freestyle, just saying.

[shotgun1a]

...and that right there is why I continue to do business with Adorama. They get it.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Freestyle gets all my business that don't go to Photographer's Formulary, or the local shop. I try to shop locally because of the dedication the two local spots show to keeping the b&w materials on. I appreciate that and I give them my money when I can afford to. If I subtract shipping I can buy a lot of Tmax 400 for a little bit more and still save money. Since I use Xtol developer I can get that locally too.

What Freestyle does is provide me with Arista film, Ethol LPD developer, toners, lith chemistry, and Foma paper. The Formulary provided me with Pyrocat kits when I used that, and later Edwal 12 film developer kits. I currently use neither, but I love the Formulary. Both have served me well, and any time there has been a problem, it's always been taken care of in a professional and rapid manner.

- Thomas

 

[ContaxGman]

I can't really say what customer support/relations is like at either B&H or Freestyle - because everything I've ever ordered has been by internet and has arrived quickly, in excellent condition, and in expertly packed boxes. My satisfaction with both has been 100% and so I have never had to deal with customer support.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Good on you for showing a presence here, right in the middle of one of your customer bases, to address customer service concerns.
That is a wonderful sign and very refreshing!

Mixed feedback for Adorama....well, I guess it's only to be expected. It can take just one incident or a single member of staff to mess up so badly that with the great range of alternative options available, customers simply go elsewhere.





I'd like to find out more about your poor experiences. I appreciate that I can't undo whatever was done badly or thoughtlessly in the past - I can, however, look at what went wrong (and why), to help us to improve what we do in the future. If you have a chance, I would be extremely grateful if you could contact me directly: helen.oster@adoramacamera.com,









Thanks for the feedback which is very much appreciated; it shows that we can get it right - we have to look at ways of ensuring that we are more consistent.

 

[Stephen Schoof]

Mixed feedback for Adorama....well, I guess it's only to be expected. It can take just one incident or a single member of staff to mess up so badly that with the great range of alternative options available, customers simply go elsewhere..

FWIW, I've had mostly good and only occasionally bad experiences w/ Adorama (and B+H) - the bad has always been a rep's inability to answer questions about product availabilty. Specifically I remember a couple years ago when there was a shortage of Velvia 100F for whatever reason, and I sent an email asking why it was listed as discontinued. The terse response was that PROVIA 100F was still available. I replied that, no, I was asking about Velvia 100F, and got another short response along the lines of 'it's just listed as discontinued.' I'm not sure I ever got an informative response from Adorama before the film finally reappeared on the website.

I realize that the large camera houses move a lot of inventory, and every employee cannot be knowledgeable about every item, but just a little bit more care spent on customer service would go a long way.

That said, my orders of in-stock items have always been complete, well-packed, accurate, and shipped promptly, so overall I can't complain.

 

[jovo]

Henry Posner of B&H stops by here every now and then, and now Helen Oster from Adorama. There's nothing quite like the internet to help prod companies to be responsive, and responsible. Good on you Helen for "standing up".

 

[Chazzy]

I commend Adorama for having a customer service ambassador to work on problems when they arise. Ditto on Henry Posner and B&H. I have ordered from both (usually B&H) without any problem. I would not expect a low-level salesman at one of these stores to be a spokesman for Fuji, Kodak or Ilford on product discontinuations. All they can possibly tell us is that they can't get something right now, or else that something has been so clearly discontinued (Kodachrome, for example) by the manufacturer that we all know it from other sources.

 

[Stephen Schoof]

I would not expect a low-level salesman at one of these stores to be a spokesman for Fuji, Kodak or Ilford on product discontinuations. All they can possibly tell us is that they can't get something right now, or else that something has been so clearly discontinued (Kodachrome, for example) by the manufacturer that we all know it from other sources.

Yes, and that's all I ask, that they say they "can't get something right now." Instead the response on more than one occasion is that it's discontinued and no longer available, when in fact that is not the case. Perhaps it would not be such an issue with me if we did not live in an era in which beloved film products were axed on a semi-regular basis -- as it is I'm jumpy enough without the retailers sounding false alarms.

 

[Barry06GT]

.
I have noticed that at Adorama, B&H, and Freestyle all list Fuji 400H in 120 size out of stock. That make me feel good in that others might just take your order and ship -whenever- it gets back in stock. This could leave the customer waiting for months with a charge on the card.
.

 

[Curt]

Mixed feedback for Adorama....well, I guess it's only to be expected. It can take just one incident or a single member of staff to mess up so badly that with the great range of alternative options available, customers simply go elsewhere.





I'd like to find out more about your poor experiences. I appreciate that I can't undo whatever was done badly or thoughtlessly in the past - I can, however, look at what went wrong (and why), to help us to improve what we do in the future. If you have a chance, I would be extremely grateful if you could contact me directly: helen.oster@adoramacamera.com,









Thanks for the feedback which is very much appreciated; it shows that we can get it right - we have to look at ways of ensuring that we are more consistent.

Helen, I've made a couple of orders from Adorama, one being a used lens and all I can say is Adorama is on my list of companies that I would go to, I checked out some Ilford film, Freestyle had shipping that was over twice the cost of shipping from Adorama. Freestyle like me is on the West coast.

I'll continue to shop for the products I need and Adorama is definitely on my list. I noticed that a lot of products are less expensive than other places and you have free shipping on a great number too.

Curt

 

[naugastyle]

For me, B&H and Adorama are local shops, so I will tend to support that over internet-order. Plus, I can carry it home myself and not deal with so much FS packaging. I'm sure customer service at these stores varies between their phone reps and those you deal with in person.

I do like Freestyle so far, and they carry plenty of things that the NYC stores don't. For the items they all carry, the NYC stores are often technically cheaper than FS, but of course New York tax is insanely high which can cancel it out depending on total order cost.

I've never had truly bad service at either place, and the paper and film guys at B&H tend to be pretty friendly. At the film counter at Adorama though, I think there's only two guys at the film/paper counter (and lately I only ever see one, maybe the other one left) who really KNOW the stuff, though. Otherwise it's just a couple young guys who happen to work at the counter but can't really answer many questions. I still tend to go to Adorama more than B&H due to location, but B&H definitely carries more variety.

 

[fong]

I love Freestyle, but it would be nice if they didn't use all those foam peanuts for packing. Those can't be recycled AFAIK. I sent them a note after my last order with them sometime last year but never received a reply.

 

[rphenning]

I agree ^. They use A LOT of packing material. Not complaining on the front of thoroughness but you're right that that stuff can't be recycled.

 

[clayne]

I agree ^. They use A LOT of packing material. Not complaining on the front of thoroughness but you're right that that stuff can't be recycled.

I agree. FS does use a ton of peanuts. But in reality, these can be recycled. Put them in a bag and bring them to your local packaging depot. They'll have no problem taking them off your hands.

 

[Stephen Schoof]

I agree. FS does use a ton of peanuts. But in reality, these can be recycled. Put them in a bag and bring them to your local packaging depot. They'll have no problem taking them off your hands.

Yes, I accumulate a garbage bag full and take them to a UPS Store or similar. It puts a smile on their faces.

 

[mgb74]

Regarding packing peanuts, they go quick when you offer them up on Freecycle.

Regarding Freestyle, I received 3 frames (Malden brand) from them with mold growing on the back. Mold was not visible until they were removed from package. Sent an email and got a response next business day; they're sending FedEx to pick them up and sending out new ones.

It's a pretty rare combination of good customer service AND product availability AND good pricing.

 

[fong]

The suggestions to bring the packing peanuts to a shipping depot or similar are good, but I'd much rather that Freestyle didn't use them in the first place. If they used crumpled paper or even those air-filled bags which are recyclable, I at least know that they will end up in a recycling box because I'll put them there.

OTOH, with packing peanuts, YOU may recycle them but chances are they'll eventually wind up in someone else's landfill somewhere.

 

[clayne]

Too funny. When a shop doesn't pack enough, people complain. Now when they pack almost too much, people also complain. Count your blessings for Freestyle's excellent service.

 

[fong]

Too funny. When a shop doesn't pack enough, people complain. Now when they pack almost too much, people also complain. Count your blessings for Freestyle's excellent service.

I don't think anyone's complaining about packing too little or too much, just that Freestyle should be a bit more considerate and use a different packing material. Nothing funny about our landfills filling up needlessly.

 

[gorbas]

Nice that all of you guys had nice experience with shopping at Freestyle!
I live in Vancouver, Canada and 2 years ago I had my first mail order with them. It was worth more than $500.
They simply refused to accept my "Mayor Canadian Bank" Visa card and informed me that they will accept only money order.
To get one I had to pay extra around $30, then when FS received it, they charged me another $25 to cashing it. Not to mention time lost and waiting!
Well, on the end, total was less than in local shop here, but I will think twice before ordering anything again from them!!
Goran

 

[cmacd123]

Nice that all of you guys had nice experience with shopping at Freestyle!
I live in Vancouver, Canada and 2 years ago I had my first mail order with them. It was worth more than $500.
They simply refused to accept my "Mayor Canadian Bank" Visa card and informed me that they will accept only money order.

I almost had that problem. They have a rule that if your "FIRST' order is over a certain amount, they want a cash payment, and the banking system makes that hard - and expensive with fees on both ends of the transaction.

I say I almost had the problem because they asked me for the same thing a while back, but then gave the order an OK once I refered to a previous order.

Suspect the way around is to order 50 bucks worth, eat the extra shipping and then put in your real order.

 

[mhcfires]

I have been very happy with Freestyle. If I order before noon, I usually get my order the next morning via FedEx Ground. My only experience with Adorama was also pleasant. The order shipped quickly and came cross-country within a week. I agree that the packing peanuts are a PITA, but I also take them to the local UPS store (a 40 gal baggie) and they are always happy to get the stuff.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

Freestyle's customer service and packaging is top notch. The big NY store is far down the list.

 

[HelenOster]

Message from Helen at Adorama Camera

Freestyle's customer service and packaging is top notch. The big NY store is far down the list.

Hey Richard,

We are always delighted to take suggestions for improvements, in any area of our business if it helps us to give better service to our customers.

Let me know and I'll send you a coupon code!

 

[jolefler]

Freestyle's great, but...

can you buy hardware from them of the type offered by Adorama? Nah.

Helen's staff in NY was so good during a used equipment purchase, I gotta rate them EX+, right along with Freestyle customer service.

Jo