AG Photographic

Thanks for the replies. I do believe in confronting any problem head on.

One interesting thing to note about Metro Colour Lab, and which surprised us when we first started negotiating - the bulk of their film processing was E6 - with most labs, these days, it is C41 and many have dropped E6. They had a really good reputation for E6 and we are maintaining this as we have not changed any of the equipment, working practices or personell.

However, the Ag customer base is biased towards C41 and B&W so we have been able to add a heap of these type of films into the lab. And with a lab volume is everything - especially with E6. As soon as volumes go below a critical mass quality drops and costs increase significantly.

I would like to see the possibilities of running the lab on Saturdays offering while you wait and 1 hour turnarounds on C41, B&W and Printing. So if/when we start opening Saturdays, I am hoping we will also operate the lab.
 
^^^ WHS
 
Well done for AG coming here to explain issues.

I wish you all the best with your 2013 plans.
 
Ohhh, just a thought, we could have a film meet in Birmingham on a saturday and if AG are open we can go stock up.
Mart
 
I've had this form other on-line companies...if part of your order is out of stock, how difficult is it really to inform you? Not that difficult surely.

At least AG have had the decency to pay a visit and explain the situation...gestures like that does wonders :)
 
Last edited:
Whilst I applaud AG for coming here to directly address concern, my experience with them is starting to annoy me. Nearly a month ago I put in a fairly large order of film and chemistry. As my order details proudly stated that they would dispatch before 2pm the next day, I expected my order within a few days.

A week later and still nothing had arrived. A pain for me, as I had a huge shoot coming up. I mailed them and waited a few days. Still no reply, so I forwarded my previous mail again. Finally I got a reply - Portra wasn't in stock, so I had to wait, Wednesday last week it should arrive. In the end I had to go somewhere else to get film for the shoot, and I still haven't received my order, nearly one month later.

AG - please improve your communication. Also, have an item say "out of stock" on the website if that is the case.
 
MindofMel said:
I personally have never had a problem with AG Photographic and am a huge fan. Seeing the effort shown by them in bothering to reply, address issues directly and interact with their customers only really ensures that I continue to recommend them as I always have done. Good stuff.
Click to expand...

Exactly that. Never had an issue either personally. Just need to pluck up the courage to spend £75 on 5L of fixer and some Portra 160 4x5 now!
 
Right, that's helped me make up my mind. Rolls of 120 colour for deve & cd will be winging their way to you this week.
 
Hi all,

I have taken great interest in this thread and I must say... I still am awaiting replies to emails and more importantly a refund! :shrug:
 
I got half of my order 1 month and 1 week after I ordered it. Still awaiting the arrival of 25 rolls of Portra 400.
 
I used them for my last four rolls for just developing, returned within three days and good quality as well, very happy.
 
I recently used them for a some E6 processing and they were fast and efficient.
 
I'd recommend AG. i went in store last christmas and got everything i needed to develop my first roll of B+W, the guy there was genuine and offered helpful tips!
 
Just thought that I would comment on this again,my last order had two be chased up three times before I received it and that took three weeks.

My current order was sent of almost two weeks ago and I received an e-mail within 48 hours saying "in lab" and then nothing,I have just had to e-mail them again,saying that there e-mail stating in lab was great now can I have one saying"in house",my house.

service seems to be falling again.
 
One of things that I found with AG after my first experience was if possible to check if items were in stock before ordering and also not to mix processing and equipment/film orders.

I really wish they'd get their customer service sorted as their prices are generally good and their processing is good quality but the response time can be woeful and I'm too impatient to wait.
 
Thanks for the updates folks - should never need to chase, and if needed, never to chase more than once. Looks like they are off the cards for any developing.
 
No problems here recently, lab times seem to be pretty good. Also the website seems to be showing a bit more detail in regards to products out of stock.
 
I have had a couple of films back from them recently, turn around time was about a week. I know they are not the quickest but I like the quality of their processing and the price is very good.
 
Placed an order for chems and a few other bits (around £80) on Monday, received an email Tuesday morning to tell me that my order was pending due to them awaiting stock, sent an email on Wednesday asking what was out of stock because I suspected it'd be the APH-09 developer and I'd be willing to substitute it and pay any extra cost because I'm almost out of dev.

No response, no answer on the phone and their answering machine tells me it's full and cannot accept any more messages. Funnily enough, the items I ordered are still showing as in stock on their website today. Really wish I hadn't paid via PayPal so that I could cancel the order without going through the claim procedure.

Shoddy service and I'm posting about it here in the hope that they'll log in as I can't seem to get through any other way.
 
I posted two films off to them using one of their pre-paid envelopes over the bank holiday weekend. I expected the post not to go until Tuesday so emailed them on Wednesday to see if they had arrived. Matthew Wells replied to me late on Thursday evening to ask when if posted. I replied immediately but haven't heard anything back since.

I sent another email this morning asking if they'd arrived but I'm not holding out any hope. Whilst it's more likely a Royal Mail issue, the actual customer service/response time is pretty poor. Guess I'll be moving over to Peak from now on.
 
Funnily enough I ordered my chems from them a couple of weeks ago and they arrived in 3 days.....:thinking:
 
To be fair to AG, I received both an automated 'Despatched' mail and a direct email to confirm postage of my negatives yesterday afternoon and they've just arrived. The direct email said that they'd had issues with their automated system last week, hence the lack of acknowledgement.

Cheers
Steve
 
I had to wait almost a month to receive my last order (placed in early December) from AG after calling them twice and emailing them about three times for an alternative that for some Paterson negative folders were out of stock, and the previous order I placed in Sept 2013 was never followed up by them (out of stock Diafine), I wasn't charged for that since I didn't pay via Paypal. Quite frustrating considering that I previously had good experiences buying from them.
 
I've just scanned the roll of Ektar 100 I received from AG and they've delivered quality negatives again. Little or no dust on any of them and perfect colours etc.

I haven't ordered any chemicals off them and fully agree that they're not the fastest turnaround but the quality of negatives is what matters to me and I can't complain.

Cheers
Steve
 
Me too. Got my negs and scans back today. Slow but superb quality.
 
Called again today ahead of raising a claim through PayPal tonight and, just as I thought the call was going to the answer machine again, a real person picked it up! I explained who I was and what the issue is and he replied, "oh, I deal with the processing, you need to speak with the other chap and he's not here right now". o_O

To be fair, he was helpful though he did ask what was outstanding on my order despite my telling him twice that I hadn't heard anything since receiving the 'order pending' email. I told him I thought it might have been the developer and he went to check the stock delivered yesterday and confirmed that it was definitely in stock now so I know it's not that. He then said he'd print my order and get the other chap to call me this afternoon so hopefully I'm a step closer to getting my order.
 
Well, I didn't get a call this afternoon so I called back, two rings and the phone was picked up and put down. Suspecting a dodgy connection as my mobile coverage is a bit patchy in the office, I tried again and got through almost immediately!

I was speaking with the right chap this time, he knew my order, explained what was missing (film squeegee) and offered an equal alternative, found something else on my order they were waiting for (Adox CHS II 100) and offered an alternative (Adox Silvermax 100) and confirmed everything would be out today for next-day delivery. He apologised for the lack of contact and was very helpful (did you know that Silvermax developer is a marketing gimmick by Adox and Silvermax will develop just fine with other developers?)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment when I start complaining about ParcelFarce and the impossibility of arranging a delivery for when someone's at home ;)
 
Right then. So I got home today and a box was waiting for me. A box with a ParcelForce 24 label. Which was allegedly going to be here yesterday. Still, what's another 24 hours after the promised delivery when you've waited over a week to have an email acknowledged?

Everything present and correct, I'm happy that I have my chems and slightly less happy that the Silvermax film is about 80p a roll cheaper than the CHS I originally ordered but there's no sign of a credit being given. It feels as though I've paid £2.40 to be ignored.

The big question is, of course, would I use AG again?

Perhaps surprisingly, yes, I would. They list stock I haven't seen anywhere else and I can't wait to try the APH-09 for a stand development to see how sharp it can be. The lack of contact was incredibly frustrating in this age of near-instant comms, particularly given the note on their website asking you to email rather than call and they'll get back to you in a couple of hours. When I managed to speak to the right chap on the phone though, he was very good at dealing with my issues (and with me, let's be honest).

But if you're going to order something, order it well in advance of when you think you'll need it and perhaps pay by credit card instead of PayPal in case the worst happens.

I wish AG all the best, they're trying but right now I think they're having issues. Either take on more staff or allow people to edit orders if something is out of stock. Better still, show the stock level on the website so we don't order it in the first place.
 
Strappy said:
I wish AG all the best, they're trying but right now I think they're having issues. Either take on more staff or allow people to edit orders if something is out of stock. Better still, show the stock level on the website so we don't order it in the first place.
Click to expand...
I originally posted this thread in March last year after a very similar experience and despite contributing to this thread and acknowledging the problems it doesn't seem like AG have changed that much. I'd really like to use them, as you said Dean they have some interesting stock but it's not knowing when an order will arrive and the lack of communication I can't cope with.
 
How are AG for just processing film and/or scanning? What's the average time it takes to get the stuff back to you?
 
southernjessie said:
How are AG for just processing film and/or scanning? What's the average time it takes to get the stuff back to you?
Click to expand...
The quickest turn round time was 1 week door to door and the worst was 10 days, that was process only no scanning or prints.
 
Thanks Nick

I thought AG might be a good option for processing and even scanning since their prices don't seem too bad. I can wait a week I guess, although I might ask you folks on Monday about processing at home.

RaglanSurf said:
The quickest turn round time was 1 week door to door and the worst was 10 days, that was process only no scanning or prints.
Click to expand...
 
I recently sent three rolls of C41 for process only, sent them Monday morning and I'd had them back on the Thursday, I find when there is scanning to do it can take up to a week or so.
 
walsh said:
I recently sent three rolls of C41 for process only, sent them Monday morning and I'd had them back on the Thursday, I find when there is scanning to do it can take up to a week or so.
Click to expand...
That's great news, if they can process within 2 or 3 days consistently then I'd happily use them.
 
Based on the short conversation I had with each of them, the processing and accessories supply are almost run as separate businesses.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top