First Light Optics

[FLO]

Hi Brian,

I am sorry I let you down. You are absolutely right and I am guilty as charged. In this instance I was/am on holiday and forgot to reassign my phone line to one of my colleagues. It won't happen again

I am back at my desk Monday. The first thing I will do is change the phone system so calls to my line are automatically redirected in my absence.

FWIW, when you phoned you would have heard my voice saying email is the best way to contact us. If you had emailed you would have recieved a prompt response, we often respond within minutes, and of course you can contact us here at SGL.

Apologies too to everyone else who didn't recieve a response to thier phone message.

Regards,

Steve

[Uranium235]

I would just like to thank Martin at First Light Optics for getting my Atik 383L+ to me in time for my annual leave.

When I first ordered on a Wednesday, they were out of stock and awaiting resupply on Friday - meaning that standard delivery wouldnt get here until next week. So when I queried this, I was given the option of a Saturday delivery. When I asked how much, I was very surprised to hear that it would be for gratis.... now thats service!!!!

He even packed some clear skies in the box... winner!

10/10

[crashtestdummy]

Ordered a hotech collimator and recd it next day.have used first light several timesand never had anything but great service

[astropete]

Hi all, I have just received my new Sky Watcher Evostar 120mm from First Light Optics, and I would like to give the whole team there a FIVE STAR PLUS for service and delivery. These guys are the bee's knees, they do exactly what their shop web site says, ask a question, got a reply within a few minuets, bought the item, and a next day delivery was on offer, sadly I would not be in the following day, but I left a message for said item to be delivered today Friday 09-08-13, and its just arrived. so well done lads/lasses at First Light Optics. A very good service indeed.

[Cjg]

Big thanks to Martin at FLO.

The power board on my 5SE mount died; possibly due to the damp, (some nights it's ended up with so much water on the top) possibly due to being bounced around on the back seat / boot of my car between home and Seething where I observe, maybe even when the duracell batteries went and leaked.

Anyway, so far about a week from being sent (including FLO sending to David Hinds) and am told it's fixed for the sum of £38 including delivery back to me.

Think I've been charged just what FLO have had to pay, could not be happier with the prospect of getting back out there with my 5SE again.

Thanks

Chris

[m37]

Just had a less than great experience with another of the 'top' suppliers so thought I would redress the karma by giving a big up to FLO. Unsurprisingly Steve and the FLO crew have advised me on a focuser upgrade, sourced the part that they don't usually stock at the same price as other retailers, and sent me a video link to help with installation. Just going that little bit further than the competition in my opinion based on a few recent experiences.

First Rate Optics more like.

cheers

[Space Ranger]

Earlier this summer I sent FLO some technical queries and sought some advice over planned new equipment purchases. I got prompt replies from Martin each time, and they always contained very useful advice. Eventually after much deliberation and plenty of research I placed an order and the order arrived safe and sound.

One item (astrozap dew shield) was the wrong size, but as FLO had advised the size I needed to order they sorted out return and replacement with little fuss.

Overall I have to commend them for their excellent pre-sales support. Hopefully I won't have to test it further, but there are also indications that their after sales support is just as good. I would certainly buy from them again.

[neil phillips]

Just wanted to say thanks to Steve and he's team. Had a problem with my NEQ6.  As usual the support is way beyond what one can often experience, with lesser caring companies. I know most here already know this. But other new Members may not. So its worth pointing out if any of them ever consider a astronomical purchase. FLO really are one of the best there is, period. The level of  support will never see a purchaser high and dry. They deserve the great reputation they have, Through hard work and total support. Cheers Steve and everyone at FLO

I have no affiliation with the company in any way.

[arrayschism]

Ordered a Cheshire eyepiece yesterday at just after midday from FLO. By three in the afternoon I received an email confirming that the order was dispatched.

First thing this morning...here it is!!!

Really impressed with the first class (literally!) service from FLO - will definitely use them again! 

[Steve777]

Hi all,

Ordered a William Optics eyepiece from FLO & massively impressed by the service given by Martin; he did not sit on the fence advising me on my choice of EP, and was even quick to answer a follow-up general astro question.

Good to deal with people who know what they are talking about.

[Earl]

I have picked up a few bits and pieces from FLO over the last month.

They have answered all my questions promptly, although I did not end up purchasing the original scope I was planning on, all information was a great help.

Delivery was Prompt, emails at every stage of the process.

Thanks Team FLO !!!

[harry page]

Hi

Ordered a small spare part for my cats eye collimation device , this was sent quickly by post FOC

The part was not a high cost item , but would happily have paid for it

So Thanks FLO

Harry

[faulksy]

just thought i would post my thoughts of flo.

firstly i usualy like to be able to speak to a supplier first which is quite difficult with flo, but if you email them they do ring you back. this has always put me of with flo but after hearing nothing but praise about them over the years i thought i would give them ago, i was looking for a top notch focuser and opted for the feathertouch and payed for it on line before they even opened there doors after the xmas hols, this was to make sure no one jumped in and bought it before me. on there first day of opening i heard nothing from them which i wasnt serprised about due to knowing they would be very busy, next day i had a call of them, this was a gent called martin, he told me the bad news and said he didnt have a fitting kit for my ota but he could order one or give me the money back, i asked if he could ring me as i thought the widescreen centre had one he said he would be happy to wait untill i heard what they had in stock, they had none as well. 30 mins later martin phoned i told him they had none either so he said he would refund me. i asked him about other options and hhe said we have the moonlite which is equaly as good and i could try that if i didnt like it he said return it and we will refund you in full. i then asked him what were the dimensions and colours he said he will find out and ring me which he did. they had everything in stock and he said he would make sure it went in the post today, which was friday afternoon so i would have it saturday which i did.all i can say is give them a bit of a chance with returning messages to you and you will be so happy to use them. i will certainly be going back, and martin your a star thank you very much

regards

mike faulks

[Astro_noob]

Just a quick review to thank FLO for there service to date and briefly describe my purchases.

I bought a pair of extremely expensive binoculars last year after reading a lot of reviews. When they arrived I was really sad to say the view through them was very mediocre. It had optical issues I wouldn't expect from such well praised binoculars. I contacted FLO who sent a courier to collect them and they tested the binoculars. They did indeed have technical faults that led to a batch being recalled. I got a full refund and used the money to buy a LARGE telescope and mount which was sent and received so quickly I was amazed. 

When I was doing my telescope research I contacted FLO to ask about astro photography and wanted to ask about doing astrophotography on a budget. I received a very, very long but very well thought and extremely useful answer from Martin. His advice was sound and I chose a visual setup instead.

I ordered a £5 Rigel Align collimation Cap on Friday night. It arrived Tuesday morning. So no matter how much you spend its the same level of service and high quality. Buy from Steve and Martin with confidence and don't be afraid to ask any questions as they always answer and will provide honest answers as well.

Kind regards,

Richard.

[emadmoussa]

I don't believe FLO needs more praising, but the constantly great service and friendly non-corporate-like attitude is what keeps me coming back and this alone deserves further commendment.

I recently had a big order from them. Steve and Martin were more than helpful and cleared a lot of points I wasn't aware of before placing my order.

So, would like to say: thank you again, FLO!

[bmc]

after reading many of the supplier reviews, i assumed FLO were the chaps to go with. for Christmas my girlfriend bought me several pieces of equipment i wanted. as she hasn't the foggiest what i'm talking about when it comes to equipment (her eyes go a bit watery), so i gave her a "shopping list" and directed her to the FLO website. she bought me a whole pile of goodies totaling £170. 

within it all were Baader fine tuning rings, 14 & 28 mm. 

unfortunately the 28 mm was not delivered, and this was not discovered until i opened my pressie over Christmas. 

i contacted FLO on the 30th of December via e-mail. 

to date 19 emails have been sent, i have been apologized, and lied too. and as yet i'm one 28 mm FTR down.

I've been told to blame Santa, Brian Cox and a postman who has a fetish for FTR'S. 

DON'T BE BLINDED BY THE HYPE!

POOR POOR POOR 

[FLO]

Blimey! That sounds terrible 

Fortunately I know about this because one week ago it was me who dispatched the second Baader Fine Tuning Ring. I guess that hasn't arrived either. I also arranged a full refund as an apology for the delay. 

I am not sure what to make of the 19 emails comment. I can find nine sent from us, most were simply questions like "what is your order number?" and "where should we deliver it?". You must be counting your original enquiry email and responses. You most definitely have not been lied to. If we dispatch an item and it doesn't arrive it doesn't necessarily mean we have lied or that your postman is a thief. 

When we make a mistake we raise our hands, apologise and make amends. When you contacted us to say you hadn't received the replacement adapter we didn't argue. We said sorry, arranged a refund then dispatched another. I also confessed we had dropped the ball when you first contacted us (the first week after our Christmas/New-Year break is always hectic). 

I will understand if you order the same adapter elsewhere but if you are willing we will happily dispatch another (I am posting from home but I am confident we have more in stock). But considering it will be our third attempt to deliver one we will send it via FedEx so someone would need to be home to sign for delivery. Please email me if you agree. 

Once again I am truly sorry you have been inconvenienced. 

Steve 

[bmc]

hi Steve,

just want to say a big thank you for eventually resolving the FTR issue. as you said, the FTR came by fedex this afternoon. 

many thanks

Bernie.

[FLO]

If/when the other two we dispatched earlier this month arrive please feel free to gift them to someone with a Hyperion eyepiece

[dick_dangerous]

Just wanted to add my feedback to the large number of satisfied customers that FLO has.

I've been trying to work out which telescope to buy to best suit my needs and had a choice between two - the Skyliner 150P and the Skyliner 200P. I e-mailed FLO with a question about the physical size of the two telescopes on Saturday (During stock-take - whoops!) - they got back to me very promptly with not only more information about the two scopes but pictures, advice on using a trolley to move a dobsonian and didn't pressure me into buying either scope.

So I ordered the Skyliner 150P on Tuesday night - it arrived on Thursday morning at 8.35 (Before I'd got up - day off!), so that's essentially less than one business day's turn around. That is impressively prompt!

Many thanks to Martin and everyone else at First Light Optics - I am one extremely satisfied customer and will continue to wax lyrical about you!

Thanks,

DD (Really known as Paul)

[baggywrinkle]

FLO get excellent reviews in here and I am not knocking them.

For that reason  I ordered a Heritage 130P as a grab and go to take back to Shanghai so I always have some form of scope there.

It arrived at the delivery address specified but sadly in a damaged condition. The secondary mirror was bent too far out of shape, the colimating locking screws were loose and there were damage indentations to the dovetail. The locking screw on the dovetail was loose too so it had been rattling around in its box.

The shippers were Optical Vision. I did contact them and they told me that they never check these before shipping.

I have emailed FLO with images and called and left messages on their answerphone but no replies. They did arrange a pick up but did not contact me, the first I knew was a phone call, lucky I happended to be in the office.

Not sure what is going on but I am dissapointed. So on my school report 'Must do Better!'

[FLO]

So on my school report 'Must do Better!'

If we were writing your school report it would read "Must improve email" 

We were of course sorry to hear your telescope was damaged in transit but we arranged both collection and refund on time and Martin did email you updates but you clearly have not received them. We know our emails were sent because when we noticed you had CC'd our supplier copies of your emails to us we did the same when sending you our replies (please feel free to ask our supplier for their copy of Martin's most recent email sent to you Feb 6th).

Perhaps your travelling hasn't helped

Regards, 

Steve 

[Moox]

I have had experience of FLO's customer service when things don't go quite right. When my 200p dob was delivered with the base all smashed and my neighbour saw the delivery man throw the scope box out of his van, I was straight onto FLO to sort.

Emailed images of the damage were sent and then when I was told that an engineer at SW, who was currently on leave, needed to see photos of the damage before they could send a replacement, I was rather unhappy. But FLO sorted this all out and had a replacement sent out straight away which arrived the next day, delivered by 2 careful delivery men (I was watching them unload like a hawk!).

I can understand some people might not like it that FLO don't advertise a phone number as in these circumstances it is nice to be able to get someone on the phone and if necessary 'vent ones spleen', and I personally would have preferred to be given a number to call, but contacting them through email worked fine.

Since then I have ordered a few bits and bobs from FLO (filters, EPs etc..) and everything has arrived safe and sound the day after ordering. Daft questions I've asked them about bits of kit have been answered promptly and informatively, and their obvious passion for the subject and their knowledge comes through in all my dealings with them.

After the shaky start with them, I wouldn't hesitate to use them time and time again - wallet funds permitting!

[stev74]

I'd like to say a big thank you to Steve at FLO for customers service and a very kind donation!! 

I've been organising an BBC Stargazing Live partnered event at a local primary school over the last few months - as well as booking a mobile planetarium, asking members of my observing group (Central Scotland Observers Group) to bring along their telescopes, I thought an astronomy raffle with the top prize being a telescope would be a great way to promote our hobby and raise funds for the school.

I decided to order a Skywatcher Heritage 76 mini dobsonian as it is a perfect first scope for children at primary school age, unfortunately when I first went to order one (Jan 7th) they weren't in stock so I emailed FLO and Steve replied very quickly and told me the mini dobs were estimated to be due in soon hopefully in about 2 weeks. Steve answered all my emails promptly, gave regular updates on when the scope was due and as soon as FLO had them in stock I was emailed again and a member of my observing group placed the order as he'd offered to donate the scope through his business - it arrived a couple of days before the event and then took pride of place on the raffle table on the night.

I also enquired about the Astromedia model kits FLO sells as I thought those would also be ideal as runner up prizes as it's something the kids could build and also end up with a working telescope. Steve agreed that with some adult supervision the kits would be ideal - I'd told him the order was for a raffle and the money made would go to the school for science related resources for the kids so he very kindly offered to donated some of the kits free of charge!

I should have realised it would have been more than just couple of the smaller kits (which I would have been more than happy with!!) when I opened the box there was 5 kits, mostly the bigger ones!!

The evening was a great success and we even got nearly an hour of clear skies so everyone got to look through the scopes. Due to Steve's (FLO) generosity it meant that the raffle was even more popular so we took more money in on the night which made it possible to pay for an extra 30min session in the Glasgow Uni’s mobile planetarium for a further 25 kids and parents (100 in total got to see the planetarium show on the night) as well as raising funds for the school. The Headteacher has confirmed the money raised has been allocated to the primary 6 classes to add extra resources to compliment their ‘Space’ topic.

All the best and thanks again.

Cheers

Steve 

[faulksy]

just had to write this about flo.

in all the years of ordering items from all sorts of retailers, motorcycles, cars, fishing, you get my drift and now astronomy, flo have been by far the best. heres my story i basicaly ordered and payed for a feathertouch focuser over the xmas hols (flo was shut in that period) soon as they were open again i had a phone call from martin, he said they didn't have feathertouch focuser in stock so he would refund me, i asked him how long it would be and he said a few weeks, so i asked him about alternatives, not once did he try and push something else on to me. he suggested moonlite and if i didnt like it he would refund me, with no obligation as it was martins choice, i went for it, had a few minor problems with it so martin has basicaly said hold on to it for now and we will replace it, so i asked about a feathertouch again and he said no problem i will order you one and hold on to the moonlite until your new one lands. now how many retailers would do that. god there good, no wonder every one raves about them

regards mike