Camera Repairs: Never Pay in Advance with a Check

The Canon-authorized repair shop in Illinois finally returned my camera equipment.   Cleaning 2 lenses and one camera body took 6 weeks - instead of the 48 hours the company advertised on their website.

This all started back in the fall, before Thanksgiving.  I received a repair estimate, and shipped my equipment to Illinois - with a check - the day after Thanksgiving.

After Christmas (and several phone calls and emails), I got a call from "Jennifer in customer service."  They couldn't get a part for my 100-300mm lens.  They were ready to ship my "cleaned" camera body, the unfixed lens and a check refunding the $95 charge for the unfixed lens.

When will they ship my other lens?  It could take another 4-6 weeks. 

"Jennifer in customer service" called again last Thursday to let me know they had my other lens - an IS 100-400mm - ready to ship back to me.

What about my refund?   She said:  we will enclose your $95 refund check in the package.

I sat home for two days, waiting for the expedited UPS "overnight" delivery, wondering if/when I will ever see that lens again.  When it finally arrived this afternoon, one look at the shipping label and I knew the reason for the delay:  They shipped it "ground" not "overnight."

And the refund check was not enclosed.

I blasted off an email to customer service.   Where's my $95 refund?

Lessons learned:

   1.  Always use a credit card.
   2.  Check with the state attorney general's office for reports on the company.
   3.  Get a written estimate of how long the repair will take.

Customer Service

 

 

I shipped my camera equipment off to be cleaned the day after Thanksgiving.  I sent it to an authorized repair shop I found on the internet.  I made my decision based on customer reviews and the promise on their website:  a 24 hour turn-around.  Still, I was reluctant to be without my Canon.

A week later, I checked the "repair status" page on their website.   They received my camera and two lenses on December 3rd.  I figured - give it 24 hours and 5 days shipping - I should have the equipment back by the 11th.  It didn't happen.

So I sent them an email, asking:   what's up?  Is there a problem?  When will I get my equipment back?

The answer from Jennifer, the customer service representative:  "The technician is finishing up the cleanings.  I apologize for the delay in the cleaning.  The technician stated that the cleaning is very complex due to the fact that he needs to take the lens apart."

I checked again a week later, highlighting their 24 hour turn-around promise.  I got the same answer - word for word.

A week later I called.  Still the same answer.

Now I'm getting suspicious ... and angry.   I'm beginning to think I'll never see my equipment again.  I "google" the Illinois Attorney General's office - just in case.

I called again on the 28th.  "It's a complex process, but we'll be shipping your equipment back to you tomorrow."

The next day, at 2pm, I get a call from Jennifer.  Turns out, there is a "problem."  The camera body is ready to go.  They can't fix my 100-300 lens.   And they have to send my 100-400 lens to Canon for a calibration.

I am not happy.  Not that they can't fix my lens - or that they have to send the other lens to Canon.  I'm not happy that they didn't just say:  we're backed up and we won't get to your camera until 28 December.

I suspect I've been had - for $295.   JUST SEND MY EQUIPMENT BACK!  I said.

After I hung up and cooled off, I realized that wasn't such a good idea.  So I called back and asked to speak to the customer service manager.  I got put on hold and had to listen to this message:  "Thank you for giving us the chance to provide exceptional service for years to come..."

Turns out they were backed up.  Yes, she admitted their technician didn't get to my equipment until December 28th.

Why couldn't customer service tell me they were 4 weeks behind - when I contacted them back in November?

Did I really need to hear the challenges of dealing with Canon and how their customer service and their website editors were two different departments?

The manager agreed to over-night my camera body and my un-fixable lens.

UPS delivered this afternoon - in a snowstorm.

I connected my "un-fixable" lens to my camera body and snapped this photo of a downy woodpecker at my suet feeder (in the snow, in very bad light, though a window).  I have no complaints about the quality of their repairs.   Their technician did a great job.

But they have a way to go with customer service.

I wouldn't have been angry at all, had they told me - when I first contacted them in mid-November - that they were 4 weeks behind.    Instead, their lack of candor led me to think the worst.

The status of my 100-400 lens?

I might see it in 4-6 weeks, if I'm lucky.

Camera Dust

I have a Canon EOS camera and an array of lenses.  I seldom go outside without them.  I never know when I’m going to see something that I just have to photograph, and my little “point and shoot” Sony Cybershot just won’t do.

I know I should have a second camera body, but I'd been saving up for a Prius and a new laptop - a MacBook Pro.  A new camera body didn't float to the top of my list until I started having a problem with dust.

Digital cameras are susceptible to dust.   They have a little sensor that needs to be cleaned at least once a year.  That’s been a problem for me.  There’s never a “good” time to send my EOS off for a cleaning.   

I got to the point where I was no longer willing to spend time in Photoshop, sharpening and removing the dust from my images.   So, I went to the Internet, and shopped on-line for camera repair services.  

After reviewing several estimates, I settled on United Camera.   They're a factory authorized shop, and their website promised a quick turn-around.

Still, I hesitated to part with my camera.  

After the second-warmest November on record, the temperatures finally dropped below freezing.  I was increasingly less enthusiastic about going for a walk outdoors.   What appeared to be the “right” time to part with my camera had come. 

I packed it up and shipped it out on “black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving.  

It's been a couple of weeks now.  Their website promised 48 hour turn around.  

Time to take action....