Since my husband and I had planned to go up to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in mid-November, I decided it might be a good idea to take Hershel up on his open offer to UHH members to come in and see the B&H operation. At first, I was hesitant - didn’t want to impose, and this country girl does not do well in cities. Add to that that my husband’s photographic nickname is “Mr. Point and Shoot”, I vacillated big time. Finally, my curiosity won out. Happily, our schedule meshed with Hershel’s and he gave us a very informative and interesting peek into what goes on behind the scenes at B&H. All I can say is that I had absolutely NO idea as to the number of people it takes to run that company and to provide such great customer service.

Hershel met us on the 3rd floor of what I’ll call the “B&H Office Building”. This was the “behind the scenes” part of the tour. That part of the operation is beyond amazing. He took us to so many departments and introduced us to so many key personnel that my head was spinning. We spent over an hour there, and the time just flew. I had actually forgotten about “THE STORE”. Hershel told us that B&H started as a “Mom & Pop” operation in 1973, and that it has grown to a company employing 2,400 people. (Hope I have that right - I wasn’t taking notes!) The B and the H stand for the first names of the husband and wife who gave birth to the only thing that can lure me into NYC. I had joked to friends that I was going to be “like a kid in a candy store” during my visit. Little did I know that that statement was correct both figuratively AND literally. They have the BEST (made special for B&H Hershel said) fruit chews. There are literally bowls of them all over the offices as well as on the counters in the store itself. Hershel kept encouraging us to load our pockets up with the candy. Well, I didn’t need to be told twice! I must have eaten a pound during our tour and went home with another pound stuffed in my pant pockets. I digress! The atmosphere in the offices was very much like a large, happy family. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. Questions were welcomed, and answered honestly! My BIG question (due to my accounting background) was “is B&H a public company?”. Unfortunately, the answer was a very polite “no”. Hmmmm - bummer!

Next, we walked the short distance to the store itself and my jaw dropped to ground level when I walked through those doors. There are NO shopping carts. Each time someone purchases an item, a ticket is made up, the item is taken FROM INVENTORY (not the item being man-handled by various customers), loaded onto an overhead conveyor, and delivered to the area where check-out will occur. All the store customer needs to do when the shopping is done is to report to the front of the store, pay for, and pick up his purchases. It is extremely efficient. No lugging boxes from place to place. Hershel also took us all over the store. Again, I was amazed at the efficiency. Each manufacturer has an area where pretty much all of that manufacturer’s cameras are displayed. However, the people manning those areas are well-trained B&H employees none of whom are on commission. After our very thorough tour of “THE STORE” was completed, Hershel left us to our own devices. My husband thankfully left me to my own devices. He wandered off to check out the incredible display of Apple products - more on display at B&H than at an Apple store!!

I had a list of a few items I wanted to actually hold in my hands and ask questions about. For Sony, I stayed in one spot and was able to look at, hold, and ask questions about the 3 cameras I was considering. Same thing for Panasonic. Even camera bags, tripods, and various accessories had their assigned areas. Nothing was all mixed together. The layout of the floor space just made sense. Very easy to methodically compare items and decide on a purchase. The most important component of the store itself was the high level of expertise of the employees. Every single one with whom I spoke and of whom I asked some very tough questions really are experts. One of the cameras I wanted to take a closer look at was the Sony RX10 iv. I complained to the young lady at the Sony counter that “I don’t speak Sony” and that I find the Sony menu system very cumbersome to navigate. She asked me a few questions about my level of expertise, shooting style, and usual subjects and then gave me VERY specific suggestions to make shooting with that camera much easier. My stress level dropped from a 12 all the way down to about a 2 thanks to her help! (I’m now waiting for the price to drop a bit more and I’ll purchase it with my doubts addressed.)

Hershel told us that customers are encouraged to come in with their own equipment and to mount a lens under consideration on their own camera or to just ask an employee to use the B&H stock for the customer to try out. That is what I had to do since all I’d brought with me to NYC was my ZS60 P&S. I was considering a 600mm prime lens for my D500 and was also considering the Nikon D850. So glad I was able to spend time asking questions and having a face-to-face discussion of the pros and cons of what I was considering. To make a long story short, the B&H sales person basically came right out and told me NOT to get the 600mm or the D850 at this time. It was his opinion after speaking with me and asking questions of me that my current D500 with my Tamron 150-600 was perfect for what I’m doing. He did suggest, however, that I might benefit from the new Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF. I agreed. It’s on order as I write this. This brings up something else that Hershel told us - many times an employee would rather NOT make a sale than to sell a customer something that is either not suitable or not needed. When I walked into the store, I was prepared to purchase the Nikon 600mm prime lens to the tune of $12k +. Instead, I walked out comfortable that the right decision for me was NOT to purchase that lens. That was due to my honest discussion with one of the B&H experts. Please note that Hershel had absolutely NO idea as to my intentions. The employee did not receive any type of “heads up”.

In conclusion, I’m very glad that I was able to tour B&H with Hershel. If any of my fellow Hogs are heading for NYC, I suggest that you contact Hershel (a member here on UHH) to arrange a private tour. My only caveat is that Fridays, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays are off limits. We were there on a Thursday. This was an experience well worth the time! My husband and I were both blown away by the scope of B&H’s operations. Add to that the fact that Hershel is an enthusiastic ambassador for B&H, and you have a fun-filled couple of hours.

Thank you, Hershel!!!