Friendly Petition to Abel

[Frank Weeks]

I must admit, the no price thing is a problem for me.

I was on there sight earlier today looking for Mitchell base sticks. I don't want to call for a quote. It doesn't seem to be an issue on most of the other sights I deal with.

Mitch have always been a positive influence on this forum and I enjoyed meeting him at NAB. Perhaps he can convince others that some fine tuning of Abel's website and response time would be a wise move. For the record, every time I have contacted Mitch he has responded immediately. I'm glad their listening.

 

[David Rasberry]

Abel rules, I could not be happier with a company. That some would compare them with B&H is both funny and a little depressing.

Did not mean to compare B&H and ABEL, they operate on two completely different business models. Consumer retailer vs professional services company.
At what they do though, B&H is a model of efficiency.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

And now I have James, my Personal Abel rep at Abel LA, Great, it sound it like a great person, and happy to have to deal with the same person over and over as to build a good relation ship.

He sound it like a very motivated guy, and ready to meet any of my purchasing needs, I like this, I like this so much that now I must start spending some money

ciao

 

[Mitch Gross]

When I sa we are listening, I really mean WE. Abel Cine Tech has been actively working on our website experience for soe time now. Certainly today has brought this to the attention of many people and helped illuminate some of the issues at hand. We do not take this lightly and we are always looking to improve our business and our clients' experience.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

Able has done AMAZING things for me in customer service.

That's lovely to hear, but it does make me ponder why it appears to be so inconsistently applied...inconsistency across your customer base is not a good performance model.

Not here to bitch, just wonder why some people are having experiences which are so diametrically opposed to my own, while others seem to echo sentiments quite similar to my own. The treatment of customers seems very unevenly applied.

Agree with Jeff, on the other hand, that Mitch is a very valuable resource to these boards. His contributions encouraged me to push a large piece of business to Abel, but there was nothing on the sales side that would encourage me to go back.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

When I sa we are listening, I really mean WE. Abel Cine Tech has been actively working on our website experience for soe time now. Certainly today has brought this to the attention of many people and helped illuminate some of the issues at hand. We do not take this lightly and we are always looking to improve our business and our clients' experience.

Thanks Mitch, I'm very pleased of this, as I tired of other companies way of business, take your money and go F*^%%^ yourself kind of thing, and I know of Abel capacity to do a high end personalized business were the customer is always a priority, and today I was proved of such service when I was contacted various times to insure that a rep was to take care of my account from now on, and sure look forward to bring serious business to Abel.

That's lovely to hear, but it does make me ponder why it appears to be so inconsistently applied...inconsistency across your customer base is not a good performance model.

Not here to bitch, just wonder why some people are having experiences which are so diametrically opposed to my own, while others seem to echo sentiments quite similar to my own. The treatment of customers seems very unevenly applied.

Agree with Jeff, on the other hand, that Mitch is a very valuable resource to these boards. His contributions encouraged me to push a large piece of business to Abel, but there was nothing on the sales side that would encourage me to go back.

I agree with your statement and I was my self a very unhappy customer want to be, and the reason to make this post, but today I was very pleased with the service received and promise that such great service will continue to be provided making my needs a priority so that no need for me to shop elsewhere would ever arise.

I believe that no matter how small a company is, when you have multiple locations and various employees, there is always space and possibilities for inconsistency, and for this I applaud Mitch's request to bring to attention such occasions as to have the proper channeled info reach the person in charge and make necessary adjustments, when and were needed.

ciao

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Overall, I have had good experiences with Abel. Yes, there have been times when it's taken them a little while to get back to me and if time is of the essence that could lead to me going elsewhere. But they have always been great to deal with on the phone or in email exchanges. There have been a couple of times I received the wrong product from what I ordered and Abel has corrected the situation and sent me the right stuff.

I agree with everyone's opinion that Mitch has been an important resource on this forum. He has always responded to technical questions I've thrown at him. And although he is not on the sales team per se he has done quite a bit of selling here on this site, alerting us to new products such as Red Null and others.

Ketch seems to have lit a fire under the sales team there, and maybe we'll all benefit from it, whether it's improved customer service (if you're not getting that now) or an improved e-commerce site. The bottom line is they are paying attention and that's what good companies do.

 

[Evin Grant]

That's lovely to hear, but it does make me ponder why it appears to be so inconsistently applied...inconsistency across your customer base is not a good performance model.

Not here to bitch, just wonder why some people are having experiences which are so diametrically opposed to my own, while others seem to echo sentiments quite similar to my own. The treatment of customers seems very unevenly applied.

Agree with Jeff, on the other hand, that Mitch is a very valuable resource to these boards. His contributions encouraged me to push a large piece of business to Abel, but there was nothing on the sales side that would encourage me to go back.

I think the difference comes from a Co. that's built it's customer service culture on personal relationships. Those are hard to create online or in a few minutes on the phone. I've been buying from Joe and Jarrod at Able Burbank for 3+ years now. I come in, chat them up and if I need a quote it's usually in my inbox in 15 min. (on weekdays during Biz hours). I am more often than not surprised by the deals they can provide, especially on the big ticket items. On the smaller stuff they are limited by volume but are still competitive and have always addressed any issue promptly.
If you need prices NOW! there are a few places to get them (Filmtools, B&H)
I find Abel can almost always match or beat those prices. I just hope that doesn't change just to have prices quoted online.

 

[Charles Angus]

Firstly, I don't own my own gear, so this discussion is not super-relevant to me, but bear with me here.

Secondly, I want to add my voice to those applauding Mitch Gross for his positive online presence here (and on CML, for that matter).

Now, to what I have to say:

In my experience, there is a hierarchy of speed in communication. It goes like this: in person, phone, email, mail. This is also the order of urgency, as people see it. Real people are dealt with, then phone calls, then emails, then mail.

If you want something done quickly, and to be a high priority item, go in person and stand there while they do it. If that's not practical, call on the phone. Ideally, stay on hold if they need to check something - letting them call back WILL take longer. Email (and e-forms) are for when the next day (sometimes two) is fine. Mail is for next week (maybe).

I think people need to remember this. If you are emailing, you are saying, "I can wait."

I have observed this at many different businesses, and believe it to be the case pretty much across the board.

 

[Alan Rosenfeld]

Strict Hassidic Jews, they close for the Sabbath too, and all Jewish Holidays.
Unlike Abel though they are mainly a box sales house, not a professional services company. Very different business model. Their NY store is a trip! Worthwhile techno geek tourist site if you are in the city.

Actually, I am with a new division of B&H called The Studio at B&H. We are the professional services division dealing with the Broadcast and Digital Cinema industries. We have just opened our new hands on showroom in Manhattan. We are the Northeast reseller of Assimilate Scratch, own a Red One and sell accessories for the Red.

More to come...

 

[Florian Stadler]

Abels SERVICE is great. I had bought a Panny monitor from them more than a year ago. The yoke tightening mechanism got screwed up on set. I brought it in and their machine shop fixed it right there and then on the spot - no charge. That's service. As an online retailer - not so much. Pick up the phone and talk to them and you'll be happy...

If I have a beef with Abel it's that their NY rental department sends out IDX Wevis with freaking AB mounts and don't think it's neccesary to let me know about their little modificaton rendering that item close to useless.

 

[Kevin Wild]

I love working automated as much as anyone and ordering equipment without a human involved. Great. But if you're ordering a lot of equipment, it's a little silly to not get a rep to give you pricing. We've ordered a lot through Abel lately via Jonathan Epner. I've found the experience 100% great.

Sorry...we still need humans in this process. If you order a lot of gear...call Jonathan or get another rep.

For ballpark pricing, I just go to B&H's site. Easy.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Ketch seems to have lit a fire under the sales team there, and maybe we'll all benefit from it, whether it's improved customer service (if you're not getting that now) or an improved e-commerce site. The bottom line is they are paying attention and that's what good companies do.

Hehe, I'm known to do that, for the good and for the bad, it just happens when you have a big Italian mouth and kent/want keep it SHOT!!

ciao

 

[Mitch Gross]

If I have a beef with Abel it's that their NY rental department sends out IDX Wevis with freaking AB mounts and don't think it's neccesary to let me know about their little modificaton rendering that item close to useless.

Florian, thanks for the kind words. As for the Wevis, we're almost exclusively an AB mount shop so we buy them from IDX that way (they make both AB mount and V-Lock). We're always happy to send them out with V-Lock adapters at no extra charge.

 

[Frank Weeks]

Actually, I am with a new division of B&H called The Studio at B&H. We are the professional services division dealing with the Broadcast and Digital Cinema industries. We have just opened our new hands on showroom in Manhattan. We are the Northeast reseller of Assimilate Scratch, own a Red One and sell accessories for the Red.

More to come...

I must admit that B&H is trying to reach the professional sector.

Alan sent me a PM (unsolicited) after I inquired about a problem on reduser (11 series Panny). It's nice when a business goes out of their way to assist customers. Even when it wasn't a direct request. Thanks Alan.

 

[Alan Rosenfeld]

I must admit that B&H is trying to reach the professional sector.

Alan sent me a PM (unsolicited) after I inquired about a problem on reduser (11 series Panny). It's nice when a business goes out of their way to assist customers. Even when it wasn't a direct request. Thanks Alan.

My pleasure. We will be holding some tech seminars about the Panny PF11 series next month for NY area folk, I'll post details in the near future.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Strict Hassidic Jews, they close for the Sabbath too, and all Jewish Holidays.

Ohhhhhhhhh Sabbath. I guess I usually just shop on Friday nights and was always assuming it was closed every night. I couldn't think why they would have "hours" for their website. Yeah no business on the sabbath--makes a lot more sense now.

 

[LukaszPruchnik]

I asked Abel about 3 weeks ago for a price quote on Arri FF4. They never got back to me. I contacted them once more and the same story.
I took my business elsewhere, bought 2 Arri FF4 units at Filmtools.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Florian Stadler]

Mitch, it won't power the camera anymore through AB battery - Wavi - V-Lock adapter - V-lock battery plate - red. Too much adapting....

IDX is a v-mount product and if you're renting it as an ab product disclaim...

 

[XiaoSu Han]

The funny thing is that the national sales director of Abel Cine contacted me via email regarding our experience and I tried to reply twice, only to get the message that their spam engine blocked my reply.

How ironic.