Tranfer experiences with Pro8mm

[discs of tron]

i've been having a bastard nghtmare with pro8mm/super8 sound this past week. i had a 400' roll of 16mm color neg i needed spooled down to 100' dalight reels, a service they're now offering. (one hesitates to use the word "service" at all when discussing these ass-clowns.) they charge $10/ roll, and if you get the processing from them too, they discount that so it's $20/roll for the spool-down and processing. when i sent off my reel, i ordered the spool-down/processing deal. the next day, i realized i'd get a better deal doing the processing at du-art, where i'm going to be doing the transfer. i immediately called pro8mm to change my order to JUST the spool-down, no processing. mind you, this was a day or two before they got my reel in the mail. i explained the order change to the woman i got on the phone. she asked me to email her my request so that she'd have it in writing, etc. i immediately did so. i got an automatic email response, assuring that i'd hear back from her within 48 hrs. 2 days later, my credit card is charged for the $20/reel spool-down and prepaid processing. when i called her, she told me she'd check on it and call back within a day. two and a half days later, she calls and tells me she can't credit my account unless i send back the film boxes!!! the boxes, for those of you who don't work in 16mm, are the only thing standing between your film stock and light, which, as hopefully everyone here is aware, exposes film. they want the boxes back because they have some label that qualifies them for prepaid processing. these boxes, along with the daylight reels, are the whole reason i paid them $10/ a roll. if i had a bunch of empty boxes and daylight reels, i would have spooled the stuff down myself in a darkroom. but between not having the empty boxes and reels, and wanting to save time, the $10/reel thing seemed like an ok deal on stock i was given for free. so after 2 more calls i finally get the ignorant cow to agree to credit my account after i send back the label from the box that says "prepaid processing" on it. (the label that they put on the box and charged me for after i indicated by phone and email that i did not want it.) i mailed those back 3 business days ago, still no credit. i'm giving her another day, and them i'm going apeshit.

end result- i realize i'm not the dude doing the super8 stuff for csi miami or whatever, but from this day forward they will never see a cent from me or anyone with whom i have any influence. i think that several years ago they were basically a monopoly and they could get away with this bullshit. this isn't the case now, and i hope they go bankrupt. i know that's only wishful thinking, but customer service that horrible should really be punished. i implore every one on this board to avoid them at all costs.