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Johanwindfeld

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Hi Rob,

 

I just read your post. Did you get at least your money back?

 

It's a shame if someone is treating colleagues like this. I hate it if someone really is destroying this actual very nice and unique steadicam community.

 

At present I am a little busy but in january I maybe could drive up with a colleague to Copenhagen and talk to Jan Schmidt in person. In the past I found out that this somestimes brings out very positive changes.

 

Maybe there are some more people who I could represent. Let me know.

 

Cheers,

 

Jens

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Luckely there was no money involved here. And to be totally correct, the one time that i actually paid for something to him i received it too!

 

There were so many other things that happened ......

 

 

Talking to Jan? Sure you can do that, though I am now convinced that it doesn´t help.

 

Just after the IBC this year (september2005) I received an email of him in which he clearly states that his "Customer support" is always good and that if anything was less organized in the past he made such improvements within his company that there will always be someone to reply from now on.........

 

<_<

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Hi gang

For those interested in the ongoing saga of the "phantom" Progear SSV1 vest.

 

An earlier post by me said that Jan had assured me the vest was shipped on November 9, 2005. He even gave me a tracking number which turned outto be false. After another month's worth of emailings demanding my money back or drastic action would be taken (I think it was the twenty emails at a time that finally woke him up that I was pissed), I finally got a very surly reply totally ignoring my demand for a refund and saying I was acting like a child.

 

You judge for yourself. Here is his Dec. 5 email to me:

 

 

Hallo Sir,

 

Why do you send us over 20 emails with the same content? I have responded to your initial email so I do not understand why you act like a child.

I have shipped our last demo vest to you since I have to sort out the problems with our post office regarding several packages I have had problems with in the previous months.

The tracking number for the vest chassis is: CC909079489DK and yes, it can certainly be tracked at: www.post.dk . I will pack a brand new set of vest pads and get them shipped as well within three days and will also supply you with the tracking number for that separate package.

I can also email you a picture of the actucal shipping receipt since you are so doubtful regarding our honesty.

As I have written before I must apologize for the trouble but as you can clearly see I do what I can in order to complete the order.

 

Best regards

Jan Schmidt,

PRO GEAR DENMARK

 

 

So, you tell me if this guy is on the level!!

 

He assured me the vest had left on December 2, 2005 (which obviously means he was blatantly lying about the Nov 9 shipment) but to make it all worse, it was not the complete vest, only the chassis. He said he was getting a new set of pads and would send them along in 3 days and give me a tracking number.

 

Well, here it is now 12 days later, I still don't have any confirmation or picture that the pads have been shipped or he refuses to even reply to my emails asking for info.

 

I want to now warn anyone reading this post that to have any dealings with Progear is asking for trouble and a hell of a lot of frustration. Personally, I think he is running a marginal operation financially and is constantly "robbing Peter to pay Paul". This is not the way to run a supposedly professional operation.

 

I cannot stress enough how much this idiot has cost me (due to not having a vest on hand to work with), which doesn't seem to worry him at all and the frustration I've experienced dealing with someone who doesn't give a damn.

 

I am just the latest in an apparently long string of dissatisfied Progear customers and with any luck I hope I'm the last.

 

If there are any more tales of woe from others, please contact me directly, misery loves company!!

 

Cheers

Norbert

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I understand it may not always be possible....but buying gear "locally", or as near to local as possible seems to be the way around all this trouble, non?

I think the only reason a guy like this can get away with pissing people off with bad business practices is because of his location, and knows that people will not fly there just to confront him.

 

I hope you get your vest dude.

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Brian, I totally disagree with your comment: buying as locally as possible.

 

Is your view of the world that limited? So you live near the US, that makes it "local" for you to go only for "reliable" manufacturers near you, in your continent? ( as if none of them go bankrupt ever....)

 

I lived in the Netherlands, about 800 km away from Jan, also 800 km away from Bearbel, the last one is giving a lot of great support and has happy customers.

 

The Unit Cine debacle is in England, as is the very respected (/able) and innovative MK-V , It´s not the location, it´s the people behind the company!

 

People living in the same city as Jan from Progear have the same problem, reaching him.

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What I don't understand is why is a guy like this Jan still selling stuff over Ebay.

Doesn't anybody who has trying to buy some stuff from him dropping any complain to Ebay ?

I remember some troubles with a SK2 Video for sale on Ebay. Some messages to Ebay, the listing was removed from Ebay !

 

On the moment there once again 2 items for sale, the mentioned Vest and 1,5" post grip.. <_<

 

 

Erik

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Hi guys and gals :D

 

Happy New Year to all and hoperfully the year will start better than how it finished.

 

I thought i'd just make a final post regarding the long runing problem with Pro Gear regarding the SSV1 vest I bought last August.

 

This a just a warning for anyone considering buying equipment from Pro Gear. DON'T!!! unless you're prepared to endure a very long and painfully frustrating time getting what you paid for. I'm not the only one in Australia still waiting for something from them. If anyone wants more info regarding the problems please contact me directly at electricimages@austarnet.com.au and I'd be happy to fill you in.

 

Read my other General Discussion thread titled "Where is Pro Gear?" and replies to get the background.

 

Now, the latest developments.

I received an email on boxing day demanding I stop my harassment or they would sue me etc. (it was really ridiculous and I'l forward it to any who's interested).

Anyway, I finally received the vest chassis the day after boxing day. I sent Jan an email to let him know it arrived and requested the vest pads shipping details again since it still hadn't been received as promised in early December.

In the week between xmas and new year I sent another couple of requests to now avail.

Finally, on new years eve he sent an email saying he would check into the vest pads situation and let me know on Sunday. Well, a week has gone by with nothing again from Pro Gear so I finally said enough is emough.

 

Now the good stuff!!

I contacted Dean Merlo at Rig Engineering here in Australia. They have been absolutely fabulous getting me my shiny new Silver Spring arm. I have been keeping him up to date re: this situation so he knew what I was up against. I asked for help to complete this vest with the pads and webbing etc and Dean was more than happy to help. I will be sending him the bits this week and will hopefully be up and running again soon! Their service and products are world class.

 

Hooray for Rig!!

We're almost there! :rolleyes:

 

Cheers

Norbert

 

P.S.

I'll be sending Pro Gear the bill and see what happens!!

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To all Steadicam or other Stabilizer owners/operators, :D

 

I'm writing this as helpful information to all who may be thinking of doing business with Pro Gear in Denmark. My apologies to those who have followed along on my previous thread "Where is Pro Gear" but this is my final update which puts my Pro Gear vest saga in a nutshell.

 

What follows, it seems, is not unusual from the emails I've received from operators and many posts I've read on the various forums. Deja Vu!!

 

After seeing a Pro Gear SSV1 vest listed on e-bay in mid August I made the mistake of buying it outside of e-bay, because the start bid was too high. I made a lower offer to Jan Schmidt directly and it was acccepted and then paid for by August 30/05. Their only stipulation being that I would have to wait till the conclusion of the IBC 2005 trade show in Amsterdam in mid September, which was fine with me as I still had my old rig which I needed to sell.

 

In early Oct. I started asking when my vest was being shipped and I was told it's all set to go, ....yeh tomorrow for sure, .... next time we go to the post office etc. I started having bad feelings about this especially when I read some Steadicam Forum posts about other Pro Gear experiemces and my requests for information were still not being answered. I finally got desparate and bombarded them with 20 emails at a time to get their attention and was finally told it had been shipped the first week in November and was given a tracking #. This number turned out to be invalid with Denmark Post and my repeated request for an explanation were ignored for the rest of November. I sold my old rig in the beginning of November expecting the vest to arrive anytime.

 

I waited patiently but still got no reply from Jan till it got to the point where I said "forget it, I want my money back" but these requests were also ignored. Finally after threatening them with action through the Denmark consumer protection agancy and so on, I received an email in the first week of December saying the vest chassis only had been shipped ( which means he lied about the original shipping!).

 

It was shipped without vest pads and webbing as Jan said he wanted to give me a new set and it would be sent separately 3 days after the chassis left. I repeatedly asked for a tracking number for the second shipment over the next 2 weeks and got no reply. The vest chassis arrived the day after Boxing Day and I have been waiting for the rest for the pads to show ever since .

 

Jan now refuses to answer my emails and I have been forced to have Rig Engineering here in Australia try to custom build me a set of pads and the support webbing. It is going to cost me $500 AUD to have this done. Bless you Dean!

 

Needless to say, I am not happy with Pro Gear. They have easily cost me more than their vest is worth in lost income over the past two months for without a vest my rig is a very expensive paperweight. They have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations with me, lied to me, shown me a total lack of respect and even threatened me with a slander suit if I said bad things about them but that only applies if what's said is untrue. Not in this case!!.

 

Unless you're masochistic or are happy to be constantly frustrated by a serious lack of communication, customer service and maybe not even getting what you bought, DON'T BUY FROM PRO GEAR! Unless you live in Denmark that is, ops there seem to love this guy.

 

That's just my humble opinion based on my experience. You may have better luck if you still decide to buy from them, I sure hope so!

 

 

Cheers

Norbert von der Heidt B)

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Hello all,

I had a very similar (in a freaky way) expeprience. This all sounds like my nightmare coming back all the way down to him shipping the pads seperatly. The pads went missing and it took a month of endless emails and non replies to finally get it 2 months late. I have learned my lesson.

BEWARE OF PROGEAR.

 

Quincy Paglaro

Vancouver, Canada

 

PS. The quality of the vest is also lacking.

 

 

 

To all Steadicam or other Stabilizer owners/operators, :D

 

I'm writing this as helpful information to all who may be thinking of doing business with Pro Gear in Denmark. My apologies to those who have followed along on my previous thread "Where is Pro Gear" but this is my final update which puts my Pro Gear vest saga in a nutshell.

 

What follows, it seems, is not unusual from the emails I've received from operators and many posts I've read on the various forums. Deja Vu!!

 

After seeing a Pro Gear SSV1 vest listed on e-bay in mid August I made the mistake of buying it outside of e-bay, because the start bid was too high. I made a lower offer to Jan Schmidt directly and it was acccepted and then paid for by August 30/05. Their only stipulation being that I would have to wait till the conclusion of the IBC 2005 trade show in Amsterdam in mid September, which was fine with me as I still had my old rig which I needed to sell.

 

In early Oct. I started asking when my vest was being shipped and I was told it's all set to go, ....yeh tomorrow for sure, .... next time we go to the post office etc. I started having bad feelings about this especially when I read some Steadicam Forum posts about other Pro Gear experiemces and my requests for information were still not being answered. I finally got desparate and bombarded them with 20 emails at a time to get their attention and was finally told it had been shipped the first week in November and was given a tracking #. This number turned out to be invalid with Denmark Post and my repeated request for an explanation were ignored for the rest of November. I sold my old rig in the beginning of November expecting the vest to arrive anytime.

 

I waited patiently but still got no reply from Jan till it got to the point where I said "forget it, I want my money back" but these requests were also ignored. Finally after threatening them with action through the Denmark consumer protection agancy and so on, I received an email in the first week of December saying the vest chassis only had been shipped ( which means he lied about the original shipping!).

 

It was shipped without vest pads and webbing as Jan said he wanted to give me a new set and it would be sent separately 3 days after the chassis left. I repeatedly asked for a tracking number for the second shipment over the next 2 weeks and got no reply. The vest chassis arrived the day after Boxing Day and I have been waiting for the rest for the pads to show ever since .

 

Jan now refuses to answer my emails and I have been forced to have Rig Engineering here in Australia try to custom build me a set of pads and the support webbing. It is going to cost me $500 AUD to have this done. Bless you Dean!

 

Needless to say, I am not happy with Pro Gear. They have easily cost me more than their vest is worth in lost income over the past two months for without a vest my rig is a very expensive paperweight. They have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations with me, lied to me, shown me a total lack of respect and even threatened me with a slander suit if I said bad things about them but that only applies if what's said is untrue. Not in this case!!.

 

Unless you're masochistic or are happy to be constantly frustrated by a serious lack of communication, customer service and maybe not even getting what you bought, DON'T BUY FROM PRO GEAR! Unless you live in Denmark that is, ops there seem to love this guy.

 

That's just my humble opinion based on my experience. You may have better luck if you still decide to buy from them, I sure hope so!

 

 

Cheers

Norbert von der Heidt B)

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Hi Johan my name is Milan Holec (Australia) and I just read your worlds on Forum, u offering help to some one who have problem with Jan. I want to ask for this help I pay for my rig in July 2005 I get some parts early this year (finally) but hi still have my monitor which is part of deal with rain covers. I contact morgen from another company in Copenhagen (hi buying the lights from him )hi talk to Jan 2 weeks ago and Jan told him monitor is ready but FedEx charge him for package hi send early this year and hi sad that until is fix and hi get refund back hi don?t will ship the monitor (but hi didn?t told me that ) morgen did that I organise all my self and after 1 week is by fix I got email from FedEx his be refund already but I did not hear from him about 1.5 - 2 month his not responding emails sms calls no communications at all .do you thing you can help please (how I can drive rig without the monitor? thank you very much

 

 

 

 

Hello Guys :P

 

I am Johan Windfeld, I live in Denmark! Copenhagen, and gues what.. ProGear is locatet in my city.I know Jan, and I just got a progear arm and on friday a new vest...

 

Jan have told me that the ProGear buisness is going very vell, and the orders is so many that he have a hard time to keep up with the orders and emails.. Trust me! But take a look at this.. Progear is only a company with 2 people!!!! so, like any other steadicam company there is many people to answer questions and making the steadicam parts.. He told me thats the reason why he have a hard time to keep up and answer all the questions..

 

But I know.. I live in Copenhagen and even for me it's sometimes hard to get Jan to the phone!!

 

Listen here guys.. I feel baad about you ops that are living not in Denmark! So If you are having any problems with Progear and Jan... Then contact me and I will take your question or your problem to Jan.

 

I like Progear and the products is great. Too bad that the customer support is so bad.. So let me help you and help progear to get that better! :)

 

i dont work with Jan/Progear.. I just live in the same city and feel baad for the buys that have problems, because you cant just take your car and drive to him right...

 

Best Regards Johan Windfeld. jwindfeld@hotmail.com

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This is what always happens;

 

Jan will contact you the moment he needs your money, the moment he has the money he'll have you waiting and waiting and waiting.

For me it all worked out in the end, I like the gear he is selling, but I'm very happy I do not have anything to do

with him anymore and sold all the pro gear stuff I owned.

So before going over Jan again and again, please search the forum for pro gear and make up your mind.

(johan, unless you are very well paid, take my advise: do not get involved)

 

fly save

 

mark de blok

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A long and bad experience with Pro Gear

 

other forums saying the same thing....

 

 

it seems that this is not the only forum that is talking about their problems with progear.....

 

you have to think that GPI is smiling, since progear cant legally sell their arms in the good old USA because of patent infringement issues.... so this "Jan" has copied a great idea but is still killing his own business just by not shipping promptly.... DOHHHHHH......

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