AG Photographic

RaglanSurf

RaglanSurf

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Nick
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Has anybody sent anything off to AGP for processing lately?

I sent off a film nearly 2 weeks ago and they have acknowledged receipt but no sign of my film or the order I placed at the same time (It was combined postage so didn't expect it to be super quick). But they're not answering phone calls so sent off an email today.

Not that fussed if the stuff I ordered takes a little longer to arrive but not impressed with the delay or lack of communication.

I always used to use Peak for their dev service but baulked a little at their prices so started to use The Darkroom, always very happy and their turn around time was always very quick, if I posted on a Monday it would be dropping through my letterbox on the Wednesday. But once they started to charge for return postage it made it too pricey to process one film at a time so I started looking for alternatives. So far although the finished product from both AGP and CC Imaging have been good enough their turn around time and communication leave a lot to be desired.

So back to the point of this post, is anybody else having a similar experience?
 
Nick, your post has worried me, I sent three rolls of 120 (an E6 and a couple of C41's) yesterday! I have used them in the past and they were very quick. I know others have had concerns but I decided to try them one more time. I guess I am squarely in the watch this space category now:eek:
 
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I ordered some film and chemicals for my uni photography society, it's been almost a month and a half and it still hasn't got here. Their customer service has gone down the pan recently and it's really starting to get on my ****ing wick. I called them up and it appears that they forgot to assign the chemicals to my order and then half way through the phone call they got distracted and disappeared for a few minutes before coming back and explaining that their suppliers were playing hard to get (yet they had their stuff in stock on the website). Their promise to ring me back nearly 4 weeks ago hasn't come to fruition either.

If they don't buck up their ideas they will be losing a customer to Silverprint (even though their postage is more expensive). This is their last chance as far as i'm concerned.
 
I use them for processing. Found their service pretty slow, but I was kept in the loop by email. Never had to phone them. Quality seems ok, prices pretty competitive.

Ordered some chems before Christmas and waited and waited. Got through on the phone and it seems that one of my items was awaiting stock. I changed it and got the package pretty quick.

Perhaps someone there needs a rocket...inconsistent customer relations...
 
Mmmm, perversely these posts give me some sort of comfort knowing that they have become a bit **** lately. Hopefully I'll get some response tomorrow, I really don't want to have to go to Birmingham.
 
RaglanSurf said:
Mmmm, perversely these posts give me some sort of comfort knowing that they have become a bit **** lately. Hopefully I'll get some response tomorrow, I really don't want to have to go to Birmingham.
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Excellent, I seem to be on a bit of a ****ing asterix roll :LOL:

No doubt someone will be along soon to wag a finger at me :nono:
 
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RaglanSurf said:
Excellent, I seem to be on a bit of a ****ing asterix roll :LOL:

No doubt someone will be along soon to wag a finger at me :nono:
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What the **** are you ****ing playing at you complete and utter ****
 
I forget exactly when AG moved location but I was having some problems with them when they were still at their old premises.

I was originally drawn to them because of their availability of obscure sized sheet film and indeed competitive prices even with p&p to France provided I purchased in bulk which i was happy to do.

My last order with them which I think was about May last year was somewhat of a farce with a continual delay waiting for stocks or items no longer being in stock even thoughsome of them were at the time of placing the order!

Much as I wished to return to them later in the year, I had truly had enough and found myself searching out an online retailer here in France from whom i can obtain most products....more expensive, only outweighed a little by the fact the p&p is cheaper.

Overall though I am having to pay more as obscure sheet film sizes has to be sought elsewhere, hence additional p&p costs.......consolation is I don't shoot too much of it.

A real shame but if a service is not there then customers will walk and find the criteria elsewhere.

Perhaps AG will come across this thread and make some drastic change before they risk losing a potential lot of custom.....
 
I've used them twice for processing and both were a bit slow, also with difficulty getting in touch. They did come through in the end though. Sad if they're having problems. They ought to understand that filmies talk to one another; this exchange (or rather the problem behind it) has almost certainly hit their future business, and now they'll have to work harder!
 
There is a big thread about them on APUG as well, so it's not exactly a small number of people affected by their lax customer service.
 
Allthough I dont use them for processing, i've never had a problem with AG for supply. They have allways been prompt in letting me know if anything was out of stock and sugesting altenatives. One thing I have learnt is when they send the automated e-mail, reply straight away and let them know you want the stuff asap, it then ususaly goes out the same day. Having spoken to Matthew at AG several times and popped in once when passing, they have allways been understanding and on the ball for me. Even managing to get me a box of CMS 20 5x4 from Adox.

Mart
 
I tend to agree with Mart, only had one problem with ordering goods from them but a couple of times I've used them for procesing and they were very slow and the negs were frankly a bit of a mess.
They do need to get their act together though, small customer base with a network of communications means bad press travels fast.

Andy
 
I will never buy from them ever again. I ordered some film and development material from them on the second of January's, paid by PayPal, phone them after three weeks they said I never paid! After ensuring them that the money had left my bank account on the day I ordered I was told my stuff would be sent that day. Two weeks later I called them back only to be told the box with my order in was still in the basket waiting to be delivered.

I use first call now. Postage is a lot but they always have things in stock and because they use a courier service it comes very quickly and they even let me know the exact hour it will come!

I did want to use ag for processing but now I'm not so sure.
 
Last couple of orders I have made have been a bit slow
 
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I've just spoken to Dave at AG Photographic, he called me in response to the email I sent.

He's explained the situation, which was, as I suspected, that they hadn't got all the items in stock so were waiting for everything to come in.
So for those of you looking for a MOD54 dev tank, it looks like it will be a while.

I get the impression that they are a bit snowed under at the moment and have pointed him in the direction of this thread so they can see the reputation that they are getting.

Dave was very friendly and apologetic for the delay and I hope that they can get these problems sorted as I'm all in favour of having lots of options in terms of processors and suppliers.

Like others have said it seems the best way is to check that items are in stock before ordering and also drop them an email if you can't get through on the phone.

I'm happy to keep using them but will be a bit more careful about what I order and what films I send for processing and I think Peak will probably get the work if it's urgent.
 
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I've spoken to both the guys at AG and they are always polite and helpful but they really need to get a shift on to restore customer confidence. Keep the website updated daily so we know whats in and whats not and if they get an e-mail then respond, even just a note to say they've received yours and will look into the problem.
If they are too busy then they need to get more staff, better that than lose the custom they have.

Andy
 
I placed a rather large order with AGP just before Christmas and was delivered in full within five days, including a week end.

Perhaps I just got lucky, but I have no reason not to use them again.
 
Andysnap said:
I've spoken to both the guys at AG and they are always polite and helpful but they really need to get a shift on to restore customer confidence. Keep the website updated daily so we know whats in and whats not and if they get an e-mail then respond, even just a note to say they've received yours and will look into the problem.
If they are too busy then they need to get more staff, better that than lose the custom they have.

Andy
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That's true Andy, which is why I thought it important to tell the guys at AGP what the feeling was, here on the forum. I for one don't want to see another supplier go to the wall and am happy to continue to use them as long as they can sort out their problems and act promptly when one arises.

Ben Hur said:
I placed a rather large order with AGP just before Christmas and was delivered in full within five days, including a week end.

Perhaps I just got lucky, but I have no reason not to use them again.
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Thanks Mr Hur, It's good to hear from a happy customer (y)
 
I placed an order for chemicals and some paper two months ago...took about 6 weeks and several emails but all arrived safely in the end.
 
Well I have received an e-mail to say that my films have arrived with them. Clock started!
 
Jao said:
Well I have received an e-mail to say that my films have arrived with them. Clock started!
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Looking forward to seeing the results from their e6 service. I hope you post some :) Some time this year I will have finished he roll of Precisa I have in one of the Minoltas and be able to send it off!
 
Nick, if there is anything half decent I will post!
 
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Just a quick update, after my conversation with Dave on Wednesday my film dropped through the letterbox recorded delivery on Thursday morning. A roll of Fuji C41 Neopan and all looks well, will scan today and post up some shots in the TYBCTWD thread.

Not a great initial service from the guys at AGP but the response once I'd contacted them has been exemplary.
 
Well the three films I posted to them on the 18th dropped through the door all processed this PM. They all look OK and AG Photographic can't be held to account for the quality of my images and my crimes against emulsion:LOL: There d&p turnaround has been pretty quick in my view.
 
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I'm still waiting for my email back :(
 
Another dissatisfied customer here I'm sorry to say, I made a substantial order for film, chemicals and processing equipment last year and it was finally received over three months later this was the first time I had dealt with them and needless to say it will be the last.:razz:
 
i've never had a problem with them ,,,,just about to put an order in ( might contact them just to make sure its all in stock first though ) i think Matt from ag looks in here now and again ????
 
I hope he does look in and realises that we all want to use therm and want them to succeed, the more choice we have the better. Generally they are good but they need to iron out their comms and make sure they have an up to date stock list so we're not waiting months for delivery.
 
I'm a bit shocked at the negative experiences some people are having. I've not had a problem since I started using them for buying chemicals. I've always been kept in the loop and even got some great feedback and advice via email when I mentioned that this was my first time home developing. It does sound like they are snowed under at the minute. Also I recieved an email from them last night stating they were having difficulties with phone and email due to a powercut in their area.

I'll still keep using them for buying products. I think when they refine their developing service I'll probably use them for that too.
 
Edit in response to the post below from AgPhotographic. Good to hear and I will give you guys another try in future for purchasing film and E6 processing.
 
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Hi all at Talk photography.

I have read this thread and taken everything in - just to fill you in I'll summarise our situation.

As you know, from October we started a full lab service. We did this by taking over an already established film lab, Metro Colour Lab, also based in Birmingham. In conjunction with the take over we launched a new website purely for the lab side of the business.

If the truth be told, we have been incredibly busy and on many occasion there have just not been enough hours in the day to actually deal with all queries etc. At the same time I can not go out and just take on additional staff at this time because we have a policy of growing the business organically, rather than going out and borrowing cash to finance growth. This way the business will be secure for the future and can develop. We have had a lot of costs with the integration of the lab. Plus I want to keep prices competitive, so we have to keep costs down.

Hit list for 2013:

- Improved Communications. We have already taken steps to address this. I would ask customers to use email first and then phone if it's urgent. We love chatting to customers because we're all photo enthusiasts here, but it can swallow up huge amounts of the day, unfortunately. Please do phone if you need to though.

- Saturday Opening. There seems to be interest from people to collect in person and we do intend to start a Saturday service soon. although this mainly benefits customers in the surrounding areas and Birmingham itself, it is a pretty big area and we are very conveniently located with our own parking.

- Synchronisation of our stock system and the website. At the moment stock levels have to be manually updated in the website. In order to mesh the two together we have had to invest in some software and the website has also been modified so that theoretically we will be abel to upload stock levels directly from our system here. This is under development at the moment. I can be quite difficult to do - I noticed that Silverprint were offering live stock/out of stock on their site a few months ago, and then this disappeared, probably because they encountered problems.

- Increases in stock holding.

- The holy grail - to be able to offer a reliable order before 3pm for next day delivery. This is our aim and I am confident we will get there. I hope this will happen in the coming months. I really believe that if the goods are easy to obtain, people will use more of them.


So I am sorry to anyone who has experienced problems. Just addressing some of the individual posts:

Rob - I have had a look at your order. It looks like the FD10 5L has caused the problem. If you need a large volume of film dev we can offer an alternative at the same price. I'll drop you an email.

Asha - I think you are being unreasonable. Your order was held up because you ordered something marked as low and causing a delay (RO9 developer). We told you there was a delay and then we offerd you the Adonal, on the 4th April, at the same price, which is the same product. you did not respond to this offer until 13 April. So, to post, publically, the way you have, is not on.

Bud - I dont know who you are - we had one customer report a problem with the E6 and we have sorted this out so I doubt this is you. Please let us know what the problem is and we can do something about it. Some of our E6 customers are VERY demanding (and not without reason) and quite well known in some circles. I know our E6 is an excellent service and the lab business always had a strong reputation for E6 (winning awards on several occasions) and personell and equipment are the same. Please contact us so we can investigate.

Old Bloke - sorry to hear things took a long time. We must have told you there was a delay though? Let me know and maybe we can sort out something for you.

Norters - there was a wierd problem with the website software that we have not encountered before. It was telling us that you had attepmted a Sage Pay Payment that had failed. So we failed the order. When in fact, part way through the checkout process you had managed to make a paypal payment. You seemed fine about this on the phone. Sorry to see the way you have reported it here.


So, to round off (sorry about the length of post) Sorry to anyone who had problems. We are here to stay, and grow and I am really confident about the future, especially the response we have had on the lab. It's probably worth noting that the the lab we took over would have probably, eventually, closed down if we hadn't taken it over because the original owner wanted to retire. So there would have yet another lab closing and even less choice and convenience for customers.
 
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Thanks for taking the time to reply to us all here, it makes a big difference and we all benefit, I feel.
BTW, have you recieved more Tri-X yet? Still 2 rolls outstanding here :)

Cheers,
Steve
 
Thanks for the reply - I ordered from you just before Christmas and you called me to say my fixer was out of stock, and recommended another. Very helpful, personal service, especially for a newbie. Just to stick my oar in :)
 
Glad to hear you dropped in and provided an update, thats good! And that you plan to only grow organically, that will keep you stable for longer, rather than becoming a zombie shop
 
Brilliant, I for one am really glad that you have taken the time to respond in such a positive way. I think that the few negatives are outweighed by the majority of positives and hopefully you will soon overcome the few little problems and provide us old fashioned (and yet somehow cutting edge) types with the service we know you can.

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
Brilliant, I for one am really glad that you have taken the time to respond in such a positive way. I think that the few negatives are outweighed by the majority of positives and hopefully you will soon overcome the few little problems and provide us old fashioned (and yet somehow cutting edge) types with the service we know you can.

Andy
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Me too. Will be sending some film off soon!
 
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