Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

  • 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 :)

ARRI Customer Service Sucks - Team Red from this point forward!!!!!!!

Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I went to the arri Atlanta office today to potentially purchase the alexa mini. I spoke with one of the technicians who then directed me to one of the site managers.
Obviously she noticed I was wearing RED Gear through the window. She waved me off and said she doesn't have time to talk............excuse the hell out of me. A potential longtime customer just waved off. Money in hand to make the purchase and boom we don't care. Anytime Ive visited RED Miami, RED Irvine or RED Hollywood I have always been treated with respect as well as received hands on direction on any current or future products RED has to offer. If I had it my way I would never use any f****** products from arri ever again not a light or any f****** camera. I will stick with buying the Monstro instead.
 
An inappropriate reaction for sure but not official Arri policy. My experience with Arri staff has always been one of inclusion, professionalism and politeness even though they know I am a long time Red owner.
 
My advice: if you're going in to spend $50,000-$60,000+, get a name of a specific person, make an appointment, and then go down. Whether you're wearing a swim suit, a bathrobe, or a Red/Sony/Canon outfit, trust me: they'll sell you a camera.

Barring that, go through a dealer like AbelCine, Panavision, or one of the local dealers in your area. In some cases, they can get you a better deal than the manufacturer.
 
This is absolutely facts I will definitely take that advice next time around. I did find a good deal through Abelcine but I'm just going to stick with the RED flow of operations and go with the Monstro.
 
Gosh, people go nuts over brand names these days. Yes, I'm poking fun at all sides of the fence.

This sucks and you shouldn't have been treated that way. Especially as a potential customer.
 
She probably (mistakenly) thought you were a RED employee, since you were wearing RED-branded clothing. Or maybe she thought you were going to do some fanboy troll routine that would annoy her or get her in trouble. Whatever the case, it's on her and you are NTA. Still, you did walk into a Dunkin Donuts store wearing a Krispy Kreme outfit, so there is a lesson to be taken from this experience.
 
She probably (mistakenly) thought you were a RED employee, since you were wearing RED-branded clothing. Or maybe she thought you were going to do some fanboy troll routine that would annoy her or get her in trouble. Whatever the case, it's on her and you are NTA. Still, you did walk into a Dunkin Donuts store wearing a Krispy Kreme outfit, so there is a lesson to be taken from this experience.
I'm not honestly sure they cared or noticed. Arri makes a huge amount of dough, and they may have just been very busy at that moment and would have ignored anybody who came in because they had their hands full. Hanlon's Razor is often true: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Or in this case, people who just got overwhelmed and distracted.
 
1) Why would you wear RED gear clothing to go to make a purchase at ARRI to begin with ? It's practically unconscious sabotage.
2) Who cares anyhow ?
3) A site manager isn't necessarily a salesperson. She probably didn't even notice what you are wearing.
4) The entitlement of a customer in the US is breathtaking. Just because you have cash doesn't mean you don't have to stand in line.
5) If you wanted to buy a Mini, it's obviously for reasons which are more important than whether a single employee pisses you off.
6) I seem to remember RED reserving the right to not sell to anyone they deemed had a bad attitude. That statement in itself seemed pretty entitled on RED's part. Funny, I don't hear that one much anymore.
 
From your description of events it seems more likely to me that the Arri staff was busy and distracted as opposed to them making some conscious decision to ignore a possible customer based on their clothing. And while that's certainly not a good customer experience your reaction to it seems a bit out of proportion.

On a tangential note, I thought Arri's Atlanta office was an Arri rental location and wasn't aware they also handled sales at all.
 
Back
Top