Plese tell me if what Adorama did seems legit

[o hey tyler]

Pie is great, but 3.14 is better

Is 3.14 edible? And does it taste like strawberry rhubarb?

 

[HelenOster]

Of course they will show good customer service in a public forum where masses of potential customers will see. If you call and ask for help where the audience is not potential buyers its a different story.

Ouch!!

I can promise you that had the OP known about me and contacted me directly by email, then the outcome would have been exactly the same as it has been by bringing my attention to the situation via the forum.

I'm originally from the UK, and maybe my CS experience (as a consumer) is different from the US, but here goes....

Before the Interwebs, if you had a problem with service or supply, you would write (a letter!) to the CS department; average response time was 28 days. That first response may have resolved the issue, or it may have left you feeling 'fobbed off'. If the latter, you would need to try and find someone more senior in the company to write to (not always so easy - remember, you couldn't look up his or her contact details online…..)

The solution may have been to write to the company chairman, contact the local newspaper.............or forget it. But now it's a different story.

I am sure that many companies haven't yet risen to the challenges - and benefits - that the use of social media has to offer. And believe me, that challenge of responding to customers across multiple very public arenas, day after day, isn't for the faint-hearted! But certainly as far as Adorama is concerned, we take every less than ideal customer experience as a learning opportunity, making changes to our policies and procedures on an ongoing basis.

Will we ever be 100% mistake-free? I doubt it, because as humans we are all capable of making mistakes; maybe because we don't always have all the information or experience that we need in a given situation, or because we are under pressure.
'Overread' is right; my job was indeed created 5 years ago to be the very public face of Adorama and ensure that if issues slip through the regular CS channels that there is someone who is easily accessible to make every effort to ensure that ultimately no Adorama customer needs to feel they have nowhere to turn, because it seems like nobody is listening.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I don't recall seeing hundreds of thousands of positive threads.

That was my point... happy people don't complain!

Yes, "Happy Customers" are much, much, less likely to comment on their satisfaction, while "Unhappy Customers" are many times more likely to share their bad experience, mostly because they have an axe to grind. They want retribution, in some form or another. They want the world to know they have been wronged.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It is what it is.

 

[Village Idiot]

Ouch!!

I've stated this and other threads and I'll state it again, I think Adorama's and B&H's used depart ratings and descriptions aren't very accurate. I've purchased used equipment once from each of the two and ended up with unsatisfactory results both times. I returned the one item to Adorama and ate the cost on the filter from B&H since it was less than $20 and not worth my time. Both times the items were rated to be in excellent shape with the Adorama octobox missing a piece and the filter from B&H being scratched to hell and back...

And generally when I see complaints about either company on here, POTN, or any of the other photo forums I frequent, it's usually about used gear that's describe to be in good condition that isn't. I know if I described a filter in excellent condition on e-bay and sent it out looking like that, it would definitely be coming back to me.

 

[flow]

Yes, "Happy Customers" are much, much, less likely to comment on their satisfaction, while "Unhappy Customers" are many times more likely to share their bad experience, mostly because they have an axe to grind. They want retribution, in some form or another. They want the world to know they have been wronged.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It is what it is.

True in most of life, not just customer service.
It's an attribution error, everyone does it - mistakes I make are mistakes, and probably due to external issues that I couldn't control (I didn't do laundry because a sick child kept me busy all day). Mistakes YOU make, on the other hand, are due to the fact that you are a bad person (you didn't do laundry because you're too inconsiderate to think about me needing clean clothes to wear).

They say it takes 7 compliments to undo the effects of every insult, too.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

People are also more likely to come to the aid of "the target", when they recieve negative feedback.

I read an article about this in the last year or so. Interesting stuff, actually. Psychology!

It's very intereting to me, having a business. It's often very frustrating. My customers expect perfection from me, but I can't expect the same from them. They are quick to point out my errors or omissions, but when I can turn the table and note "they" forgot to give me the information needed to do the job accurately, it's a whole 'nother story. Also, they are quick to point out flaws in my work, or what they percieve as my doing, but when I point out the item they supplied was "like that" or look what else is wrong with it, and to send it back to the manufacturer, suddenly, it's OK!

 

[IByte]

Is 3.14 edible? And does it taste like strawberry rhubarb?

Lol a dash of whip cream(whole milk). And black coffee w/1 scoop sugar.....oO isn't this a food thread?

 

[ratssass]

I wish Helen worked for Subway............12" sub,my a$$!!!!

 

[2fastlx]

Funny.... hundreds of thousands of GOOD successful transactions.... and two people (both buying used to to save a buck) are louder than all of those other who have nothing to complain about..... funny how it works that way, isn't it?

I'm certain that more than 2 people have had an issue with Adorama and I am positive that if they contacted Helen Oster that she would do everything she could to resolve the issue. What I am not positive about is why you felt the need to reference the fact that I was buying used to save a buck. You can't really be that big of a snob, can you? Here is a reality check "friend". Not everyone is a baller, and if I can "save a buck" by buying used than I certainly will. Frugal: teach your kids it's not a dirty word.

That was my point... happy people don't complain! And I guarantee that there are a lot more happy people... than people that aren't! Even a 1 unhappy to 100 happy ratio wouldn't be bad.. but I bet this is more like 1 to 1000, or 1 to 10000. But thanks to the internet and search engines... one person whining that he got screwed can convince a lot of idiots that the ONE person should be listened to, no matter how hard the store tried to make him happy after the initial incident.

Happy people don't complain??? You have got to be joking. Of course they don't complain, why would they? What they do is give thanks and recommendations. For some reason tho I couldn't find any threads started by you thanking or recommending Adorama or any other company for that matter. You just seem to stop on in my thread with the rest of the "idiots" (your words) and call me a whiner. Since your here with us does that makes you a idiot too??? Lastly, I never set out to convince anyone to listen to me. I asked for opinions! You are the self richeous A$$ who is acting like you have a clue as to what the he11 you are even talking about. Since Helen made things right with me I will not speak on what Adorama initially did or didn't do, even if it is to straighten out a tool like you. I really hoped to maintain a positive attitude today too... well there is always tomorrow.

Whatever! Glad you are happy now... (and the clueless idiots I was referring to are those that read posts like yours, and then accept it as gospel without doing any research of their own to verify it! Most of those here don't fall in that category!) Might want to work on those reading skills too!

(and Buying Used is fine.. but you are also much more likely to get something that you aren't happy with... you seem to have ignored that part of the equation!)

Seriously? I can't even count the number of posts you make spouting off info that you've read elsewhere with no firsthand knowledge of your own. Does this make you a clueless idiot too. Just look at all the crap you talk about sony. It's all stuff you've read about and have no actual knowledge of.

 

[squirrels]

(you didn't do laundry because you're too inconsiderate to think about me needing clean clothes to wear).

Dang it! Now I have to go do laundry instead of finishing this thread...

 

[terri]

All: since the OP's issue was satisfactorily resolved by Helen at Adorama, the thread is now closed.

Helen: If you wanted to address the comments from Village Idiot, I would suggest contacting him via PM. It's a separate discussion from this thread. As always, we appreciate your presence here and helping our members in such a professional way. :thumbup:

Thanks, all.