bad experience with B&H Photo

I bought a 6D with Pro-10 printer bundle from B&H over black friday sale, and then realized that Adorama has the same bundle, same price, same rebate, but with an extra Canon battery

so I went to Henry Posner asking if he could help me out and throw in the Canon battery for me, and the response was no.

here is the actual email exchange ---------------


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On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 2:17 PM, macky112 wrote:

From what I remember, of all of the times I asked for your help, i've never gotten any
So, no, I don't know how BH Photo bend over backwards for your customers
So, I guess throwing in an extra battery is more difficult than saying "bending over backwards for your customers" right?

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On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 2:04 PM, Henry Posner <henryp@bhphoto.com> wrote:

I am sorry you feel this way. As a professional photographer, who has bought more than $10k worth of equipment from BH Photo in the past 4 years I think you’d know we bend over backwards for our customers whenever possible and always regret when circumstances force us to decline a request.

-- -

regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Corporate Communications
B&H Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio
http://www.bandh.com/



From: macky112
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2014 4:57 PM
To: Henry Posner
Subject: Re: Confirmation of Your Order #



Dear Mr. Posner,

As a professional photographer, I've bought more than $10k worth of equipment from BH Photo in the past 4 years and you can't even throw in an extra battery for me?

if that's the case, I will take my future spending to your competitors in the future.

regards,
Macky


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On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 1:52 PM, Henry Posner <henryp@bhphoto.com> wrote:

We will not match the Adorama package. I am sorry.



-- -

regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Corporate Communications
B&H Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio
http://www.bandh.com/

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't consider this a 'bad' experience. In fact, I would almost go as far as to say that there was nothing wrong with the transaction, at all. I've spent thousands at B&H, as well as Adorama and Amazon, and don't expect anything free from any of them. The representative was professional and politely declined to bundle-match.

You could very well have canceled your order at B&H and ordered from Adorama without resorting to posting his seemingly genuine email online while making him out to be a 'bad guy' simply because he didn't want to give you a free item.

that's sad B&H wasn't willing to work with you, 10k is a lot to spend and I don't understand why they would't match Adorama.. I've bought about half of my gear from both stores. so far at least I've had good luck with each

I am really struggling with this being a bad experience. It seems like you got a pretty good deal and the customer service was professional and polite.

dalto wrote in post #17301718
I am really struggling with this being a bad experience. It seems like you got a pretty good deal and the customer service was professional and polite.

how was stating bending over backwards and not approving a price match over a Canon battery from a director level manager professional?

I was not asking for a FREE battery on top of a good deal, I was asking for a Price Match to Adorama, which was stated on B&H website

So, you think you found a better deal and expect your supplier to match it after making the order? Come on! This is a form of blackmail by forum.

It's not technically a price match since B&H wasn't offering the same package as Adorama. While it would've been nice for them to throw in the battery, I don't see why they should have to.

macky112 wrote in post #17301762
how was stating bending over backwards and not approving a price match over a Canon battery from a director level manager professional?

I was not asking for a FREE battery on top of a good deal, I was asking for a Price Match to Adorama, which was stated on B&H website

You sound like a little kid throwing a tantrum. You asked for a free battery, they said no. There is where it ends and there is nothing bad about them saying no.

The only one here not being professional is you.

I also don't see where on their page they say that they do price matching.

B&H was professional and courteous, as usual.

Here's the key statement:

You quickly went from "ask" to "demand". Sorry, not what you wanted to hear but you've made your choice - take your business elsewhere.

ByInfernosLight wrote in post #17301805
It's not technically a price match since B&H wasn't offering the same package as Adorama. While it would've been nice for them to throw in the battery, I don't see why they should have to.

Yes, but the order had been made. This is outside the realms of pricematch as the Adorama offer does not appear to have been mentioned in the intial purchase. This is not poor service by B&H IMO.

macky112 wrote in post #17301762
how was stating bending over backwards and not approving a price match over a Canon battery from a director level manager professional?

I am not sure we have the same definition of professional. It is possible to be professional without while denying a request.

Could you not just buy the package you want from Adorama and return what you bought from B&H?

Numenorean wrote in post #17301807
I also don't see where on their page they say that they do price matching.

I just noticed that too, so buyers beware!

blair1955 wrote in post #17301716
that's sad B&H wasn't willing to work with you, 10k is a lot to spend and I don't understand why they would't match Adorama.. I've bought about half of my gear from both stores. so far at least I've had good luck with each

While $10k is a lot of money, I wouldn't consider $10k over 4 years, from a pro, to give anyone (especially a pro) any kind of special privilege. Granted, once people have good gear, they don't need to replace it that often, but given what pro-level gear costs, $10k over 4 years just isn't that big a deal. And while I'm all about trying to get the best deal I can, I wouldn't be making a stink out of this. As others have said, why not just cancel/return the B&H order and go w/ the Adorama offer. I mean really, all this commotion over a battery that you can buy for $57, when you're supposed to be a pro, just doesn't make any sense. It just makes you sound cheap and petty.

Can you just send the package back to B&H then purchase from Adorama?

I think Henry was 100% in the right. B&H will do a better deal on some things Adorama will do a better deal on others. That's called 'competition'. And as retailers, and competitors - and family-owned businesses, we not only have the right to set our own prices without fear of being held to ransom, but we owe it to our customers to provide alternatives.
Otherwise, we may as well amalgamate into Badarhama or let Amazon take us both over - and going forward consumer choice will be severely restricted.

I would guess that today, one of the two busiest days in the retail year, I've spent around 3 hours simply dealing with price match 'requests' - and quite a few 'demands' where supposedly loyal customers have threatened, blackmailed and generally filled my mailbox with hate.

It simply isn't acceptable. The whole price matching thing has got completely out of hand in my opinion. Having already made a decision that eg $2,000 is a reasonable price to pay for an item, then on what grounds can anyone suddenly insist that it's no longer reasonable?