Adorama Service

[MattKing]

I'd suggest a moderator's change to the title of this thread.

 

[tac]

I'd suggest a moderator's change to the title of this thread.

Agreed

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Title updated.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Title updated.

Much better.

 

[Mahler_one]

Helen,I must tell you that I am extremely bothered by the entire thread that has unfolded here. I am a big supporter of Adorama, and have found wonderful service and excellent bargains at the company. However, why does it take an angry message on APUG, and many messages both pro and con Adorama, until YOU have to step forward to solve the issues raised.

Suggestion: Doesn't it make complete sense for Adorama to SUPPLY YOUR EMAIL contact information when any problems occur so that the issues raised on this thread need never again be voiced? If you are Adorama's Ombudsmand, than send all complaints to you so that you can deal with those that you must, and refer those that can be handled by others. How many APUGS does it take to solve a complaint?

Ed

 

[tac]

I must apologize to Adorama; I will continue to patronize them. True, I was disappointed and angry that I was not informed of the condition of the camera in question prior to purchase; I do love tlr's! And I enjoy using them, nevertheless, Adorama acted quickly to rectify the situation, for which I am grateful, and I over-reacted, and for that I am truly sorry. Pax?

 

[Curt]

We live in difficult and tense times so it's best to count to ten and take care of business under a cooler sky. I've bought from Adorama and they have been just fine, I've gotten exactly what I expected. You are a bigger person for making the statement of apologize.

Regards,
Curt

 

[tkamiya]

Glad to hear you got your problem taken care of. Group HUG!

 

[chrism]

I've had some pretty awful experiences with used equipment on Adorama. It seems to have gotten a little better lately, but I had to return the last camera I bought, a Hasselblad SWC, because it was sold to me as having an A12 back but showed up with a 6x4.5 back instead, and had a scratch on the rear element even though it was EX+.

I also bought a Nikon 70-200 VR in EX condition that showed up looking like it had been dragged behind a car for awhile, and the VR was no longer working.

Adorama is pretty much my last resort for used equipment. Their prices are usually a little bit better than most but I have no faith in their ratings, so it really isn't worth the trouble. 2 out of the 3 things I have bought were not as described. KEH is slightly more expensive but far, far more conservative.

 

[HelenOster]

Message from Helen at Adorama

Helen and Mr Gold have seen to it that my credit charge is fully refunded, including shipping. It will just cost me 5 - 8 dollars to ship it back.

No, it won't. I will ensure that a pre-paid label is sent out for you to return it.

 

[HelenOster]

Helen,I must tell you that I am extremely bothered by the entire thread that has unfolded here. I am a big supporter of Adorama, and have found wonderful service and excellent bargains at the company. However, why does it take an angry message on APUG, and many messages both pro and con Adorama, until YOU have to step forward to solve the issues raised.

Suggestion: Doesn't it make complete sense for Adorama to SUPPLY YOUR EMAIL contact information when any problems occur so that the issues raised on this thread need never again be voiced? If you are Adorama's Ombudsmand, than send all complaints to you so that you can deal with those that you must, and refer those that can be handled by others. How many APUGS does it take to solve a complaint?

Ed

We do have a customer service department: customerservice@adorama.com and the team who pick up the queries which come through there generally handle them very quickly and efficiently.

I still don't know exactly how the course of events unfolded in this situation as I was away from my desk for several hours during the afternoon, and when I returned to find Tyler's posting (thanks to the watchful eye of Taka who dropped me an email), I raised it with the head of the used department immediately.
He advised me that he'd been trying to call Tyler but at that point hadn't had an opportunity to speak with him.
A few minutes later he told me that the cc had been refunded in full.

I absolutely take no credit for resolving this matter - I will, however, happilly take credit for the email I sent to the manager of the used department:

Quality control going right down the pan in the used department?

It shouldn't have happened in the first place.

It was sloppy in the extreme.

My job is to be an on line resource - as I mentioned above; not to fight Adorama fires, but to be an advocate for customers who don't receive satisfaction through the regular CS channels, for whatever reason.

In this instance I really didn't need to do anything, but believe me, if I'd had to I would have done!

 

[HelenOster]

I've had some pretty awful experiences with used equipment on Adorama. It seems to have gotten a little better lately,

Still heaps of room for improvement!

Adorama is pretty much my last resort for used equipment. Their prices are usually a little bit better than most but I have no faith in their ratings, so it really isn't worth the trouble. .....

Don't blame you at all; in your position I don't doubt that I would be feeling exactly the same way........
However, provided I could be certain that at the end of it I wasn't out of pocket, the bargain-hunter in me would probably win the day!

 

[Marvin]

Just placed an Adorama order a few minutes ago. I have used Adorama for many years and been very satisfied and they have many things that are hard to find. They also have good film and darkroom selections. I have found for used equipment that Shutterblade on ebay is very good. They have a good selection of Medium Format equipment and I have bought several things for my Bronica ETRSi system.

 

[Alan W]

I got sense and stopped dealing with Adorama 4 years ago after they sent me a non working 65mm lens for a mamiya C330.That was my second problem with them,the first was being left short four rolls of Delta 100.Never again!

 

[removed account4]

6 or 7 years ago i contacted ado - to purchase a aristo cold light head.
the sales staff was not nice and dismissed my call for some reason,
so i decided to buy a cold light head somewhere else.
i have had a negative view of them since, but
i have to admit, i am impressed
at how the situation in this
thread was handled
( and others in the last year or so )
and if i have a buy and have a problem
i know who to contact ....

 

[chrism]

Still heaps of room for improvement!



Don't blame you at all; in your position I don't doubt that I would be feeling exactly the same way........
However, provided I could be certain that at the end of it I wasn't out of pocket, the bargain-hunter in me would probably win the day!

Well, I've had to pay for return shipping so it isn't entirely out of pocket, but it is a waste of time.

It's nice that they have a person like you, but wouldn't it be easier for them to just accurately rate their equipment and provide good customer service in the first place?

 

[HelenOster]

Well, I've had to pay for return shipping so it isn't entirely out of pocket, but it is a waste of time.

It's nice that they have a person like you, but wouldn't it be easier for them to just accurately rate their equipment and provide good customer service in the first place?

You absolutely shouldn't pay to return a defective item! If a customer contacts us before sending a defective item back, we will always email a pre-paid label for within US mainland returns - and will refund defective returns from overseas upon sight of the shipping receipt.

Could you please email me further details about this?

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com

I don't disagree with you at all; it would be more straightforward for us, and more importantly far better for our customers if we got everything right first time, every time.
Unfortunately, it only takes one human link in the chain to mess up.

I've been with Adorama for 2.5 years and have seen huge improvements over that time, due in part to being able to 'listen in' to the conversations taking place on forums such as this one - and having support from the new management team to help introduce change.

 

[jordanstarr]

I am also impressed at the at attention you are getting as an online customer.

This is the chance you take at buying online folks. If you want to see things first hand and not buy it, go to your local camera store. If you buy online, expect to pay for it out of your own pocket to see the item. Many sellers will not pay shipping for a return. If you think you're "wasting your time and money" to mail it back, just think of how long it would take to drive/ride/get to your local store and see for yourself. I would say this is the online experience.

 

[mikebarger]

I've had better results from Adorama than KEH, and I know that may go against the grain here. Both are big outfits, and both make mistakes.


Mike