Would you return it? *Updated*

[Marc]

Bad apple!

Cyclone, on that occasion, we said "Sorry sir, we have CCTV footage and microphones to prove that that's what you said. Would you still like the camera?"

You could have also told him that he could be arrested for trying to obtain money by deveption. That would have taked the wind out of his sails!

 

[p1tse]

Well here is the outcome if anyone is interested. I took the camera back to tha shop and asked for an exchange saying it had been used as a diaplay model. The first question they asked was 'How did I know it had been used for that', I pulled out their memory card and that was the end of that, and to be fair they did swap it.

That's not quite the end of the story, they didn't have any 40D bodies left, so what they did was open up a new lens kit box and then swap the cameras over! needless to say they've lost me as a customer.

where are you going to get it from now?

that's pretty crazy with the solution they came up with.
it would mean that they have no body only left and stuck with a lens kit dslr, but not packed from original manufacturer

out of interest, would you have kept the one you had, if you were given a discount/ credit of some sort?

 

[p1tse]

Hi guys, Jessops employee here at your service, and a damned good one at that.

foodpoison, sounds like you work in a good store with good training.

out of interest, as an employee do you get any benefits, such as discounts?

you mention about display models, with possible discount, depending on cost of item, but what about lenses?

that guy about the sony a200, that's crazy, and bad from a consumer point of view. did he buy in the end?

 

[Hawker]

where are you going to get it from now?

that's pretty crazy with the solution they came up with.
it would mean that they have no body only left and stuck with a lens kit dslr, but not packed from original manufacturer

out of interest, would you have kept the one you had, if you were given a discount/ credit of some sort?

Maybe I wasn't to clear in the first post, I did get a new 40D from them, it was the one from the lens kit box.

To be honest, if they had offered a discount in the first place (and i was able to chat to them about the camera) I might have taken it. But once I'd been away, and got wound up about it, I wouldn't have taken a discount (silly I know).

 

[HoppyUK]

Great response from foodpoison. You are a credit to Jessops bud

My experience with Jessops over many years, is that most of the sales people are more like you than not. That's why I've spent a few grand with you lately

And there's another point which needs to be emphasised. If customers want to try before they buy, then we all need High Street stores - to try and to buy from.

foodpoison, you've resisted the tempation to rant about folks that come in to you to try various cameras, then walk out and buy on-line to save £10. Please feel free to punch them

Best regards and good luck to you and Jessops,

Richard.

 

[foodpoison]

You could have also told him that he could be arrested for trying to obtain money by deveption. That would have taked the wind out of his sails!

aha now that would have wiped the "i'm trying to mug you off but you can't be rude to me because the customer is always right" smile off his face!

foodpoison, sounds like you work in a good store with good training.

out of interest, as an employee do you get any benefits, such as discounts?

you mention about display models, with possible discount, depending on cost of item, but what about lenses?

that guy about the sony a200, that's crazy, and bad from a consumer point of view. did he buy in the end?

I come from a good store, yes. Good training? Hell no. I was told to follow my colleague around and watch what he did.
I'm a very quick learner, and am passionate about everything I do, and so I picked stuff up very quickly. It helped I love photography, too

We get trade prices on everything, +10% off. Plus there are various perks, including different incentives, i.e. sell a D700 and get £10 added to your payslip, plus we get free printing, and god knows what else. The only thing that sucks is the pay. I was told I would be on x amount per hour when I first started. A year later, not a single payrise, and I found out I was actually on 15p less. Not much at first glance, but after a year's worth of work it added up. I hadn't got it on paper so I had no proof.

I turned 18 while I was working there, no payrise. Eventually got a new manager and he saw to it that being the most knowledgeable member of staff (despite being a part timer) that I got a 75p payrise. Good stuff!

As far as lenses go, they tend to not be used anywhere near as much as cameras and are simply there for show. We don't tend to do much discount on them unless it's a very expensive lens. Over £600 I would say.

Yes, he did buy it in the end. What a sucker

Hawker, it's not silly at all.
I can't explain it, but I think I'd have felt the same. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." sort of thing?
Not that you're a fool, just the jist of the phrase

 

[foodpoison]

Great response from foodpoison. You are a credit to Jessops bud

My experience with Jessops over many years, is that most of the sales people are more like you than not. That's why I've spent a few grand with you lately

And there's another point which needs to be emphasised. If customers want to try before they buy, then we all need High Street stores - to try and to buy from.

foodpoison, you've resisted the tempation to rant about folks that come in to you to try various cameras, then walk out and buy on-line to save £10. Please feel free to punch them

Best regards and good luck to you and Jessops,

Richard.

I always take great pleasure in saying to customers "oh everyone is bitching and moaning about all the high street retailers closing down, but they don't support them and just go and buy for £10 cheaper off the net!

 

[Oakey22]

sorry to go off topic but foodpoisen, whats happening with the sigma 1.4x teleconvertor for canons? they are dirt cheap on the website and no stores have them in stock?

 

[EdBray]

I always take great pleasure in saying to customers "oh everyone is bitching and moaning about all the high street retailers closing down, but they don't support them and just go and buy for £10 cheaper off the net!

And why would that be then? Earlier this year I wanted to buy a 18-200VR Nikkor and went to both of the Jessops shops we had in Plymouth, I asked them if they price matched and they said they would provided it was not an Internet site, I told them that it was a local'ish shop and that they had stock available. they said they would match the price. When I told them the price and allowed them to check on their website, they refused to as there was £110 difference. I drove the 30 miles to Mifsuds and although I had a play with the lens decided at that time to change to a FF Canon and spent £2900 in three days changing my outfit. Money that Jessops would possibly have had had we got further down the path to buying the Nikkor. Strangely I now notice that Jessops have the Nikkor 18-200 at £25 less than the Mifsuds price.

As for staff, out of all the Jessops staff I have dealt with over the years, many have not had any real knowledge of photography just seeming to being salespersons really although James the manager of the Armada Centre branch and Ron Meatyard who was the manager of the Cornwall St branch (prior to his retirement) do, whereas all the staff at Mifsuds have a very good photographic knowledge and are very knowledgeable about cameras and equipment from all eras and ages.

Unfortunately, Jessops these days seem to have gone away from being interested in Photographers and are more aimed at ordinary consumers, most shops have little in stock and up to a few months ago were drastically overpricing items large and small although that seems to be changing as the credit crunch hits.

Would I be disappointed if our local Jessops stores shut, not really, as since digital has come to fruition I have rarely purchased anything from them or even ventured into the stores, they have little to show, very little S/H equipment and what they do have tends to be vastly overpriced, on the other hand, if Mifsuds were to close I would be very disappointed as they much more cater for photographer's needs.

And just as an aside, if I wanted a New 18-200VR now, I would drive the 30 miles to Mifsuds and pay the £25 premium to give them my business and have a coffee and a chat about photography rather than support the Jessops shops in Plymouth.

 

[Marc]

I always take great pleasure in saying to customers "oh everyone is bitching and moaning about all the high street retailers closing down, but they don't support them and just go and buy for £10 cheaper off the net!

Unfortunately it's usually not £10 cheaper on the net, it's often a lot more. My experience a couple of years ago, I went into Jessops to look at flashguns for my Sony Alpha and was shown one at £339. I asked if there were any others to be told that only Sony branded flash guns could be used (Found out later that was wrong!). I then said that maybe I'd find a cheaper one on the web. He said "you won't find it cheaper on the internet". I went home and found it on the website of another high street retailer for £239!

 

[AliB]

I'm lucky with my local Jessops store. There is a small branch in Denton in Manchester where the car parking is free too. It might be a small branch but I have found that two of the staff there know their stuff. One of the ladies has been doing a degree course and is really passionate about MF as well as knowing digital. I bought an A3 printer there a couple of years ago because it was an outgoing model and got a real bargain.

The main branch in Deansgate in Manchester however seems to be staffed by children who know absolutely nowt. if you know what you want and can find it on the shelf yourself you might be OK.

Mind you that's highly skilled compared to a recent foray to PC world for a laptop where I asked for a particular Dell model only to be met with a dismissive wave roughly in the direction of the display and a grunted "There are all over there, I don't know the models" from the spotty youth allegedly "working" there. I spent my money elsewhere.

 

[MarkEvan]

Jessops are a bit of an oddball, they have some terrible pricing (I was looking at memory cards and checked my local manchester store they had a half price sale on the cards yet their prices were still about twice the price of some other net stores (picstop etc), the 100mm macro was £100 pounds more expensive than warehouse express and then theres the 500 f4 when I was buying one they were £1000 pounds more expensive than the second most expensive shop) but then they have some remarkable deals for instance I bought a MK2n from warehouse express then visiting the manchester store the next week I found that they were selling the MK2n with a 580 ex for just 100 pound more than I payed for the mk2n alone.....a great deal.


Some things they get spot on but with most of the stock they are seriously overpriced.

 

[HoppyUK]

Ed, you are lucky with Mifsuds being so near. I'm in the East Midlands and the nearest decent camera shop is Jessops in Leicester - about 50 miles (local branches aren't great ). Next up is Warehouse Express in Norwich, but that's 100 miles. I've also made the trip to Park Cameras - 150 miles.

I agree that Jessops pricing knows no reason at the moment. Signs of a business in distress I guess, desperately seeking a business model that works. My only beef with folks that buy on-line is if you go and try it for size in a high street shop, then do the decent thing and buy it from them, or it won't be there next time.

All of which is hugely ironic for those that know Jessops history when, in their heyday, they led the mail-order boom which wiped out so many high street camera shops. In fact, Jessops bought most of them out!

Then Jessops forgot how they got to their dominant position in the first place and when the world discovered the internet, Jessops found itself locked into a business model with huge fixed overheads, and unable to compete. Like Woolies, they can't reshape their business with the high street retail property market the way it is.

Meanwhile, the way forward is glaringly obvious in the shape of Warehouse Express, and also Park Cameras (and others for sure). A big internet-based mail-order business backed up by a large showroom where everything is there to try before you buy. If you have the travel time and transport.

Compare Warehouse Express now to Jessops in the 80s, which was mail-order with a massive shop/showroom in Leicester

Richard.

 

[foodpoison]

And why would that be then? Earlier this year I wanted to buy a 18-200VR Nikkor and went to both of the Jessops shops we had in Plymouth, I asked them if they price matched and they said they would provided it was not an Internet site, I told them that it was a local'ish shop and that they had stock available. they said they would match the price. When I told them the price and allowed them to check on their website, they refused to as there was £110 difference. I drove the 30 miles to Mifsuds and although I had a play with the lens decided at that time to change to a FF Canon and spent £2900 in three days changing my outfit. Money that Jessops would possibly have had had we got further down the path to buying the Nikkor. Strangely I now notice that Jessops have the Nikkor 18-200 at £25 less than the Mifsuds price.

As for staff, out of all the Jessops staff I have dealt with over the years, many have not had any real knowledge of photography just seeming to being salespersons really although James the manager of the Armada Centre branch and Ron Meatyard who was the manager of the Cornwall St branch (prior to his retirement) do, whereas all the staff at Mifsuds have a very good photographic knowledge and are very knowledgeable about cameras and equipment from all eras and ages.

Unfortunately, Jessops these days seem to have gone away from being interested in Photographers and are more aimed at ordinary consumers, most shops have little in stock and up to a few months ago were drastically overpricing items large and small although that seems to be changing as the credit crunch hits.

Would I be disappointed if our local Jessops stores shut, not really, as since digital has come to fruition I have rarely purchased anything from them or even ventured into the stores, they have little to show, very little S/H equipment and what they do have tends to be vastly overpriced, on the other hand, if Mifsuds were to close I would be very disappointed as they much more cater for photographer's needs.

And just as an aside, if I wanted a New 18-200VR now, I would drive the 30 miles to Mifsuds and pay the £25 premium to give them my business and have a coffee and a chat about photography rather than support the Jessops shops in Plymouth.

I don't mean to offend, and I know that some (a lot) of our stock is more expensive, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, than other stores, be it internet or high street.

I've never been to Mifsuds, it sounds awesome!

My beef is when people come into the shop, try all of the cameras out, and then tell me they'll buy it online because it's £15 cheaper with a free 2gb (kingston) memory card. It's not fair on the store, because that £15 more they pay in comparison to the online price they might have seen goes towards the overheads and the ability to come in and try out cameras to see which one suits you.

I know the Jessops business model is a dying breed, and the people at Head Office are trying lots of things to try and get the company to get back up on their feet, but the fact is, high street electronics retailers need to greatly improve their service and their prices.

 

[foodpoison]

sorry to go off topic but foodpoisen, whats happening with the sigma 1.4x teleconvertor for canons? they are dirt cheap on the website and no stores have them in stock?

Likely to have been discontinued by Sigma so we've stopped buying them from them.

 

[foodpoison]

Unfortunately it's usually not £10 cheaper on the net, it's often a lot more. My experience a couple of years ago, I went into Jessops to look at flashguns for my Sony Alpha and was shown one at £339. I asked if there were any others to be told that only Sony branded flash guns could be used (Found out later that was wrong!). I then said that maybe I'd find a cheaper one on the web. He said "you won't find it cheaper on the internet". I went home and found it on the website of another high street retailer for £239!

Often but not always
I got my 40d body only for £390
We were the cheapest around, plus my staff discount, plus VAT off (Dad uses it occassionaly for taking pictures of control panels and gets the VAT taken off) plus cashback! Bargain considering I sold my 350d for £400

But yeah, in that case, it's a no brainer! If it were £30 ish, then you might not worry too much. But anything more and you have to question it.

 

[Graham_P_Clarke]

There is a lot to be said in Jessops favor, we all like to see what is what before we buy, and as such we should be willing to pay for this. I don't believe that we should use the likes of high street retails for research and the save small sums buying from the internet, service is worth a premium would you not agree???

 

[Marc]

There is a lot to be said in Jessops favor, we all like to see what is what before we buy, and as such we should be willing to pay for this. I don't believe that we should use the likes of high street retails for research and the save small sums buying from the internet, service is worth a premium would you not agree???

Totally agree, but it depends on the size of that premium, especially in the current climate. They are profit making organisations, not charities, they need to make the effort and not make out that we need them more than they need us.

 

[oldfella]

In the shop I deal with I was talking to the manager asking him what camera he has. Looking surprised he replied "I don`t have a camera,if I am going out for the day, I take one off of the shelf." The guilty party here is the person who walks into a shop, slaps his cheque book on the counter saying that he wished to buy a camera. After trying all the cameras in the shop, inside and outside he says "thank you" and walks out.

 

[Marc]

In the shop I deal with I was talking to the manager asking him what camera he has. Looking surprised he replied "I don`t have a camera,if I am going out for the day, I take one off of the shelf."

So THAT'S what happened with the OP's camera!

 

[colinfret]

I bought a lens from them at the weekend, took it home only to find it cover in marks and very dusty. Took it back and was told it was a returned product and was then used as a display model. I asked why i wasnt told this and they said they didnt think i needed to know. I went a bit mad and got a refund.

 

[Nod]

Another big for Mifsuds. Despite it being only 25-30 miles down the road, I'd never been until last Saturday. Helpful, knowlegeable, not pushy and friendly. Looking forward to a return when I have a little more spare cash - I was only there because a friend wanted a Pentax K20D and they had one in stock.

As for our local Jessops - if you get the right person, you get decent advice but beware of the slackjaws who also walk the floor... I recently used the "collect at store" service; filled in the form and asked for e-mail confirmation. Didn't get an e-mail but since I had to be in town later in the day, I popped in on the off chance that the order was ready. "Didn't you get a text to say it was ready?" "No, I asked for an e-mail." "Oh." An apology would have been nice!

 

[EdBray]

Ed, you are lucky with Mifsuds being so near. I'm in the East Midlands and the nearest decent camera shop is Jessops in Leicester

I'd swap, we may have one of the best camera shops around, but down here we are out on a limb. Anything that happens is usually 2 hours away at best. Yes we have great scenary, beaches, some nice towns and villages, not too much crime (out of the bigger cities and not too much in them really), nice pace of life, but to be honest sometimes I would like to be nearer the hub of things. In the Midlands within 3 hours you can reach just about anywhere (traffic allowing) you have copious airports within reach, our nearest airport is Exeter and out nearest Transatlantic airport (if you can call it that) is Bristol, 2 hours away. To get to Gatwick or Heathrow you are looking at 3.5 hours plus.

So, it's not all bad living in the Midlands, you have many premiership football teams, our nearest is either Portsmouth or Villa (3.5 hours). You have access to world class sporting events, we have about two a year if we are lucky. You have some great coarse fishing and narrowboating facilities, we have very little.

Trust me, one good camera shop would not be worth the swap.

 

[p1tse]

We get trade prices on everything, +10% off. Plus there are various perks, including different incentives

that's very good, trade price and 10% off. so surely there should be provision made for consumer discounting to help build loyalty and future sales.

ah well, we shall only see how things goes in the future for everyone

 

[foodpoison]

In the shop I deal with I was talking to the manager asking him what camera he has. Looking surprised he replied "I don`t have a camera,if I am going out for the day, I take one off of the shelf." The guilty party here is the person who walks into a shop, slaps his cheque book on the counter saying that he wished to buy a camera. After trying all the cameras in the shop, inside and outside he says "thank you" and walks out.

What a cheeky git!

I had an old gentleman come in, absolutely wonderful character, asking me about compacts. I said to him "would you like to take a look at some of the models?"
he said, "oh, heavens, no. I'm not buying today, and so I'd feel guilty getting my grubby fingers all over them!"
so i said, "well, it's no trouble. my treat!" and he was absolutely stunned and pleased.

previously, a guy needed his battery charged for his camera for his grandaughter's birthday party the next day. i have the same camera as him, and i said i'd charge it for him and bring it back. i did, and went out of my way to drive back to the shop the next day when i wasn't working for him to pick up. he hasn't been back since to thank me, despite the fact he KNOWS i work at the weekend.

colinfret, that's shocking! trade by deceipt is not cool!

I think he'll be coming back

 

[foodpoison]

that's very good, trade price and 10% off. so surely there should be provision made for consumer discounting to help build loyalty and future sales.

ah well, we shall only see how things goes in the future for everyone

yes yes, there is.
but we prefer to save the available discount we have stored up each week for customers who aren't buying just a camera. we save the discount for the people buying a camera, a memory card, a bag, and with a good attitude. Not so we can knock £10 off just because the customer doesn't want to pay the price on the shelf.

we usually save our discount for slr customers

 

[altyfc]

I'd definitely take it back. And I would ask for the manager and kick up a fuss.

 

[foodpoison]

As for our local Jessops - if you get the right person, you get decent advice but beware of the slackjaws who also walk the floor... I recently used the "collect at store" service; filled in the form and asked for e-mail confirmation. Didn't get an e-mail but since I had to be in town later in the day, I popped in on the off chance that the order was ready. "Didn't you get a text to say it was ready?" "No, I asked for an e-mail." "Oh." An apology would have been nice!

Don't know if you're aware of the system. When we finish collecting your order, we hit "finished picking" on the screen and it says "the customer will now be notified via their chosen method of contact.
We don't do it manually, just in case you thought they had just been ignorant!
An apology would have been nice anyway, though!

 

[seriousrikk]

I'd swap.

That's all I needed to hear - I'm on my way

 

[bakedbeans]

I've got very mixed feelings about Jessops but wouldn't go as extreme as avoid them at all cost.

I went into a big store in Glasgow on Sauchiehall Street and was enquiring about an (ultra) wide angle lens for my Nikon. First, it took about 10 minutes until a member of staff, how was looking at me but talking with his pal behind the counter asked me if I needed help. After explaining him what lens I'm after, he gave me the D80 stock lens to fiddle with and said that's a great lens.
Well, it is a very good lens for it's price, but certainly not a wide angle. The sales person ventured back to his pal where his manager told him off.

I was then approached by a very cute girl and handed the lens back (I could have easily just walked out with the D80 stock lens) and asked for a wider lens. She looked at me (eyes at about f/1) and asked her manager what lens to get me. She came back with a 8mm fisheye... Okay, it's fegging wide but I don't want a fisheye...

I then went towards home and passed another, smaller Jessops next to John Lewis at the top of Buchanan Street and thought I'd give it a bash and see what they've got. I asked the same question and was offered a Nikon wide angle out of my price range and was promptly handed over the Sigma 10-20mm - I bought it after a close inspection (in a sealed box).

I think it really boils down to well educated and trained staff with a passion for photography. Just because it's Jessops, doesn't mean it's bad per se.

 

[p1tse]

yes yes, there is.
but we prefer to save the available discount we have stored up each week for customers who aren't buying just a camera. we save the discount for the people buying a camera, a memory card, a bag, and with a good attitude. Not so we can knock £10 off just because the customer doesn't want to pay the price on the shelf.

we usually save our discount for slr customers

would you have given discount to a memory card for a starter when buying:
sony a300
sony flash f42 (priced match to jacobs from £200 to £130)
sony 18-200

just out of interest?

 

[njfcourt]

When I bought my Sony A300 at Chester branch of Jessops in late November, together with kit lens (for £299 with Sony cashback) and Tamron 70-300 (on offer at £99), I got 4Gb Sandisk Extreme III card thrown in without even asking. This was in addition to £20 voucher they were giving away at the time.

Personally, I would never rely on the opinion of sales staff in a high street chain such as Jessops, etc, except to back up my own, well researched, opinion!!

 

[Amp34]

When I bought my Sony A300 at Chester branch of Jessops in late November, together with kit lens (for £299 with Sony cashback) and Tamron 70-300 (on offer at £99), I got 4Gb Sandisk Extreme III card thrown in without even asking. This was in addition to £20 voucher they were giving away at the time.

Personally, I would never rely on the opinion of sales staff in a high street chain such as Jessops, etc, except to back up my own, well researched, opinion!!

I agree, for pretty much anything expensive. Maybe I bad for not trusting anyone but I see people in shops as either ignorant or on the take. Yes I know there are a lot that aren't but it's difficult to tell. So instead if I go for something expensive I will have already decided on one or two before going in, and the only time I would listen to the advice is if it was deciding between a couple of options I had already thought about.

 

[ChrisMClark]

I'm lucky in that I have the choice of 2 or 3 different Jessop's branches. 1 I won't go near, I went in looking for some Cokin stuff and not one member of the staff working at the time knew what the Cokin P system was, but another local branch will always get a visit from me when I'm after something, they might be a bit dearer, but I'd rather pay the extra for the help and the high level of service I get from them than do it on the cheap and not get any help, with no human point of contact should something go wrong.

I guess my point with Jessops is they're very good provided you find a branch that's not full of muppets, which to be fair isn't difficult. My only other issue with Jessops is a branch I popped in over Xmas was worse than walking into currys and the like, in that the minute I stepped through the door the salesman was hounding me constantly.