Monday, July 7, 2008

Getting a new Olympus Camera

Wanted to get a new Olympus digital camera which is shock proof and also water resistant to a depth of 10m. We have decided not to get those camera with water housing anymore since th price of the housing is as expensive as one camera itself.

We went to Mong Kok at Sai Yeung Choi St around shop 66 area. The first stop we made was at the Fortress shop just aroad cross the station exit. The sales guy Ivan who served us was pretty good. And he was pretty upfrnt about all the things that the shop is throwing in with the purchase which includes a original 2GB xpcard, camera casing, a long tripod stand, and a screen protector, all for the price of HK$3190 from the original HK$3290. I laughed when i saw the tripod and commented on its long size as I thought it would be the small one which came with my Fuji camera.

We ponder for a while since that was the first street although personally I didnt think the rest of the street will be anymore cheaper except a couple of hundreds Hk dollars which doesnt amount to much after u convert to Aussie dollars. As we both stood there in silence solemnly considering, Ivan decided to offer us to HK$3110 even though we didnt bargain once. I looked at my husband and I told Ivan we would think about it and come back once we decided.

The next stop we went was the camera shop Wing Shing Camera. The staff was so disinterested and even though the retail was showing HK$3100 even before negotiating, his whole attitude was in dismayal. He didnt even bother to explain the specs or tell us upfront about the freebies. When I asked, he only mentioned the XPcard and the casing, which incidentally wasnt even original from Olympus. My husband and I walked out. No way we will be buying from here even if its HK hundreds cheaper.

We walked across to Broadway and this time even though the sales guy is friendlier and again doing his job, the price was much more expensive at Hk$3190. No discount was mentioned. And the casing was not original as well which is very strange. So I looked at my husband and we agreed that we would go back to fortress since Ivan did such a good job for us earlier.

When we went back, we told Ivan we would take the deal, not before I told Ivan that we return even if they are not the cheapest. He asked me what price the other shop offer. My husband just throw a number at HK$3000 and Ivan seriously called his boss to check and he gave it to us. Best of all, Ivan even threw in a small tripod stand for me to my pleasant surprise as I had not asked for it. However, he remembered my earlier comment and joke about the big tripod and I was impressed at that. He BOTHERED to listen to his customers even though it wasnt a request. This is something we will never get in Sydney. Not to mention in Sydney, the retail price after negotiation is at least A$200++ more compared to the prediscounted HK price, and oh, without all the freebies too.

Ivan did the screen protector cover for us and he did it so professionally. He took the pains to clean the screen and sticker to remove every single bits of dust. It wasnt just a stick it on and be gone attitude. He made the effort as if the camera was his own. I honestly wanted to give him a hug after being away so long from attentive service. I stand by my statement, western countries don't know sh*t about customer service and what it really means. Its not just about doing the transaction, it's about making the customer remember what you did and come back to you.

Anycase, we happily went home. I am sure if we looked far and hard enough, we could find another shop with cheaper price for we really couldnt be bothered. This stress free shopping is good enough for us.

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