Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 Part 2: The Equipment story

Alright, so I don’t know where to start this, so I’ll just start and hope it makes sense. This is a long one.

The company I bought this gear from is called 4videoequipment. Their website is the same, just add the dot com to the end of it. These guys are pieces of shit.

What I ordered was the Glidecam V-16 system and a tripod kit. I don’t know how long ago now it was that I started asking for quotes from various companies. If anyone is in the market, I highly recommend Michael O’Connor at Cinequip Whites. He’s a stand up guy and showed a lot of patience with me as I pestered him because I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted yet.

So I stumble across this 4video site one night and check out the prices. They had the lowest price for the V-16 system and I try to use the shipping calculator on their site, but it doesn’t work. I figure I might as well get the tripod kit they have, which consists of the head I want, and my second choice for the legs, and the V-16 kit all at the same place and hopefully save on shipping costs.

The next morning I email them saying that I couldn’t get the shipping calculator to work, and how much would it be for these items. Almost as soon as I hit send, there’s a message in my inbox saying that they’ll give me shipping for free, and there’s a used V-16 if I’m interested. I write back saying that it sounds good, and how much will it be. Again, almost as soon as I hit send, there’s a message in my inbox that asks for my phone number and he’ll call me shortly. I give my phone number and wait for my call.

Meanwhile on this day, I told my Dad I would go out with him and run errands. I ask if he can wait for about 20 minutes as I’m expecting a call. He obliges me. Twenty minutes go by, and I don’t get the call. I say to myself that I’ll get ready to hit the road with my Dad, and if there’s still no phone call, I’ll email Henry back and tell him I had to step out and to call me later.

I finish getting ready, and no phone call, so I send an email saying I’ll be out but I’ll throw him an email when I return. I get back and throw him an email. This is June 5th.

The next day I get an email back from him saying that he had to run out and he’s working on a quote for the used V-16. I kind of got the impression that he said he had to run out because of spite that I had to run out. Of course, I think I’m just being crazy and ignore it.

Two days later on June 9th, I send an email asking for the quote. I know I have this shoot coming up, and I think I’ll get all this sorted out and delivered before the shoot date; and in well enough time to practice and get used to the new gear. My stupidity will come back to kick me in the nuts. Anyways, he hits me back saying that he’s still working on the demo price.

Three days later, on the 12th, I send another email asking for the quote. Finally, on the 16th, he sends me the quote and says if I order today or tomorrow, he’ll still throw in free shipping. I say okay, and ask him how to order. I know the shipping will be ground, which should be about a week. This means I should get the stuff on the 23rd at the latest. Still plenty of time. He tells me to contact this cat named Sam that works there. Before I even get that email, I got a phone call from Sam. We do the transaction.

Well, on the 23rd, I don’t receive my stuff. I wait until the Tuesday, the 24th and I still don’t have my stuff, so I email Sam asking for a tracking number for my order. I don’t hear back.

On Wednesday, the 25th, I email Henry asking for a tracking number. I don’t hear back.

On Thursday, the 26th, I email their support department asking for a tracking number. I don’t hear back. Now remember, I ordered this stuff on the 16th, so this is ten days without any shipment, and without any word on the status of my shipment. I believe I’m being very patient at this point so far.

On Friday, the 27th, I begin a barrage. I email every department through their website and call the toll free line hoping to get a hold of someone. I finally get a hold of someone and ask for the tracking number. This piece of shit says that all he can do is pass the message off to Sam who sold me the stuff. Well, that’s just great, I’m sure your little post-it note will get him to respond more than the three messages I left on his answering machine.

I phone and leave a message on every message I could get. A total of five messages. This still doesn’t elicit a response. I fill out the form on the website saying I’m not pleased and thinking I got ripped off. I finally get a response from Henry saying that they’ve been having phone/ email issues and he’ll give me the tracking number as soon as he can get into the accounting system.

Alright. What the fuck? I didn’t have a problem leaving five messages on various answering machines, and that dude didn’t have a problem picking up the phone the one time I called. Also, shouldn’t your accounting system have nothing to do with your email? Email is accessed through an ISP, how is your accounting system run through an ISP? Shouldn’t that just be an application on the network that you can access regardless of internet availability? Wait, this lack of getting access to the accounting system will be important later on.

I respond saying that if he hasn’t shipped it yet, just tell me he hasn’t shipped it yet. I tell him that I need the equipment for the fifth, as that’s when the start of my project that I need the equipment for is. Being as how this is Friday, I don’t expect my request to be fulfilled on the weekend, but I hope to have the tracking number sitting in my inbox on Monday.

Monday, June 30th. No tracking number in my inbox. I write back again asking for this tracking number. A tracking number I should’ve got the day after I ordered when they shipped it.

Finally a response! He promises to sort this out today and provide tracking, and he’ll make sure I have the gear before the end of the week, at his expense. I know what you’re thinking, “at his expense?” How can he have more of an expense if it’s already been shipped out? Didn’t he say he had to access the accounting program to give me a tracking number? Doesn’t that imply that it’s already been shipped? These are questions I had as well.

After trying to get a tracking number for four days, not including the weekend, it’s an easy answer as to why I didn’t get one: there wasn’t one.

He gets back to me saying that he’ll explain shortly and it’s understandable. Well, shit I can’t wait to hear what’s so understandable about something I ordered two weeks ago not being shipped yet. I wait to hear it until after they say they close and I write back saying that I want to know what’s going on with my expensive order, and I want to know exactly what’s going on with it, or I’m going to the Better Business Bureau and to my credit card company. I don’t tell him other plans I have though.

The next day, July 1st, Tuesday, he sends me an email back saying that they are moving their office, their phones got ported wrong, internet was late, and the staff got behind a bit, but he’s sending my goods international priority so I should get it before Friday. I don’t know how this explains shitty customer service, and why my shit wasn’t shipped two weeks ago, but we’ll see what happens.

Later on that day, I get an email with a tracking number for the V-16. He says the tripod will be here on Thursday, and he doesn’t have a tracking number for it at the moment. The next day there’s no tracking number for the tripod, so I thank him for the tracking number on the V-16 and ask him to send me the tracking number for the tripod.

I don’t hear back from him, so I tell him that I hope he sent out the tripod today as the V-16 got caught at customs and won’t get here until the next day, which will be Thursday. Friday is July 4th, and therefore a holiday for them.

On July 3rd, today, I get the V-16. I tell him that everything seems to be there after I checked the contents to the package list and also let him know that I have yet to receive a tracking number for the tripod. I also ask why there’s no communication after he got my money. Fucking shit-heel that he is.

He writes back at twenty to four and says that the guys didn’t ship it out like he told them to, but he’s working on it, and FedEx told him that if he gets it on their last plane tonight, I’ll have it tomorrow. I’m not so sure, so I go back outside and continue setting up the one item from this scum-sucker that I actually did get.

Well, wouldn’t you know it? Twenty minutes later, at 4 o’clock, the day before the long weekend, I get an email saying that he’ll be unable to ship it because he’s having “issues” that is preventing him. He says at this point he can “hopefully” (exact words) have it out to me next week or he can offer me a refund so I can get it somewhere else.

Where the fuck else am I going to get it now? I blast him with an email. I don’t hear a response obviously. I also write him back and tell him that I’ll drive to Jersey to go pick it up. I haven’t heard back from him. I’m tempted to call him on his home phone that I found and scream at him there. I decide not to. I also have his address. I play with the idea of sending him a letter that just says “boom.” I decide against that too as I’m sure there’s laws against it; even in Jersey.

If you’re reading this Henry, you might want to watch who you fuck around with on the webbernetz. I have your home phone and address, and I’m not going to do anything with it, but it just goes to show you how easy it is to get. I wasn’t even looking for it and I found it. If you fuck over the wrong guy, you better have a kick ass alarm system and someone else opening your mail.

So that’s my story with the shitheads from 4videoequipment. After that experience I went to B&H and got my tripod there, with my first choice legs and I have to rush ship it so I’ll have it by the shoot next Thursday. I’m also going to have to rent a tripod with Bill when I go to Toronto tomorrow. I’d send these assholes the bill if I thought they would pay it. I’m also going to have to call the credit card company tomorrow and cancel that part of the bill for no delivery.

I have other plans but I’m not going to mention it until I get my refund. If I would’ve got the tripod today or tomorrow, I would’ve left it alone, but after tonight, I have no choice. If I would’ve got the tripod today or tomorrow, I wouldn’t even have included this stupid story at all. You’re a sack of shit Henry, and I hope karma eats your organs.

So what’re my conclusions? Well, I think Henry is actually a solo operation over there. I think his wife/ girlfriend/ captive minor, recorded the message for the customer service machine that never gets answered. I think Sam and Henry are the same person. I don’t think there are any employees there, just a sack of shit in the middle of the room that someone named “Henry.” I don’t think he has any equipment at his “store” at all. I think the reason it took me so long to get my V-16 is because he had to wait until he got it shipped to him, and I don’t think he ever had the tripod, and still doesn’t and that’s why it didn’t ship. Furthermore, I think he lies about all of this and scams people out of money.

So if you like to throw money away for things you’ll never ever get, then I highly recommend 4videoequipment. If you actually like to receive products that you think you bought, then stay away from them and go to B&H or Cinequip Whites (Canada). There’s also some other highly recommended places, but I’m not a billboard.