Shinjuku Kitamura Camera — Local services in Tokyo

Visited Kitamura Camara Shinjuku West yesterday and was impressed by their good customer services. Therefore, decided to visit the main store in Shinjuku today. Their prices are comparative for both new and used camea and lens. For used, you can find that each item is clearly labelled and can easily be snap and translate using Google Translate. This method is old but to me, offer thr best shopping experience. Unsure or not clear about the label or condition - just asked. The staff who served me was quick to explain and he won't hesitate to take out his mobile and use translator to make explanation clearer. To my surprise, he went the extra mile to search and confirm who else have stock and recommended me to go to their affiliate Fujiya Camera. In the end, I brought a new lens and TC at level 2. It was served by a female staff. She was patient and waited for me to test the lens, explained the warranty, etc. I hope to come back here to get some used camera gear when I visit...

In one breath, let me summarise: The flagship store of “The Camera store, Kitamura” chains, this is an unexpectedly interesting, useful and practical as well as pass-time worthy (for camera and mech geeks) good old authentic but cool camera / films / picture studio / photography gallery building (also a trendy 2nd-hand watch/phone dealer and drugstore in it, too).

My business of visiting was taking ID photos (5F) and checking showcased old cameras (3F and 4F), the both were well satisfied… my ID photos got made fine with the light computer retouching (less than ¥3k by a pro staff, x4-5 more expensive than a ID photo box but no complain), also, fortunately this time, there wasn’t my favourite second-hand good bargain camera so that I could get out of the place without thinning my already skinny wallet.

The event gallery space had a somewhat secluded atmosphere (nobody there the entire time) and the pictures...

I normally don’t write reviews, but my experience here today made me want to share in hopes of helping the store improve. I’ve been a regular customer for some time, coming here several times to develop film from my cameras as well as to purchase film.

Unfortunately, today I had a very bad experience with one of the male staff members (who did not seem to be Japanese). His attitude was unhelpful and he showed no sense of customer service. When I asked about film development, I couldn’t fully understand what he was explaining — instead of helping me patiently, he was super rude and dismissive, which left me frustrated. In the end, I just agreed to whatever he said to avoid further interaction.

This experience really disappointed me and makes me not want to return. I hope management takes this seriously and improves staff training. For other customers, I sincerely hope you don’t encounter the same...