Thanks Reggie for a great lens rental experience

After a really frustrating experience trying to rent a high powered telephoto lens from a company in NY, I found Ritz in Bethesda. Reggie was so kind on the phone and Mike was amazing too me when I came in to pick up my rental equipment. My experience with this Ritz was sterling and I will rent from them again and Im planning on taking one-on-one classes with Mike. Give them a chance you wont be disappointed.

They have a decent collection of photography equipment (on a scale of 1-10 I would say a 6.5 on the equipment). Definitely expensive when compared to other possible sources. But they have a attractive rental service, but not quite complete. They have very good potential in the rental market it they can improve on the rental collection.

An open letter to Ritz Camera: or many years I have been an avid photographic hobbyist and had been considering enter the realm of professional weekend photographer as a way to earn extra income and work my way further into the business. My funding has been somewhat limited as a start-up and was extremely excited to see that Ritz Camera had an excellent deal on Amazon for a pro grade Canon camera. I managed to find enough money in my budget to purchase this camera on the great offer from Ritz. After my transaction was complete on Amazon, I received an order confirmation and was advised through the sight that my order was being prepared for shipping. Sometime later, I received a message from Amazon that my order had been cancelled. My immediate reaction was great disappointment and then anger. Although my anger has subsided slightly, I am extremely disappointed that a company would retract a posted price and cancel an order. I would think that an upstanding company would stand behind its word and price. My loyalty as a customer normally runs deep. I am usually the one that will forgive small and even some medium sized transgressions. I am a repeat customer to those companies that have honesty and integrity. I will even pay a higher price to those companies that put the customer first. As a start-up photographer, I’d imagine that is the impressionable and most desired customer to have. Pleasing a customer like me will always earn you years of repeat purchases. I was hoping to find a one-stop, no-hassle retailer for my camera needs. I have already left scathingly bad reviews on Amazon and on Social Media regarding my initial experience with Ritz Camera. I want to apologies for my harsh language in those reviews. However, I continue to be extremely disappointed that my order was cancelled. My final hope is that Ritz do the honorable thing and hold to its commitments. Thank you for your time and have a blessed day.

Im very pleased with the service provided at this store. I called in advance to check if they have a Nikon D5500 in stock (which is almost impossible to find anywhere but online) and they did had only one. I asked the gentleman over the phone if he could hold it for me. When I got to the store, 2 hours after, the camera was there with a stick note with my name on it. The young dude from Colombia was very nice too.Thank you guys for the outstanding customer service. Ill be back for more.

This store has outstanding customer service and a professional staff, worthy of praise.. I intend to go there tomorrow to get holiday photos done, and after the care and respect they showed me-- and the photo of our beautiful girl-- during a time of sorrow, I know the results will be just as I wish. Thank you for the photos and the holiday ones to come.

Ritz Camera in Bethesda is like great retail stores were like in the old days: knowledgeable staff that like what they are doing. Their developing work has been great. Price on an SD card was same as discount stores.

On Sunday I brought a selection of family photographs to the Ritz on Arlington Rd, Bethesda to be copied for a photo exhibit at my aunts funeral. Some of the photos were 60-70 years ago, and have sentimental meaning. I discussed the project with Steve, and he personally copied the photos, treated them respectfully and made good suggestions about technique. His service made a sad time easier, and Ill return to this Ritz for future photography projects.

I had misplaced the telephone number of this place and went on google where I was amazed at these negative reviews. I am a Photographer that last year was entirely satisfied with the service I received at this store. That is why I needed to contact them again this year to mount and laminate my pictures for a showing later this year. I dealt with Steve who not only knows his stuff but is very easy to work with and does what he says hell do. Mike is a great at the mounting and laminating. He has great attention to detail.I feel I can safely assume my experience will again be great.Ignore the negative reviews.

I purchased a camera from Rita Camera on Amazon. I was very excited to receive my new camera!! After taking several pictures I realized something was off about the color in the photos. I took the camera to a local Photo store and asked them what it could be. After taking a few photos themselves and looking at the pictures, they said that they believed it had an internal processing problem. I came home and contacted Ritz Camera. They emailed me a return slip and prepaid shipping form. I boxed it up and shipped it back. They told me that they would turn right around and ship me a new camera as soon as they received the defective camera. To date, I still do not have a replacement camera! They received the defective camera over 2 weeks ago! During this time, we have been promised on SEVERAL occasions by customer reps and Supervisors that the camera will be shipped right out! To this date, the camera has NOT been shipped and I still have NO new camera!! SO disappointing!! VERY POOR customer service!!! :(

In-store service is fantastic and professional. If youre not in the store, however -- good luck. They rarely answer the phone, and they dont contact you when your order is complete, even if you ask them to call you and they write your number on the order - so the only way you can really interact with the staff is to drive over, park, and walk in. No email notifications either. I use Costco for most photographic services because of their dependable and predictable service. I go to Ritz when I need especially good quality for special work - like digitizing slides. Their quality in these areas is better than Costco. And of course you can have intelligent conversations with the staff on professional photographic concerns.

(This review is meant only to reflect on the gear rentals at Ritz as I have not used them for other services) Ritz Camera has the potential to be a great place for rentals. They have some pretty awesome glass. My first experience was great. Peggy was the individual who helped me. She was friendly and got me exactly what I needed and quickly. However this past weekend was a different story. Traffic was bad and I was worried about making my shoot on time. So i called Ritz about 35 minutes out and explained the situation. The gentlemen said absolutely. Everything is ready to go. All you have to do is come in and grab it. When I arrived at the store not only was the gear NOT ready, but a lot of the gear wasnt even available. Like Jerry Seinfeld said, Anyone can take a reservation, its the holding of the reservation thats important. Not only were some of the lenses I had requested not available but I had also requested 2-3 extra batteries per camera. There were none available and only one battery charger. So out I went on a shoot with one battery in each camera. Needless to say this past experience was far worse than the first one was good but I do feel with the proper leadership and motivation Ritz camera could be a reliable place to rent gear. However as it is now they are not able to coordinate rentals of their gear effectively enough to ensure all of their clients get what they reserved. One of the employees even told me that the employees will just grab a lens out of a reserved bag to place it elsewhere. While he may have been trying to make himself look better in reality the whole company looks unprofessional.

I used to always shop and rent at Calumet Photographic on E Street in DC. When Calumet Photographic and Penn Camera went out of business I was bummed. I did not even realize Ritz was still around. When I went in there, the staff all seemed really knowledgeable and like they actually cared. I didnt buy a camera or anything but they seemed to have plenty. I printed one of my pictures on canvas which they actually did there in the store which I thought was impressive. I was even able to pick it up same day. All in all my experience with Ritz was great. I am glad I still have a place to print pictures and rent lenses!

I went there to buy an advanced point and shoot. I looked around for about 10 minutes, and finally someone came to help me. I thought he was a customer because he was talking with an employee behind the desk. He seemed disinterested in selling me a camera.He was checking the computer to see if they could price match, the camera I was considering. I was looking at the camera bags. I found a camera in one of the bags. Apparently it had gone missing. I said, hey I should get a discount for that and they laughed. They couldnt price match what I was looking at, and I left.

Superior customer service from the store manager. Helped me muddle through a new flash that was giving me problems. He took time in person and on the phone and was committed to helping solve my problem.

All of the Ritz stores closed shop around me in Rockville, so having to travel to Bethesda aside, this store rocked. Huge selection of Canon/Nikon lenses with an excellent and knowledgeable staff. Good luck finding parking though ;)

Great place. The sales reps are very helpful and try their best to get you want you are looking for.

Great selection of cameras and the staff is very knowledgable about them. Also had some of the best deals for the camera I was looking for and came with a bunch of bonus items.

I ordered a lens that should be delivered 3 to 7 business days. I called them on the sixth day because they never sent me an tracking number. and they told we are out of stock. So I asked when they can have one for me. The answer we are not sure so we cant give you a date. They never contact me to let me they are out of stock. BAD. BAD customer service

The salesman was very knowledgeable & helpful. Got items next day just in time.

I ordered a camera, and after being told they GUARANTEE itll ship they cancelled it. Due to them promising this I returned my previous camera. Now I am screwed out of both deals and absolutely furious. I called, and the customer support team was absolutely rude and not understanding. This is the worst company I have dealt with next to Sprint, and people know how horrible they are.

I am Very Disappointed! I am not sure of who the manger is at this store but they need a serious help with keeping things in track. I counted on them to get the lens i needed for an important photo-shoot yet they told me it was out of stock even after I made sure i called the day before and made a RESV.I should have believed every negative comment that was said. I will do my best to make sure my BAD experience have been heard. That is how much i am Upset with This Store.

I used Ritz to buy my camera and to rent extra photography gear. Their staff is knowledgeable and the rentals are so reasonable!

Just tried to call Ritz/Bethesda. No answer and mailbox is full. GRRRR. Why do retailers not want to talk with people on the phone?

Friendly staff. Weak selection of cameras. Seems to focus on photo printing.

Im trying to call this location, but their automation setup is flawed. Every time you press 3 or 4 to talk to a representative.. it disconnects. When you remain on the line for it to connect, it says im sorry, we didnt receive a valid response, try again. Youre then forced to choose an answer, which ultimately, disconnects you.If youre going to run a business, one that of which seems to be slowly dying, at least make sure youre call options are operational. It seems to me, youd LIKE to be out of business. I will NOT be doing business with this location.

Old school service and customer care! Thanks

Charged me 12.99 for a passport photo even though I took it myself. Called it a premium service I just wanted a 2x2, which they print on the same paper as a 4x6.

I have never written an online review before.Three weeks ago I dropped off six rolls of film to be developed and scanned -- four rolls of color, two rolls of black and white, shot on three different cameras, and two different formats (120 & 35).The color rolls came out great. I understand they process the film in-house, great color, awesome scans, good price - no complaints.The black and white they send to a lab. The lab ended up processing my film wrong and completely destroying the negatives. My roll of 120 triX, and roll of 35 id 400 came back with a purple hue, and completely washed out contrast, and zero detail. All 48 pictures had the same issue, nothing was salvageable. For me, losing two rolls of film like that was a devastating thing to happen in and of itself. Photography is my passion and my profession, and really it just feels like crap when something like this happens.So I call the store and tell them what happened. They are completely apologetic, tell me to bring the rolls in and I will get a full refund. Sounds good to me, although the main reason I want to go back is that we can take a look at the negatives and try and figure out if they are salvageable, and what happened. I tell them that since the holiday is a few days away and I live a half hour away from the store, I most likely wont be able to come back till after the holiday. No problem.Today I brought the film back to the store, re-explained what happened to the woman behind the counter (didnt catch her name) and was immediately met with skepticism, hostility, and treated like an idiot. She said I had not taken the pictures properly, which I explained to her, while that may be the case for a few of the shots in there, I find it highly unlikely that I missed all 48 shots, especially when the 35 was shot on a point and shoot yashica t4. Well you are going to have to come back tomorrow and talk to the manager of the store then. I told her that I live half an hour away, its not an easy drive through DC traffic especially during rush hour, which is when I would have to go. She said FINE let me call the manager. I hear her on the phone telling the manager how he thinks the lab messed up the film, SOME of the shots are washed out (BLATANT LIE) etc.She comes back to the counter, says that they can only give me half a refund. Seriously? Yes. She looks at me pissed off that I am even standing here in the store and says, you come into the store three weeks later, dont remember who you talked to, and dont even have a receipt. (I had the envelop btw which had the bar code, my name, info, date, and negative #s). I guess I should have been prepared to be put on trial. I tell her to forget it, leave the negatives on the counter, and walk out of the store.I never gave a sh** about the money anyway. Its about losing my work due to someone elses error, and finding some sort of accountability there. Instead I found hostility and someone who was just super mean. I am sure there are great people that work there, and that I probably just got the wrong person at the wrong time, but I have never walked out of a store so demoralized and upset, and that is unacceptable.

Called Ritz to order $8,000 worth of camera equipment. 1st sent an email via website there was no response (why have an email accountthen?). Called to order, went to VM that said VM is full. Called a store they said they had two camera kits and I needed 10. They said they will charge extra to mail from their other branches to their branch and just as I got ready to order the two they told me that the store kits do not have all the adverstised accessories on the company website---false promise/s. Finally on chat asked agent and was told that they had teh caemras but I will need to pay postage eve if they were shipped to a Ritz store! That cured me of Ritz. Well that $8,000 went to a place that can supply. Highly recommend Ritz it for those who do not want to shop there! ZERO STAR RATING.

Great collection but rude people. Not a good customer experience

Do not buy if you are not 100% sure about the product you are buying. They dont pay return shipping fee (which may be ok) and also charge 10% restocking fee. They dont explain this clearly during sales process. Please STAY AWAY from this vendor.

REALLY LO RES SCANS THAT SUCK AND ARE PRETTY MUCH USELESSNICE PEOPLE

If could review with 0 stars for customer service, I would have them in that category. Horrible customer service.

Great service and selection

Way too much markup on accessories.

Good place

Do you process films photos

Great staff

Please remove