Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Whats your guys take on Vistek?? I was there the other day and something blew my mind .. I love the store and what they have but the ppl there (imo) are rediculous. I was looking at a Sigma 10-20 used.. and I was playing around with it and I noticed it wouldn't manually focus so I asked the guy and he's like no it works fine do you want to buy it? and I told him have a look I'm pretty sure it doesnt work. So he played around with it and he said hmmm doesnt seem to be working .." are you going to buy it?" and I looked at him and said the manual focus doesn't even work and he said so? Im pretty sure auto focus will you don't need to manual focus. I was stunned and just turned around and walked away and he's like are we not doing a deal? Is it just me or is that a tad rediculous.. Whenever I'm in there they talk down to me and act very arrogant. Do you guys have stories like that or is it just me??

- Tyler

yup. i had same experience. Good store inventory, good layout, free parking. But some staff that seems to be borderline condescending to the customers.

Yup. Sort of the same attitudes the sales reps had when ALT Camera was around unless you build a reputation as a "buyer" with them. Not all of them have that kind of attitude (thankfully). I usually check to see if Anthony is there (he's on the top floor with the studio gear) and deal with him.

Yeah the guy who I dealt with was top floor aswell

Too bad we don't have a B&H type store in Toronto.

William Ning or Anthony gets thumbs up.

Mike from Rentals too.

Everyone else, I can stand there for 30 minutes waiting for help and be ignored.

People on ground floor (film, supplies, paper and rentals) are fine but any higher and it seems they are only interested in selling pro equipment, as they say fish rots from the head.

I've noticed that too - but it does seem to be hit or miss with Vistek. I remember my first time there and the guy who was "helping" me had a superiority attitude and I didn't go back for a couple of years (until what I wanted to buy was only available there) Generally I go there when I know what i want and just go buy it. At least for the most part they know what they are talking about - unlike henry's which they know shit all, as most of the people working there are just teenagers.

I find the best approach is to just do all my research on the web and know what I want and just go to whoever has what I want and for the best price.


J.

My experience..... ground floor is pretty good, the people are curtious, and willing to help, the higher up you go in the building, the worst it gets. There is only one exception.... the service department is good, no complaints. They did a great job fixing the Mamiya camera I took in.

agreed, most of those gear sales guys are horrible salesman...

some vistek employees = gearheads that spent money to go to photog school only to discover they don't have any talent = now bitter because they have to make money selling gear (they can't afford) to other gearheads ;P (of course, I'm joking ... ;p)

Vistek is, from what I've seen, a lot like B&H in a way.

If you guys have been to B&H, the joint is a production line.

If you know what you want, have the cash/credit for it, you walk in, stand in line, walk up to the dude and he takes your order and then you wait while the magical elves put your stuff in the box and it gets carried up the conveyor belt system to the dude you're dealing with. He then lets you look it over to make sure it's all good and then it goes back onto the conveyor belt system and over to the front cash where you don't see it again until you've gone through the cashiers, all of whom are in their own little "boxes" taking your info/cash/credit card - it's really an efficient if not "cold" system.

That said, Vistek is hardly that efficient. There are a couple guys that seem to be decent (as many of the guys have said). The little dumpy guy named "Sheldon" (I believe) up on the top floor lacks any customer service skill what so ever. It's sad because they do carry some things that you just can't get at Downtown or Henry's or Merkle - unless you know someone on the inside who'll special order stuff for you

Cheers,
Dave

Same experience as many of you. I have stopped dealing with Vistek for years and only go there for something only they carry.

The rental department is very good and people there are nice. William Ning is nice to deal with as many has said.

In my opinion, most people on the third floor are @#$$#^ snobs.

If you have stuff to return, god help you.

I agree with everything said above except that Vistek's condescension is in any way "borderline". I love the inventory at Vistek, but only buy items there when I can't buy somewhere else for an equivalent price or if I need something urgently. I have found that the staff I've dealt with doesn't seem to have any concept of customer service at that store (I exclude the chaps on the first floor with whom I deal infrequently)- they are not helpful- and won't go out of their way to find the answer if they don't know. I don't find the staff I've dealt with to be trustworthy (based on a specific experience), and at least some of the sales staff seem to be under some delusion that they should not offer competitive prices (ie. price matching)- dealing with them should be such a pleasure that it is worth paying more (someone said as much).

I once found a person I liked there (helpful etc.)- but she wasn't there the next time I went around- and I haven't seen here since.

I find the staff at Henrys (at least the guys that I deal with) much more helpful and accessible (and they will special order etc.)-even if they are not as knowledgeable, and so I normally shop there- they just don't/haven't offered everything I want so sometimes I just need to deal with Vistek.

A friend said the staff at Vistek in Mississauga is much better, though I've not had to deal with them.

I find that with most big stores in general that the sales person asks you what body you are using, then goes on a spiel about how they have the model above you and it works great for them and they definitely recommend this or that and it will work fine for what you are doing.

It especially comes up when you are buying lenses or a bag. Everyone who works at Henry's walk around with 2 pro bodies and 70-200 f/2.8 lenses apparently!

The one time I was in Vistek 2 years ago, I had a similar encounter

Wow, D

Nothing to be surprised about, most professionally aimed corporate stores have this, they are there to sell, not help. That's where a small local shop opened by a photographer comes in. But there's not that much stuff in those. I say suck it up, ask for manager or don't go there it can't be changed. It's commercial all the way

Nope, they're cut from the same cloth as downtown.

Sorry PE, I don't agree. If you are in the business of selling you are in the business of providing service.

Ever been in an Apple Store? Just as commercial and corporate as any store, yet I always find the service outstanding across the board. I have been in the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale and Sherway stores and all had helpful and informative no pressure staff who came over as soon as they could even on the busiest days.

DG

I agree about about the Apple Store. But they have to work extra hard to live up to their marketing bullcrap and sell their subpar products

second. Customer service counts. Just look at the replies above all from people that spend money on camera equipment, thus the exact target market for Vistek. People seem to avoid when they can. NOw imagine if another store comes in or opens up where they have similar set up and stock, but with friendly and helpful staff as a priority of their business plan. That place will make a fortune and be busy all the time, i suspect.

I've only been to Vistek maybe 4 times ever, and it has never been an experience that made me say to myself "wow, that was good service!"

Henrys has been hit or miss, but overall positive. My favourite store, which is somewhat strange considering I've heard contrasting stories, is downtown camera. I go there regularly and have found almost every person, except 1 i've dealt with to be friendly and helpful. I'm horrible with names, but I always try to aim to talk to either the old asian guy who I think is the owner, the guy who i think is his son, or their studio lighting guy. He spent almost an hour with me last year helping me pick out some lights and never gave any negative vibes.

Headshots has treated me very well. They're like "Cheers" to me. The rental desk folks know me by name and are always friendly and helpful. Guy, the one who usually takes my calls, has always been patient with me and a couple of times he did some run around for me to try and accomodate my requests for unavailable gear.

"Old Asian guy" = Dan
"Guy who I think is his son" = Stan
"Studio lighting guy" = John

I frequent Downtown but I also realize the store's not for everyone.
That said, I wonder, people talk about customer service wrt Vistek - but here's a question for you lot: Would you be willing to pay "a bit more" for effective customer service?

For example, take the same item (Lens, body, what-have-you) and it's sold at store A for $2000, store B for $1850 and store C for $2100. Store A's service is "ok" but far from "great" - they try to upsell you, they don't really know the product etc. Store C's service is "excellent" and awesome - they don't try to upsell you, they know the product and they spend time with you explaining anything you want to know. Store A's service is "horrible", they talk down to you, they don't care if you want the product you came in for, they want to upsell you etc.

Would you be willing to pay the Store C price although the exact same product is available at Store B and Store A for less?

Curious,
Dave

You make a good point Dave.

If I knew exactly what I wanted, I would probably get it from the cheapest place.
If I was undecided but probably need to try something out first, then I normally go to the place that has the best return policy.

As for customer service with the highest price point.....I'll let you know when I actually have enough money to spend on gear where customer service takes precedence over price.

I don't know if this is true, but it does feel like Vistek trains their sales staff to give priority to their pro photographer customers, and to pay less attention to the more amateur shooters. How they determine that just by looking at you, I'm not sure. But perhaps in their mind, a "pro" customer tends to have more knowledge, and more money. I assume the staff get commissions. If so, they would prefer to spend 15 minutes with someone who buys something 50% of the time and spends an average of $1000, than someone who doesn't really know what they want, and may end up following through with a purchase 25% of the time and only spends $200.

I tend not to shop at Vistek, but I agree with whoever said earlier that it's a good place to go if you already know what you want, and just need someone to show it to you. They do try to upsell you, so again it helps if you already know what you need (and what you don't need!). Giving them back a bit of their own snobby attitude seems to work with some of the staff too.

I bought a Lastoline 24" EzyBox from them last year. I had already read the reviews for it, but I wanted to see exactly how the mechanical connections worked between the flash holder, the softbox ring, the stand mount, etc. Of course, the guy tried to sell me the entire kit with the mini ball head, light stand, etc. I told him I already had enough light stands, and I don't need the "cheap piece of crap" that was bundled in. He dropped the upsell after that.

I'd go to A.

If customer service at b is bad, then the store policies usually follow suit. I definitely would not spend that much money on a company I cannot trust (ie poor return policy, people don't care about their job or their customers so if an issue arises I'll have more difficulty solving it) Plus, part of buying a product is the purchasing experience. If I go into a store, and they treat me like crap, then I will always remember that experience every time I use or look at that item. I don't really care how much cheaper a product is, if you feel abused, nothing can make that better.

I had such a situation happen a few months back at a big chain clothing store. I wrote headquarters a letter telling them that although I liked their clothing and their prices were affordable, I really detested their checkout experience to the point that every time I left their store I felt like crap. I told them I refused to shop at their store anymore until they change their policies. Two weeks later, they did! Along with a personal apology and a thank you for bringing the issue to their attention! They acknowledged that most customers are just complacent. They'll either put up with bad service or shop else where without bringing the issue to management's attention, so they thanked me for bringing the issue to their attention.

As cliche as it sounds, people can make a difference. The reason why we have such crappy customer service these days is because the majority of people are complacent.

I think in any cases, if you are taking money from the customers, doesn't matter which industry you are in, good customer service is a must. But the point of whether all companies agree with that, it could be a very good debate.

Personally I have better people experience at Henry's than Vistek, like many of you have already said. As a complete n00b like I am, I felt people at Henry's are more enthused to help a brother out.

Another place that came to mind with condescending customer service is radio shack, lol. I wanted to buy a simple male to male RCA cable about ye long, and the floor rep talk to me as if I don't know what a TV looks like.

Well I was shopping around for a high-end projector >$5000 AND I had made an appointment in advance.

I had to wait almost 1/2 an hour for the particular rep to be available (he didn't make provision for someone else to look after me), and when I was finally directed to the projector room it was far from adequate as there was an uncovered window in the room letting in bright sunlight.

Hardly professional service.

Either way a store gearing there help or "expertise" toward the higher paying customer is rediculous. A business should have sErvice that takes care of all customers small or large I'm sure they would do much better (not thAt there not) As a company due to how they act towards customers just my 2 cents word of mouth travels

I like B&H's system because I usually know what I want and just want to get it. It took ten minutes for me to get the attention of somebody at Vistek and then another 10mins for him to call down for the item and another 10mins for the item to come up. I love B&H's conveyor belt system since I do most of my camera equipment shopping online.

I agree.

Playing devils advocate (I'm not taking their side as I'm not rich lol). They are the place to go for a number of big ticket items. If you have exclusive rights, you get lazy. Plus, I'm guessing the pro that comes in to pick up a $40k camera probably knows what he/she wants and doesn't take up much time. Compare with the amature photographer who may be undecided in what lens to buy (if they are actually serious about buying at all) and who may end up buying elsewhere. Does that make it ok to be lazy? Absolutely not. But there is a definate lazy logic there.

I think as the cost of digital comes down they will be forced to accomodate all equally. At least I hope thats the case.