And from Australia, I ask this question: is there a good reason you are not supporting Australian companies rather than beetle on about a place in far off NYC?
Simply, the answer is yes! You are not the only decades long customer of B&H - are you?
Now, for someone who takes pleasure throwing customers out of your business and gloating about it certainly does does very little to elevate your status in this conversation about customer mindedness and service! From another perspective it can be said that in the instances you cite (twice in this thread) you failed to deliver... to meet and fulfill your customer service expectation! So, from where I sit on this issue you certainly do not hold the high ground in this discussion?
That you may know about the complexity of moving hazardous materials is not disputed but please carefully read my posts. You will find I am critical of the lack of pertinent, relevant and timely communication from B&H (not that they may have work still to do) which in my opinion is unforgivable for a company normally attributed as providing an excellent customer experience!
However, in view of the aforegoing, this appears not to be anything you would really know about! Fred
Easy! it is about money... The cost of... Aussie retail prices are upwards of 30% more than I land my imported product. I declared my interest early on in this thread - #30. I hope this satisfies your curiosity. FredAnd from Australia, I ask this question: is there a good reason you are not supporting Australian companies rather than beetle on about a place in far off NYC?
Per Paul, etc.... I don't know if the shelf allocation in the retail store is going to tell you much. Nor would it at Freestyle. In fact, right here where I
work for only three more days before retiring, the fastest selling and highest volume items aren't even visible in the store. The pros who use that
stuff know what they want, or are coached into it, and some of them spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year here. That lets us be picky about our customers. Give me a headache and you're welcome to go somewhere else and get the wrong product, wrong advice, whatever. Or you can try a
dot com source and speak to a pixel forest with nobody there.
If B&H doesn't want to sell darkroom chemical, fine, just say so. But blowing smoke up our backsides is insulting.The issue here is not being critical of B&H - it's being hyper critical.
There are over 80,000 apug members. There are (as I write this) over 1,400 members online right now. So let's assume 4,200 active members (and that's probably very conservative).
Of those 4,200 active members, 3 are responsible for 20% of the negative comments in this thread. It's my guess that 10-12 are responsible for nearly all. And I'm pretty sure they have no knowledge of the particular constraints B&H must operate within; nor their contractual arrangement with UPS.
But they're upset about what they perceive as B&H not being completely clear and open about what's going on, so they've raised it to a religious argument (or worse, Apple vs. PC). They feel they're entitled to detailed answers and explanations and they're not getting them. So they rant and rant.
Virtually every comment by B&H is challenged. Benign justifications are labeled "provocative" (not wrong, not irrelevant, but "provocative" as in intending to provoke). Some declare that they'll no longer shop at B&H, yet keep coming back to stir the pot. They have their soapbox and they're not giving it up.
It was very useful for the OP to raise the issue. But somehow this has gone from highlighting what I suspect is an overreaction and operational mistake by a company who has done very well for the film community to be an attack by B&H on the film community. As often happens, companies recognize their error and fix it because it's in their economic interest to do so. In the end, it will be a tempest in a teapot.
If B&H doesn't want to sell darkroom chemical, fine, just say so. But blowing smoke up our backsides is insulting.
The Arista 100 is nice film. Looks like I will be using it for a while. I have HP5 in the bulk loader so I will be shooting Arista as individual rolls. I bought 3 the other day and will shoot up my second one tomorrow. . 9 min with D76 is nice. I like the Freestyle rubber squeegee also. It closes on the film strip evenly.
D76 1:1 for 9 min
water stop
Illford rapid fixer 9:1 for 5 min
Looks good
As often happens, companies recognize their error and fix it because it's in their economic interest to do so. In the end, it will be a tempest in a teapot
I like Arista film and paper. I am giving one grandson an Olympus XA1 and 6 rolls of Arista this weekend as his first camera outfit. Of course I'll be providing him with my lab services as well.The Arista 100 is nice film. Looks like I will be using it for a while. I have HP5 in the bulk loader so I will be shooting Arista as individual rolls. I bought 3 the other day and will shoot up my second one tomorrow. . 9 min with D76 is nice. I like the Freestyle rubber squeegee also. It closes on the film strip evenly.
D76 1:1 for 9 min
water stop
Illford rapid fixer 9:1 for 5 min
Looks good
I like Arista film and paper. I am giving one grandson an Olympus XA1 and 6 rolls of Arista this weekend as his first camera outfit. Of course I'll be providing him with my lab services as well.
As far as the squeegee goes, I haven't used one in years. I give my film a final rinse in distilled water and Edwal wetting agent. I never have any water marks or scratches using this method.
Your point of view is just as valid as those preceding your post and, you are quite right to express it and eloquently so too!
I hope you are correct - I sincerely hope "their" future economic interest does extend into the film user community going forward.
What is inescapable is the fact "they" failed their customers & failed the industry that relies upon their support! Also, as the "silent majority" have not been heard on this issue is, it is hardly surprising. This group have already taken steps to change their shopping behaviour. Sadly, it became necessary for them to do so! I guess, while not heard, they have already voted with their wallets just as I was forced to do...
So, if you seek to close down discussion and/or what you deem as protest in this matter, you take on the role of the "thought police"! Their whole purpose of being is to shutdown debate on all matters adverse to their construct of the truth! This amounts to grandstanding your stance and your perspective of the B&H supply situation. Fred
Your point of view is just as valid as those preceding your post and, you are quite right to express it and eloquently so too!
I hope you are correct - I sincerely hope "their" future economic interest does extend into the film user community going forward.
What is inescapable is the fact "they" failed their customers & failed the industry that relies upon their support! Also, as the "silent majority" have not been heard on this issue is, it is hardly surprising. This group have already taken steps to change their shopping behaviour. Sadly, it became necessary for them to do so! I guess, while not heard, they have already voted with their wallets just as I was forced to do...
So, if you seek to close down discussion and/or what you deem as protest in this matter, you take on the role of the "thought police"! Their whole purpose of being is to shutdown debate on all matters adverse to their construct of the truth! This amounts to grandstanding your stance and your perspective of the B&H supply situation. Fred
Thought police? Not at all. You clearly have the right to post what you think, but that doesn't mean that what you post is right.
What's an inescapable fact is that, while not perfect, they've provided the product we want in a very economical way. You characterize a glitch along the way as a failure. I think of it as a mistake.
Any yet, you not only claim to know that there is a silent "majority", but also claim to know that this silent majority have already taken steps to change their shopping behavior. No doubt a few have, but how that rises to a majority escapes me. I'm very interested in how you know there's a silent majority and how you know such a large group is changing their shopping behavior.
I think we were all spoiled by Simon Galley.
He seemed to be able to be frank, impart the Ilford position which wasn't always what we wanted it to be and yet I cannot recall any of his posts that had a seriously negative effect on our view of Ilford.I think we were all spoiled by Simon Galley.
I have a lower opinion.In my experience when one claims to speak for "the silent majority", that person is talking through ones hat.
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