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Review 1/18/2008
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SALES: The sales aspect of this company was OK in my experience. The people I spoke to seemed reasonably patient, and willing to inform me regarding my curiosities. Whether the information provided was 100% correct or not, I am not sure. I have my standards, and standards are often subjective. There are a few aspects regarding the products I received which I would not exactly describe as "great", or "excellent" in my own words, as they did. I wish I was more thoroughly informed about certain details, especially of the Vixen Porta-Mount; it has a few very cheap parts, which annoy my standards, and seem obnoxious for the $400 price. However, it does work very well whilst it lasts. I simply conjecture it to be short-lived with such parts as the ultra cheap alt-azimuth-adjusting-knob-shafts, and the frail accessory-tray levers, and ridiculous threaded plastic nut. Such components seem more appropriate for a drugstore telescope special. The telescope I purchased was referred to as an apo-chromatic despite reality, but Televue themselves are responsible for this misleading advertisement.
SERVICE: I ordered a used Televue Pronto and Porta-Mount, and the sales-person was very helpful and prompt in complying with my request to make my order resemble the popularly advertised new Televue 76mm-complete-package as much as possible. I got just what I "wanted", aside from the screw-on lens cover (important, but not immediately paramount). I called and requested that it be sent, and they seemed happy to take care of this rather quickly. With this request, I simultaneously ordered an LV-Zoom 8x24 mm eyepiece for the scope, and I am perhaps naive to have fantasized, but I had hoped that these two items would be combined and sent without shipping costs. This was not the case, and I was charged a semi reasonable fee of approximately $7.95 for USPS mail for the eyepiece. Had my fantasy come true, I'd be more inclined to give a higher rating. But by my grandiose standards, when the customer is inconvenienced after placing a $1300-$1460 order, a small shipping fee should be complimentary. And aside from that, the 8x24 zoom arrived in flawed condition, with a spot on the lens which after ten minutes with a Lenspen and microfiber cloth, I was unable to remove. They said they'd be happy to correct this by mailing another, along with a return ticket.
I would like to see them improve their receipt policy, and perhaps send both an email and a mailed receipt too. At first, I got neither with my shipment. Though after calling and inquiring, a receipt arrived via USPS promptly. They had mentioned trouble with their e-mail service, so I may have ordered at an awkward time.
SHIPPING: Everything arrived packed considerably well, and here I have no comments for improvement of any sort, aside from encouraging a receipt/invoice to be included. There is no need to worry about the safety of a product shipped from this company, unless UPS plays football with the package.
SUMMARY: I think these are reasonable people, and based on my experience, would recommend this business to someone in the market for the products Woodland Hills Camera/telescope provide, as long as they were very well informed. I would advise beginners to avoid them until they know exactly what to buy. Customer service was always prompt, with minimal holding time. They tolerated my frustration well, and returned my phone calls too. While I did not necessarily feel as if I was adored, I found all those I interacted with to be more respectful than average, with only a very subtle hint of irritation on one occasion. In comparison, they are perhaps above average by my standards, but do not have what I consider outstanding tactics/policy.
Their return policy is strict; bear no hopes of exchanging a product for a full cash return, unless of course it is clearly defective. They are willing to exchange products for products only. While I cannot criticize this company, I can honesty say that when considering what I payed, I wholly regret this purchase. If I could do it over again, I would purchase a William Optics for much less. It would be new, come with a hard case, and the additional 10mm aperture would likely compensate for the lesser optical quality. In the end, I have chosen to return the product/s, and must suffer a substantial restocking fee. And after that, I will not be having any telescopes, period, for a long time:(
- Not happy, but it's my own fault.
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