A very unrecommended shop at Funan Centre

[Oculas1999]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth

Personally, I think its better to stick to the shop that you are comfortable with even if they do charge a little extra compared to the neighbouring shops.

Sometimes I tell my favorite camera shop that I am purchasing my equipment from them despite having been quoted lower prices elsewhere. The owner appreciates it and understands that we have a relationship built on a certain level of affection, trust and respect.

Having a good bargain IS important but i think it has to be balanced off with the type of after sales service one gets and if we continue to bottom feed for the cheapest price, irrespective of the quality of service at these so called bargain shops, then we could run the danger of letting the the genuine sellers who are passionate about there photography run out of business. As is, we reap what we sow. Just look at the number of these shops run by dodgy characters out to skin us off our hard earned dollars.

It takes an Ah Beng 30 seconds to quote you a low price but it takes a fantastic camera shop owner 1 hour to explain to you why you might want to buy this len/ camera and not that one even though it maybe pricier with better profit margin for him; and still give you a nice smile when you walk away from him to think about buying it for a night.

That shop for me is John 3:16 Funan level 5

Cheers

 

[aaron80]

Well-said, I fully agreed with what u said..:thumbsup: I believe many ppl will get their stuffs from shops which have atrocious services as long as they are slightly cheaper.. But that should not be the way. As long as u continue buying from these ah-bengs shops, they will continue their bad attitude coz they will think that we will keep going back to them no matter what just becoz they are still cheaper than those more reputable shops..

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth

Personally, I think its better to stick to the shop that you are comfortable with even if they do charge a little extra compared to the neighbouring shops.

Sometimes I tell my favorite camera shop that I am purchasing my equipment from them despite having been quoted lower prices elsewhere. The owner appreciates it and understands that we have a relationship built on a certain level of affection, trust and respect.

Having a good bargain IS important but i think it has to be balanced off with the type of after sales service one gets and if we continue to bottom feed for the cheapest price, irrespective of the quality of service at these so called bargain shops, then we could run the danger of letting the the genuine sellers who are passionate about there photography run out of business. As is, we reap what we sow. Just look at the number of these shops run by dodgy characters out to skin us off our hard earned dollars.

It takes an Ah Beng 30 seconds to quote you a low price but it takes a fantastic camera shop owner 1 hour to explain to you why you might want to buy this len/ camera and not that one even though it maybe pricier with better profit margin for him; and still give you a nice smile when you walk away from him to think about buying it for a night.

That shop for me is John 3:16 Funan level 5

Cheers

 

[CHANDRASHEKAR]

In places like Funan and Sim Lim I find mainly two types. One, does not care for you and pretends that he has not heard/seen you. The other one is aggressive and starts talking in abusive language at the first hint that you may not buy in his shop.

I had a very bad experience when I came to Singapore over one year ago. I thought Singapore is among the better places to buy cameras etc., but was taken for a ride in a dishonest shop at Centre Point on Orchard Road. The fellow charges at least 20% more than the right price and pushed a model which did not have the right features I was looking for. I realised it only after going home and reading through the product guide. When I went back and confronted the shop keeper, there was absolutely no remorse for what they have done to me.

I was really disappointed at the attitude and dont feel like buying any electronics in Singapore. I dont recommend buying in Singapore to my friends who come from India. Only recently I came to know about shops like CP, MS etc., which are said to be reliable but not visited them. Hope I would have some pleasant experience.

 

[vince123123]

Whilst I do not express any opinion on the merits of your case, as a foreigner/tourist, you can lodge a complaint to STB, who I understand are more proactive to protecting tourists. The locals unfortunately have more of a raw deal.

In places like Funan and Sim Lim I find mainly two types. One, does not care for you and pretends that he has not heard/seen you. The other one is aggressive and starts talking in abusive language at the first hint that you may not buy in his shop.

I had a very bad experience when I came to Singapore over one year ago. I thought Singapore is among the better places to buy cameras etc., but was taken for a ride in a dishonest shop at Centre Point on Orchard Road. The fellow charges at least 20% more than the right price and pushed a model which did not have the right features I was looking for. I realised it only after going home and reading through the product guide. When I went back and confronted the shop keeper, there was absolutely no remorse for what they have done to me.

I was really disappointed at the attitude and dont feel like buying any electronics in Singapore. I dont recommend buying in Singapore to my friends who come from India. Only recently I came to know about shops like CP, MS etc., which are said to be reliable but not visited them. Hope I would have some pleasant experience.

 

[aaron80]

I believe u might be referring to Max Photo at Centre Point.. One of my friend had a bad experience there too..

In places like Funan and Sim Lim I find mainly two types. One, does not care for you and pretends that he has not heard/seen you. The other one is aggressive and starts talking in abusive language at the first hint that you may not buy in his shop.

I had a very bad experience when I came to Singapore over one year ago. I thought Singapore is among the better places to buy cameras etc., but was taken for a ride in a dishonest shop at Centre Point on Orchard Road. The fellow charges at least 20% more than the right price and pushed a model which did not have the right features I was looking for. I realised it only after going home and reading through the product guide. When I went back and confronted the shop keeper, there was absolutely no remorse for what they have done to me.

I was really disappointed at the attitude and dont feel like buying any electronics in Singapore. I dont recommend buying in Singapore to my friends who come from India. Only recently I came to know about shops like CP, MS etc., which are said to be reliable but not visited them. Hope I would have some pleasant experience.

 

[Jackie]

Ever been to Bestcam few times, even recommend my frens over...We seems quite pleased wif the service they provide. I dun really blame them for being rude, I ever seen customers being rude to the salesperson when they cant give the customer a good price. I myself is also a salesperson in car industry so i can understand hw they feel. Yes, all salesperson needs customers to survive, but do we really have to bear all the arrogant customers. Aft seein all those negative postin i feel sorry for the salesperson there.

Finally, juz remember there will be a retribution in watever u do or say...:lovegrin:

 

[leumas01]

Yes, been to that shop before to ask for a screen protector for my 350D. And it's the same way, that sales guy ask that sales gal to tell me the price. And there is noone else in the shop except me and my gf. Funny. Why can't he tell me straight? Is he too busy? In the end I didn't buy because they don't have the right size but I am sure if they had what I want, I will still buy but never to go there again in future.

All shops will have customers, but will it be a one time deal or many time more to come in future? Bad rumors will spread so fast that nothing can stop it. This is the fact and no one can change it. That's in the sales standard and customer expectation that we can see in Singapore. :cry:

 

[canongrapherL]

ah..... ah beng salesman/sales girl!

They are short sighted, have no intention of doing well in their career and therefore chose not to be ethical or be service-oriented in their attitude.

Not to be mean, doing direct selling is such a simple task (not asking you to do business development or strategy planning), but why cant ppl doing a simple task well?

If a customer is rude, just ignore them but why are they rude to everyone? (Maybe except to chiobu customers).

Second, most of the salesman do not even know their product well! Why are they disgracing themselves? A chef who cooks like **** ought to be shot. The same for a teacher who cant teach. Don't these salesman have pride in their work or have self-esteem?

If these ah bengs can't even do simple sales job well, I suspect the singapore government will even have to bring in foreign talents to do simple task like selling cameras to consumers in the future.

 

[Firefly]

Strange, I just went to Bestcam yesterday before coming across this thread today. Bought a Steinzeiser battery for 29+. Eastgear selling at 34.95. Service ok leh. Sales staff did direct me to the shop next door when I enquired about Olympus Flash as they do not specialize on Olympus. The AP guy next door was not particulary interested.

 

[CTN]

My experience was very different from yours.

When I went to Bestcam to enquire about the Nikon compatible battery, I was quoted $50 before GST by a ah beng when it was selling at $29.95 elsewhere. After I told them too expensive, they had the cheek to say it was on promotion, and original price was $70.

Naturally, I told him to fuxxg off.:sticktong

 

[legiz]

last thurs went to ap besides bestcam(decided to go ap after getting some sucking customer services from bestcam by the ah beng and ah lian) , to look for a lowe pro bag with my friend..went into the inner part of the shop, was there searching in the selves high and low to look for the model i want, ask one taller uncle for price and he quote me 96 , his service quite sucks as he din even help me to search for the model i wanted, lastly i went on to approach another guy , he was very friendly and chatty and he only quote me till 89 , after some bargain i manage to get it at 85 dollars, even teach us how to carry a camera properly, sharing some tips with us, he is very patient as he even took out a 350D and fix it with BG-E3 to put inside the bag.. becos i was afraid it might not fit in..finally i bought the bag and asked for his name . his name is David. Highly recommended by me : )

 

[jasontaycs]

If in Funan, just buy from John 3:16. Samuel or Leslie. Tell them your camera model and they will let you test lenses you interested in on the same body. There were 2 people who bought a Canon from Samuel and when Canon dropped the price the next day by around $100, Samuel even called the customers and refunded them the difference!

I bought my Sigma 10-20mm there after originally intending to get a Tokina after Sam passed me a Tokina 12-24, Sigma 10-20 and Tamron 11-18 to test. I walked around outside and shot some shops, etc.

Liked Sigma's color and 2mm extra better, but found the right side was softer and also not as sharp as Tokina. Told Sam and he passed me another Sigma which was sharp all round. Bought that.

2 weeks on I went back to get a lens cap with centre pinch cos the Sigma lens cap is crappy. They only had original Nikon (quite ex) and told me better not to waste money. Sam was going to Japan that night and promised to get me one if he found it at <$10. I'm going there again today...

Bring all my friends who want a camera there - unbeatable service. Price is ok...somethings cheaper some a bit more ex. but I figure we should support such shops who really know their stuff and care about service.

 

[jasontaycs]

And be assured that you are not getting cheated!

 

[andrOo]

yeah.. Hohn 3:16 really provides good service.. went there to buy a cable release for my 350D and as i didnt bring my camera along. They open up a new box of 350D in their store just for me to test the cable release.. Really suprise that for an item of $5, they go such an extra mile for the customers and are always friendly to customers. A highly recommended shop!

 

[fotojoy]

I think my favourite shop is still AP @ Sim Lim ... that uncle very nice to explain stuff to me even I didn't intend to buy the lens just yet.

NOT like the "BROTHERS" whom I bought my 400D from at the Comex show.
Freaking stuck up ...

They were like ... ok sell u the stuff liao, u collected liao, byebye ... simply bo chap.
I was even more polite than them. Not a word of "thank u" or a smile.

Think of it, still pi** ... regret letting them earn

 

[aaron80]

Cool down man.. I guess this is something we can't avoid in Singapore.. Bad service..

I think my favourite shop is still AP @ Sim Lim ... that uncle very nice to explain stuff to me even I didn't intend to buy the lens just yet.

NOT like the "BROTHERS" whom I bought my 400D from at the Comex show.
Freaking stuck up ...

They were like ... ok sell u the stuff liao, u collected liao, byebye ... simply bo chap.
I was even more polite than them. Not a word of "thank u" or a smile.

Think of it, still pi** ... regret letting them earn

 

[legiz]

I think my favourite shop is still AP @ Sim Lim ... that uncle very nice to explain stuff to me even I didn't intend to buy the lens just yet.

NOT like the "BROTHERS" whom I bought my 400D from at the Comex show.
Freaking stuck up ...

They were like ... ok sell u the stuff liao, u collected liao, byebye ... simply bo chap.
I was even more polite than them. Not a word of "thank u" or a smile.

Think of it, still pi** ... regret letting them earn

feel pity for you , will take note next time;(

 

[Daniel Nielson]

I went to that shop once and don't think I'll ever give them a cent unless they are the only camera sho left in the world.

I can't exactly remember the incident, but I was looking for a bag at that time. I asked about the price of a Lowepro bag (can't remember which but it waseither a Nova or an EX line). It was so outrageous that can't remember how much the sales person quoted me, it was a couple of times more than what others are quoting.

 

[Lion king]

If in Funan, just buy from John 3:16. Samuel or Leslie. Tell them your camera model and they will let you test lenses you interested in on the same body. There were 2 people who bought a Canon from Samuel and when Canon dropped the price the next day by around $100, Samuel even called the customers and refunded them the difference!

I bought my Sigma 10-20mm there after originally intending to get a Tokina after Sam passed me a Tokina 12-24, Sigma 10-20 and Tamron 11-18 to test. I walked around outside and shot some shops, etc.

Liked Sigma's color and 2mm extra better, but found the right side was softer and also not as sharp as Tokina. Told Sam and he passed me another Sigma which was sharp all round. Bought that.

2 weeks on I went back to get a lens cap with centre pinch cos the Sigma lens cap is crappy. They only had original Nikon (quite ex) and told me better not to waste money. Sam was going to Japan that night and promised to get me one if he found it at <$10. I'm going there again today...

Bring all my friends who want a camera there - unbeatable service. Price is ok...somethings cheaper some a bit more ex. but I figure we should support such shops who really know their stuff and care about service.

Amen to that.
I had brought my stuff from CP, MS colors and other shops and
when it boils down to customer services, John 3.16 is the best photographic store to patronise in SIN.
Prices are reasonable and services come with smiles all round.
Thank God for shops like John.

 

[tonyongkm]

I hope all of the critics have something to substantiate what actually happened else it would be libel.