Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/29

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Zone blues
From: Chandos Michael Brown <cmbrow@mail.wm.edu>
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 13:31:58 -0400

I've pretty much given up on my local source of photo gear--except for 
transparency processing, for the simple reason that it couldn't care less 
about my business.

Case in point: I wanted a Domke strap.  I could have ordered it through the 
mail from B&H, paid the postage, and still come out ahead.  Instead, as I 
have always done, I went over to Massey's and asked him to get me one.  No 
problem, the owner says.  A week later I drop by and ask about the 
strap.  "What strap?" he asks.  He'd forgotten to order it.  I wait another 
week until I need to drop some film off.  "Strap?" he says.  I then get 
some song and dance about an order on hold until some women makes up her 
mind about a $5000 darkroom setup. It's now been nearly a month . . . and 
I'm still waiting.

I buy nearly all my gear used, but I've spent way more than I needed to on 
things like a tripod head and Gossen Digital F, buying them from him, 
because I want to support the only quasi-serious shop in town.  Not any 
more. There's absolutely no value added in patronizing the local shop--and 
a great deal of expense supporting indifferent service.

By the way, this is the local Leica dealer--who refers to my M3 and M4P as 
"that old Leica stuff" and who expressed doubt upon first view of the 
75/1.4 that it was a "genuine" Leica lens.  Go figure.

CHandos


At 10:01 AM 9/29/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>It's the same here, with people walking into camera stores to handle the 
>hardware, then they go home and order it from B+H and Camera World of 
>Oregon. And we wonder why there are so many amateurs who don't know squat 
>about photography.



Chandos Michael Brown
Assoc. Prof., History and American Studies
College of William and Mary

http://www.wm.edu/CAS/ASP/faculty/brown