Cut Throat Cam Shops

maxtheevil · 7th May 2003

let's share our individual experience of cutthroat camera shops we have dealt with, so as to avoid the shop, or avoid that particular sales person,

due to the nature and sensitivity of this thread, let's remain objective in our experience and list out the factors and happenings that occured which resulted in the bad experience.

mylau · 7th May 2003

better not. some ppl here work there, and some ppl here are relatives of the shop owners. may create lots of flames.

Mystix · 7th May 2003

i dun see y not.. the consumers have the right to choose.

besides.. bad cust service should be highlighted so that they know whats wrong and why if they happen to be here in the forum.
so bring it on

baiyun · 7th May 2003

and we dun want another VP problem like what happened at HWZ...

sfhuang · 8th May 2003

(This happened to me quite some time back, but it is still one of the worst service standard I have encountered.)

I was hunting around for a Ridata 256MB CF bargain some time ago. Was at Peninsula after work one day and casually looked into the window of this particular camera shop (right next to the escalators and facing the street). A salesman came out and asked me what I was looking for, so I told him I was looking for a Ridata 256MB CF and casually again, asked him how much he is selling it for. He said, '280'. (back then the market price was 190 and abouts). At this cut throat price, it was clear what I was going to do next. I said that it was beyond my budget and started walking away. That salesman then asked back, "ok what is your budget?" I said, "200" even though I could get a lower price elsewhere. I just wanted to see his reaction - and guess what? His face changed all black, literally, and with a not very polite hand gesture, told me to go away. I mean, this guy was asking the questions, I was merely doing the answering. And I get this kind of treatment?!? I stood there for a second, stunned at this kind of service that I have never encountered before. But he became agitated and his face and gesture was showing it. So I quickly walked away - and bought my CF elsewhere at, you guessed it 190 bucks.

kiama · 8th May 2003

hahaha i think a typical salesman of this attitude also show this kind of service standard in spore.

>> look at you ask u what u want
>> ask u how much u looking at
>> then show black face and bo-chap attitude
>> either they take your price or gesture u to FO

y not next time we show black face and said "siao!! so expensive!!", and FO ourselves...

zekai · 8th May 2003

Song Brothers...

story coming up soon

kiama · 8th May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by zekai
Song Brothers...

story coming up soon

this one sure will surely have more stories to come

sfhuang · 8th May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by kiama
y not next time we show black face and said "siao!! so expensive!!", and FO ourselves...

yah!

btw, the name of the shop in my story starts with the letter 'W'.

Mystix · 8th May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by sfhuang
yah!

btw, the name of the shop in my story starts with the letter 'W'.

let me spell it out for u. Worldwide.

and i know how much they got their cf for coz my last company is one of their supplier. 280 is definately cutthroat

Stefen · 8th May 2003

worldwide!
that reminds me...

I bought my F60 years ago, and they told me it was a official local warranty and I was able to get quite a lot of freebies then.

Young as I was, I bought the F60 then cos of the bundled goodies ( plus a PnS). I then took the recipt to Shiro and they didn't acknowledge the shop, saying its not one of their official distributors.

When I went back to worldwide, the man (a balding one) kicked up such a big fuss and probably complained that i was complaining too much as the nikon was as good as it can get...

i never stepped into the shop again... bad bad people...

GoclPa · 8th May 2003

sometimes i find that shop owners are a bit 2 much.. they see u are a student.. dressed shabbily.. 3/4 pants.. etc.. dun look professional.(no shirt/no quality cam/no knowledge of cam etc..) it makes them so tao(proud) a few.. quality shops do that.. and this behaviour can be seen in many shops.. not just camera shops..
happened to me b4.. i was pissed.. but wt i do.. i walk off..

X shop in peinsula.. one sales man was so desperate to earn money.. i gues.. i just walked in.. look at some filters.. and ask him the price.(ASK) he said his price.. den he said "ok deal" i was like.. stunned.. i just ask his price.. he even show me the products .. den say deal deal.. i say.. nxt time i get it.. i went away.. dunno if this is gd or bad customer service.. but to one's own..

another time.. X shop in bugis area.. i went in.. there were.. very few people.. n one salesman was avaliable.. i stand there..look around.. ask him for what i want.. he give me his glum face.. told me.. took the product.. n transaction made.. give a smile.. man.. tt tough.. ? quality service..? up to each own..

one of the reasons i like.. fotoguide.. gd customer service.. but no products i want..

to a business.. to lose a customer is worse than gaining a new customer cos the old customer is the one who will always come back.. if its gd...

my 2 cents worth

Joseph · 8th May 2003

I was at lucky plaza one time looking for closeup filter. One of the shop at 2nd floor got the stuff i wan but the pricing was much way higher than wat i can get at CP. When that salesperson quoted mi his pricing, i wana walked off....but he stopped mi and intro me his macro lens. He quoted mi $190 for tt lens but i was never interested at it. He then asked mi wat is my budget, i tot him that i dun wana buy it. He rephrase his qn to how much i think that len is worth paying....
I din ans him and he quoted me $100. I still disagree, and he keep slashing his price until $60. I walked off thinking that luckly i din buy from when he quoted $100 (almost half the diff) for he can even give mi a much lower price.

And as i was walking out, he sort of shouted " barggy guy sia...go take up drawing lah...no money still take up photography!" That comment make mi

kiama · 8th May 2003

he should be selling at pasar malam not lucky plz!!!

Minority · 8th May 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Stefen
worldwide!
that reminds me...

I bought my F60 years ago, and they told me it was a official local warranty and I was able to get quite a lot of freebies then.

Young as I was, I bought the F60 then cos of the bundled goodies ( plus a PnS). I then took the recipt to Shiro and they didn't acknowledge the shop, saying its not one of their official distributors.

When I went back to worldwide, the man (a balding one) kicked up such a big fuss and probably complained that i was complaining too much as the nikon was as good as it can get...

i never stepped into the shop again... bad bad people...

Acutally on one of my visit to pennisula I saw this men taking photos of the activity in the shop. I guess the guy was a disgrunted customers. Coz the shop owners was swearing at him but the guy stand firm and contuine to take photo of the owners in action causing some customers to leave. I guess the guy was cheated too and decided to get back at the owners. and were they pissed!

silver.wolf · 8th May 2003

how come this experience seems distinctly familiar to me?! same encounter for me too. same shop!

warning: keep away from that shop !!

Quote:

Originally posted by sfhuang
(This happened to me quite some time back, but it is still one of the worst service standard I have encountered.)

I was hunting around for a Ridata 256MB CF bargain some time ago. Was at Peninsula after work one day and casually looked into the window of this particular camera shop (right next to the escalators and facing the street). A salesman came out and asked me what I was looking for, so I told him I was looking for a Ridata 256MB CF and casually again, asked him how much he is selling it for. He said, '280'. (back then the market price was 190 and abouts). At this cut throat price, it was clear what I was going to do next. I said that it was beyond my budget and started walking away. That salesman then asked back, "ok what is your budget?" I said, "200" even though I could get a lower price elsewhere. I just wanted to see his reaction - and guess what? His face changed all black, literally, and with a not very polite hand gesture, told me to go away. I mean, this guy was asking the questions, I was merely doing the answering. And I get this kind of treatment?!? I stood there for a second, stunned at this kind of service that I have never encountered before. But he became agitated and his face and gesture was showing it. So I quickly walked away - and bought my CF elsewhere at, you guessed it 190 bucks.

8th May 2003

Last year when I was looking for a vid-cam, I went to a shop in SLS Lvl 1, and asked to see some Panasonic vid-cams, the salesman "looked" very friendly and recommended me a model and quoted me $1800 and then immediately gave me a "discount" to $1600 with 3 free Mini-DV tapes (they don't worth much)

Initially I was surprised by his sudden automatic "discount" when I did not even start to bargain and admit I was almost lured into believing it was a good deal.

However, I told him I had to wait for my pay day and was only looking around.
Later I went to AP, and inquire abt the same model of the vid-cam and was surprised to be quoted $1500 (includ GST) directly. (at that time, I was not a regular there and no one in AP knew me)

I was shocked to know that the "great discount" given by the other shop was still higher than another shop w/o discount.

I guess if I was a tourist, I would likely to have bought from the first shop believing I got a great deal.

From then on, I never step into that shop and never recommend that shop to my friends.
Anyway, the shop is always "empty" on Sat and Sun, as compared to AP, for a good reason.

by the way, it's next to S@@g Br@@@@@@. near the entrance/exit of SLS.

sonix · 8th May 2003

Thing to learn is always research the thing u want to buy before you actually go and purchase it.

For me... I dont even bother to approach any shops in SLS which I maybe not familiar with..

only visit few shops which has good reputation in this forum, spug.net forum, ppcsg.org forum.

like that quite safe.

wilkoh · 8th May 2003

Had a very bad experience too.
@#$%^&*~:}">?{<

No need to go Zoo to see snake, juz go to this shop

8th May 2003

Sad state of affairs here... In North America, shop owners, be it cameras or other equipment, are very friendly and knowledgeable. And they are very enthusiastic about advising u what u want, based on ur budget, interests, etc.

Their motto is always to make the customer satisfied. They view photography first as a hobby or profession, then selling the camera as secondary. Come to think of it, there are other shops selling the same thing... to them, what distiniguishes a good shop from the rest are customer service and range of products they sell.

Even if you dun buy after they explain, it's ok. They like it when they are able to even just impress u with their knowledge. That's what they are there for...

I think in Singapore, people are too money minded and the bulk of the people are not enthusiastic about their job. They are often uneducated too that's why they become lousy salesmen in the first place! In America, you can walk in with a coat and tie or bermudas, they don't give a damn on you. You're there bcos of your passion in photography, you're not going in there as a model or whatever!

7th May 2003	#1
maxtheevil Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 130	Cut Throat Cam Shops let's share our individual experience of cutthroat camera shops we have dealt with, so as to avoid the shop, or avoid that particular sales person, due to the nature and sensitivity of this thread, let's remain objective in our experience and list out the factors and happenings that occured which resulted in the bad experience.

7th May 2003	#3
Mystix Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 645	i dun see y not.. the consumers have the right to choose. besides.. bad cust service should be highlighted so that they know whats wrong and why if they happen to be here in the forum. so bring it on Last edited by Mystix; 7th May 2003 at 11:39 PM.

8th May 2003	#11
Stefen Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Beijing Posts: 445	worldwide! that reminds me... I bought my F60 years ago, and they told me it was a official local warranty and I was able to get quite a lot of freebies then. Young as I was, I bought the F60 then cos of the bundled goodies ( plus a PnS). I then took the recipt to Shiro and they didn't acknowledge the shop, saying its not one of their official distributors. When I went back to worldwide, the man (a balding one) kicked up such a big fuss and probably complained that i was complaining too much as the nikon was as good as it can get... i never stepped into the shop again... bad bad people... __________________ www.stefenchow.com

8th May 2003	#17
newuser Guests Posts: n/a	Last year when I was looking for a vid-cam, I went to a shop in SLS Lvl 1, and asked to see some Panasonic vid-cams, the salesman "looked" very friendly and recommended me a model and quoted me $1800 and then immediately gave me a "discount" to $1600 with 3 free Mini-DV tapes (they don't worth much) Initially I was surprised by his sudden automatic "discount" when I did not even start to bargain and admit I was almost lured into believing it was a good deal. However, I told him I had to wait for my pay day and was only looking around. Later I went to AP, and inquire abt the same model of the vid-cam and was surprised to be quoted $1500 (includ GST) directly. (at that time, I was not a regular there and no one in AP knew me) I was shocked to know that the "great discount" given by the other shop was still higher than another shop w/o discount. I guess if I was a tourist, I would likely to have bought from the first shop believing I got a great deal. From then on, I never step into that shop and never recommend that shop to my friends. Anyway, the shop is always "empty" on Sat and Sun, as compared to AP, for a good reason. by the way, it's next to S@@g Br@@@@@@. near the entrance/exit of SLS. Last edited by newuser; 8th May 2003 at 11:14 AM.

8th May 2003	#18
sonix Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sengkang Posts: 1,314	Thing to learn is always research the thing u want to buy before you actually go and purchase it. For me... I dont even bother to approach any shops in SLS which I maybe not familiar with.. only visit few shops which has good reputation in this forum, spug.net forum, ppcsg.org forum. like that quite safe. __________________ My humble gallery

7th May 2003	#2
mylau Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,801	better not. some ppl here work there, and some ppl here are relatives of the shop owners. may create lots of flames.

7th May 2003	#4
baiyun Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: West Area Posts: 430	and we dun want another VP problem like what happened at HWZ...

8th May 2003	#5
sfhuang Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 972	(This happened to me quite some time back, but it is still one of the worst service standard I have encountered.) I was hunting around for a Ridata 256MB CF bargain some time ago. Was at Peninsula after work one day and casually looked into the window of this particular camera shop (right next to the escalators and facing the street). A salesman came out and asked me what I was looking for, so I told him I was looking for a Ridata 256MB CF and casually again, asked him how much he is selling it for. He said, '280'. (back then the market price was 190 and abouts). At this cut throat price, it was clear what I was going to do next. I said that it was beyond my budget and started walking away. That salesman then asked back, "ok what is your budget?" I said, "200" even though I could get a lower price elsewhere. I just wanted to see his reaction - and guess what? His face changed all black, literally, and with a not very polite hand gesture, told me to go away. I mean, this guy was asking the questions, I was merely doing the answering. And I get this kind of treatment?!? I stood there for a second, stunned at this kind of service that I have never encountered before. But he became agitated and his face and gesture was showing it. So I quickly walked away - and bought my CF elsewhere at, you guessed it 190 bucks.

8th May 2003	#6
kiama Member Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 1,024	hahaha i think a typical salesman of this attitude also show this kind of service standard in spore. >> look at you ask u what u want >> ask u how much u looking at >> then show black face and bo-chap attitude >> either they take your price or gesture u to FO y not next time we show black face and said "siao!! so expensive!!", and FO ourselves...

8th May 2003	#7
zekai Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,737	Song Brothers... story coming up soon

8th May 2003	#12
GoclPa Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pasir Ris, Singapore Posts: 280	sometimes i find that shop owners are a bit 2 much.. they see u are a student.. dressed shabbily.. 3/4 pants.. etc.. dun look professional.(no shirt/no quality cam/no knowledge of cam etc..) it makes them so tao(proud) a few.. quality shops do that.. and this behaviour can be seen in many shops.. not just camera shops.. happened to me b4.. i was pissed.. but wt i do.. i walk off.. X shop in peinsula.. one sales man was so desperate to earn money.. i gues.. i just walked in.. look at some filters.. and ask him the price.(ASK) he said his price.. den he said "ok deal" i was like.. stunned.. i just ask his price.. he even show me the products .. den say deal deal.. i say.. nxt time i get it.. i went away.. dunno if this is gd or bad customer service.. but to one's own.. another time.. X shop in bugis area.. i went in.. there were.. very few people.. n one salesman was avaliable.. i stand there..look around.. ask him for what i want.. he give me his glum face.. told me.. took the product.. n transaction made.. give a smile.. man.. tt tough.. ? quality service..? up to each own.. one of the reasons i like.. fotoguide.. gd customer service.. but no products i want.. to a business.. to lose a customer is worse than gaining a new customer cos the old customer is the one who will always come back.. if its gd... my 2 cents worth

8th May 2003	#13
Joseph Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 75	I was at lucky plaza one time looking for closeup filter. One of the shop at 2nd floor got the stuff i wan but the pricing was much way higher than wat i can get at CP. When that salesperson quoted mi his pricing, i wana walked off....but he stopped mi and intro me his macro lens. He quoted mi $190 for tt lens but i was never interested at it. He then asked mi wat is my budget, i tot him that i dun wana buy it. He rephrase his qn to how much i think that len is worth paying.... I din ans him and he quoted me $100. I still disagree, and he keep slashing his price until $60. I walked off thinking that luckly i din buy from when he quoted $100 (almost half the diff) for he can even give mi a much lower price. And as i was walking out, he sort of shouted " barggy guy sia...go take up drawing lah...no money still take up photography!" That comment make mi

8th May 2003	#19
wilkoh Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: North Posts: 63	Very Bad Experience Had a very bad experience too. @#$%^&*~:}">?{< No need to go Zoo to see snake, juz go to this shop

8th May 2003	#20
UStime Guests Posts: n/a	Sad state of affairs here... In North America, shop owners, be it cameras or other equipment, are very friendly and knowledgeable. And they are very enthusiastic about advising u what u want, based on ur budget, interests, etc. Their motto is always to make the customer satisfied. They view photography first as a hobby or profession, then selling the camera as secondary. Come to think of it, there are other shops selling the same thing... to them, what distiniguishes a good shop from the rest are customer service and range of products they sell. Even if you dun buy after they explain, it's ok. They like it when they are able to even just impress u with their knowledge. That's what they are there for... I think in Singapore, people are too money minded and the bulk of the people are not enthusiastic about their job. They are often uneducated too that's why they become lousy salesmen in the first place! In America, you can walk in with a coat and tie or bermudas, they don't give a damn on you. You're there bcos of your passion in photography, you're not going in there as a model or whatever!