The Real Camera Company

looks like they have lost out on 2 lots of substantial amounts of money in the past 3 weeks based on poor customer service. Might be an idea to point them in the direction of this thread for some critical feedback

imcalledleo said:
I have to say on both my visits I have received absolutely terrible service I went in today to have a look at some Leica lenses and give the place another try after my initial poor experience. And I have never had someone be so rude in a shop. I was trying to ask what they had in and prices and all I received was sarcastic responses and a condescending lecturing over why would we have an item in stock, you wouldn't of thought I was trying to spend a substantial amount of money!

So needless to say i ended up leaving the shop empty handed and I went to Stephens premiere and received the excellent service I have always experienced.

I appreciate that many people have had good service in this place but both my visits have been poor and it does seem in decline, I'd avoid at all costs in future as I refuse to give a business like that a single pound.
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Bumping this thread because I finally made there! They fixed my Canon A-1 for £35, which was an excellent price because there was quite a lot wrong with it. My local camera shop quoted £45 just to replace the light seals :eek:

Anyway, Chris was the one who served me when I dropped it off and he was brilliant and very knowledgable . (y)

The guy who served me today, however, was the complete opposite. Deliberately trying to be awkward and just not very friendly :thumbsdown:

Still, I can't wait to visit again!
 
I found that it was the older guy (not listed on the website but you can see him in one of the pictures) who was a bit rude
 
I've dealt with Chris and Joe. Both very sound blokes indeed! can't speak for the others.

Anyway, I check out the shop a fair bit now to see what stock is in, some very interesting and tempting products!
 
robhooley167 said:
I found that it was the older guy (not listed on the website but you can see him in one of the pictures) who was a bit rude
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I believe he (Bill) has retired now. I have to say, he wasn't very tactful.
 
Hi guys,
This is Jeremy Kime here, the owner of the RCC and eventually (after finding this topic this morning) providing a response to a 4 year old thread!

I will apologise for any offence caused by my staff, past or current. I think the later part of the thread identified one who retired last year and the other may have been someone who moved back to his previous Manchester camera shop where he had worked for several years.
That's not to say that all who are here now are perfect, we are not. I must admit to having once shouted at a lady(!) customer after trying patiently to explain something for 20 minutes and every time I tried to explain she talked over me very loudly. Eventually I snapped but thankfully that was the only time in 13 years of trading. She later went to the police to report that I had pushed her in the face! When the police arrived they viewed our video tape and saw that no such action occurred. Sometimes customers can be a pain in the neck.

What I cannot promise is that 'the customer is always right'.
We are not a corporate shop, we are an individual shop and we are real people with real feelings, just as you all are. We think we know what we know, just as you do and that can sometimes lead to a healthy discussion. Most customers are considerate, pleasant, willing to talk and listen to our advice but there are some who will not see it that way.
Standing behind the counter you get to see all sorts and some who come are clearly out to play a power game; do they know more than you? Do they want to get something cheaper than you want to sell it for? Do they want get something without telling you?
An example; a customer comes in and asks if we have any enlargers, there are nearly a dozen behind my back and they are in plain view.
'Yes', I reply, 'Many as you can see. Are you looking for black and white or colour?'
'Colour', he replies, so I point out about 4 or 5.
'Medium format or 35mm?' I enquire.
'Medium format' he responds, so I narrow the choice down to two.
'That one's a Rollei and the other is an Opemus'.
'Oh', he replies, 'I was looking for a Durst M670 Colour'...
Some customers do not help themselves. If you were standing in my shoes what would you think?
But I still offered to take down his name and contact details and call him once we got one in.

So while I do not condone rudeness in any way, and will apologise. I have to say that we do our best, as I think we all do in our own jobs. There are certainly certain guys who have more specialist knowledge in certain brands or formats or processes, e.g. video, lighting, darkroom, digital, rangefinder, etc. so don't be afraid to ask if there's anyone who might be more knowledgable about the subject you want to discuss.
Just as you probably know more than most about a particular issue then it's natural to talk to the best guy in our shop about that.
If you feel you're getting nowhere with a certain staff member ask if there's someone else who can help. That's what communication is all about and it saves you having to let it all out on a forum later on!
;)

If any of you guys read this and want to talk about customer service to me in person at the shop I'll be happy to find a little gift for you taking the time and trouble to visit.

Best wishes and Happy Snapping,
Jeremy Kime
(owner)
 
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Hello Jeremy,

Well I haven't had an opportubnity to visit your shop due to living overseas.
I have however had dealings fairly recently, with yourself and other staff members via email and telephone.
The help and support from you all to resolve a problem ( beyond anyones control) was imo second to none.
The old adobe of "customer is ALWAYS right" is something that, like many other people, I had to "endure" for many years in retail....The reality is they ar not always right and to find an amicable and polite solution to resolve the issues is sometimes far from easy.......something that many customers do not realise!
All that said, there is never any excuse for damn right rudeness/ignorance from sales staff either....Again, like many others, I have received both in the UK and here in France....I simply do not return to the outlet even if it costs more to purchase elsewhere that offers a more pleasant service.
 
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Welcome to TP (and specifically, Film & Conventional) Jeremy. I hope to hear more from you!
 
Hi Jeremy,

I have used your shop on many occasions and I haven't got any complaints at all, in fact every person I've spoken to has been extremely helpful and knowledgeable. The best thing is that you only take cash which means I'm not tempted to spend thousands of pounds every time I come in.:LOL:

Anyway welcome to TP and particularly the f&c section, it's nice in here.(y)

Ady
 
Same here. The times I've been in I've always been served by a very helpful young chap. The only problem with the place is that you can't buy everything.
 
Yep, several lenses and one or two cameras and many bits and bobs all happily purchased from RCC, and more importantly some great detailed advice that helped inform those buying decisions
 
Absolutely love real camera. Never bought anything, just stared and stared at all the lovely toys.
 
Another satisfied customer here, and the shop is great. It is the sort of place where I could walk into and say "Hello I have some money, what can you sell me?" Which would probably make me the customer from hell, not knowing what I want or need, but just knowing I want something.

It's a strange thread this, popping up off and on over all these years, but I hope now that Jem has found it, he or his staff pop in here now and again.
 
Cruising ebay as you do one saturday morning I happended across a listing for a Sinar Digitail shutter Release (rarer than that thing that rocking horses soposedly do) gazing at the picture in wonder I noted that even more miraculously it was the extra long release prompting one to click the buy it now button, a couple of hours later I had tracking info which was a bit of a suprise on a Saturday.

So impresssed by their serviice and amused by they About Me page on ebay, hope the Underwater-freefall-ironing is going well.
 
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