Well... Not long after I got my Can*n S110, it broke while I was in
Maine (where I will be again in 2-3 weeks). It happened when I was
taking some close-ups through some shallow water on Moosehead lake and
slipped. I caught my balance, and I don't think I banged the camera, but
suddenly the lens stuck out at a funny angle :-( . Of course, being me,
I bought a small screwdriver and openie it up on a friend's kitchen
table. Sure enough, a plastic ring with internal threads that is the
static part of the focus/zoom helicoid had cracked. I couldn't find any
sign of the lens hitting anything, I think it was just rapid lateral
decelleration when I flung out my arms to catch my balance with the
camera on the end on one of them. No repair I could do there. As a side
note, a small metal band around the ring would have prevented the
problem in the first place.
Anyway, when I got home, I sent it off to Can*n Warranty service without
any special checking, phone calls, etc. I can't remember now exactly how
long it took, but definitely less than 2 weeks later I had a fully
repaired camera in my hands. The tech even forgot and left an 8mb CF
card in it. Not much use until I found it useful for holding a firmware
update for the 300D. I don't know about Nik*n or Can*n service in
general, but my one experience took about the same time as yours, but
with much, much less time and effort on my part.
I also seem to recall that the camera came with a warranty service
repair tag with address and a bar code identifing the camera. So they
probably avoid the black hole problem by routing the cameras to the
right places before they are even opened, perhaps even auto distribution
using the bar code. It's nice to hear that one can get good service from
OA with effort. How much nicer if they didn't have a black hole for
those who aren't "special". I know from experience in large scale retail
that properly designed systems not only deliver more timely results, but
are less expensive to operate. I wonder how much all those phone calls,
the double shipping, the grip strap and the labor cost of those
activities and the APB cost them? And how many other repairs were
delayed while people ran around looking for yours? Don't get me wrong,
I'm glad you got your service, but it sounds like they have a poor
quality repair system overall. They need an IE or SE in to fix it up,
improve service and lower costs.
One of my sons is an auto repair dispatcher at a large dealership. If a
vehicle is returned to the customer with a new problem and he reams out
the tech, he has already failed 3 times and the shop has failed at least
a couple more. First, reaming out a tech is poor management that breeds
resentment, not performance. Second, customer relations are damaged.
Third, cost of the second repair comes right out of the bottom line.
Fourth, unless the tech in really new, training and management of the
tech failed. Fifth, shop procedures are either inadequate or not being
followed.
End of Rant! I do hope the E-1 cames back all well on Friday!
Moose who still had the OM-4 and lenses when the P&S died.
Skip Williams wrote:
>I had an interesting experience with the repair of my E-1 over the past two
>weeks that I thought you'd like to hear.
>
>Try trying to excalate such a repair with Nikon or Canon service, you'd get
>laughed out of existance, At least I would, with no money to back me up vs,
>huge shops.
>
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