Vistek Ottawa

Anyone else think that their new Ottawa store is a little "over-the-top"
for the Ottawa market?

What kind of overhead is that huge store going to have, $40 K or more a
month?

"RichA" wrote in message
...
On Oct 23, 7:26 pm, "U*U" wrote:
Anyone else think that their new Ottawa store is a little "over-the-top"
for the Ottawa market?

What kind of overhead is that huge store going to have, $40 K or more a
month?

Vistek is branching out, not trying to be just an uppity pro store,
like it is in downtown Toronto. But they are taking the right path.
Businesses that scale-back (especially on advertising) in a recession
lose clientel and sometimes never get it back.

------------------

I might be the only person with this opinion but I feel the need to share my
expierence:



Vistek in Mississauga is run by snobs for snobs. They will not help
amateurs learn new equipment or guide them thru the process of learning new
slr equipment. When shopping for my first SLR I had questions on a Pentex
and a Nikon and received no help in the explanation of the functions, scroll
wheels, in camera menu features and consumer lens choices. When asking for
a demonstration of a Canon XTI versus D60 and asking about available Zoom
lenses I was refused a demonstration.



When I signed up for a SLR beginner photography class at a community centre,
the woman that taught the class was also one of the three salespeople from
vistek Mississauga that I felt offered no support to beginners. She was a
good teacher at the class and was a professional photographer on the side.
Why couldn't she offer even a little bit of this insight to me when I was
interested in spending $1200 and not a $70 four week class.



Henry's in Mississauga and Hamilton on the other hand did take the time to
help. They had the available staff to have the patience to teach and
demonstrate those who are new to dslr technology. I purchased 2 lenses
there and maybe a flash unit in the very near future. Henry's also has a
large selection of used equipment. Also I found Black's hands on teaching
lead me to my Nikon D80 instead of a D60 or a Pentex k510 or 410 or a Sony
a300. I did not buy my camera at Blacks but I will never forget their
service to me.



I had visited Vistek Mississauga 3 times and all three times have felt very
disappointed in their level of service to amateurs and newbies. This is a
store that I will tell all beginners and amateur photographers to avoid.
Maybe the pros and pro-sumers enjoy Vistek and that's fine, They can keep
their store. But if they want the entry level crowd amateur crowd, which is
far larger and has a higher pool of money, even at lower price margins, I
will do my best to encourage to not spend their hard earned money at a
Vistek. Since buying my $650 camera, I have since purchased a $800 lens, a
$250 lens, a $70 camera bag, $60 in SD cards, and about $30 in camera
cleaning supplies plus about $90 in frames.



I'm sure a few professionals will laugh at the low amount of money I paid
for my gear, but it's gear that I am proud to own and I attempt to use as
often as I can. For every professional and uppity type there is out there,
you can expect 5 of me. If Vistek wants a piece of the amateur and beginner
pie they need to vastly upgrade their training and service to those type of
customer otherwise they'll need to remain content with their current
customer base.



Rant mode Off now Heh Heh.

On Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:21:50 -0400, "The Henchman"
wrote:
: Vistek in Mississauga is run by snobs for snobs. They will not help
: amateurs learn new equipment or guide them thru the process of learning new
: slr equipment. When shopping for my first SLR I had questions on a Pentex
: and a Nikon and received no help in the explanation of the functions, scroll
: wheels, in camera menu features and consumer lens choices. When asking for
: a demonstration of a Canon XTI versus D60 and asking about available Zoom
: lenses I was refused a demonstration.

It's expensive for a store to give free lessons, and each store has to make a
business decision as to whether the payback is worth the effort. At the
simplest level, you can patronize only the stores that are willing to do it.

But you may get more attention from the staff in a store like Vistek by
appearing more knowledgeable (or by *being* more knowledgeable). Read about
the equipment and ask questions on this and similar newsgroups. Then when you
go into the store, you can ask better questions that don't take as long to
answer. Remember that if the sales people are paid mostly by commission, time
is money for them, just as it is for the store.

: When I signed up for a SLR beginner photography class at a community centre,
: the woman that taught the class was also one of the three salespeople from
: vistek Mississauga that I felt offered no support to beginners. She was a
: good teacher at the class and was a professional photographer on the side.
: Why couldn't she offer even a little bit of this insight to me when I was
: interested in spending $1200 and not a $70 four week class. ...

That question is no longer relevant. Now when you go back into the store, you
can seek the instructor out, mention the class, even compliment her teaching
skills. That plus more focused questions may be all you need to get her to
treat you better. And if she starts treating you as a good customer, the other
sales people may notice and start to do the same.

Bob

Robert Coe wrote:
On Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:21:50 -0400, "The Henchman"
wrote:
Vistek in Mississauga is run by snobs for snobs. They will not help
amateurs learn new equipment or guide them thru the process of
learning new slr equipment. When shopping for my first SLR I had
questions on a Pentex and a Nikon and received no help in the
explanation of the functions, scroll wheels, in camera menu features
and consumer lens choices. When asking for a demonstration of a
Canon XTI versus D60 and asking about available Zoom lenses I was
refused a demonstration.

It's expensive for a store to give free lessons, and each store has
to make a business decision as to whether the payback is worth the
effort. At the simplest level, you can patronize only the stores that
are willing to do it.

But you may get more attention from the staff in a store like Vistek
by appearing more knowledgeable (or by *being* more knowledgeable).
Read about the equipment and ask questions on this and similar
newsgroups. Then when you go into the store, you can ask better
questions that don't take as long to answer. Remember that if the
sales people are paid mostly by commission, time is money for them,
just as it is for the store.

When I signed up for a SLR beginner photography class at a community
centre, the woman that taught the class was also one of the three
salespeople from vistek Mississauga that I felt offered no support
to beginners. She was a good teacher at the class and was a
professional photographer on the side. Why couldn't she offer even a
little bit of this insight to me when I was interested in spending
$1200 and not a $70 four week class. ...

That question is no longer relevant. Now when you go back into the
store, you can seek the instructor out, mention the class, even
compliment her teaching skills. That plus more focused questions may
be all you need to get her to treat you better. And if she starts
treating you as a good customer, the other sales people may notice
and start to do the same.

However in answer to it, how much do you think she makes personally on the
$1200 equipment sale vs the $70xhowever many students class?

Hint--commissions are not nearly as high as most people think they are.


Bob

U*U wrote:
Anyone else think that their new Ottawa store is a little "over-the-top"
for the Ottawa market?

What kind of overhead is that huge store going to have, $40 K or more a
month?

I think they're a pretty good outfit. I've ordered various articles
there (esp. Epson ink) as it is cheaper to buy a set of carts there
($525 with shipping) than here (Montreal, $630). OTOH, some of the
carts they shipped were pretty close to expiry date (3 - 6 months left,
others 1+ year).

I managed to get a local store to match Vistek's price on a Nikon 9000ED
scanner as well - so they can be a competitive example to show.

I've never been to their stores but I doubt they're anywhere close to
the Mecca of B&H in NYC.

"Robert Coe" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:21:50 -0400, "The Henchman"
wrote:
: Vistek in Mississauga is run by snobs for snobs. They will not help
: amateurs learn new equipment or guide them thru the process of learning
new
: slr equipment. When shopping for my first SLR I had questions on a
Pentex
: and a Nikon and received no help in the explanation of the functions,
scroll
: wheels, in camera menu features and consumer lens choices. When asking
for
: a demonstration of a Canon XTI versus D60 and asking about available
Zoom
: lenses I was refused a demonstration.

It's expensive for a store to give free lessons, and each store has to
make a
business decision as to whether the payback is worth the effort. At the
simplest level, you can patronize only the stores that are willing to do
it.

But you may get more attention from the staff in a store like Vistek by
appearing more knowledgeable (or by *being* more knowledgeable). Read
about
the equipment and ask questions on this and similar newsgroups. Then when
you
go into the store, you can ask better questions that don't take as long to
answer. Remember that if the sales people are paid mostly by commission,
time
is money for them, just as it is for the store.

Please forgive my spelling mistakes: I am migrating to Windows 7 and my
dictionaries have been lost

Well I think you just proved my point. Stores like Vistek cater to a more
knowledgeable and demanding crowd. Not everybody can become an instant
expert on Google. You just can't add water and become instantly
knowledgeable. I read all the factsheets and data sheets and diagrams and
schmatics and options i could. All savvy shoppers must learn learn learn.
I consider myself a savvy shopper so I learn learn learn. But until you
hold that camera in your hand, all you know is facts and figures. Would you
ever purchase an automobile without a through inspection and a well rounded
test drive? Most people have to drive a few cars before they settle on one
to purchase. Sure some people just get a new car every three years, but
most don't and we need to kick the tires. You can read about swimming all
you want, until the first time you bob in the deep end of the pool, you'll
need an instructor.

If the salespeople want me to become more knowledgable first then then why
have them around. They should hire part-time teenagers instead. At least
that'll cut prices. If Vistek Mississauga is not interested in providing
services to beginners then they shouldn't build these big box formats and
directly try to appeal to these sorts of customers. They should stick to
their original customer base then. I was brand new to photography. That is
usually stated to the salespeople and if not stated, they should be trained
enuf to rocoginise a newbie and if that particular salesperson does not want
to deal with me, then it's acceptable to find someone who can. Don't let
the potential customer walk out the door feeling humble and confused, and on
multiple occassions I will add.

I am well aware that time is money, and if Vistek staff are short of time
then they shouldn't branch out to a wider customer base. If they want to
sell $2000+ cameras and $1500 lenes, then don't stock up on $700 cameras and
$200 lenses and deliver a flyer in your local newpaper inviting people into
the store to "look around and ask questions" . Leave that end of the market
segment to Best Buy or Future Shop or Sears.