COLONIAL PHOTO & HOBBY

As a former Nikon Technical Service Representatives for over 7 years, and then 30 plus years as a professional photographer, I have often been requested for advice as to reputable camera dealers, and for nearly 40 years I have always recommended Colonial Photo and Hobby, but after enduring this recent transaction, I will NOT recommend them again. A close friend, on my suggestion, purchased a Nikon Coolpix camera from them as a gift and when I went to use it, it flooded on the very first use. Having owned previous models of this camera, I knew exactly how to operate it, and it was obvious from my prior experience that it had a bad o-ring out of the box. (A fact later supported by Nikon, the manufacturer, who replaced the camera, but it took nearly 2 months.) When I returned to the store with my friend, and explained the problem, I was told they could do nothing except send it back. When I explained it was malfunctioning out of the box, they refused to accept that, so I suggested to get a small container of water and if the camera was submersed, they could see where it was leaking. I was then told, and quot;that will prove nothingand quot; and and quot;you could have done something to break this cameraand quot; .... Needless to say, with my Nikon experience and expertise, coupled with the many of years of referring customers to them, I was not happy that they would treat a customer in such a fashion. I made a second trip to the store and had no success in talking with the manager, so I then called the owner and explained the situation, to which he said there was nothing he could, or would do. I went on to tell him that my friend would have been in much better shape if he had bought it thru Amazon, who would have taken it back and replaced it, as would be normal course for a bad camera of the box. He then whined about there not being much margin in these cameras. However, I did not mention to the owner, that on my second return while waiting for the manager, a lady came in and spoke to the same very sales person I had been dealing with the day prior, and when she asked him why she should buy from Colonial versus someone like an Amazon, the sales person had the nerve to promote and quot;customer serviceand quot; at the local level as a prime reason, which I find totaling misleading. I now wish I had pulled the lady aside to explain the and quot;Colonial Photo customer support and serviceand quot; I was experiencing. Yes, the store does have marked on their receipts, and quot;digital cameras are non-returnableand quot;, but usually this does not mean for items that are bad out of the box. I would also note that 3 different sales reps (P*, C*, D*) from behind the counter got involved during my discussions, (phrases such as...and quot;Let me give you the 4-1-1 on this camera...and quot; and and quot;You may say that, but I don't know for sure that's the caseand quot;....) and they all responded with the same canned verbage to every question, ...and all of them communicated in a style that was both arrogant and patronizing. I know each of them may think they are and quot;expertsand quot; in the field, but that is even more reason to act professional and without such condescending attitudes. Bottom line - if you don't mind being dis-respected or treated like an idiot ...and are willing to wait for months for a resolution that you're left to handle on your own because of the sale persons' ignorance and arrogance and the store feels they aren't making enough profit on an item they sell, Colonial Photo and Hobby may be to your liking.

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The flash on my Canon Rebel XSi would not come up, and the shutter release button was stuck down. They promised to call the next day after I dropped it off with a quote. When I called them the day after that, they called back with a quote of $200.00. However, when they called to tell me it was ready, the tech said all it needed was cleaning, so the bill was only $125.00. I brought it home and was testing it, when I discovered the ISO button was stuck down (it must have happened when he screwed the top cover back on). So I called and made arrangements to take it back to them. At first the man at the counter said I could pick it up the next day. When I explained I lived almost an hour away, he arranged for the tech to look at it on the spot. I told him I would go get some lunch while I waited. Before I got to the restaurant, the tech called to say it was ready. The camera has worked flawlessly since then.

I will definitely go back to this location should I ever have a real problem with my camera.

Great service!!!. Walked in, show the problem and the gentlemen knew what the issue was and said he have it replaced in a day. A day later I got my lens back in working order. Great people there!

The service was amazing, they meet any competitor prices and best of all you are supporting LOCALLY!!! My camera did have a bit of a hiccup so I took it in and they fixed it!

A man named Dallas was very helpful when I needed my camera fixed. He explained that they would call with an estimate so I could make a decision to repair the camera or consider replacing it. Very professional and courteous!