Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Pancros Filters Customer Service

Jon Schellenger

Jon Schellenger

REDuser Sponsor
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
194
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Guys,

I have a question for you- Sorry for the long post....

With the filter IR test and results that Evin did, there is something that I do not understand and maybe you guys can help me with this.

Pancros filters took the lead for the most part of the test, and I can see why. When you go to there website, their homepage celebrates the outcome of the test. We know that many of us will probably go to them to buy our set of NDs because of the outcome of the IR test.

I went on there website to learn more about the IR ND filter. I then tried to contact them over the phone and got an answering machine. Eventually I received an email saying that they would rather deal on line and not over the phone. No big deal, however, I usually like to talk to someone in person when I get ready to drop 1000 bucks on something. I hate waiting for email replies.

It took almost four days last month of emailing back and forth and waiting for replies for them to finally come back and say that my order was placed in. I am good about keeping my emails and sent mail as paper trails just in case I need to go back for reference.

Again- seemed very strange. They would ask me questions about what I was ordering, however, if they would have taken a second to scroll down through the "back and forth" replies, they would have been able to answer their questions. I sent them all my credit card and personal info- then two emails later, they ask for it like they had never seen an email with it. But again, if they scrolled down a bit, they would have seen previous replies of what I was attempting to order and my card info.

Again- seemed strange and was annoying, but no big deal. It just came across to me as though they are very unorganized.

They claim that it takes a month after you place your order for you to receive your filters. If you need them quicker, they say they may be able to help you out, however, they really need a month.

Well, towards the end of next week I have two big shoots going on. One on the 27th, and one on the 28th. They knew this when I placed my original order. It would have been a month right on the dot. With the way they dealt with taking my order, I thought I would play it safe and start emailing them early to find out how things were going and when I would receive my filters. A day later, I get a reply back that says - "I don't have your order in front of me.... what is your address?"

I stood there wondering what the heck that meant. I emailed them back 3 times over the last 3 days with no reply back.

So my question is this... They basically were one of the top filters that did really well during the IR filter test. They have a chance to be placed on the map with all the possible orders from RED users. However, they don't want to talk and deal over the phone.. their email reply time is terrible for such an expensive order.... Am I honestly doing something wrong? Is there a phone number that I should know about? Are you guys buying pancros filters from someone else? Is everyone dealing with the same type of service?

Sorry to vent, but I just can't believe that a company has a great chance to really be placed on the map only to be destroyed by this horrible customer service.
 
No problems here dealing with Tom by e-mail. Very fast response times. Still waiting for my order to be shipped though...

By the way: never send your CC information by e-mail!
 
This doesnt sound like Pancro at all, are you sure you are dealing with Tom?
They are a small company, and btw- they dont need to be "put on the map" as they already have an outstanding reputation in our industry and have for many years delivered outstanding products. Have patience, quality cant be rushed...if you need something fast you should be ordering from a dealer that stocks inventory of the larger brands.

Try emailing Tom Directly, I'm sure he will straighten out your order.
 
Yeah, guys trust me, I agree. I am the nicest guy on the planet. I took some time debating about posting this. I rarely ever post anything about a bad experience. If I am doing something wrong, I will ask for this thread to be deleted right away.

I know you guys are saying to just email Tom. That is exactly what I did three times last week. No response. I can't get an exact date or even an estimate of when my filters will come in.

Maybe he is sick and is out, or maybe vacation? I don't know.

I don't really want to complain. More then anything, I am wondering if you guys knew another way to contact them, or if you all had a "back door".

I do not know the history of their company, but they are probably like anyone else getting started and they are having basic growing pains.
 
Maybe Tom smoked the crack I sent him...I told him to be careful.

but seriously, I would give him a few days, he must be on vacation because he has been prompt responding to me in the past.

btw- I think Pancro has been around longer than all of us.
 
The slow response may be due to the Cine Gear Expo in LA this week (?)
Especially if they are a small company.
 
Okay- that may be the case. I did not know Cine Gear Expo was going on. You're probably right.

Or it could be the crack too. Digitalfx, can you send me some too?? he he..
 
I have had great experiences with Tom, we were one of the first groups to confirm and test the ND filters. He has always been very responsive and exceptionally friendly.

Remember, Pancro has been flooded with requests for the filters once our community became aware of them. Pancro has been in the industry for quite some time and I think it's important to remember that these are very small and specialized providers- this is not B+H, or Amazon.

I'm sure he'll get back to you. If not, and something has slipped through the cracks, have you considered asking on the forums if someone can rent you a set of filters for your shoot? It's always good to have a backup plan.

FWIW
 
Several vendors now have these filters. Stan Wallace, who owns The Filter Gallery, had several of them at his booth at Cinegear. Formatt, Schneider and Tiffen have them in stock. I would contact Stan at The Filter Gallery. He's a great guy and knows his filters. Good luck.
 
redsail, thanks man! I will check on that right away. Thanks again guys!
 
planetearth said:
I really hate dealing with companies that do that. When I lock in a deal like that I want a voice at the other end of the phone. Not only for my credit card, but to make sure all the details of the order are taken care of. I have no patience for email purgatory.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Hoe did you find ordering a RedOne camera then?

Stephen
 
It was easy. Placed our reservation. Then, when the time came, I called them on the phone. I dealt with Randy and it was a snap. He took time to talk to me and walk me through my account and he gave me fantastic advice as to what to order.

I would not get pancro mixed with RED. They don't even compare. RED accepts phone calls.
 
Status,

Not making excuses, but as has been said they are a small company and Cinegear has been going on. Not that that makes everything better, but it is an explanation.

I dealt with Tom also. He was amazingly responsive to e-mails. I think I had to wait 2 or 3 weeks for mine, but I had asked that they try to get them done in time for a shoot I had and they did.

My assumption is that because they were tops of the filter tests they may be getting slammed with orders.
 
Pancro Customer service

Pancro Customer service

Yes, All of us a Pancro went to Cine gear. We are at present stuck in the Burbank airport with a delayed flight for 10:00 pm if lucky. Before we came down here we were pushing filters out both doors as fast as we could. I do apologize for anyone that has felt ignored. We pride ourselves of having a unique and responsive customer experience. As soon as we get back to work on Monday we will jump all over any e-mail.
The reason that we like to do e-mail instead of phone correspondence is that it simply gives us more time to make your filters and get them to you. On another note we are currently updating our ordering structure, pricing and paypal merchant interface which will be able to be accessed on our website.
Please bear with us. We will get you your filters and you will never have to see magenta again!!
Also, statusfilms-could we possibly get your name so we can follow up.

Also:Greg-Thanks for the crack-it worked well. we're pretty amped!!!!! LOL
 
Harky,

That is my guess as well. I am not knocking Tom. He seems great through his emails. I am just concerned because I need these filters and I can't find out when they will be ready over the phone, and I have placed in emails with no reply.

Again, I don't really care that much. My overall question was if someone knew another way to get a hold of them, and how their experience has been with them.

I agree with the fact that they could either be busy or at that trade show. Just not sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top