Um, I think that was Hugh just being Hugh. In other words, never take him too seriously...

B&H means business, so they have my business. I tried others, but I was not happy.

Actually, the guy who gave the lighting seminar seemed pretty serious. But then again, he also said the HVX was such a hearty camera that he dropped his on the ground from five feet up several times and the camera works like a charm. Uhhh... yeah.

When I ordered a monitor from B&H recently they called back and asked me for all sorts of references to make sure my order was legitimate.

So during the phone conversation I told the salesperson that I'd ordered from them before and gave them a couple of invoice numbers. Then up popped a fairly long list of stuff I'd purchased over the past couple of years and he quickly said, "Oh. Never mind..." :-)

Other than that one rather comical incident, I've had nothing but quick results from B&H. Most of what I buy comes from there.

Had the chance to tour the store back in 2002, on the anniversary of 9/11 (I was there with a contingent of people from Hawaii bringing thousands of orchid lei for relatives of victims and for the firefighters).

I even bought a Kata bag for my camera.

Next time I'm hoping to visit as a regular tourist -- and spend a little more time at B&H as well.

Lorinda -- my dad was a heavy machinery mechanic. He would have loved to check out those tractor parts stores! And I had the chance to visit the Boeing scrapyard once. Couldn't find any titanium tubing, unfortunately. But was amazed at what was there for sale to the public.

Thanks for your kind words.

Just bought a used 9” SONY monitor from B&H. Good price and good service. Check used gear department next time you guys there.

Frustration
 

About a week ago, I made my first ever order from B&H. Ordering went smoothly, but then I recieved the wrong item in the mail. Calling customer service just had me spending 10 minutes being transfered from one person to another. Because it was over the holiday weekend, I'm quickly running out of time for a return according thier sales policy.

Is there a better number to call other then the one on my shipping invoice? So far I've gotten nowhere by talking to them.

Lisa, I got e-mail from you and sent it to the person who can assist you. I am sorry for any inconvenience.

A little while back I ordered my Canon XL2 from B&H Photo. They were easy to deal with on the phone, and things went really smoothly. Because of a credit card limit they had to process the payment over two days, and did so without complaint or issue. When i got the camera, I was really impressed with how well it was packed. The entire Canon box packed with foam and air bags in ANOTHER box. Now that, I really appreciated. They also kept me informed of my order/shipping status the whole way. In my opinion, these guys are the prime example of what internet shopping should be.
I've since ordered a Miller Arrow 30 which is on back-order (I'd already spoken to a Miller rep before placing the order, but had to get it in before carbon-fiber runs out). I was also ordering a 4x4 matte box, so this was a big order, at least for me. The guy at the order varification desk had to do a lot of checking with my bank, and kept me on hold (though he asked) for a long time and I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IT. Hey, its ME, they're trying to protect, so yeah buddy, take all the time you need to varify that the order is for real. It's like when people ask you for photo ID when you give them a credit card... it only sucks if you're not really who you say you are.
Now, if the guys at B&H could just speed things up by helicoptering out to sea and meeting the ship with my tripod, then Harrier to my house (land/melt in my neighbors driveway pls) I'd be eternally grateful.

I could do that, but then you'd have to mow my lawn every weekend. :-)

Resolution
 

Seems it was a data entry error with my order. The situation has been resolved to satisfaction. B&H definately cares about customer service, which is the most important factor these days.