Lencarta bad customer service, a long post

[TG.]

About 4 weeks ago i ordered a Lencarta lighting kit, made the phone call on the Saturday, and after discussion with Garry Edwards, decided to go ahead and purchase on the Monday, i asked for 24 hour delivery as i was off work on the Tuesday and was told it wouldn't be a problem as long as i ordered before 12 midday, so i made the order at 10.30am Monday morning just to make sure, so waited in all day on Tuesday but nothing, so phoned Lencarta and again spoke to Garry Edwards, he said he would look into it and call me back, which he did and left a royal mail tracking number on my answer phone, when i checked on it, it proved to be wrong, so once again got on the phone, anyway after being given another two tracking numbers, and eventually got the right one it turned out the kit hadn't actually been posted till the Tuesday, so no chance of getting it on Tuesday, so waited till Wednesday got home from work, had a card left from parcel force, and had to go and collect from there depot.


So when i got the kit home i found there was no softbox, so on the phone again, and now it turns out this comes from a different warehouse and they use a different courier, so had to wait till the next day(Thursday), and again had to go and collect myself as i was at work, got the softbox home, go to assemble and one of the rods are missing, and also the refector that came with the kit had marks on it, so on the phone again and Garry Edwards answers, said he would check with the warehouse and get back to me, which he doesn't so i have to phone back again.

Now as you can imagine by now i'm getting pretty annoyed, not just for the fact on the mix up from the start, but the fact every time i phone i'm told by Garry Edwards i will phone the warehouse and get back to you, but he never does, so by this time i lose it a bit and have a go at him about bad customer service in not calling me back when he said he would, to which he was very surprised i should say i have received bad customer service,but eventually see,s my point.

Anyway he tells me he will post a new rod, and again after a couple of day's nothing, so on the phone yet again, (i think were into about two weeks now) and he said he posted Monday, so i ask for another one and it may be wise to post recorded delivery, which he agree,s too, and after some discussion agrees to send out another reflector too, so i get the rod for the softbox, and that's ok, then the reflector turns up again covered in black mark.s on the white side,(wouldn't you think it would have been checked over to make sure it was right the second time around ?)so on the phone again, well now i'm into four weeks.

So phoned Garry Edwards Saturday, and left two message's on here for him, to which one he has replied, still waiting on a reply from the other one despite the fact he has been online, and i still have no reflector, i have to add in all of this there has been quite a number of phone calls made to Lencarta (with only one return call made to me),but only Garry Edwards ever answer's, i even asked him on two occasions to give me a number for the warehouse, but he insists he's the only person i can speak too, which i find rather odd, as supposedly it's not his company and he just endorses it.

At the end of the day i'm not trying to bring down a fellow member on here, but if he is the only point of contact i can have, i'm in a catch 22 situation, the sad thing about all of it is the lighting kit is actually very good, but my main concerns and worries are, what if they ever needed repair under the warranty ? (which supposed to be eighteen months) what sort of service am i going to get, if they can't sort out something as simple as a reflector what chance do you have with something major ? and why this terrible customer service in the first place, like i said the kit is good for the money, and i would actually like some more bit's and piece's, but going on all of the above, i don't think it will be happening, so i may just have to go for a more expensive option

 

[EdBray]

I understand your annoyance as when things go wrong it is very frustrating, and whilst I also had a couple of issues with some of my purchases from Lencarta, Garry always sorted it out for me and always called back when he said he would. I would have to say I personally have had nothing but exceptional customer service from Lencarta although the warehouse staff don't always seem to be as on the ball as they should be.

 

[TheBionicDan]

Hmm can sympathise with this. I had to wait in for a couple days for a Lencarta delivery that kept failing to turn up. Then the triggers with my kit were knackered and even after three requests (and three promises) for new ones they never turned up. Gave up in the end so never got the triggers!

Garry was always very helpful but did blame all the problems on his warehouse.. which frankly I didn't give a monkeys about, just wanted my stuff!

Don't have it any more but must say the Safari kit was very good when it did arrive

 

[haggis]

Hopefully there's more to this than meets the eye however when I was looking to buy my studion lights I considered Lencarta but it seemed a bit random as to what was included in which kit depending on what the overseas supplier sent?

Nothing but good things to comment re Garry from his input on here and his videos. sure there is an explanation but it is a bit off if he is the only person you can speak to - what happens when he goes on holiday ir gets sick?!

Hope it all turns out OK in the end.

 

[s-leeson]

i think you may have been unlucky, i have bought a lot of lencarta equipment, i personally have found the service to be exceptional.
dont give up on them! lol, Garry has always been very helpful, im sure its just a mixup

 

[TG.]

did blame all the problems on his warehouse.. which frankly I didn't give a monkeys about, just wanted my stuff!

My sentiments exactly, and sorry to say this, but i'm glad it's not just me, as it could come across as making a mountain out of a molehill, quite frankly bad customer service to me in any time is bad, but in recession time is a hell of a lot worse, it makes you wonder what companies are really thinking about

 

[TG.]

Nothing but good things to comment re Garry from his input on here and his videos.

Couldn't agree more on the above, maybe he should just stick to that :shrug:

i think you may have been unlucky

I really do hope so for other peoples sake.

 

[s-leeson]

obviously im only talking from my experience

 

[TG.]

I have to add, i've held off for a couple of weeks in posting and venting my annoyance in all of this hoping it would be resolved, but i've just had enough now, and at the end of the day if it would have been any other company, this would have been posted in the first week.

 

[SimonTALM]

I've been quite happy with my dealings with Lencarta but then I didn't have any problems.

However, I do vaguely recall them sending an email to customers over the last couple of weeks saying that they were combining 2 warehouses in to 1 (or something like that) so perhaps they know about the warehouse problems and are sorting them.

Still no excuse for failing to sort out problems though

 

[TG.]

I do vaguely recall them sending an email to customers over the last couple of weeks saying that they were combining 2 warehouses in to 1

Yes i had that to Simon, but this was before all that started, and like you say still no excuse for not sorting out problems, particularly in not returning calls.

 

[TheBionicDan]

Quote from the recent email. Looks like they are addressing their problems.. Good stuff

"But the main reason for this email is to let you know that all of our stock will be moved to our new warehouse soon, which will result in a much better, more efficient delivery service.

The move will start on Tuesday 4th August and may not be complete until at least the 14th August - so if you're thinking of placing an order soon, it would be a very good idea to get your order in before the 4th August if it includes softboxes, backgrounds, light shaping tools, light tents, Safari equipment or ElitePro 600 heads, all of which have to be moved from the old warehouse to the new one."

 

[TG.]

Quote from the recent email. Looks like they are addressing their problems.. Good stuff

Lets hope so Dan, but like i say there's still no excuse for bad communication, in all of this had return calls have been made when they said they would AND where expected by myself i would have felt much better about the whole situation, i'm sorry but there is just no excuse for ignorance :thumbsdown:

 

[TheBionicDan]

Lets hope so Dan, but like i say there's still no excuse for bad communication, in all of this had return calls have been made when they said they would AND where expected by myself i would have felt much better about the whole situation, i'm sorry but there is just no excuse for ignorance :thumbsdown:

Don't get me wrong I agree totally and it does seem a little odd using Gary as their sales/customer service/technical/compaints/shipping team when it is repeatedly claimed he is just a technical adviser to Lencarta.. Nice bloke though!

 

[68lbs]

We had little hiccups too when I ordered some stuff for work... things not being included etc. They were all sorted, and fairly swiftly, but at the end of the day the comments here do sound familiar.

The product seems great, and I've had no issues in the last six months or so though, so don't let the little bad points put you off too much. Just don't expect next day delivery, or order it if you're running to a tight deadline would be my advice.

 

[TG.]

it does seem a little odd using Gary as their sales/customer service/

Yes it is odd, particularly in one conversation i had with him in all this, when i complained about Lencarta customer service he said and i quote "your lucky to be able to speak to someone on the phone, as a lot of companies only have email contact and never reply" well whoopee i said in disbelief, it really makes me wonder what his actual role is in this company :shrug:

 

[TG.]

Just don't expect next day delivery

To be honest Lee, if he never promised it i wouldn't, as most folk know on here who have sold me stuff, i always try and arrange things on my day off as i sometimes work weekends, and it saves me running around picking up from post offices etc when i get home, if you are lead to believe you paid for next day delivery surely it's only fair to expect such :shrug:

 

[Garry Edwards]

Interesting post but I can't agree with the 'facts'. I don't feel that a public forum is the best place to air this kind of view, but I do feel that it would be unfair on Lencarta for me to ignore it.

Yes, Lencarta has been having problems with the original warehouse and yes, because of this, until this week, many orders have arrived in two deliveries, one from the 'old' warehouse and one from the new one. This has been unsatisfactory all round. The 'old' warehouse is no longer sending out any goods on behalf of Lencarta and all of the stock there is now in the process of being moved to the new one, which inevitably will cause some problems for the next week or so - but overall, the change will be good for everyone.

As a Company, Lencarta isn't perfect. No Company ever is, but it does try to get things right and it does its best to treat customers fairly. I'm not perfect either, but I do try.

Let's get back to this complaint...

Yes, the original delivery was sent out a day late, no excuse for this, this is one of the reasons why the old warehouse has lost its contract. Yes, he said that one of the softbox rods was wrong. I sent him a replacement IMMEDIATELY. He said it didn't arrive so I sent another IMMEDIATELY, this time by recorded delivery. There seems to be some confusion re the tracking number on the original delivery, certainly it wouldn't have worked on the Royal Mail website because the number he was given was for PARCELFORCE

Yes, there was (allegedly) a problem with the 5 in 1 reflector, he said it was faulty in some way, to be honest I can't remember what the problem was supposed to be, I just told him to keep it and I sent him an immediate replacement. He then rang again and said that the replacement was faulty too. By now I was beginning to be slightly less accommodating and asked questions about the fault. He said that he would take a digital photo of it and send it to me, I said that when I got the photo I would send the replacement.
Did he send the photo? No. Next time I spoke to him he said he'd been too busy.
Did I send the replacement anyway? Yes. How many Companies would send out replacement goods without first getting the faulty ones back, or at least seeing some evidence that they were in fact faulty? And he complains of bad customer service...
This policy applies to all complaints, as other customers can confirm.

He then said that he hadn't received the replacement, so I asked the warehouse to send yet another replacement, but this time to send it by recorded delivery. This should arrive tomorrow, if it hasn't already arrived.

As for not returning phone calls, I forgot on one occasion, for which I aplogised. There was one other call that I didn't return, he says that I failed to ring him back after he left a message for me - I didn't ring him back because he didn't leave the message. How do I know he didn't leave the message? Easy, messages have been disabled on my phone...

Hopefully there's more to this than meets the eye however when I was looking to buy my studion lights I considered Lencarta but it seemed a bit random as to what was included in which kit depending on what the overseas supplier sent?

No, it depends on what's actually in stock at the time. For example, if white reflective umbrellas are out of stock then white shoot through ones are substituted. What you get is what is says you will get under 'What's in the box?' which is always bang up to date.

Nothing but good things to comment re Garry from his input on here and his videos. sure there is an explanation but it is a bit off if he is the only person you can speak to - what happens when he goes on holiday ir gets sick?!

I'm not the only person, I'm just the person who normally answers the phone. I also have an assistant, the landline also diverts to my mobile, and if for any reason neither of us is available to take the call then it diverts to the owner of the business. If it ever happens that NOBODY is available to take the call then there will be a message to that effect and an email can be sent. Emails go to my phone as well as to the office. Any customer who wants the phone number or the email address of the owner can have it.

it really makes me wonder what his actual role is in this company

I started off as their photographer, I then started to advise them on the specs etc of their products and became their product tester and technical adviser too. Then I took on the role of providing customer support as well. All this was clearly stated in a post I made on the Lighting Forum here, as soon as the change took place.

In short, I think that Lencarta gives excellent customer service and that this particular gentleman has either been very unlucky or is hard to please.

 

[TG.]

Ok so lets get things in perspective here, and address all the facts just for more clarity

Interesting post but I can't agree with the 'facts'. I don't feel that a public forum is the best place to air this kind of view.

Well just in case you hadn't noticed, check the title of this section "shopping SUPPLIERS and bargains", so if it where for arguments sake Jessops, warehouse express, play.com or any other company the feedback would go here, as it happens it's Lencarta, a SUPPLIER who just so happen to also advertise on this forum, so hope we have that cleared up.

Yes, Lencarta has been having problems with the original warehouse and yes, because of this, until this week, many orders have arrived in two deliveries, one from the 'old' warehouse and one from the new one. This has been unsatisfactory all round

If this would have been explained before i ordered it wouldn't have been a problem, but i was told next day delivery, so naturally that's what i expected, to much to ask ? well obviously from what you've said, in your opinion yes.

I sent him a replacement IMMEDIATELY. He said it didn't arrive so I sent another IMMEDIATELY, this time by recorded delivery. There seems to be some confusion re the tracking number on the original delivery, certainly it wouldn't have worked on the Royal Mail website because the number he was given was for PARCELFORCE

Ok two things here,firstly regarding the tracking number i did actually mean parcel force when i mentioned royal mail, as i mentioned further down the paragraph, so that was just a typo on my part, but for clarity i haven't edited my original post. and by your own admission over the phone you agreed you had given me wrong tracking numbers, and no it wasn't sent out IMMEDIATELY because at the time you said you had to speak to the warehouse, and it was unlikely they would have any in stock as it was all part of the kit, however after about two days i called you again and told you i hadn't received the rod, and it was me who suggested it may be a good idea to send recorded which would be about 50 pence extra, to which you haggled and said it would be 70 pence, after i pointed out this is probably the least you could do as my kit had arrived late, and i had to pick it all up myself, you agreed, and i received it two days later.

Yes, there was (allegedly) a problem with the 5 in 1 reflector, he said it was faulty in some way, to be honest I can't remember what the problem was supposed to be, I just told him to keep it and I sent him an immediate replacement

Sorry but again not really correct, but maybe you wasn't taking a lot of notice of my complaint, i explained the reflector had black marks running through it on the white side, you never actually told me to keep it, but you also never asked me to send it back, so i binned it as it was unusable, and again i had to wait a couple of days for the replacement, and just to clarify there was no "allegedly" at all, it is fact, i'm not quite sure what you may be implying here, but it certainly doesn't sound right !

He then rang again and said that the replacement was faulty too. By now I was beginning to be slightly less accommodating and asked questions about the fault. He said that he would take a digital photo of it and send it to me, I said that when I got the photo I would send the replacement.
Did he send the photo? No. Next time I spoke to him he said he'd been too busy.

Again not quite true, i called you and told you the replacement was the same as the other one you sent me, we discussed the fact it could possibly be a bad batch, so you agreed to send me out another, it was after this i mentioned sending you a photo, and at NO time did you say you would send the replacement when you got a photo,it had already been agreed you would, the photo was just an after thought from me, but unfortunately i was really busy the last couple of weeks and never had time, but to be honest it really shouldn't make any difference.

Did I send the replacement anyway? Yes. How many Companies would send out replacement goods without first getting the faulty ones back, or at least seeing some evidence that they were in fact faulty?.

If you had asked me to send it back i would have done, but you didn't so i never, simple really isn't it !

And he complains of bad customer service...
This policy applies to all complaints,.

What polices might they be ?

As for not returning phone calls, I forgot on one occasion, for which I aplogised. There was one other call that I didn't return, he says that I failed to ring him back after he left a message for me - I didn't ring him back because he didn't leave the message. How do I know he didn't leave the message? Easy, messages have been disabled on my phone.

Again not not quite true, i can think of at least four phone calls of the top of my head, apart from several more i made in the last couple of weeks, i discussed with you the need to at least make a courtesy call just to say you have spoken to the warehouse and keep me in the picture, and at the time you agreed that was probably the right thing to do, but since then nothing, and as for not leaving a message well i actually did leave a message on the number i was diverted too, however i guess this may have been disabled since, which of course begs the question why would you disable an answer phone to customers in the first place, which is by your own admission?

Any customer who wants the phone number or the email address of the owner can have it.

Strange that because when i asked you weeks ago i was told you where the only one, i could speak to, twice i asked you for the phone number of the manager and the warehouse, and twice you told me you where the only point of contact

In short, I think that Lencarta gives excellent customer service.

I really think you should take a reality check on this comment Garry

this particular gentleman has either been very unlucky or is hard to please.

Well the only thing i can say to that is, if wanting what you paid for on time and the correct goods that you ordered delivered in working order then yes i guess i must be hard to please, or on the other hand have i been unlucky ? well i will leave that for others on here to judge.

Incidentally on the same order it would be nice to receive my receipt/invoice/proof of purchase, that i also asked you for weeks ago which never turned up in the kit, to be fair you told me you had software problems, but these were resolved two weeks ago, and you would now send it, surprise surprise i'm still waiting, and i know this isn't coming from the warehouse but from yourself, however i live in hope

 

[Merovingian]

Just think, you'd never of had these problems buying my Dlites!



[suspects that won't be considered amusing:bonk:]

 

[Garry Edwards]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garry Edwards View Post
Yes, Lencarta has been having problems with the original warehouse and yes, because of this, until this week, many orders have arrived in two deliveries, one from the 'old' warehouse and one from the new one. This has been unsatisfactory all round
If this would have been explained before i ordered it wouldn't have been a problem, but i was told next day delivery, so naturally that's what i expected, to much to ask ? well obviously from what you've said, in your opinion yes.

EVERYONE who ordered by phone at that time was told that their order would arrive in 2 deliveries. Maybe I forgot to mention it to you, but I don't think so.

and it was me who suggested it may be a good idea to send recorded which would be about 50 pence extra, to which you haggled and said it would be 70 pence, after i pointed out this is probably the least you could do as my kit had arrived late, and i had to pick it all up myself, you agreed, and i received it two days later.

I didn't haggle, and certainly didn't ask you to pay for the cost of recorded delivery or the cost of anything else. I just pointed out that it cost about 70p, not the 25p you thought it did, and that is why low value items aren't normally sent out recorded delivery.

Again not not quite true, i can think of at least four phone calls of the top of my head, apart from several more i made in the last couple of weeks, i discussed with you the need to at least make a courtesy call just to say you have spoken to the warehouse and keep me in the picture, and at the time you agreed that was probably the right thing to do, but since then nothing, and as for not leaving a message well i actually did leave a message on the number i was diverted too, however i guess this may have been disabled since, which of course begs the question why would you disable an answer phone to customers in the first place, which is by your own admission?

No, the answerphone has been disabled since I got the phone. So many people who left messages in the past couldn't get return phone calls because their number was witheld that I thought it better not to have the messages left in the first place. No need anyway, when people can email me on the odd occasions when I can't answer the phone or when people don't wait long enough for the call to divert to my mobile.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garry Edwards View Post
Any customer who wants the phone number or the email address of the owner can have it.
Strange that because when i asked you weeks ago i was told you where the only one, i could speak to, twice i asked you for the phone number of the manager and the warehouse, and twice you told me you where the only point of contact

You asked me for the phone number of the warehouse. I had to refuse that as the warehouse flatly refused to speak to customers. As I said earlier, that warehouse is off the scene now.

Incidentally on the same order it would be nice to receive my receipt/invoice/proof of purchase, that i also asked you for weeks ago which never turned up in the kit, to be fair you told me you had software problems, but these were resolved two weeks ago, and you would now send it, surprise surprise i'm still waiting, and i know this isn't coming from the warehouse but from yourself, however i live in hope

As you know very well, the reason you didn't get a receipt is that you ordered by phone. If you had ordered via the web you could have printed out the receipt immediately. And yes, there has been a delay in manually creating invoices because I hadn't been supplied with the software at that time, and there is now a backlog and trade customers (who NEED VAT invoices) are getting priority. However, yours will be sent within a couple of days.

I'm sorry that you're unhappy with Lencarta or me or both, but all that I can do is my best...

 

[TG.]

Just think, you'd never of had these problems buying my Dlites!



[suspects that won't be considered amusing:bonk:]

No problem mate i do normally have a very good sense of humour, and to be honest your point did cross my mind

 

[TG.]

Ok Garry you have made a couple of points here,which i will reply too, firstly at no time did you mention about two deliveries, i was very specific about wanting next day delivery as i was off work that day,no mention was made of two deliveries.

Ok maybe haggle was the wrong choice of words on my part and for that i apologise, however the cost was mentioned,and no i didn't say you asked me to cover cost's (read my post again)just the fact it would cost more than i thought, however and the point i was trying to make was we are really talking pennies here, for what would amount to signed delivery, and better customer service at the end of the day, in my opinion definitely worth it.

I did ask for the warehouse number and yes you did refuse, the warehouse may be off the scene now, but it wasn't at the time of ordering and what went on after etc etc, bearing in mind i was pretty ******ed off by now and i wanted to speak to someone in charge.

As regards the phone call i did definitely leave a message, but from what you are saying whoever got it wasn't you or anyone else from Lencarta, for that i have no explanation.

And yes you did tell me that i never got a receipt because i ordered by phone, BUT you did say it was being resolved with new updated software, you told me two weeks ago this had now been resolved and it would be in the next couple of days, and again two weeks on and nothing, so probably the moral of that story is don't make promises you can't keep, and you may be giving your trade customers priority, but the man in the street is still important and may just keep Lencarta going at some point.

In conclusion of this post, i will say as i did before at the very beginning, i'm happy with the lighting system provided, but it's the other stuff i'm unhappy with, and if you read the whole thread Garry it's obvious i'm not the only one, this is not a personal attack on you, but you do promote Lencarta quite a bit on here, so obviously your the one who will more than likely take the flak for unsatisfied customers, unless of course you can put people in touch with the manager/owner of the company,and before you say you now can, you couldn't at the time, maybe just something to bear in mind for future reference, and take the heat of you

 

[Garry Edwards]

I think this subject has been aired now, and is probably boring people.

Just a couple of final points from my own perspective...

I did ask for the warehouse number and yes you did refuse, the warehouse may be off the scene now, but it wasn't at the time of ordering and what went on after etc etc, bearing in mind i was pretty ******ed off by now and i wanted to speak to someone in charge.

The old warehouse flatly refused to deal with customers. Their view, which I can't disagree with, is that Lencarta is (was) their customer and should deal with its own customers. That's pretty normal.

And yes you did tell me that i never got a receipt because i ordered by phone, BUT you did say it was being resolved with new updated software, you told me two weeks ago this had now been resolved and it would be in the next couple of days, and again two weeks on and nothing, so probably the moral of that story is don't make promises you can't keep, and you may be giving your trade customers priority, but the man in the street is still important and may just keep Lencarta going at some point.

All customers are of equal importance. The reason for prioritising professional photographers who are VAT registered is simply that they NEED to have a VAT invoice. Obviously there is no problem with private customers having an invoice as well, but your invoice had to be put on the back burner. As it happens it's now been done, will get posted tomorrow.

In conclusion of this post, i will say as i did before at the very beginning, i'm happy with the lighting system provided, but it's the other stuff i'm unhappy with, and if you read the whole thread Garry it's obvious i'm not the only one, this is not a personal attack on you, but you do promote Lencarta quite a bit on here, so obviously your the one who will more than likely take the flak for unsatisfied customers, unless of course you can put people in touch with the manager/owner of the company,and before you say you now can, you couldn't at the time, maybe just something to bear in mind for future reference, and take the heat of you

Various customers have been let down by the old warehouse. I've never made a secret of the fact that I considered their service to be unsatisfactory, I've said it in quite a few forum posts. It's taken time (and a lot of money) to end the relationship with the old warehouse,start a new relationship with the new warehouse and make sure that it works as it should, which was essential before ending the relationship with the old one.

I'm not sure that I do promote Lencarta on here. What I do do is to answer questions, and if I think that Lencarta is a good answer then I say so - but if you trawl through them all you'll find that I've recommended a number of different suppliers. I'm an advertiser on this forum, but for Photolearn, not for Lencarta.

And as for taking the heat, heat is good!

 

[TG.]

I think this subject has been aired now, and is probably boring people.

Or even possibly enlightening them

The old warehouse flatly refused to deal with customers. Their view, which I can't disagree with, is that Lencarta is (was) their customer and should deal with its own customers. That's pretty normal.

Not quite getting that view, but not sure i care now anyway.

your invoice had to be put on the back burner.

Good of you to be so considerate of a customer and fellow forum member.

As it happens it's now been done, will get posted tomorrow..

Thanks, i'm eternally grateful.

And as for taking the heat, heat is good!

Well hows about you taking it then Garry, and stop blaming your warehouse for YOU not making return phone calls and YOUR general lack of communication, which as i said in the beginning amounts to YOUR bad customer service in general, and not the so called warehouse.

Now maybe we can conclude this

 

[fletch5]

I have to say it does sound a combination of smaller problems, errors and being unlucky.

TG, i appreciate it has been going on for a while, but all companies i deal with for my job, i cant deal direct with a warehouse or factory, even when they are being useless.
I also thing Garry has taken all the heat on behalf of Lencarta, or i may be missing the point:shrug:

as for the invoicing, i can see concern about not recieving it, but i can see the problems Lencarta is fixing and it causes delays. And i cant see what relevance being a forum member has? all non Pros treated equal

i do think Garry has been very good in sending out replacements without seeing the problems, and i would say binning the old without asking if they want it back was a bit on the silly side myself. Just because he hasn't asked doesn't justify destroying it.

All the above is my opinion from what i have read in this thread.

 

[TG.]

I have to say it does sound a combination of smaller problems, errors and being unlucky.

TG, i appreciate it has been going on for a while, but all companies i deal with for my job, i cant deal direct with a warehouse or factory, even when they are being useless.
I also thing Garry has taken all the heat on behalf of Lencarta, or i may be missing the point:shrug:

as for the invoicing, i can see concern about not receiving it, but i can see the problems Lencarta is fixing and it causes delays. And i cant see what relevance being a forum member has? all non Pros treated equal

i do think Garry has been very good in sending out replacements without seeing the problems, and i would say binning the old without asking if they want it back was a bit on the silly side myself. Just because he hasn't asked doesn't justify destroying it.

All the above is my opinion frm what i have read in this thread.

To be honest Fletch, it wasn't so much the warehouse, i just wanted to speak to someone who would deal with my problems, as Garry quite clearly couldn't, surely if he is part of the company he should put me in touch with someone more senior who can, or am i asking to much ? his lack of return calls to me to let me know what was happening was just not acceptable, as customer service.

As regards binning the reflector, he didn't ask for it back, i never actually binned it straight away, it was a couple of weeks after, and quite honestly he couldn't have sold it on, and there was no way i was going to pay return postage for such crap service anyway.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

I wasn't going to get involved in this, but from what I have read here it doesn't appear that Lencarta have an actual sales department. I mean....

I'm just the person who normally answers the phone. I also have an assistant, the landline also diverts to my mobile, and if for any reason neither of us is available to take the call then it diverts to the owner of the business. If it ever happens that NOBODY is available to take the call then there will be a message to that effect and an email can be sent. Emails go to my phone as well as to the office.

makes it sounds more like Garry is Lencarta, rather than just an adviser. I'm not saying that that is an issue, but it would probably be better for the sake of transparency to disclose if that is the case.

 

[fletch5]

i do appreciate where your coming from TG and 4 weeks does sound an aweful long time. But hopefully most of the problems you have encountered look like they are sorted and fingers crossed the item arrives in good condition soon

 

[TG.]

makes it sounds more like Garry is Lencarta, rather than just an adviser. I'm not saying that that is an issue, but it would probably be better for the sake of transparency to disclose if that is the case.

Graham i'm wondering if you have hit the nail on the head, because quite honestly this is what myself and i know other's have thought on here all the time this has gone on, and to be honest it wouldn't be a problem for me at all, as long as there was transparency,and it would certainly help explain a lot.

 

[photon]

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1393071&postcount=18

I hoped my post in the link above might prompt Garry to place something about Lencarta in his signature.

No disrespect to either party, but I'm fully aware of what it's like to run the whole ship with a crew of less than two and have customers who want their pound of flesh

 

[psenior1]

I'm not sure that I do promote Lencarta on here. I'm an advertiser on this forum, but for Photolearn, not for Lencarta

I've only ordered a small item from Lencarta (reflector), service was excellent - the item arrived very promptly.

I have to disagree with the above though, you are the acknowledged lighting expert on here Garry but from your comments and advice I (and probably many others) assumed your advertiser status was for selling Lencarta..

 

[Garry Edwards]

I wasn't going to get involved in this, but from what I have read here it doesn't appear that Lencarta have an actual sales department. I mean....



makes it sounds more like Garry is Lencarta, rather than just an adviser. I'm not saying that that is an issue, but it would probably be better for the sake of transparency to disclose if that is the case.

You don't know how much I wish you were right
People can say and think what they like, but the fact of the matter is as set out in this post.

There's no point in being modest. I've had a special interest in lighting for many years and was one of the first to equip my studio with electronic flash (it cost a fortune, weighed a ton and wasn't very good in those days) and I think it's fair to say that I know a fair bit about it.
I've been lighting moderator on www.photo.net for a number of years, have produced a series of tutorials and videos on lighting, run courses on lighting for both amateur and pro photographers and have taught lighting at various colleges etc. for years. I think I can say, without boasting, that my name is recognised by many photographers and it follows that if I really did own Lencarta it would be to my advantage to say so. Honesty and transparency are very important to me, which is why I make it clear that I don't run Lencarta.

The reality is that Lencarta approached me maybe 3 years ago. They paid me to test their existing equipment range and comment on it. They were not the first lighting manufacturer to do that, but they were the first to actually take my comments on board and improve things. Other manufacturers seemed to me just to be looking for an endorsement for their products - which they didn't get
On 16/8/2007 I became seriously ill and I was in and out of hospital for several months. My last spell in hospital was for surgery in October 2007 and I was unable to work at all until about February 2008. Lencarta contacted me again and I became their product photographer, which was very welcome as my illness had reduced my income (to virtually nil for about 8 months) and had also reduced my client base. I then started advising Lencarta on possible improvements, partly because I was impressed by their commitment and partly I suppose because I didn't have a lot of work because of my illness.

Things then grew from there. As things stand, I or my assistant still answers the phone to customers and I answer all the emails (sometimes I have to check before answering but I always put my name to the answer) i.e. there is no sales department. That may or may not change in the future but my advice to Lencarta is that a sales department isn't needed and isn't wanted by customers. What most customers want is advice from a studio photographer, not a sales pitch. At the moment, very few people phone up and know exactly what they want to buy. Most want advice, which may or may not lead to them placing an order. I see my role changing as the Company grows and I anticipate that someone else will be the first point of contact, with calls transferred to me if technical advice is needed, like tech support in most industries, where only the more difficult questions get referred to another level. But that's something for the future, and for other people to decide.

I've only ordered a small item from Lencarta (reflector), service was excellent - the item arrived very promptly.

I have to disagree with the above though, you are the acknowledged lighting expert on here Garry but from your comments and advice I (and probably many others) assumed your advertiser status was for selling Lencarta..

I accept that it looks that way, but I had 'advertiser' status on this forum before I had a role with Lencarta. Back then it was called 'trader'. Trader/advertiser status allows me to start up to 2 threads a month promoting my business, although I've never really taken that up. Marcel is able to confirm that the fees are paid by me (www.photolearn.co.uk) and not by Lencarta.
I'm not sure that I get a great deal out of my 'advertiser' status but it's a small amount of money and it gives me freedom to promote the Photolearn tutorials and videos if I want to without breaking the forum rules.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Good reply, Garry Is there an actual Lencarta office though?

 

[Garry Edwards]

Good reply, Garry Is there an actual Lencarta office though?

Yes, Nr. Hull. It deals with everything that offices deal with, i.e. paperwork.
I talk to customers from my studio at Bradford, the stock is warehoused in London and the boss is in London too.

 

[Blue Moon 7]

Yes, Nr. Hull. It deals with everything that offices deal with, i.e. paperwork.
I talk to customers from my studio at Bradford, the stock is warehoused in London and the boss is in London too.

Hi Gary,

Is there an address and contact name for the office / Manager in Hull? I was recently thinking about getting a lighting set up and Lencarta seem ok to me. I have to admit though that it looks like a strange business set up and my concern would be about being able to pursue any problems up the chain of accountability if there were any issues with my purchase.

Chris

 

[maddog.mark]

Hi Gary,

Is there an address and contact name for the office / Manager in Hull? I was recently thinking about getting a lighting set up and Lencarta seem ok to me. I have to admit though that it looks like a strange business set up and my concern would be about being able to pursue any problems up the chain of accountability if there were any issues with my purchase.

Chris

from their website
Lencarta
Blue Dimensions Int'l Ltd
5 King Street Woodmansey, Beverley East Yorkshire HU17 0TE United Kingdom
Which is also their registered office with Companies House.

Mark

 

[Blue Moon 7]

Cheers Mark

Chris

 

[TG.]

from their website
Lencarta
Blue Dimensions Int'l Ltd
5 King Street Woodmansey, Beverley East Yorkshire HU17 0TE United Kingdom
Which is also their registered office with Companies House.

Mark

No mention of Lencarta involved with Blue dimension Int'l on the companies house website, in fact i can't see a Lencarta mentioned on companies house website at all

 

[Garry Edwards]

No mention of Lencarta involved with Blue dimension Int'l on the companies house website, in fact i can't see a Lencarta mentioned on companies house website at all

Why do you find that strange? Why the suspect icon?
Lencarta is a trade name of Blue Dimensions (International) Ltd. Would you expect to buy a studio flash head with Blue Dimensions (International) Ltd written all over it?

When you buy a pint of bitter, do you buy it from the Dog & Duck or from Mitchell and Butlers PLC?

Are you suspicious about ASDA because they're owned by Wal-mart?

Don't you know that practically all business of any size are better known by their trading names?

To go back to the question about the address of the registered office (which of course has been on the website all along) I mentioned this thread to the owner of the business. He says that if it will make some people happier he will put his personal phone number on the website (alongside the other 2 phone numbers already there) once he has stopped travelling and is back in London, in about a month.