Why I don't give my money to Ritz...

So I go to the local "Pro" camera shop, which has been around for probably 30 years. It used to be a pretty good camera store, and was the only place in town to buy pro or medium format gear. About 8 years ago, they were taken over by Ritz Camera. They still advertise themselves as a "Pro" camera shop, but they're still just another Ritz Camera. Every time I go in there, I just get pissed off and leave.

This last time I should have known better. I went in three days before Christmas to see if they had a Nikon D100 I could check out. I'm in the store about 5 minutes and the girl asks if there's anything they can show me.

Me: "Do you have a Nikon D100 I can see?"

Salesgirl: (Looks at pretentious salesguy) "Are we showing THE D100? Or is it, like, give me your credit card and I'll give it to you?"

Pretentious salesguy shakes head and mumbles: "Credit card."

Salesgirl: (to me) "Sorry, we're not showing it unless you're buying it."

Me: (not quite believing what I heard) "You're serious."

Salesgirl: "Yeah, it's our last one, and we figure whoever buys it will want one that hasn't been demo'ed."

Me: "I've spent my last nickel in your store. You guys could care less about the people who come in here. All I ever get here is attitude and misinformation. Seeya."

One time I was in there, the pretentious salesguy told me mail-order companies like B&H only sell gray-market camera equipment. Another time he told me the mail-order places only sell imported film as well. Both statements are false.

Another time I was looking for a bubble-level that fits in the camera's hotshoe; it makes it easier to level the camera with the horizon, since I have a ballhead. The Ritz guy didn't know what I was talking about, and tried to sell me a cheap Bogen ballhead with a level on the mount.

So I go to the real camera store in town, which sells mostly used camera gear and darkroom equipment. I sold my dad's darkroom stuff to them a few months ago, and they were great to deal with.

The guy tells me they have two D100s, one new and one slightly used (the owner returned it for a D1X). Did I want to see the new one? No, the used one is fine. So he takes it down, slaps a 28-70 f/2.8 AFS on it and a CompactFlash card in the slot and tells me to take some test shots.

So, there I am wandering around the store with a $2000 camera body and a $1400 lens, and my guy goes off to help another customer. I could have walked out the front door. Never again will I spend money at a Ritz.

The D100 is a pretty neat camera. The guy at Southeastern told me they sold 6 the Saturday before Christmas.