Quote:
Originally posted by erikzen
By the way, in case you're worried, B&H is an excellent store. They really specialize in Photo but they have some pro audio equipment, too. If you're ever in New York City and you're into cameras it's a must see! |
I went to B&H recently for the first time since they moved out of their old 17th Street location. The new(ish) location is quite amazing, and is definitely worth looking at if you are into gadgetry, or just weird New York phenomena. For those who don't know, B&H is a Hasidic Jewish store, and the majority of the staff is made up of men in yamulkes with side-curls, wearing matching vests embossed with corporate logos such as "Panasonic." (Not all of the staff is hasidic, but most.)
This in itself is not so unusual in NYC. But B&H has built themselves a very high-tech, futuristic operation over on the west side of mid-town. Each department has computer workstations where you have a sales associate enter your order into the system and give you a ticket. Then you go to a line to wait for a cashier. There you see a whole bank of bright, modern booths, each staffed by a guy with the yamulke/side-curl thing. When the light flashes over the booth, you go up and pay him, then get into another line for the pick-up desk. Now you're in front of a receiving area. Overhead, green plastic crates go by on some kind of transom, apparently bearing merchandise from the store-room. Behind the pick-up desk, more guys are busy unloading these and placing them neatly into plastic B&H bags, each bearing a ticket with a number that matches your receipt number. By the time you snake your way to the head of the line, your order is ready. From there, you go to a kind of "departure area," which bears a resemblance to a small airport departure lounge, with rows of seats where you can wait for a friend, a cab, etc.
What's odd is the combination of slick, modern hi-tech with old world medieval religious garb. Also, the hi-tech store engineering is not your standard Circuit City/Best Buy approach but something unique cooked up by these guys. It's apparently very efficient but kind of old fashioned too (maybe because of the crates going buy overhead) with a kind of Santa's workshop quality.
In any case, B&H is big and very legit -- seems to be the largest place in town for professional photographers, video producers, etc. I highly recommend a visit there.
