Alan Gordon Enterprises

Rented a load of equipment from Alan Gordon for a music video and could not have been more pleased with the experience. Wonderful, helpful staff and smooth/​quick pickup and return.

Thank you Timothy at Alan Gordon Enterprise!
We have a small wedding photo & video business here on Maui and have contacted AGE 3 separate times about their Hollywood Cage. We asked questions about fitting the Canon 5D MKIII with the Zacuto Z-​Finder inside the cage. On the third try we were put in contact with Timothy. This guy is fantastic! He took the time to address our questions, concerns and give us feedback on how to make it work. In making this 5D/​Zacuto system work, we would need to buy a less then 7 $ Z-​Frame. Timothy also provided us a link to a non AGE website for the z-​frame. Very kind, very responsive in both email and by phone.
After receiving the package we received a follow up email to check on us and asking if we had any questions.
The Hollywood cage is pretty straight forward and we did purchase the z-​frame to make everything come together. We were also able to mount a GoPro to the top of the cage. Will post a video to our youtube channel —
at some point.
In closing we do recommend AGE, Hollywood cage and make sure you talk to Timothy because out of 3 different sales reps he was the one that made it happen.
Be blessed,
Frederick
Marbelle

I buy 95% of my gear online at Amazon and B&H Photo these days — and I buy a TON. However, sometimes you need something right away and you buy locally (which, technically, you should want to do anyway), but experiences like this remind me why I’ll continue to buy online.
I was looking for a local place to buy a filter (the Hollywood Black Magic filter) because I wanted to see the differences in strength in person. AGE didn’t have that but I discovered a clearance list online, for about $ 50 each. They weren’t the filters I needed but I thought I’d pick up a few for fun — can’t beat the price, worth the risk.
I called on Thursday, spoke to Adrian Rodriguez. Nice guy on the phone, I told him what I was looking for off the list. He said it would be easier if I copy and pasted the info into an email so he sent me a test email while on the phone. I responded to that with my list of four filters I wanted (as well as some other items I’d be interested in). At that time, we were talking about whether or not they were in stock because the price said $ 50 on the sheet. He said he’d respond right away that Thursday. That never happened. I called later Thursday, he apologized, saying he’d be right on it. Friday came around, no response. I called again, he apologized — said he’d have the info to me. Okay, so Monday rolls around… no response so I emailed again, hiding my growing frustration and, again, he apologized and said he’d get me the «pricing» on my items. Pricing? The sheet clearly says $ 50 each, here is the list;
I was just trying to find out if they’re in stock. He said he’d have the info to me Tuesday morning. Some back and forth on Tuesday and now I’m told that the filters I asked about are in stock but are $ 170!!! W. T. F.
I wasted a six day time span when I should have just placed my order on B&H Photo. B&H is cheaper, they have INSTANT customer service and they don’t jerk you around. AGE is definitely a legendary place, no doubt, but they have to keep up with the times. In this nationwide, worldwide market place, they’re competing with people who are far more organized and have better stock. Locally, I still prefer Calumet. Don’t get me wrong, Adrian was nice and professional when we talked but somewhere along the way, there was a miscommunication when it was clear what I was asking for, «Here’s the link to the clearance items… here is the ‘copied and pasted’ information,» and still, somehow, there was a miscommunication.

I own a small production company and have rented from dozens of rental houses around the LA area. I have rented gear from Alan Gordon four or five times.
But a recent experience turned me off from them. We rented a piece of sound equipment couldn’t get it to work right on set. Three different experienced professionals had never seen a piece of sound gear do the weird things this was doing. I emailed them immediately to inform them about the issue. I got a condescending email back telling me the gear was working fine and I hadn’t turned the 48V power switch on. Obviously, that wasn’t the problem.
In every other rental house i’ve worked with, if you have a problem with a piece of gear and it’s clear you didn’t use it on your shoot, they don’t charge you for it. But when I returned the gear, instead of a discount, I got a series of rude lectures from the managers. They held up the instruction manual in my face and told me to learn what I was doing. They argued with me about whether I could have heard the problem in my headphones or not.
If a piece of sound equipment is acting weird on one of my shoots, I’m going to find a substitute right away that I know will work correctly. I’m not going to comb through the instruction book, listen at the headphones for a couple minutes, and cross my fingers that it will work ok.
So there was a bit of an argument during the return. It was so unusual for me that I decided to call back later and speak to the manager (again) about how negative the experience was. I was pretty damn shocked that he still refused to give me any sort of discount, although he did admit that the other manager had been a «prick.»
Most rental houses in LA have a «the customer is always right» attitude because there’s so much competition. Every place has the same gear, so it comes down to the price and the quality of service.
With Alan Gordon you’ll get a decent price (but far from the least expensive) and everything will be fine if the equipment works perfectly. That’s what happened on my previous shoots. But if something goes wrong, apparently their response is «sorry, go f yourself, you must not be worthy.»
I am disappointed because the place is convenient to our office, and I know I’m burning a bridge there by writing this public review. But I think it’s important to warn others in the production community. Back in the day Alan Gordon might have been the only place to find certain things. But these days there are too many choices; you don’t have to risk having a horrible experience.
I’ll add that there are two other negative reviews of this place (a 1 star and a 2 star) that have been «filtered» by Unilocal.So the actual average is lower than it looks.

I can’t recommend these guys enough. My party caused two of their employees to stay a hour late to help solve a rental snafu, and get us our equipment for a morning shoot. The snafu being completely our fault, I would have expected an exasperated attitude from any employee, anywhere. Not the case here. The cashier and Tim, were nothing but professional and completely nice during the whole ordeal. Their patience while we worked out our issues was tremendous. Seriously, if I was one of them I would have killed us. I’ll be going back to them in the future for any rentals, as you can’t find customer service like that in many places anymore. Also, we got great prices on all the things we needed so seriously check them out, and rent or buy from them if you can!

I dealt with Alan Gordon a couple of years ago. Someone whose review is now in the «filtered» file nailed it: he is a condescending piece of garbage. As soon as he began to insult me (UNPROVOKED) because I wasn’t familiar with a piece of equipment I stood up and left. He proceeded to follow me and continue to insult me as I entered my car. He said, (and I quote) «I want to watch you get your ass off my property.» I said absolutely nothing to him that warranted that reaction. My question about the equipment caused that reaction in him. The man is out of his mind.

AGE has some awesome deals on-​line in their eBay store. I was able to pick up 40 CF memory cards at an unbelievable price!
The customer service provided when I went in was very friendly and prompt. The store is very clean and well organized. Definitely keeping my eyes for more deals.

Alan Gordon Enterprises = «Goodfellas»
AGE is an industry institution. Way back in film school we oohed and aahhd at the opportunity to set foot in the place. It was pure magic and always inviting. The building itself made us feel like we were a part of their history. Later, on expendable runs we knew we’d always find what we needed on a moments notice, whether it was gels or a special colored tape. Even later still when we’d moved up in the world to producing our own projects, we knew who we could rely on for quality equipment and fair prices. My buddies and I grew up with AGE and have grown to trust them for the quality that’s always been there. They know the ropes and have the track record.
When you want true, steadfast expertise and stellar customer service you turn to Alan Gordon. It’s their tradition. They also really know how to reach out to the community and foster relationships, understanding that we’ll all likely run into each other again down the road. For that reason, and wisely so, they offer great student discounts when liking them on Facebook.
In the spirit of assigning movie titles to my reviews, AGE gets «Goodfellas.»

I had an issue with my older model blue-​ring gaffer’s glass that, as it turns out, I didn’t even buy directly from them. They helped me immediately and without hesitation, and were nice about it. Great operation that deserves the great reputation they have. Real film people.