Camera House - Bendigo

I ordered a camera online for a birthday present that was a month and a half from the purchase. My order was confirmed but was taking quite a long time to arrive and no updates, so I entered an inquiry on the website and was directed to the closest camera house which was Bendigo. They gave me a phone call the next day and informed me that the camera I ordered was out of stock (bummer) but they gave me a few choices to pick from such as going for the same model but a different colour however not with the whole kit and once the rest of the kit was available they would ship it to me. Or I could have waited for a restock update. Bendigo camera house have great staff members, great customer service and make a great effort thank you Bendigo camera house!

There’s no better camera store to visit if you’re looking for the right advice from actual photographers who really know their stuff. Nothing is too much trouble. Friendly and knowledgeable staff who care.

I’m so completely new to digital photography, yet went into the Bendigo store kind of knowing what I was looking for. I want to say a huge thank you to Sue who served me!
Your customer service was outstanding and we had a great gas bag! Thank you so much for taking your time with me. You are a true asset to the store!

Walked in wish a wish list and walked out with the right camera and gear for what I wanted. Couldn't of been more helpful.

Well buckle up for this one.
I handed in film to be developed on 10/03/2023. Paid for physical photos and for them to be emailed to me. Was told they'd be emailed to me and I could collect the physicals when i recieve the email- perfect!
I call to enquire on 15/03/2023 because last time I had film developed there it only took about 3 days. I spoke to the rudest man who told me to "be patient, they'll be ready when they're ready just be patient, we're behind because of the public holiday. " I thought yeah okay fair enough.
In hopes of never speaking to that man again, I waited another week and a bit. I called on 24/03/2023 and was told "the man who does the developing and scanning had been sick, so they were quite behind and my photos would be ready today or tomorrow. " Why there is only one guy who does that at a place called camera house? Who knows. I continue to wait.
I call again on 29/03/2023 and speak to a lovely gentleman who puts me on hold to check on my photos for me. This man tells me my photos are ready- great! He says "Yes, they've been sitting here ready for a while. " I say "hmm I haven't recieved any email with them- do you know when they were developed? " he says "They were done the day you handed them in, the 10th" I say "Huh? I've called a few times and was told to be patient they'd be ready when they're ready, and then that they would be ready last Friday/Saturday. " He says "Sorry the email must not have worked, i'll resend it. " I get my photos emailed not long after.
My friend goes into the store to collect the physical photos for me because for the sake of my sanity I could not go in there. She leaves with my photos, goes to look at them in her car as they were fun photos from a trip we went on together. Guess what? She was given the wrong photos. So she goes back in and collects our photos.
The twists and turns of this experience are undescribable, I'm not one to write negative reviews but this one simply had to have a place in internet history. It's actually quite funny the level of incompetence I experienced with this place. Shoutout to the guy who actually checked if my photos were ready <3

Loving the StarSense Explorer LT Telescope that I got here. It really is every bit as cool as they told me it would be. Great recommendation from staff who knew the product!

I would be wary to spend your money here. I purchased a charger for a camera battery which caused the battery which was previously functioning to suddenly not be recognised by the camera. I returned a week later, the earliest I was able with my reciept and the item in its original condition and who I presume was the owner refused the refund saying that there is "no way" the item could be faulty and therefore I wasn't entitled to a refund. I returned with the camera to demonstrate the issue and he finally, and very begrudgingly, refunded my money. This is the second time being a customer here, the last time I was sold expired film. Won't be going here again which I'm sure will be good news to the gentleman I dealt with as he seemed to be annoyed with customers presence.

The boss was in a hurry to close up for the night but in under 5 minutes his wonderful and courteous staff helped me out with exactly what I wanted. I walked a ver happy customer.

The exceptional service from the young lady (sorry forgot her name) and the young man Jeremy were so helpful with my 300 photo's that had to be transfered and processed.
Quick service getting photos and then enlarging as well. It will be a pleasure coming back knowing these 2 people will be there with a lovely smile waiting to help me in the future. Thank you for making this easy for me.

Called ahead to confirm they could do photos for my foreign passport. Came in, told them what I was after and asked if I should show specifications but they stated they knew what to do.

Photos didn’t look like the specs from my government when I received them (just received standard AU ones). In response to my question about this I was handed a ruler to measure (no care or help). After some debate new ones were reluctantly printed again but again not correct (21mm face width is NOT between 16-20mm).

When expressing concern (I’m due to fly to Sydney for this) I was treated extremely rudely and when offering to show them to guideline I was told “I know what I’m doing”. Subsequently I was made to wait 15 minutes for another incorrect reprint and the statement that 20.5mm width should be find as “they won’t measure”. Also - apparently cutting passport photos is also a big effort when I had to ask for it and even then only 2 out of 4 photos were cut (very sloppy may I add).

When telling them that these photos are not useful to me I was told “you should be saying please and thank you”. FOR WHAT! Being charged for useless photos and wasting 45 minutes!

I never write reviews but this whole experience was rediculous. Don’t offer a service you are not capable of or interested in delivering properly.

Avoid if you are looking for foreign passport photos or any level of customer service.

Update: The photos taken by Camera House were indeed not within the spec and could not be used on my passport. Luckily I had backup photos taken in Sydney.

Worst service ever. Very unhappy with the service. Even the photo was terrible and does not meet the criteria. So disappointing. The man in the counter who took photos was a racist by all means. Never ever go to this place again.
Just seen the response from the owner Pity on you owner of Camera House for responding even without knowing what has happened. I dont know if that man who treated us badly was the owner himself. Anyways I wonder what kind of customer service you have. You better check with that man what happened or may be he is such a liar on top of a disgraceful and fake person. Me and my husband kindly waited in the queue for our enquiry and hasnt bothered or interrupted any other customers as you said instead he was the one who insulted us. Anyways have never experienced such a bad service elsewhere in Bendigo. For 35 $ the quality of the photo was so poor and we had to retake it from post office who offered us the best service. Instead of faking the whole story try to accept and correct your faulty behaviour.

Walked away from me while serving me to attend to another customer. Was looking at a new camera body. Have now lost a $3k sale.

This was the first time using Bendigo Camera House, and I was really pleased with the quality of their photo prints and the friendly and professional service. I gave up on the cheap print places some time ago as the colours just weren't right, and used Ballarat Camera House which has now closed. While there wasn't a delivery option on the website (something to consider!), Matt made that happen without a hitch. Will certainly use them again and have no hesitation in recommending them.

Again excellent service. They look after you and you cannot beat face-to-face old fashioned service.

I would give it 0 star if i can. Really bad customer service by male staff. You have to have a patience with a 5 year old kid. This is not the first time he was having his photo taken. And if you can't have it then don't offer passport photo service for kids. My son was really scared with his shouting and told us when we got home that the uncle was very rude and shouting at me. I won't be spending my hard earned money at this place again.

Fantastic customer service and a depth of knowledge. The lady (sorry didn't get your name) you had working on Saturday went out of her way to help and find an alternative when the zoom lense I wanted was out of stock in the warehouse. I highly recommend this store & will be back.

I wanted to purchase some decent binoculars, as i walked into the store, a man with glasses was talking to a customer in such a degrading manner, i simply walked out, terrible, poor man

Exceptional service from young Corey who walked mum through every step when she went in to have some photos printed off her phone. I would highly recommend Camera House Bendigo.

Occasionally I come across businesses and staff who have drifted from the core values that make use compassionate humans; all in the name of their own superiority and the mighty dollar. Here is one such example.

Unable, to frame a photo for you unless you purchase the frame from them!
Poor Customer Service. Fortunately they have competition, who will be used in the future.