DON'T BUY from Pacific Coast Lighting Systems

T

tkarade

New member
DON'T BUY from Pacific Coast Lighting Systems. It has been 3.5 weeks since I ordered the 5760 Watt daylight fluorescent lighting kit and still DON'T HAVE all the components!!!

The guy there who answers the phones, Mark, is dishonest and makes general statements like oh the lights will come this day or the lights will come that day ... He gave me the run around for 2 weeks until he finally confessed that he was out of stock and that he had just received them and would send them to me !!!!

I should have researched them more thoroughly before I bought. I really regret buying there ...

Also some of the bulbs where damaged during the transport and they still have not been replaced!!!!

Please see this thread for more details.

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UPDATE 1 (08/13/2007): I received a phone call from Mark several days ago in which he sincerely apologized for all the problems my order had and he offered me to replace the entire lighting kid with a never version they will have out soon. I was very happy about this call and I'm waiting for the new merchandise to arrive so that the exchange can take place. We'll see what happens ...

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UPDATE 2 (12/17/2007): The entire lighting kit has been replaced with a new, better quality one a while ago and I am now 100% happy with this order.
 
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This has been discussed a lot around here. I really wish we could just put a sticky on that so people don't bump their head on this guy. He's really bad news.
 
If you are looking for lights available from PC Lighting, you are much better off going with http://www.rostronics.com/

He is very prompt with emailing, and does not lie about when he ships. I got all my stuff on time for some shoots i wouldnt have been able to do without. Shipping and prices are very fair and hes a very cool dude!
 
I bought mine from Steve Kaeser from his ebay store and I love them. He always ships right away and the quality is fine.
 
I agree with everybody. I should have read the other thread more carefully before buying. That's why I specifically created this thread. I suspect Pacific Coast Lighting Systems is a one man company. Unfortunately for us it's one BAD business man.

Also, I don't mind shipping delays due to circumstances that are more or less outside of the control of a company and the simple truth would have been good enough and I could have waited. The lying and lack or respect for the customer is what really got to me. I will definitely report them to the Better Business Bureau.
 
Turns out there are already complaints against this company at the Better Business Bureau. I'm not surprised. This one sums it up beautifully:

"Claims alleging unsatisfactory customer service, including personnel's failure to provide assistance in a timely manner, failure to address or respond to customer dissatisfaction, unavailability for customer support, and/or inappropriate behavior or attitude exhibited by company staff".

And guess what: Employees: 1

But see for yourself:
http://www.wisconsin.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=44148812
 
I have purchased one kit from PC. It was shipped out on time and it was all there. I spoke with Mark on the phone twice, and he was professional each time.

I'm surprized.
 
Well you were lucky then. I'm sure they don't mess up every single order. But they sure f'ed up mine and they must have done it with enough people to have BBB complaints. I guess the moral of the story is, expect problems and act quickly if you have them (like a charge back on your credit card) and be happy if you have not issues (and pray that you will never have any). I'm definitely doing a charge back. My order was placed July 2nd and I still don't have everything ...
 
A sticky would be good for all of us I think, not just for this seller, but for all the many sellers out there that should be avoided. I think it would help us, and it might also help the sponcers of this site (unless one of them pull something like this) I would hope not though. maybe there could be a section on dealers good and bad. a dealer review section maybe? lights, cameras, mics, grip, and so on.

Jason Miller
 
These Jack Asses look like the same ones that tried to screw me. I think they've been known by a bunch of different names:

1080av.com which went under
saferseas.com which also went under

The guy, Mark Kasserman, is a real jerk (in my opinion). He yelled at me on the phone when I asked why I hadn't received all of my order 4 MONTHS AFTER I PAYED FOR IT and when I asked him if it was a scam, he hung up on me.

At some point I got a sob story about how he was just an employee and that the woman who ran the business was in the hospital with cancer. Check the URL registry and you'll find that Mark Kasserman is the admin contact for all the websites.

IF YOU WANT BRITEK LIGHTS, GO THROUGH ROSTRONICS. I AM STAYING AWAY FROM MARK KASSERMAN!
 
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WOW!!!! And I thought I had it bad with waiting 4 weeks!!! 4 months, man that's bad. I can't believe I fell for something like this. I totally agree. This one should be a sticky. Like "Places NOT to buy from" ...
 
Yes. As Richard notes, they are all Britek lights, which have been working great for me as a kit around 1000 bucks and just doing the job when i need it in a pinch.

Anyways, you will see some sights dont even say what brand they are leaving confusion, usually if they are like PC its britek lights. Not neccessarily a bad thing, but something you should know.
 
Yeah, that's why I wonder about all those "dealers". What's wrong with mentioning it's britek? Are they ashamed of it? Restronics, Pacifist Coast, SCaesar and imageworst to name a few of the "stealth" britek dealers. ;-)
 
Folks, let's get a few things straight here, Pacific Coast Lighting Systems is the largest distributor of Britek video lighting products in the United States. We deliver more Britek product every week than all of the above named companies combined. We are not perfect and shipping mistakes happen. However, 99% of the time deliveries are smooth as silk. It is unfortunate that if something goes wrong, an individual can come into forums like this and completely defame a company. There are no companies in this business that can claim to not experience shipping problems from time to time. If any problems arise we will do our very best to resolve them as expeditiously as possible. We had a serious breakdown on tkarade's order. We have corrected all outstanding issues related to that order. We sincerely regret the inconvenience. If any of you ever have questions or issues with our company do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@pclightingsystems.com Always remember there are two sides to every story.
 
Well isn't that fine! Another happy Britek Hot Lights ending on DVXUser ;-)

I think I speak for many here in saying that we're glad we were a part of this experience.
 
Hey, PCLS (mark kasserman), then explain the saferseas.com and 1080av.com background with your company. I got stiffed by not getting my complete ordrer THAT I PAID FOR.

G'head... explain!
 
Uh oh! This might get ugly... ;-)

And where's our original thread starter to tell us about his side of the happy ending?
 
Well Mr. PCLS, finally I have your attention. Now let me get a few things straight:

1. Shipping problems happen to the best companies. UPS, Fedex and the others are not under your control and I of course understand that.

The issue is not that you had shipping problems (which would have delayed my order by at most 1 week). The issue is that you deliberately made deceiving statements when I called you and asked about the missing accessory kit. You said, it was shipped and would arrive this day or that. This happened on at least 4 separate occasions until finally you confessed that you had been out of stock of that item and that you now had it and would ship it the next day. And it still took 1.5 weeks for me to get it (while it should have been there in 2-3 days USPS priority mail).

So the problem with my order is not the shipping (even though there was a shipping problem). The issue is that you were telling me that the accessory kit was shipped while you didn’t even have it in stock at the time you made those statements!!!

2. And NO all issues with my order have been NOT been corrected. As of today (Tuesday July 31, 2007) 29 days after my order on July 2nd, I still do not have the replacement bulbs for the broken bulbs that came with the order. And no, you are not "doing your best to resolve problems as expeditiously as possible". I reported the broken light on July 18th, and now 14 days later I still have not received replacements. And this is happening with an order that already had 1. a shipping problem and 2. an inventory problem. You could have at least taken care of the 3rd problem in a timely manner but you didn't.

3. And if you really “sincerely regretted the inconvenience” then you would have answered at least one of the 5-6 emails I sent you over the last 4 weeks. I did not receive a single response to any of them. And if you are the “largest distributor of Britek video lighting products in the United States” then surely you must have enough money to hire people to answer emails. And one more thing: How come you found the time to post on this forum but you are unable to answer customer service emails especially for people where you had “a serious breakdown on the order” and where you “sincerely regret the inconvenience”.

4. Also you seem to imply that I’m the only “individual” who ever had a problem with your company and because of that my statements should be dismissed. It’s not just me who is complaining. There are several individuals in this forum who are complaining and 2 people were pissed of enough to report you to the Better Business Bureau. I’m a reasonable person and would have worked with you if you would have been more responsive to and honest about the problems I had with my order.

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Update 1: I did receive the replacement lights 1 day after this post. That means when PCLS posted, for them my order was complete, but for me it was not and I of course had no idea it was on its way (or if it ever was going to be on its way).

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UPDATE 2 (08/13/2007): I received a phone call from Mark several days ago in which he sincerely apologized for all the problems my order had and he offered me to replace the entire lighting kid with a never version they will have out soon. I was very happy about this call and I'm waiting for the new merchandise to arrive so that the exchange can take place. We'll see what happens ...

------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE 3 (12/17/2007): The entire lighting kit has been replaced with a new, better quality one a while ago and I am now 100% happy with this order.
 
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