Ritz Camera Ripoff badly treated after the sale Waterbury Connecticut

Former employee here. I'm an honest person, so I found it really hard to tell people who purchased the expanded service policy that unless they're camera was in stock when it was broken or needed to be cleaned, the best we could do was offer a probably a "loaner" camera of considerably less quality.

Four to six weeks is about right. It's worse if the camera actually has to be completely replaced because permission must first be acquired by the repair manager for the region - ours sucked. If its a straight repair on a common camera, the parts are probably in stock and you shouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, this is the same story at just about every possible service department - you can only carry so much.

The employee responses, if worded as you mention, are not very appropriate. We can at the very least CONTACT the repair company to get a straight story. Heck, you can contact the repair company if you want to hear it from the source.

Regarding the missing items: Employees are instructed to only include what's NEEDED to be repaired. No batteries, lenses or even straps - nothing that can possibly get lost.

For future reference, the best resolution: If you have a problem, keep your paperwork, call the story and get the camera repair phone number. Every time I called this particular # myself, I got one of two fairly helpful people. They are much more likely to know exactly what happened rather than an employee who knows nothing about the repair company.

Also, ask for it to be rushed - they'll do it for anyone in my experience.

Good luck,
Ex-Ritz employee

Former employee here. I'm an honest person, so I found it really hard to tell people who purchased the expanded service policy that unless they're camera was in stock when it was broken or needed to be cleaned, the best we could do was offer a probably a "loaner" camera of considerably less quality.

Four to six weeks is about right. It's worse if the camera actually has to be completely replaced because permission must first be acquired by the repair manager for the region - ours sucked. If its a straight repair on a common camera, the parts are probably in stock and you shouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, this is the same story at just about every possible service department - you can only carry so much.

The employee responses, if worded as you mention, are not very appropriate. We can at the very least CONTACT the repair company to get a straight story. Heck, you can contact the repair company if you want to hear it from the source.

Regarding the missing items: Employees are instructed to only include what's NEEDED to be repaired. No batteries, lenses or even straps - nothing that can possibly get lost.

For future reference, the best resolution: If you have a problem, keep your paperwork, call the story and get the camera repair phone number. Every time I called this particular # myself, I got one of two fairly helpful people. They are much more likely to know exactly what happened rather than an employee who knows nothing about the repair company.

Also, ask for it to be rushed - they'll do it for anyone in my experience.

Good luck,
Ex-Ritz employee

Former employee here. I'm an honest person, so I found it really hard to tell people who purchased the expanded service policy that unless they're camera was in stock when it was broken or needed to be cleaned, the best we could do was offer a probably a "loaner" camera of considerably less quality.

Four to six weeks is about right. It's worse if the camera actually has to be completely replaced because permission must first be acquired by the repair manager for the region - ours sucked. If its a straight repair on a common camera, the parts are probably in stock and you shouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, this is the same story at just about every possible service department - you can only carry so much.

The employee responses, if worded as you mention, are not very appropriate. We can at the very least CONTACT the repair company to get a straight story. Heck, you can contact the repair company if you want to hear it from the source.

Regarding the missing items: Employees are instructed to only include what's NEEDED to be repaired. No batteries, lenses or even straps - nothing that can possibly get lost.

For future reference, the best resolution: If you have a problem, keep your paperwork, call the story and get the camera repair phone number. Every time I called this particular # myself, I got one of two fairly helpful people. They are much more likely to know exactly what happened rather than an employee who knows nothing about the repair company.

Also, ask for it to be rushed - they'll do it for anyone in my experience.

Good luck,
Ex-Ritz employee

I noticed that you said that the warranty said that the camera needs to be sent with all the parts. What it means by "identifying parts" is the parts that let the repair department know what kind of camera you are sending in. (For example, if the camera is smashed under a car, they need your serial number and all the parts of the camera that show what maker and model it is. That way, someone can't send in parts for one camera and demand that it was some other type of camera just because they want a newer model or something.) However, the employee who took in your camera for repair should have taken out everything from your camera and given it to you when you dropped off the camera. If for some reason something is stuck in the camera (film, memory cards, batterys, etc...) the employee is to write it on the repair form so the repair department knows it is there and needs to be returned. The employee should have given you back your battery and memory card when you dropped off the camera.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with the Expanded Service Policy. Normally, it is a great thing because camera repairs are very pricey. (I personally have one on my own camera, so I know that it's not a waste of money.) I am also sorry the employee who took in your repair did not do their job correctly and give you all your stuff back. Not that you would visit another store, but if you did and something like this were to happen, you should try to contact the manager directly. They can call the repair department and try to find the status of a repair. I can't fathom why they did not do this for you. If the customer service was especially bad, you can either write a letter to the company or call the customer service number. (Unfortunately, I don't have it written down with me, but I noticed it was on a rebuttal to another post if you feel the need to make a phone call.)

Though I had no connection with your visits to Ritz, I apologize for the employees of the store giving you such a bad taste in your mouth. Please contact Customer Service or the company so they can fix the problem in the future. Again, I apologize for your bad experience.