B&H photo in New York

[Jaunted Productions]

Just wanted to RANT about how much I HATE them at B&H Photo. I know this is supposed to be about RED complaints, but I don't have any about RED...they treat me good, with respect and try to make my experience nice...B and H however, never treat me good, they send me items that are broke and instead of helping, they suggest I purchase another item and tell me in order for me to get faster service I should just buy the item AGAIN and then they'll ship it faster and they refund me in a few weeks!!! They are all obnoxious wanna be film makers who are all miserable because they are a bunch of losers and can't get jobs in the industry. I have dealt with them too many times and been burned!! I HATE THEM! I am the idiot though because I allowed them to burn me on three seperate occasions, so I do blame myself. Most recently purchases a RODE NTG-3 mic, got it on Friday, missing XLR pins!!! NICE!!! Called to let them know, but they were closed because I mean it was Friday and all!! UGH!! Then they tell me that in order to get a replacement for this week, I need to buy another one!! They are JERKS!

Okay I feel better!

[Kevin Wild]

This thread may disappear, but I'll say that B&H is great IF everything goes well. If it doesn't and you need customer service...look out.

I've switched to Abel Cine for my prime place for equipment...you should, too.

[Chris Parker]

i've had decent experience at B and H, but I only order from afar (as in....another country), and never encountered any customer service needs......

I REALLY like how Mitch at Abel runs his shit though.

[Emery Wells]

Just wanted to RANT about how much I HATE them at B&H Photo. I know this is supposed to be about RED complaints, but I don't have any about RED...they treat me good, with respect and try to make my experience nice...B and H however, never treat me good, they send me items that are broke and instead of helping, they suggest I purchase another item and tell me in order for me to get faster service I should just buy the item AGAIN and then they'll ship it faster and they refund me in a few weeks!!! They are all obnoxious wanna be film makers who are all miserable because they are a bunch of losers and can't get jobs in the industry. I have dealt with them too many times and been burned!! I HATE THEM! I am the idiot though because I allowed them to burn me on three seperate occasions, so I do blame myself. Most recently purchases a RODE NTG-3 mic, got it on Friday, missing XLR pins!!! NICE!!! Called to let them know, but they were closed because I mean it was Friday and all!! UGH!! Then they tell me that in order to get a replacement for this week, I need to buy another one!! They are JERKS!

Okay I feel better!

B&H is a big company and you may have been caught in a bad situation. B&H recently launched a new division for high end cinema and post called 'The Studio at B&H.' This is the group you need to be dealing with. We've been working with them now as our primary vendor and are very happy. This is a new initiative for B&H and so far they are getting a lot right. Contact Alan or Brian over there.

Alan 212.239.7500 x2757
Brian 212.239.7500 x2856

[Kwan Khan]

(lol) agreed..
They sent me Kino (green Twice) instead of 56k and I live three block away from them (lol).

[Jaunted Productions]

I have never had a good experience with them. I am looking into Abel Cine, I appreciate the advice.

I forgot to mention that I called the Camera Dept. at B and H to ask them about the Follow Focus they sell. The guy asked me which camera I would be using it on and when I told him the RED he told me, "We don't sell that camera and why don't you just call someone there to ask them which they would use" I was confused and told him that it didn't matter and I am just asking which he would recommend to use with Zeiss ZF lenses...he told me he couldn't help me and he hung up. They SELL ZEISS ... I called back and spoke to the manager and they were very apologetic, but still, I am DONE with them.

[Leo Ticheli]

I've bought from B&H for years with never a problem; excellent service all around, never an attempt to switch-pitch.

I trust B&H because they've earned it.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

[Kevin Wild]

Unless they've updated it, try calling them and waiting for their automated phone system to say "touch X for customer service."

Do it...I'll wait. :-)

Again, I've ordered well over $100,000 of gear from them and 99% of the time it's come on time and fine. But the few times I needed help or had a mistake...well, fuhgeddaboutit.

Go with Abel...they rock and are here regularly on the boards.

[A. Clint Litton]

I have to agree, B&H leaves something to be desired on the service front. If you know what you want and can handle ordering online, fine, but I wouldn't recommend walking in there with questions about gear. Even if you know what you want, buying in-store is made a far greater hassle than it needs to be. I've gotten the run around a time or three...

I purchased a good portion of my Red accessories from Abel, in part because they gave me the time of day, were patient as I weighed the pros and cons of a given item or purchase, and because they did everything they could to match or beat B&H's price. I've heard a lot of people complain about their website, and calling for a quote isn't always great, but if you can deal with a specific individual who will come to know you and understand how you work and what you need, it will be a fruitful experience. Better yet, if you're in the neighborhood, don't shy away from stopping into their NYC store. Good people all around.

I mostly dealt with Steve Cohen who is one of the main sales guys there, though I've also gone in just to talk about and familiarize myself with new gear, mostly with Mitch Gross and Andy Shipsides, neither of whom work in sales...they just lend you their time and expertise, which I've never found at B&H. From Leo's post and others, I take it that not all share a commonality with my experience at B&H, so as always, consider this

My two cents,
Clint

[Luke Stewart]

B & H has been good to me. Never had a problem. And I love the NAB specials they run.