B&H Blows

O

obeypixel

Member
I dunno what experience you all have had with them, but my first and last was not wonderfull.  Its tough because they have a good selection and fairly competetive pricing, but thier customer service blows.

I bought some equipment their last friday.  @ 9:22 am. A tripod, a some lights, a video monitor, and an animorphic lens.  so immediatly after that they charged my check card the $4500.  Thats fine.  

I got ground shipping, figuring that I would get my package mid week.  Well, first off they e-mail me sunday about 15 minuites before they close, and tell me I need to fax them a copy of my drivers license or gas bill to verify my address, odd I thought because I knew that my check card was registered to my correct address, and that is how every other online retailer verifies the address.  

So I call them monday morning and talk to a real ass hole.  Completely unhelpfull, and he tells me that my phone # isn't listed, which I knew, and that is how they verify addresses.  Which is stupid, alot of people don't have their numbers listed because they don't want to deal with a call from a dip **** like him.  

So I fax off the gas bill around noon, and ask them to upgrade my package to overnight, so that I can get it in a reasonable time frame.

(im moving this weekend, so If I get it monday, and I need it monday anyway, I won't be able to pick it up, I won't live there anymore.)

Well they didn't ship out my package overnight, and they didn't even bother to let me know. More over, they didn't even ship out my package on monday, they had 5 hours, they couldn't get up and stick my stuff in a box in a 5 hour time frame!?  Lazy bastards.

In short, anything I order will either be from EVS (when I bought my camera it was smooth, thanks to Rush, and I got it the next day.) Or from my local video store.  which its not the cheapest, but in the end I get the stuff quicker and I don't have to deal with crap customer service.  I really wish EVS had more inventory, the only thing that I bought that they carry is the lens.

For future reference, Rush, can you get stuff thats not on your website? via special order or something?

Sorry about the rant but honestly this ticks me off more that anything.  I shouldn't have to bend over backwards to give a company $4500, I know that it doesn't compare to someone coming in and spending 45k but its still probably 2 months salary for the  customer service people anyway.  So never again, even if its more expensive. never again.
-Brandon
 
Re: B&H Blows

You must have just caught them at a bad time thats all. I either buy my equipment from B&H or EVS but B&H is usually cheaper on some items. They have always been prompt with my orders. I have ordered over the phone, online and even ordered stuff right from my cell phone. They have always been helpful when calling them about certain products and like I said, they shipped my stuff out in a timely fashion. I can remember ordering something on a Monday and getting it on that Wednesday... If they hade all your information in their system which it sounds like they didn't, it would have been a lot smoother for you.
 
Re: B&H Blows

Here's my opinion...

After living in new york for 4 years and dealing with BnH regularly, I can say with certainty that rudeness and disinterest in your business is the rule rather then the exception. There are a few guys in the camera and provideo departments that I grew to appreciate for their kindness and knowledge, and I always made sure to deal only with them when in the store.

Here's the thing about B&H, and I don't want any of this to come off as racist or prejudiced in any way, but the store is a huge Jewish Hasidic operation. While it obviously has no bearing on anything that they're Jewish, their business employs fellow members of their hasidic community almost exclusively without regard to any experience or product knowledge they may have.

There are obviously a ton of people there who know their stuff, both hasidic and goyum, but there are also tons of people who have no idea what's the difference between an XLR cable and an RCA, so it's generally difficult to get help with products they sell. Also, they're such an amazingly profitable business that their salesmen don't really feel that they need to learn anything abotu what they're selling because so much of it sells itself.

I guess my appraisal of their business is this: They make enough money that they don't really care if they lose your business. They make enough money that their salesmen often feel it's not worth their time to help you with much because another sale will walk in a moment later. And finally...while I certainly do think it's honerable to employ members of your community, they don't really seem to offer these guys much in the way of training or technical education, so for most of them, they view it as another day job rather then a technical customer service position and they treat you accordingly.

Although, a helpful hint is that if you speak hebrew to them, you usually get a discount!

When you speak of different cultures, it can be easily misinterperated, so I hope that these comments don't come off as racist or anything.
 
Re: B&H Blows

I concur with J_Barnes on his comments.

I've never been to B&H, but over the last 10+ years I've bought several video-related items from them and there were times I thought they were helpful and other times they were completely rude.

It's not their company policy to be rude. It's just typical of the personalities they hire and their hectic work environment.

If you're able to get past the fact that no matter where you go you're likely to encounter an asshole or two and that it's nothing personal, then you'll live longer. ;)

Regardless of who you order from... it's not a bad idea at the end of the order to ask for confirmation on all of the key points.

To help avoid frustration and disappointment make sure to ask... "OK, so my order will ship out when?", "I should expect it when?", "The total amount will be how much?". etc., etc.

Make them say it!
 
Re: B&H Blows

Wow -- J_B and Terry hit it on the head. It also helps to have a last name like Mensch!!

I know enough German to get by, and when I went in to return something one of the two guys there didn't want to give me the return because I bought it as a package... off they went yelling at each other in Yiddish... I caught enough to know that one guy was saying No, give him the return but at a lower rate... "YES!!! I know I'll take a cut on the return cost..." They both looked at me like I was the only guy on earth to understand Martian!

Remember too -- it's NEW YORK! Ever take some extra time ordering in a NY deli? You MIGHT see the wait staff again... though I doubt it! LOL.

CaptM
 
Re: B&H Blows

CaptainMench and Terry are right - it is New York and culturally, it seems to go with the territory. It doesn't make it right but some of that (attitudes and personalities) you have to take with a grain of salt.

I think the verification stuff they go through with credit cards only comes into play with big $ purchases.

But, you're right. Theses days the level of customer service will separate the winners from losers. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.
 
Re: B&H Blows

I have never had a problem with B&H, their website is the best and they ship stuff quickly, their selection is huge and their prices are competitive.

I rarely deal with any live humans though. I prefer to click and place an order and have it show up three days later even though I'm on the other side of the country).

I wish EVS's website were comparable, I might shift all my business over to them if it was. But if you need any direct human interaction with your order, I'd say skip B&H and go directly to Rush and EVS. Their website is nowhere competitive with B&H's, but their phone service is absolutely top-notch.
 
Re: B&H Blows

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Offtopic;num=1087998896;start=0#6 date=06/24/04 at 10:59:08]I'd say skip B&H and go directly to Rush and EVS.[/quote]
Ditto. I fully AGREE! ;D
 
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I've never had a problem with B&H. I buy most everything off their site. Granted I never talk to anyone there when I do, because I already know what I want and need, so the website side of it has always been great.

Just adding some more input
 
Re: B&H Blows

[quote author=michael_summers link=board=Offtopic;num=1087998896;start=0#8 date=06/24/04 at 12:35:39]man wtf? youre stereotyping jews[/quote]

Hmm... Wow -- thanks, dude. I feel so much better that you told me. And here I thought I was just stereotyping NewYorkers.

Back off and read the posts!

CaptM
 
Re: B&H Blows

Oh boy... the old B&H thing again!

I'll throw in my 2 cents... again... to say that I (and many others here at DVXUser) have had years of good experience with B&H. They have good customer ratings from tens of thousands of customers in all the rating services. And, in contrast to some of what's being said here, I find that phone and email service from B&H is far above average in terms of knowledgeability and responsiveness.

As one can see from their excellent and HUGE catalogs, B&H is a huge operation. They have multiple warehouses from which products ship. So "laziness" to put the items in a box is not an issue. "Overcomplexity", maybe.

Looking at their website, their catalogs, the layout of their store and availability there of products to actually work with and test extensively, I see a tremendous dedication to customer service. If you read the website, you'll see a clear explanation of their credit card verification policies, and all the why's. In this age of frequent credit card fraud, B&H spends a great deal of extra money and time (and, I'd assume, loses a few sales) in order to guard against this. I find that admirable.

Mind you, I have a fondness for EVS as well, especially given that I can drive there when I need things really fast. But for price (especially given lack of CA tax), B&H is often a better choice. Having tried many, many mail order establishments, I can say that nothing beats B&H for reliability and service.

-Barry
 
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To second the above post... although it's a pain in the ass to have to verify credit cards, I really do appreciate it when a company does this.

I know B&H is doing it more to cover their arses then yours, but still, we all benefit from the extra scrutiny. That being said, it'd be nice if they were able to stay more on top of things and verify your card quickly to expedite shipping (we never seem to order something until we absolutly have to have it, don't we?).
 
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I have ordered many times from BH and never had a problem, well once they sent me a light with a broken bulb (probally shippers fault) but they Fedexed me a replacement bulb for no cost the next day.

HAvnt been there since EVS offered to beat thier prices for DVXuser members though.
 
Re: B&H Blows

I've shopped at B&H 3 times, and I believe that will be the total number of times I will have done business with them for the rest of time.

The first time was a purchase for about $30,000 of stuff. I had nothing but problems on this transaction; poor customer service, (heavily) delayed shipping, etc.

The 2nd time was for a purchase of about $25,000. I really didn't want to deal with them again, but they gave us the lowest bid for our purchase. This time, they lost our order. After being run through hoops for a very long time, we eventually got our order (except it was over a month late).

The third (and final) purchase was for $25. It was by far the easiest transaction I ever had with them. I was visiting NYC and decided I needed a wide-angle lens for my little sony cam. I figured despite all the trouble I had with them in the past, perhaps an in-person transaction would turn our better. I went in and soon found that B&H has the most complicated process to make a purchase of any store EVER. You gotta stand in one line and tell them what you want, then you go to another line and pay for it, and finally, you get into another line and pick up your item. In the end, I was happy that I at least got the wide-angle lens...or so I thought. Once I stepped out of the store, I opened up the box to check out my new lens. To my surprise, it had debris stuck between two pieces of glass. Deeming this lens unusable, I prompty turn around and head back into the store. I stop the first salesman I found and showed him the state fo the lens that I just bought. He basically said, "Aw, that's nothing" and moved on. Thankfully, I was able to find out exactly where I needed to go to exchange the defective item for a good one, and I got a replacement by (nicely) demanding an exchange until I got one (as they initially didn't think the debris in between the glass warranted an exchange).

All in all, I can't say that I would recommend B&H to anyone. Others were right on when they said that they basically don't care if you give them your business or not. While their prices may be better than others at times, I'm more than happy to pay a bit more for good service.
 
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i've bought both from EVS and B&H. i've been to B&H, since i live near the city. the guys in the stores suck a dick. bottom line. as for ordering on line, they are tip-top. but i don't order much from them because of the tax thing.

as for EVS, these guys rock. some dood there by the name of Josh is prolly the coolest guy in the world. helped me out bigtime. i bought a pana 7" LCD from them... for like 531 with shipping, and they accidentally sent me one of those nebtek ones (which is a value of like 700 bucks). so before i even opened it, i called and told him about what had happened and he was very thankful. so i go up and realize i need a battery powered version anyway... so i called back and asked if i could just keep the LCD they sent me and i'd be willing to cut a deal to keep it. they were more then happy to do that. so we settled on like 600 bucks!, and he was even nice enough to send me the one that took panasonic batteries instead of canon!... one thing that bothered me though was he said i had to pay for shipping back of the one i had if i wanted to get the panasonic, so i sent it back 2day (from NY to CA... 25 bucks!) and i just recieved the new unit today... it had an RMA return to sender FedEX slip... ARGH.. .would have saved me 25 bucks.

even still, josh rocks, evs rocks... buy EVS. i will say though there are some things i'd rather just get at B&H (if it's small the tax is less then shipping, so it works out better for me)
 
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I didn't read your whole post... it's late... However, I know the guys at B&H (especially the one's with accents) are real jerks. Everytime you start to talk they want to interrupt you and cut you off. I spend a crapload of money there too, so that ticks me off. That's the main reason I decided to buy my DVX elsewhere... because I was mad at them at the time.

Anyway, if you want them to listen to you, you have to get rude right back at them and then they tend to listen.
 
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... read a few more posts... I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks they're rude and don't care if they loose my business. I kinda figured the jewish thing because of the accents, closing early on friday-closed on saturday-open on sunday thing, and all the other crazy closings. Nothing against jewish people of course, but the one's with the accents are the biggest A-holes.
 
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wow bummer. I'm jewish myself and im guessing it's a new york cultural thing(?) I've talked to them on the phone several times and they did seem a bit pushy. what a shame...must be one reason negative jewish stereotypes have spread.
 
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