Alpine Camera — Local services in Elk Grove Township

I had a family photograph needing restoration. I also needed a few additional copies of the restored photos.

I opted to utilize Alpine Camera in Des Plaines. After an online search, it seemed to be one of the few companies in the area that does this type of work. I live in Des Plaines and typically prefer to use local businesses when possible so this seemed to be a perfect fit. Unfortunately, that was NOT the case!

My immediate impression was not a good one! An abrupt and unfriendly young woman (Cassandra) half-heartedly attempted to assist me and was not very helpful. She made it clear that she was very busy and had other priorities. The lack of customer service was both surprising and disappointing.

Against my better judgement, I left my family photo to be restored and to get the copies needed. In an effort to be accommodating I explained that there was no rush but I did need the photos before leaving town for Mother's Day which at that time was a month away. That was a mistake!

Weeks went by and I was not notified so I finally called the store. I was told they would call me the next day when the photo was done but the call never came. I called again and got the same story and same results. I called again and was told that the machine was down but they would have it repaired later that same day. I waited two days and called again to find the machine was still broken....

I did finally get a call today to let me know my photos were ready. When I went in to pick up the photos my order was incorrect. Alpine Camera had neglected to print one of the copies ordered. They did make the missing copy while I waited, after I requested them to do so. Not once did they acknowledge the inconvenience and confusion.

No explanation. No attempt to offer a minimal compensation. No apology was ever offered! I can only conclude that Alpine Camera does NOT value their customers. My first impression was obviously accurate!

The final product turned out fine but was over-priced. I will never do business with Alpine Camera or recommend Alpine Camera to anyone! If you choose to do so I encourage you to proceed at your own risk!

Lastly, I feel badly for this small business owner as I have no idea how they intend to stay in business if other customers share the same or similar...

I very seldom write bad reviews and I couldn’t say how completely disappointed I am with one of the few camera stores left in the area. The owner cane off as an extremely kind man and a great business owner so I was really excited to be working for what I thought was a great storefront and what seemed to be a great staff. From the first day working I felt extremely unwelcomed by everyone there. They would get frustrated when I didn’t know where they put certain things as if I was an inconvenience for not being able to read their minds. They would constantly make comments like “your generation doesn’t do this and your generation doesn’t know that” which to me comes off as harassment. I’m not going to make a huge list of everything wrong with my short experience working there but note this, I WAS NEVER PAID. That’s the type of person the owner is, he ignored my attempts of getting some type of payment for my time and money I put into driving 50 minutes to and from work every day.

If you’re not interested in my personal experience at least know this, DO NOT BUY OR SELL ANYTHING FROM THIS STORE. I witnessed the employees bragging about how they would rip people off with both buying and selling camera equipment. A customer came in with a Canon AE-1 Program, a beautiful medium format mamiya (645 I believe) and a Nikon Film camera, and the owner offered him $50 for all three... The customer obviously didn’t understand what the Actual value on those cameras was because he accepted it. The mamiya alone was going to be resold for about $1300. I absolutely could not continue working for someone who doesn’t think twice to rip someone off like that. Absolutely disappointing, I cannot even express how devastating it is to be typing this out but I hope it makes a difference.

Hope you read this Chuck, thank you for...

THEY WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU if you dont know what you're doing. Their employees are nice but they try their best to hustle you out of your products and money with "car salesman" tactics from the 80s. Tried to sell them a used camera worth about $350 based on quality and other exact cameras seen online for similar prices and quality which means that it would sell for between $200-230 in any camera store that isn't looking to squeeze you. I told them I wasn't looking to buy, only sell. Chuck offered me $120 max and said my camera wouldn't net anything more than that anywhere else cause it was outdated. Who is he to tell me what other places will do? Ended up doing an even exchange for a lens of similar price range and then one of his employees tried to sell me UV filters for the lens that were on sale for $40 each. When I refused chuck then pulled out some polarizers to sell me that were on sale. If I didn't want UV filters AND if I said I wasn't looking to buy anything why would I want polarizers? Apparently an even exchange isn't enough for them. They WANT your money. A successful business puts people first before profits, because without the people there's no profit. Before I went to Alpine camera I got quotes for it at MPB camera, KEH camera, and TWO VERY SMALL stores in New Mexico and they all quoted me between 180 - $220. If two small stores in the middle of the desert with little volume can afford to pay you what your item is worth surely a small store in the Chicagoland area...