Beware Authorized Photo Service, Morton Grove, IL

[kernel bleep]

One of my Nikon F2s needed service so I did some research and called Authorized Photo Service before hand to be sure they'd be able to work on the camera. I was assured they could and shipped my Nikon F2 to APS in February, 2025 via USPS. They received it on February 18th.

I didn't hear a thing from them until I emailed them on May 19th/20th to inquire about their progress. At that point, someone who identified themselves as "Greg" wrote back to say, and I quote: "James, light seals have been re-done and we are going to QA test it tomorrow with a roll of film prior to sending back to you. So should be shipped back to you by Thursday if all goes well! Thank you for your patience! Hard to manage my Film camera techs work queue and this should have been done a long time ago."

I wrote, again, on May 22nd to remind APS that I'd never received a quote for how much it'd be to repair the camera and asked them to let me know how much the repairs would come to.

When I didn't get a reply (or a repaired camera) I wrote again on June 24th asking them to provide a straight answer on when the camera would be ready.

My last email was dated September 18th, precisely 7 months after they received the camera. At which point I asked them to ship it back to me in whatever condition it happened to be in.

I have copies of each email interaction. What I don't have are copies of the numerous telephone conversation that took place between these emails, each one with "Greg".

It's now October 4th and I have no F2 and no idea if or when I'll ever get the camera back or in what condition.

I submitted a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, for what it's worth. They reviewed my documentation and agreed I had a case. They were to contact APS on my behalf. I don't expect anything to come of it but I don't know what else I could do. IMHO, an F2 isn't valuable enough to warrant a lawsuit and I can't justify a trip from Charlotte to Morton Grove, Il (just North of Chicago), either.

Though many of you may have gotten stellar service from APS, in my experiecne, their service has been reprehensible.

 

[loccdor]

Sorry that happened to you. I have a well-recommended camera repair man still holding my lens for over a year now. He stopped answering emails and his phone message box is always full.

It actually happened to me twice - the first time the guy (a different, well-recommended repairer) admitted he forgot about it in a corner for a year.

I'm no longer enthusiastically seeking camera service, now my motto is "keep using it while you can before it breaks".

 

[koraks]

I'm also sorry to hear about your experience @kernel bleep. Unfortunately, these stories seem to be fairly common in the film camera repair business. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that many of these repair shops are held together by shoestring budgets, often run by people of an advanced age, and are generally overwhelmed by requests. It's common to hear about businesses that seem to disappear from the radar only for it to become apparent later on that the guy in charge has been battling health issues or family problems - not to mention lack of qualified personnel or someone to take over the business when the time comes.

It's been discussed several times, but it turns out that camera repairs just isn't a field where you'd expect high quality operations to be prevalent. It's a relatively unattractive field to work in if you have the technical qualifications needed, especially compared to the other opportunities open to you if you have these qualifications. Not to mention that running a business entails so much more than understanding the mechanics of a Nikon F2. I imagine it's pretty challenging to handle the communications & administration while at the same time having to dedicate large chunks of time being focused on actual technical problem-solving. And of course, the money to be made in it won't allow for hiring even a part-time employee to handle the administrative end, as the price point of common repairs would end up being far too high for most of us to even consider.

I guess it's not surprising we see the more successful repair shops now pop up in places where wages are a lot lower and there's a driving force within society to educate people in technical/engineering fields.

None of this helps your situation, of course. I can only empathize; I hope you will get your camera back, in good shape, and not too long from now.

 

[BrianShaw]

It's sad when somthing like this happens; sorry it's happening to you. While imaginining excuses for such behavior is purely speculatory, perhaps the lack of communication over the past week is due to taking time off for the Jewish High Holy Days. Perhaps...

Have you used other resources to idenitify a better point of contact? For example, the BBB web page for the business, LinkedIn, or Spokeo? In another domain I was getting ghosted by a small business owner so used backdoor sources to find his home address and hoime phone number. His wife was a lovely lady who said she'd try to help. In the end I got screwed but at least he found out that hiding behind answering machines/services and PO boxes doesn't always work. I still send him a Christmas card just so he knows that I have a long memory.

For me, the BBB complaint process has been worthless. Used it twice in two different cities and wouldn't bother with it again. They provided mediation in both situations and ultimately closed the cases based soley on the lies of their paying member. Like the aforementioned approach, at least it "forces" the business to spend the time responding to the BBB complaint.

 

[chuckroast]

Some time ago, I was in that area and stopped in to drop off an F for CLA. It's a very modern facility and the folks were nice. BUT ...

• I got back a camera that had new seals and little more (they were supposed to cal the meter and completely overhaul the body).
• The tech admitted that they do not pull the mirrorbox to do the shutter service because "it's too risky with old cameras"

In fairness, when I complained, they refunded half the original charge.

They seem to be primarily setup for Nikon digital not old film bodies.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Repair mess has happened to me two times.

1. I sent a Rolleiflex 3.5E to Krikor Maralian in New Jersey. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was one of the best in USA when he worked at Marflex. But in the late 2000s, he was doing shoddy work at avaricious price. He died a few year later. Mark Hama fixed it properly for me.
2. I sent a 1st generation Canonet to Dave's camera repair in Michigan. The camera disappeared there. It was not worth pursuing.

 

[loccdor]

I still send him a Christmas card just so he knows that I have a long memory.

That gave me a big laugh, thank you.

 

[loccdor]

Just a note, I realize that a lot of this is just due to people getting old. That's a sad fact of life and cameras are never more important than people. I'm not upset at a camera repairman no longer being able to do a good job, nor should others be. The difference between now, and perhaps 20 years ago, is the percentage of repairers in that category. Nothing anyone can do about that, unless they want to make it their life's work to get young people interested in old machines.

 

[gbroadbridge]

. I'm not upset at a camera repairman no longer being able to do a good job, nor should others be.

People don't.

People get upset when someone purporting to run a business does not know when it is beyond them, and should shut up shop and take up lawn bowls instead.

 

[koraks]

People get upset when someone purporting to run a business does not know when it is beyond them, and should shut up shop and take up lawn bowls instead.

Sure - but I can imagine many situations and reasons why that may sound easier than it is. Which is of course not an excuse for disappearing cameras, repairs that take over half a year to even get started, radio silence on the whereabouts of someone's kit, etc. It's more of an observation of how the demographic of the people active in this field can be a big part of the explanation why it's so hard to find a decent (and consistent) level of service provision in this business.

 

[250swb]

I think the impression camera repair is for old blokes who are gradually losing their marbles is flawed. Camera repair got sexy when the kids took to film at the start of the Lomography boom. On the back of that a few youngsters around the world felt camera repair was a way to join the party and use hip words like legacy, tradition, and sustainability, without knowing much about camera repair or even knowing what doing a 9 to 5 job entailed. It is very easy to set up in camera repair if you use the jargon correctly. Here is a long thread on the Leica User Forum where cameras go missing at a UK repairer, smoke and mirrors corporate bullshit on the repairers web site, and a one-man-band describing himself as 'head engineer' in a team of people.

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/332251-camera-obscura-repairs-uk-problem-😔/