"I made the mistake of placing a $36,000 ($40k by the end of it) astrophotography order with WH. It went wrong from the start. Because I placed the order over the phone, Farah, the owner, refused to give me store reward points, citing her margins. If I had placed the order on the site, the points would have appeared. Four days before delivery of the scope and mount (a heavy crate), I tried calling and emailing WH to get them to tell the shipping company to switch to inside delivery. They did not answer multiple emails or return calls for ~four whole days~. Farah was supposed to own this and completely fumbled it. The delivery company left $20,000 worth of gear in my apartment lobby unattended, without obtaining my signature, and Farah refused to own up to the mistake OR do anything to get the scope into my apartment. Curbside delivery was not what was discussed when I placed the order. She claimed she didn't know it was an apartment (disingenuous and irrelevant) when my address clearly had an apartment number in it. when I told her I don't know if the scope was damaged because I didn't get to inspect it, her response was "if you open the crate to check, you can't return it". What?!? You would think that spending this much would at least get you basic communication, a little bit of honesty, and most of all, the absolute basic minimum of actually fulfilling the order. Weeks went by without getting any other parts. The first time I called in to check status, much to my surprise, they said they had stock for some parts. I realized over the next few weeks that Farah and crew were not filling my order as they got these hard to get, 1-3 month backordered parts in stock because they simply ~forgot~. How does that happen? If you know a customer who placed a massive order with you is already upset because you botched the delivery and first fulfillment, wouldn't you put that order on your list of priorities? Wouldn't you try very hard to not mess up any other part of the order? Wouldn't you try to not repeat the same mistakes when you are specifically told multiple times- here are my problems: you don't respond to emails, you don't return calls, and you aren't monitoring stock to fill my order? Nope, not in Farah's world. The same pattern of calling and emailing with no response & failed promises of callbacks happened for literally FIVE months. It was like pulling teeth to get every last incremental bit of the order and they neither learned nor changed behavior at any point. It's only when I got Farah on the phone directly and forced her to check stock and give me a tracking number that I received parts of the rest of my order. She was audibly put out by it every single time. Sorry I made you actually fill the order I paid for months ago, Farah. Once, she failed to ship out a Chroma filter that had an 8-10 week lead time TWICE when they got it in stock. I had to cancel it and spend $300 elsewhere to avoid waiting another 2+ months. I could not trust that they would actually ship it out when they got it in stock. Another time, I was promised a replacement for a missing part, and had to call in literally 5 days in a row to actually get Farah on the phone because weeks had elapsed with no response about the replacement. It was shocking when I got her on the phone to find out they had my replacement in stock, and again, just forgot to fill my order. This need to constantly call in to monitor the basic promise of fulfilling my order is abhorrent. The emails and tone from Farah were all about absolving herself of responsibility. She doesn't understand or care about customer service in the least, and it shows when you speak to her or anyone else at WH. She wouldn't even entertain free shipping on small items to make up for any of her failures. WH has no concept of goodwill when they mess up an order. I will absolutely never do business with WH again, and I know I am not the first person in the astro community to have these sorts of problems. Take your money elsewhere.

"

"If I could give a zero star I would. I purchased a camera from their website following an add banner on Amazon. The camera was $575.00. A few minutes after I printed my receipt I received and email receipt confirming my order. A few minutes after that they called me and said the camera was not $575.00 it was actually $899.00 (They called and rather rudely communicated the list price was a mistake.) This transaction does not speak well of Woodland Hills Camera and telescope nor Amazon in my opinion."

"I try to ask the person about a Canon 2ti body kit; but then he cuts me off and said they got wiped out of Canon bodies for mothers day...right [sigh]. I said OK, can I finish my sentence, and asked about the FREE SD CARD and what kind FREE BAG came with it (he is already getting annoyed). He says "OH, Ok". So then I lastly ask why they want $25 dollars for standard UPS ground while everyone else including Amazon (obviously a touchy subject)is less than $10.00? Then he goes off on me and states that's because of insurance on the item (as if they are the only ones that do that). I then rebutted that it's a minor aspect of the UPS charge and that would not necessarily account for that. Now he turns into a GIANT D*ck and blasts a stupid analogy about taking my car in getting it fixed....WTF??? I tell him this exactly why you people get dinged on the FEEDBACK/COMMENT boards. So now that I am torqued I say thanks but I shall take my $500 plus and give it to a local merchant even if it cost more..THEN SAID..and update you BLANK BLANK computer to show that it is NOT IN STOCK... he mumbled something about being busy....BS. All you have to do is SHOW an ounce of RESPECT get off you lazy BLANK since mothers day was days ago, hello? is that so hard?"

"Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is an outstanding merchant and acknowledges first hand the consumer. My experience with this distributor has been both exemplry and a pleasure. The shop is knowledgable and accomodating whereby you get the right solution you are seeking and are afforded that satisfaction. The representation is excellent, the rapport established by the staff instills confidence in your purchase and affirms your choices. Bottom line, the staff and proprietor have the "right stuff" to serve your needs. I have been delighted to find people that view each transaction with attention to detail and customer satifaction first and foremost, in summation, very happy with this distributor and will continue to purchase in the future."

"I had placed an order for the Canon t2i camera package deal online, I was extremely impressed with the package deal pricing that I recieved from them for this camera. I had received a telephone call about 30 minutes after placing the order for the package deal and the gentleman that spoke with me was nice, and stated that they will be shipping everything out by the end of the day, but the only thing that I wouldnt be getting right away was the bag for the camerea since that was out of stock at the time and they will ship that out when they receive it. I stated that was fine. So then a few days go by and I havent recieved any emails in regards to shipment tracking on the order. So I had called them to confirm that the order was shipped and the Girl that I spoke with had a bit of an attitude on the phone. I kept telling her that the guy I spoke with a few days earlier stated that the order was being shipped out on the same day that I had placed it, she basically was short on answers "yes, no, i dont know what to tell you". Kinda rude! And if you check on their website for the package deal it say "All in Stock" so then I called back a few minutes later and the guy that I spoke with the other day had answered the phone, and he stated that he didnt tell me that the order was being shipped, a stated that one of the lenses was on back order, i told him thats not what you stated to me last week. he was like "Yes it was, I dont lie about things like that". So needless to say. I have to wait til they get thier shipment of merchandise and then wait for them to send everything out. Which will be like a 2-3 week process probably, I wasnt to impressed with the Quality of customer service and the time frame im very disappointed. "

"Most of the stores I went to before going to Woodland Hills Camera just had a bunch of kids working there who were more interested in talking to there co-worker friends then helping customers.
I bought a couple of canon point and shoots from Woodland Hills Camera last Christmas and even though they were very busy Steve still took the time to explain the different point & shoots available. He gave me a great deal and I didn't feel rushed or pressured.
I highly recommend them! "

" Well, I placed an order for a Canon T2i and two lenses, the package deal also comes with a bag and a memory card. The only clue you have from the web site that you may have to wait a very long time for your order, is the mention that you are placing a "pre-order". I called the store to get an Idea of a ship date, and the people were polite, they stated that it would be a bout a week. No big deal. Two weeks go by and no shipment email, so I called again to find that they are looking at 4-6 more weeks before they receive a shipment. So I figure 6-8 weeks for me getting my camera. Now i'm disappointed, very.
I can say that I have called them before about a telescope, and the person on the other end was willing to answer all of my questions, it was about a 5 minute phone call, so they are nice at least. But this whole waiting game, along with no mention of how long the wait my be when you place your order, has me miffed. Then again, I may just be an impatient American. "

"I had seen pricing for the T1i that I was ready to buy on Woodland Hills after finding them on a price comparing site, and was ready to order it when the T2i was announced. I checked their pricing for the kit with 2 lenses, bag and card one evening, and the price was $1,019 plus shipping, pre-order. By the time I called the next morning to make sure about the pre-order, the price had changed to $1,099. I mentioned that I had been interested in buying from them for a while and had seen the lower price the night before. They honored it for me, and for the first time I pre-ordered something that would not be delivered for at least a month. They were very helpful, didn't try to force accessories on me, and answered all of my questions during a couple of calls. They got a few of the kits in early and emailed me that they were shipping. At the time, it was a tough camera to get anywhere. I received it very quickly, well packed with everything as promised. I can only say it was a pleasant experience all the way. They are still on pre-order status, but are honest about it. I highly recommend them. Very smooth and the pricing was excellent. The bag and card were both good quality, and I would order from them again gladly."

"I recently purchased a the new Cannon T1I SLR camera from Woodland Hills. I spent about 2 weeks looking and stressing about which of the many companies that were selling T1I packages with telephoto lense, media storage, camera bag and such as it is our first real camera and we have nothing. After all of the searching and reading up on the NY companies (do some reasearch before buying from them) and making phone calls to each of them to feel them out I settled on Woodland Hills. My initial phone call with them was great I called back that day put in my order and had the T1I package Friday the 18th at 12:00pm.

I think I ended up spending maybe $50-75 more than the advertised prices of some of the others online but everything arrived quickly and as promised with no hassle."

"I ordered a Canon XS Rebel from them, the camera came on time. I had some questions, got on the phone, took a lot of time with me and they were very polite and helpful.
I would recommend them"

"I would never order from them again. I ordered an item from them online, then called just to confirm it was in stock, because it's backordered at some stores. The girl told me it's backordered until December - 4 months! She offered no apology for my inconvenience and didn't even ask if I wanted to cancel the order. I asked her to cancel it and she did, still with no apology for my time and trouble. The next day, I checked their website, curious if they had changed it to reflect the backordered status. It was still there for people to order as if it were in stock, with no mention of a 4 month wait, only now the price is $124 more! I would not trust this place at all!"