The Camera Company

I purchased a point and shoot camera here for an upcoming trip, it was ten dollars more here than online, but the personal service and having someone explain the differences between three cameras for me was worth that ten bucks.

What do I need to do to get good customer service… All I wanted was for someone to sell me a lens, I’ve been there several times and I have never been treated so poorly!(FYI I still didn’t get a lens) When the guy goes over to another employee regarding the customer next to me and says «must be stupid question day» you know you are in the wrong place. 3 strikes and you’re out!

Wonderful! My sister who is a professional photographer recommended this store. The staff is very helpful and knowledgeable about photography equipment. I brought in my little camera and they cleaned my lens for free! I appreciate great service like that. I was thrilled to find a unique camera bag that I couldn’t find online. I hope they open a store in Milwaukee.

I have had nothing but good experiences here.
First time I stopped in I wanted to get a tripod for my camera. The place was rather busy so I looked at tripods on my own, and soon enough somebody got done with the customer they were with and came over to offer assistance. Fantastic.
I told the gentleman what I wanted to do with the tripod and where I was taking it and he suggested a few of the collapsible models specifically designed to be compact for hiking/​biking. These weren’t the most expensive models they had, just the ones that would best suit my purposes. Precisely the sort of customer service I was looking for.
The next trip was because I had dirt/​dust on my sensor so every picture I took had a dark blob on it. Again I waited a few minutes because everybody was busy with other customers. Not being somebody who simply MUST be acknowledged and immediately served upon entry, I patiently waited for assistance. It didn’t take long, and the gentleman who offered help needed to get the repair guy to help me.
I was then told that a sensor cleaning costs $ 50. Fine. If I don’t have splotches on my pictures anymore, I can live with it.
The repair tech (not sure if that’s his title or not) instead blew out the camera, showed me how to do it, and instead sold me a proper cleaning kit for $ 15 or so saving me $ 35 on the spot. I can work with that.
Absolutely fantastic customer service.

After being extremely disappointed with another company that couldn’t fulfill my Christmas order I thought all hope of getting the items I needed was gone. They were sold out everywhere. I found the camera company online and they advertised that they still had what I wanted in stock. I emailed three employees to verify that that did indeed have them in stock. Within minutes all of them emailed me back to let me know that they had them and would happily put them on hold for me. I placed my order and they had it ready when UPS came to pick up 30 minutes later. Not only did they save the day, but I had my order in 48hrs and I live across the country. Their customer service is unbeatable and I would recommend them to anyone. Thanks again for saving our Christmas!

I bought a camera strap here. One of the sales guys showed me how to use it. I like it, it seems to work well.
I am a little disappointed that this company doesn’t stock any Olympus products (what I use). I had hoped to pick up a new lens here, but they only carry used Olympus lenses, and their stock constantly changes. I hoped to support a local business, but was unable.

I called this place today to enquire whether they would print the European passport photos that I had taken myself. A man replied they would. I then asked if they’re okay with me taking the photos myself as opposed to using their photographer and equipment. To this, he replied: «I don’t care if the embassy rejects your photos so yea, I’m fine with it.» If you cannot be polite over the phone, you won’t have my business.

I need a new camera and wanted to give my business to someone local rather than shopping online or at one of the big box stores.
I went in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday and there appeared to be three people working. Each was helping a customer when I came in. Cool. I’ll just take a look at the specs of the cameras while I wait to see if I can narrow it down. Hmmm… only a handful of the cameras in the case had a spec card on them and they weren’t the type I was looking for. With nothing to look at, I just hung out at the counter, trying not to feel like a tool.
Then I realized that no one had so much as nodded at me since I had come into the store. I didn’t expect them to come running to help me; they were busy. But no one likes to feel ignored.
It was obvious that I wasn’t just browsing for fun. It was clear I was there to look at something in the case and was waiting to be helped. It would take 2 seconds for one of the employees to glance at me, possibly give a half-a$$ed smile, and say something to the effect of «I’ll be right with you.» Yay! I’d at least know that someone was aware that I was in the store!
I don’t want to jump to conclusions, because the employees were maybe just poorly trained or all having a bad day, but was it possible I was being ignored because of my appearance? I couldn’t help but wonder as I finally gave up and left. Maybe I’ll try the East side store.

The Camera Company is my go to source for camera equipment. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Dave is fantastic! He will never lead you the wrong way and is very helpful when it comes to buying what you really need. He’s honest and doesn’t try to make you purchase unnecessary equipment.

I went in to The Camera Co to buy a camera for a photography glass. I’ve always wanted a Canon Rebel, so I found a knowledgeable person, David, to answer all my questions. He is an experienced photographer and was very helpful in the buying decision, offering lots of info on the features of the cameras, lenses and camera bags. I could have bought this camera for cheaper from Amazon but I like to support our local businesses. And I like knowing I can go back with questions and take advantage of their classes. Feeling great about my decision, so no buyers remorse!
I have also have large photos printed here and framed. Excellent staff, service and pricing!

So I go here a lot to simply look around and feel out cameras. I don’t generally buy things here because you can get most of their products for a lot cheaper on places like Amazon, which I sort of feel guilty about.
The selection is good, and there are usually plenty of employees so that each customer is taken care of by one employee during their entire visit. They are really patient about letting you play with the cameras and feel them out. I definitely think buying a camera is comparable to Harry Potter’s wand buying experience. Just as the wand chooses the wizard, the camera definitely chooses the photographer in my experience, and the Camera Company gives you time to figure out what works best for you, which you obviously don’t get if you are shopping online.
More often than not, I have found that although all of the employees are very friendly, most of them are not able to talk to a novice photographer in ways that they will be able to understand. There is one exception: a man named Ray who works there. He was so incredibly friendly and helpful, he dumbed things down to my level without making me feel like an idiot. He was very honest with me about what to not waste extra money on and the differences between similar products. If my only experience at this store was with Ray, I would have given the store 5 stars. With him, I felt very confident that if I had any issues with my camera, or just needed some general help understanding it, I could stop in and get some hands-​on help from him.

Today I stopped in by the East Towne store for some advice on which camera to buy (Canon T2i vs Nikon D90). I spoke with an older gentleman around in his 50’s with grey hair who appeared to be the manager. After consulting with him for about 10 minutes, I asked him if they offered financing. He replied no and I responded back saying that it was unfortunate because now I would have to buy it at BestBuy. He then suddenly he lost all interest in helping me, looked directly his watch and said, «Look at the time» and placed the camera back on the shelf and locked the glass window while his back was turned to me. I was stunned to see such poor and disrespectful customer service! In my effort to desperately correct the awkward situation, I asked him about their camera bags. Without an apology or an explanation as to why he’s leaving, he said he’ll find someone else to assist me. I was the only customer in the store. As he went to the back room to find the other worker, I left the store. To be fair to him, the man was very knowledgeable about cameras and lenses. However, once he knew I would not be able to purchase the camera, I was ignored. Would I go back? ABSOLUTELY NOT because no one deserves to be treated like that. The west Camera Co. store has more staff working up front and their customer service is much more friendly, so check out that store instead.

I had no knowledge of cameras, I just needed something better than the one we currently had. I left Best Buy with too many questions than they could answer and a friend recommended this business. The sales associate took alot of time with us to find the right camera and equipment. Skip the big boxes and go here.

I went in to find a frame, and ended up looking at their used Canon lenses. I did some research that night, found a lower price online, and made a deal the next day – they matched my price.
In short, the service was excellent and the print quality and prices were a good value (with online ordering).
This location seems to have more used equipment and has more printing services than the location on East Washington.