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Arrogant dealer.......


JackLu123

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Well I have more experience in photography than the vast majority of people on the planet, so what I have to say is of some merit

 

Unfortunately Michael, on this forum you don't have a monopoly on having lots of experience. You are just one amongst many, and when you talk about things that you know nothing about you'll be told so.

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Who, on earth, goes into a shop and says "I want to buy a camera. I have no idea what sort of camera I want, nor which brand. Show me everything you have, and I'll decide"

 

People who buy cameras go into shops and say "I want a dSLR. I have £1000 to spend, what have you got?"

 

Or, "Can I see your Nikon dSLR cameras, please. I have £1,000 to spend"

 

People self-filter automatically, do the salesperson just has to put a couple of choices on the counter anyway.

 

Well, in those days I had a lot of customers who were starting out and had no clue. It was the late 1960s. There was no internet.

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Unfortunately Michael, on this forum you don't have a monopoly on having lots of experience. You are just one amongst many, and when you talk about things that you know nothing about you'll be told so.

 

ah...but what kind of experience?

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And thus.... ?

 

You basically had to teach them a photo course. What film speed was, what kinds of films there are, etc., what apertures are. It was entirely different.

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Who, on earth, goes into a shop and says "I want to buy a camera. I have no idea what sort of camera I want, nor which brand. Show me everything you have, and I'll decide"

 

People who buy cameras go into shops and say "I want a dSLR. I have £1000 to spend, what have you got?"

 

Or, "Can I see your Nikon dSLR cameras, please. I have £1,000 to spend"

 

People self-filter automatically, do the salesperson just has to put a couple of choices on the counter anyway.

 

 

I was in a dealer last Saturday fondling a lens and two young ladies did exactly that.

They took my Leica expert aside and next to me told him they had a 1200 dollar budget and wanted to take pictures and could he tell them all about the different cameras he had on display and how they worked.

 

He and I exchanged a look that told both of us words are not necessary. I said aloud "Tell me too." He said "gimme my damn 28 lens back!"

 

I hung out long enough to listen to the conversation and it was quite impressive how he sold them an Olympus EP-3 kit.

 

Everyone was happy.

 

When i go in there next time I'll ask him... "show mw all your Leica lenses"

 

It will be a short conversation.

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I was in a dealer last Saturday fondling a lens and two young ladies did exactly that.

 

I'm not sure I follow. Who did exactly what?

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I just finished replacing a set of stolen equipment and chose Dale Photo Video and, sight unseen, they couldn't have been nicer to deal with and helpful as well. Those folks don't know me from Adam and I was treated like I had been a customer for years. After the theft Leica Germany treated me the same way and I got several emails regarding serial numbers and reports. Kudos.

 

I guess for every bad experience there is a ray of sunshine or two........

 

Exactly my experience with Dale - Nice people, honest and friendly. An hour away by car, but I consider myself very lucky to have them that near!

 

Tom

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Unfortunately this kind of attitude is all too common at Leica dealers. Not all, but far too many. I will never understand why a business would treat the very people it depends on for its livelihood so rudely.

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Well I have more experience in photography than the vast majority of people on the planet,

 

Yes, that is true. So have most members of this forum, given that there are billions of people who have never touched a camera in their lives.

 

What does follow from that?

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There seems to be a certain amount of arrogance amongst some Leica dealers . I found that especially in the actual Leica stores. I was after a Leica S2 lense and found it in Germany Berlin. I wasn't dressed to impress and after entering the store I was screened by the shop person in a rather snobbish manner . I told him what I was after and instead of getting his ass off the chair and showing me the lense he looked at me and said its one of leicas top lense ranges and very expensive. I said yes can I see it please .... He went up slowly and opened the cupboard took it out and showed me the box . I really can't believe the service and after I convinced him about how serious I am and want to purchase the lense paying cash he changed his attitude . To be honest normally I would walk out of shops like that and think my part .... How very rude !

 

Hmmm, I had a similar experience. Came in well dressed, Leica over the shoulder, speak perfect German. Ended up walking out with my money.

 

But coffee and cake at the Hotel Kempinski around the corner is great...

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These sales techniques do sound incredibly quaint and antiquated.

 

Perhaps there's a cultural difference too, although I doubt it. I've not come across salespeople anywhere in Europe of the US trying this sort of approach since the one time I foolishly spent some time listening to a double-glazing salesman a few years back.

 

And before that; well, my Dad nearly bought a vacuum cleaner from a door-to-door salesman in the days when Hughie Green and Michael Miles had the British public in the palms of their hands.

 

:D

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We have a local Leica dealer. It's a short walk from my office, and I've bought stuff there before.

 

They have a lot of staff, and someone is sure to zoom in on you as soon as you walk in the door. Usually, I have my suit on, so I get identified as a possible customer (actually, I'm usually nothing more than a tyre kicker). They annoy the shit out of me. When I was considering an M9, they told me I'd be lucky to get one within a year, and that because they were so big in the local Leica world, they got preferential supplies. The coup de grâce was that they'd be happy to get a Noctilux for me, but I'd have to pay the entire price on order!

 

Conversely, Meister Berlin got me an M9 within 2 weeks, considerably cheaper than the local guy (though I'm prepared to concede that FX fluctuations may have helped). They gave me good advice on getting an extra battery and choosing a lens (Summicron 35 ASPH), and they threw in an SD card. Just like Christmas when the box arrived.

 

Ken Hansen has been fantastic, sending me lenses and filters etc. He emailed me to offer me a 50 Summilux at a time they were impossible to get. He sent it to me, and told me to post him a cheque. From New Zealand!

 

Greg from Photo & Video in Christchurch similarly has offered me hard to get and expensive lenses with none of this bullshit and at good prices.

 

I guess the saying goes, cultivate good relationships with your dealers, and try to stay local. No point in putting up with pushy arrogant dealers - life is too short, and there are very nice people out there.

 

I love photography, and I love my gear - choosing it, and opening the box is all part of the fun. I refuse to let some shopkeeper's assistant spoil it for me by being superior. I get to walk out the door with the goods he can't afford.

 

Cheers

John

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Well maybe you should try waiting on three people at once and answering the phone in a busy shop. I bet you couldn't do it.

 

Brilliant. Wow...3 people huh? Well I guess that's why you where only #2 salesman. Not something I'd brag about, just quietly.

 

Well it comes as no surprise that you are a camera salesman anyway. It's attitudes and personalities (or lack thereof) like yours that make me mostly buy online these days. I absolutely cringe when some chump behind the counter in a cheap polyester shirt and a novelty piano tie tries to outdo me with their 'extensive knowledge and experience'.

 

Have you seen the show "The Office" you sound like a character from that. At least you are entertaining I suppose.

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