certainly agree with you! price wise they are + $10- 20 compared to other shops, however service wise they are a notch above the rest!

 

[eng60232]

Ha ha... I think the service at Lords is just like that....
they know u.. they are super nice to you... service very very good...
they dont know u... eerr......

I have since got to know these nice people... super service...

 

[hookonclassic]

i certainly agree with you! price wise they are + $10- 20 compared to other shops, however service wise they are a notch above the rest!

Fully agreed. This shop may not be be the cheapest, but customer service is much better than others. Price is very very fair, I ever brought products from them where they are not the authorized dealer cheaper than so call "authorized dealer", every shop has different overhead. My experience with John 3:16 is pleasant. :thumbsup:

 

[daredevil123]

Also in the shop was a man who wanted to buy a d90 for work purposes, he has been waiting for the shop to find him one for a few weeks, and he needed the camera for work the next day but the shop still cannot get one for him. 'A' was busy making one phonecall after another to try to find an available d90. A few times, when this man wanted to leave, 'A' would ask him to wait as he make another phone call to try to find stock of the camera.

This sounds like a tactic learned at work years back. The more time you have the party's time vested in you, the more likely they will buy from you instead of walking off to another store. Thing is, if you are looking for the best possible deal, do your homework and be prepared to walk out on any store if your needs/requirements are not met.

The filter cost $30 and was of a brand I did not recognise. I was only familiar with Tokina and Hoya and I asked how it compared to this brand, I was not given any proper straight answer. When I asked if there were any other better filters, 'A' recommended a B+W filter at $95. I told him it was out of my budget, but he took the $30 and asked me to compare it with the B+W one, at that point 4 other customers joined in to say the B+W was definitely better, they could see so much difference and urged me to buy the B+W. The major difference I could see with the naked eye was the $30 filter had very visible reflection, but the B+W didn't.

B+W makes good filters, but there is a test somewhere that a much cheaper Hoya HMC filter outperforms it. The Hoya HMC even outperforms its own Pro1 filter. I think you can see reflection in glass all filters, the way to see the multi-coating is the color of the reflection.

I have been to J3:16 twice and have never felt that their customer service will be good. This is because I view salesperson availability as part of customer service as well. If the store is packed all the time, it is a thumbs down in customer service for me.

As for MS color, it seems the prices posted on CS are only for regulars. People new to MS can never hope to get prices posted in price guides. Bought quite a bit of stuff there in the AMK hub store. Prices are a little higher than I expected but acceptable. One thing though, they always say no stock on most stuff but you will will see the same stuff sold to regulars in CS a couple of days later. They are also unwilling to take orders from non-regulars, even if it means paying in advance or leaving a deposit.

For Cathay, I find their service to be exceptional. They do try to recommend and sell you expensive accessories but it is up to you to buy or not. This is common for people working on commission or sales-based bonuses. You cannot blame them. Once I was given an e-quote for a Lowepro bag. The quote was quoted wrongly. I was willing to buy it at the correct price but they gave me the price even after they discovered the error and saved me $40. They even included gst and accepted Credit card with no extra charges. Cathay definitely has good service nowadays. I was quoted $50 more for D90 kit with no freebies but they allow the use of credit card with no additional charges. So in the end, they price would have come to around the same. I did not buy it because I was (still am) waiting on other factors b4 buying it.

For OP, I like their service attitude. Very relaxed. Let me try out different options and their prices are good. Not the cheapest, but almost there. Thing is, things you usually cant get in MS or CP, you can get here. I like the style of their sales staff. I got some of my Cokin filters here (CP no stock), as well as my N 50mm f1.8. No games at OP for pricing. They quote and that is the final price.

I was pleasantly surprised by Challenger @ funan once. I was asking about the 55-200mm VR there. I mentioned the pricing I remember in CS price guide and they matched it. Of course, they told me I cannot get challenger points for this price, and I am fine with it. I take cash discount over points anyday.

 

[Btreize]

Hi all,

I'm from Mauritius Island and dealt with MS Color from my country. I had a warm and good service from them and had a very good price for my 500D + memory card + bag + cleaning kit + VERY GOOD SERVICE

Thanks to Mrs Florence there and Ready to make business again with them

B-13

 

[Dark Matter]

I have been calling J3.16 for 2 days for about 10x..no one answer. Why???

 

[titleist]

I have been calling J3.16 for 2 days for about 10x..no one answer. Why???

I think they are busy. Anyway, you can just drop them an email. I find that more efficient. I ever send them an email. They replied within an hr.

 

[pikapig]

i went TK recently...however they rise the price on the spot...which was different from the quotes i received over the phone..maybe becos i nv told him in the beginning i had a quote from him.

anyway after i told the boss he last quoted me 2 days ago was a much lower price, he gave in and let me have it at that price with a $5 additional.

 

[Ninja23XX]

I have been calling J3.16 for 2 days for about 10x..no one answer. Why???

Don't try calling. They will never pick up. If you reall must call. Call exactly at 12pm. That's when they open. :bsmilie:


GMAN

 

[foofoo]

hi all,

my first post here in the forum.

Any good shop that accept installment plan if purchasing cameras & accessories from them..??

thanks for the input.

 

[albertsy2]

is it true that john3:16 and alan photo are owned by the same person/family?

 

[Cartman2000]

Don't try calling. They will never pick up. If you reall must call. Call exactly at 12pm. That's when they open.


GMAN

:thumbsup:

 

[theRenaissance]

Shall give my humble review at Orient Photo today.

Headed there today with my girl cause I was keen on purchasing a W5070 rucksack from there. Price was rather competitive plus I have heard alot about OP being one of the more reputable shops in SG. Went there, Seems that only 1 guy on service (30s china balding guy?). I enquiry regarding the availability and quote price but I was shocked at how he replied. He was rather impatient with me, especially more so when I asked to inspect a new piece. He snapped," So you confirm want the bag first?!"

You mean one must confirm buy the bag then can take out a new piece to view it? Worse part was, the one piece had a minor scratch on the metal tag and I told him about it. He looked at it, stared at me and said, "You rather picky eh (Ni ?" before proceeding to take out another piece. Clearly his attitude and tone were not friendly, even my gf felt offended, like what we did wrong to deserve these treatments.

After checking, I just paid up and left. His tone changed a lil when I was paying. This is just a heads up to potential customers, It was my first time getting from OP but the experience was certainly below average. Maybe I should stick with CP/BP.

 

[Cartman2000]

Headed there today with my girl cause I was keen on purchasing a W5070 rucksack from there. Price was rather competitive plus I have heard alot about OP being one of the more reputable shops in SG. Went there, Seems that only 1 guy on service (30s china balding guy?). I enquiry regarding the availability and quote price but I was shocked at how he replied. He was rather impatient with me, especially more so when I asked to inspect a new piece. He snapped," So you confirm want the bag first?!"

You mean one must confirm buy the bag then can take out a new piece to view it? Worse part was, the one piece had a minor scratch on the metal tag and I told him about it. He looked at it, stared at me and said, "You rather picky eh (Ni ?" before proceeding to take out another piece. Clearly his attitude and tone were not friendly, even my gf felt offended, like what we did wrong to deserve these treatments.

After checking, I just paid up and left. His tone changed a lil when I was paying. This is just a heads up to potential customers, It was my first time getting from OP but the experience was certainly below average. Maybe I should stick with CP/BP.

BP=Bally?

Why do you need to view a new one if you're just taking a look? By the way, the bags that you can view at CP are not new pieces you know.

 

[theRenaissance]

BP=Bally?

Why do you need to view a new one if you're just taking a look? By the way, the bags that you can view at CP are not new pieces you know.

Ben photo I mean.

No what I meant was that I had intention to purchase it, just that I wanted him to take a new one out for me to inspect before I buy. But he makes it sound like I have to confirm buy then he take out a new set for me to inspect. Further more, its not like he had to go into a storeroom to dig, the bag was just placed at a corner in the store.

lets say if a potential customer who is still sitting on the fence and he just wishes to take a look and he faces such a reply. Its abit intimidating, not to say a fair bit on the unfriendly side.