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mumford Special user 652 Posts |
Kent next time you are in the LA area try Best Magic in Anaheim, it's near Disneyland, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
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MickeyPainless Inner circle California 6065 Posts |
My youngest goes to school in Long Beach so I'll have to check it out the next time I'm down visiting! Didn't know it existed Mumford, Thanks!
MMc |
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Electric Eye New user 12 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-12-08 12:04, Kent Wong wrote: Well I must say first of all that I do frequent the store in Studio City, and in my opinion it's a fine store. My experiences have been more than positve, with a great selection of products and reasonable prices and friendly staff who make you feel welcome and not rushed like other magic shops. These are the three main reasons I return again and again, not to mention I.B.M., S.A.M. and Magic Castle members receive 10% of their purchases each and every time , just show your card, it's great. I have read Mr. Wongs' posts concerning the day he visited the Studio City location and although I honestly do not have a dog in this fight I am compelled to set the record straight, as I was one of "the other customers" in the shop that afternoon and it's unfortunate that Mr. Wong has been less than truthful in his posts on the subject: First of all Mr. Wong was more interested in having people watch him than anything else. As far as he was concerned he was the center of the magical universe with everyone else orbiting around him. Mr. Wong never asked the staff to demo anything. In fact when the "enthusiastic hobbyist" entered the store the clerk on duty was tending to him just fine and recommended good effects, several of which he did demonstrate for the customer, and that fit the criteria that the customer had asked about i.e. childrens birthday party. Then as the guy on duty mentioned that the chinese sticks might be something to consider Wong jumped into action becoming animated to the point of practically begging to show his version of the chinese sticks (no one at any time asked Mr. Wong to demonstrate anything). If the clerk on duty was guilty of anything it was by being overly accommidating to Wong, if he would have forseen what was going to happen in the following minutes I'm guessing he wouldn't have been so obliging. Before Mr. Wong even began his version of the chinese sticks the "hobbyist politely told Wong that he was familair with the effect and that he already owns a set. Well that didn't stop Wong who proceeds as if he didn't even hear him. So the "hobbyist" patiently waited for Wong to get it out of his system. Next MR. Wong is asking for rope then linking rings, it was apparent that Wong felt he had a captivated audience. During Mr. Wongs' attempts to demo these items it was clear that he was not particularly adept in his handlings. Which is fine nobody's perfect, but to claim that he was asked to do these things is inaccurate. At this point he was politely asked by the staff to bring his show to an end. Funny how this detail never makes it in any of his now 3 posts in this thread. This I believe is what upset Mr. Wong, however it didn't stop him from showing clips of himself on youtube via his cell phone nor did it prevent him from handing out his business card to anyone who would take one. At the end of his visit he made his purchase and left, but not before thanking the staff repeatedly for all their help and saying on his way out "good to know you're here, see you next time". Lastly since I was in line behind the "hobbyist" at the cash register I did notice that he did not have a single item that Wong had showed him. What did he buy? He bought only those effects that the staff selected for him 30 minutes earlier, go figure. Regards, Electric Eye |
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
I read the above post with great interest. For this person to have been a “customer” in the store and having allegedly witnessed all of this, he would have needed to have been in there for over an hour. I can say unequivocally that the only two customers who were present for such duration were myself and the fellow magician who came in with me. There were, however, two “employees” in the store for the entire duration. One employee has already issued a highly inflammatory pm to me. I don't know who the above poster really is. Indeed, if you take a look at his profile, it's extremely "cryptic" to say the least.
That’s the unfortunate reality of discussion forums such as these. It’s easy for someone to create an anonymous user name, with little to no background information, and then make any statements they want. But I’m not about to get pulled into a mud slinging contest. People around the Café have seen my name and my picture around for a long, long time. They have also likely read some of my posts. They can judge for themselves whether I’m telling the truth. For the record, here are a few particulars, 1) I was originally asked to perform Dots Next. The employee pulled this trick out of the showcase and started to open the cardboard box with the expectation that I would demonstrate this trick for the customer since he didn't know how to do it. I told him I hadn’t performed that trick in years and didn’t want to risk exposing it through a poor performance. He looked disappointed and put the trick back. 2) Next, the employee took a set of Chinese Sticks off of the peg board behind the showcase. He asked if I could demonstrate this trick for the customer and I said yes. The employee then opened the cellophane packaging and gave the plastic sticks to me. In other words, I wouldn’t have even had access to this trick if the employee hadn’t retrieved it from behind the counter, opened the packaging and given it to me to use. Would he have done that if he hadn’t wanted me to demonstrate this trick? 3) A few minutes later, the same employee brought out a Zombie Ball Kit. I was somewhat surprised since I hadn’t seen this on the shelf earlier. The employee indicated he had it in the back room since he didn’t know how to perform it. Would he have brought this out from the back if he didn’t want me to demonstrate it? Of course not. But the overhead lighting conditions and the difficult angles within the store caused me concern. So, instead of performing it live, I showed the customer my own video of a live performance in front of a full theatre audience. For those who are interested, there is a copy of the performance video on my website: http://www.kentwongmgic.com 4) The customer also mentioned that he owned Professor’s Nightmare but wanted to be able to do more with it than the basic routine. So, I asked the employee if they had Richard Saunder’s Fiber Optics. The employee confirmed he did have one in stock (after all, why pitch a product if it’s not in stock) but he didn’t have any Professor’s Nightmare ropes in stock. Instead, he went into the back of the store and came out with a coil of white magicians rope, a pair of scissors and some scotch tape. He asked if I could make a set of Professor’s Nightmare ropes to demonstrate. I agreed to do so. Again, would he have done any of this if he didn’t want me to demonstrate this to the customer? Of course not. 5) And finally, a similar scenario played out with the Chinese Linking Rings. The employee went into the back of the store and opened a new set of 12 inch rings for me to use. Would he have done this if he didn’t want me to demonstrate the trick? I don’t think so. Did I perform these effects with a complete presentation and patter? Did I inject my own personality and enthusiasm into the performance of each and evey trick I was asked to demonstrate? Of course I did. But for me, that wasn’t “putting on a show”. You see, I’m a professional magician and that’s what we do. It’s true that, at one point near the end of my visit, the employee asked if I could stop demonstrating tricks. Apparently, the owner of the store had come in and wasn’t overly pleased to see his paid employees chatting with each other near the back of the store while I was pitching product to their customers. I didn’t have any problem with stopping. As indicated earlier, I came in to buy product and not to perform. I simply did so at the request of the guys working there. As for handing out business cards, that would have been rude in the extreme. In fact, didn’t even have any cards with me. You see, my business cards are actual playing cards and I only carry them with me during paid performances. Indeed, if I was “handing out business cards to anyone who would take one”, I defy anyone to produce one of those cards. They won’t be able to. Finally, the alleged “good to know you’re here, see you next time” comment never happened. I was so shocked that they wouldn’t even call me a cab that I was left speechless. Me and the fellow magician who had accompanied me simply left shaking our heads. We went across the street to the Seven Eleven and had them call a cab for us. I apologize for going on so long with this, but the veracity of my claims (indeed my integrity) has been impugned by some anonymous person whom I have never met or even heard of. Despite my long standing history here on the Café, I didn’t want anyone to misinterpret any lack of response as an acknowledgement of his allegations. I won’t post any additional comments as to what happened at the store. For me, this matter is closed and I will simply let by brethren decide on their own. For the record, I am not saying that the store I visited is a “bad store”. Indeed, many others have had terrific experiences there and I’m happy for them. All I am recounting is my particular experience in that store on that one particular day. O.K., I’m done now. Thank you for your time.
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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Electric Eye New user 12 Posts |
Nice try Kent, however I was there before you arrived and was ther after you left. You were there for no longer than half an hour. In fact anyone who has been to the shop knows that the chinese sticks, professors nightmare, linking rings and the zombie are all in a common area accesible to any patron who so desires to retrieve them for themselves. Although I wouldn't be suprised if they have been relocated to another part of the shop after the fiasco other guests and I had to witness. Asking to perform trick after trick, then turning around to say that you were asked to do so, YIKES!
If Mr. Wong hadn't been asked to bring his little show to an end I'm sure he'd still be there. By the way if he was capable of performing these effects convincingly do you really believe he would have been asked to stop? Think about it. Well kudos to you Mr. Wong for finally admitting that you were indeed asked to stop, and it only took you four posts, this is progress. Unfortunately this is the only shred of truth contained within your last four posts, besides you actually being there and making a purchase. As far as your claim that you didn't attempt to hand out your business cards to me as well as other guests is simply not the case. I for one said no thanks, remember? I can't speak for the others but after watching his so called demo's(thats short for demolition) of said effects one would probably be hard-pressed to produce one, I'd have to agree with him there. As far as Mr. Wongs' supposed request for a cab, never heard him ask for one. By the way didn't he say he took a cab to get there in his original post? So in less than an hour a grown man can't remember how to call himself a cab? Not to mention he also had his own phone with him, the same one he used to show off his videos earlier that same visit remember, wow! Regards, Electric Eye |
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Farrell Veteran user 371 Posts |
PWNED!
Electric Eye WIN!!! |
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gaddy Inner circle Agent of Chaos 3526 Posts |
After hearing these responses from these two magic store sycophants (who knows who they really are? Employees? hangers-on?) any desire I had to visit this store has left me completely.
If it is one of the employees, then congratulations, you've lost another potential customer with your egotistical need to "show Mr Wong up". It's no wonder to me that he was treated like this in the first place with people like you behind the counter. If you're merely some hanger-on/fanboy, you need to check yourself before you run your little hang-out right out of business. Slander and "he said/she said" trash talk isn't how your little club-house got into business, and it certainly isn't how a reputable dealer STAYS in business either. You're not helping, GET IT? You're part of the problem, not part of the solution...
*due to the editorial policies here, words on this site attributed to me cannot necessarily be held to be my own.*
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
I won't allow this to denigrate into a mud-slinging contest and so, I will not be making any further comment on this topic.
Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
The appropriate response from any business being brought into an unflattering light (and whether MA thinks the claimant is right or wrong) is......(practice this now)..... "Kent, we're terribly sorry you had a bad experience while in our store, this is certainly not how we like to be remembered and we look forward to doing whatever is required to make it up to you on your next trip to LA. Please contact me in advance of your arrival so I can be sure to meet you in person".
See.......easy, effective, and professional........don't forget, you're a business with a professional image to uphold, not a individual person whose feelings are being hurt. Optics are everything. (Electric Eye, you're doing the store a huge disservice if you are a customer, and you're simply out of line if you're an employee, either way I doubt you have any idea how you're coming across, and what light you're portraying the store in ). |
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Farrell Veteran user 371 Posts |
PWNED!
Electric Eye WIN!!! |
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noble1 Special user 651 Posts |
Go back and read what Silverking had to say.
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MickeyPainless Inner circle California 6065 Posts |
BOTH Gaddy and Silverking hit the nail smack dab in the center of the head!
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markmiller Special user 731 Posts |
This thread sounds like the Jerry Springer Show.
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magicmanfrank Inner circle 1127 Posts |
JERRY!....JERRY!....JERRY!........
The Early Bird may get the Worm, but it's the SECOND Mouse that gets the CHEESE!!!
Frank Thurston www.FrankThurstonMagic.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Magic-of-Frank-Thurston/116625117910?ref=nf |
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dmkraig Inner circle 1949 Posts |
To get back to the original topic...
I'm very sad to see Hollywood Magic go. When I was a young in 8th grade living in West Los Angeles, I'd spend something like an hour taking first the Venice Blvd. bus and then the La Brea bus to the shop. I'd spend hours there and at Joe Berg's. They were wonderlands. I'd watch new tricks and old being demoed. I met famous magicians and people with no names. I remember Joe Berg taking me to the back room to show some amazing trick he thought I'd like. I learned as much on presentation from some of the workers at Hollywood Magic than in the theater and public speaking classes I took at UCLA. I even talked about the front display window at Hollywood Magic in my first novel. I've seen so many shops open and close. To me, Berg's closing was a loss. Hollywood Magic closing is like a part of my past leaving. To move to the debate...I've been to the shop that has been mentioned and the people have always treated me well. I can't think of any magic shop where I've been treated poorly because most of the people who work there really wanted to work there and enjoy what they're doing. My only problem with the mentioned shop is that it is regrettably too small for my tastes. Well, if Hollywood Magic is kaput, perhaps they will get enough traffic to warrant increasing the size of the shop and the depth of the stock. |
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Steve Spill V.I.P. 211 Posts |
Dmkraig thanks for reminding me about Joe Bergs. When I was ten I discovered Joe’s, a magic shop that was operated only for the initiated, where hidden treasure could be found. Berg’s, located in an upstairs office in Hollywood, had a neat showroom with glass cases, and a back room with parts of hundreds of tricks and instructions on bookshelves, covering the floor, stuffed in boxes, stacked on tables, spilling from suitcases, and steamer trunks. When Joe got to know me, he let me sift through the mess.
There were a couch, a few chairs, and a constant stream of visiting magicians… it was a lounge type of shop. The loungers often had to be swept away in order for Berg to go home to dinner. He was the world’s worst businessman. There were times magicians wanted to buy tricks, but Berg wouldn’t sell. “I’m sorry this trick isn’t for you…” If you really wanted the trick badly enough, you had to come back when Joe’s son, Ronnie, was minding the shop. He sold anything and everything to anyone. I wanted a lit cigarette dropper… a device that hangs under your coat and secretly feeds lit cigarettes into your hand. It was a rusted used prop, covered in dust, but Joe wouldn’t sell it to me because he thought I was too young to play with lit cigarettes. Ronnie, however, sold it to me “… it’s the only one of its type in existence, made by an English craftsman especially for Cardini, a legendary star of Vaudeville. The late, great, Cardini, was good friends with Joe. On his deathbed, Cardini gave him this treasure. There’s not another one like it.” Wow. A decade later I saw the same cigarette dropper at a Magic Castle swap meet. The guy selling it said, “there’s a great story that goes with that, I got it twenty years ago from Ronnie Berg, it’s the only one in existence, one-of-a-kind, made by an English craftsman especially for Cardini. On his deathbed he gave it to Joe Berg.” Cardini must have been awfully busy on his deathbed. |
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gaddy Inner circle Agent of Chaos 3526 Posts |
Well, he did produce a lot of lit cigarettes...
The innate huckster in me really appreciates the fact that Mr. Berg's line of BS was consistent from one customer to the next! No doubt, if you would've discovered that fact three months from when you purchased it you probably would've been pretty ticked off... But now, in retrospect, it is a legendary anecdote of a time long past. Great story, Steve, Thanks for sharing!
*due to the editorial policies here, words on this site attributed to me cannot necessarily be held to be my own.*
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cairo Elite user 406 Posts |
I'm with Gaddy. Great story Steve, thanks for sharing!
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
I remember the first time I visited Hollywood Magic. It was only a couple of years ago. I was visiting the Magic Castle with my good friend Martin Nash. This was about a year after his terrible car accident. Martin had replaced his car but was still having difficulties walking around. He also didn't have much money and so, I paid for his trip, his accommodations and his meals for the time we were down there.
That afternoon, he picked me up in his newly acquired Mark IV (his pride and joy) and took me over to Hollywood Magic. As we got closer, Martin almost seemed embarassed. He admitted that when he lived in L.A., he used to spend a lot of time at the store. In fact, it even got to a point where the guys got him his very own stool and ash tray with his name on it. Unfortunately, it had been some time since he had visited, and he was wondering how much it had changed. Well, we walked into the store on a busy Saturday afternoon. The place was bustling and the guys behind the counter were demonstrating their wares. But as we walked in, everything stopped. The guys behind the counter froze, and all attention was focused upon my friend. Suddenly, one of the guys comes running toward us yelling, "Marty! Welcome home!" He embraced Martin in a hug as another guy ran out from the back room. He was holding a bar stool and an ash tray with Martin's name on it. A huge smile came across Martin's face as he settled in to his stool. We spent just over an hour in the shop as Martin regaled everyone with his stories and caught up on old times. Although I visited Hollywood Magic several times since, that's the picture I will always have in my mind. Martin Nash, sitting on a barstool with a huge smile on his face. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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MickeyPainless Inner circle California 6065 Posts |
ANOTHER great story about Hollywood Magic, thanks Kent!
Steve, Your story is classic, thank you! MMc |
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