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Best Buy Recall of Sony F707's

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Dan V66033

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FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas) recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly. This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage. Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus
--Dan
 
Dan -

Thank you for this info. Of course, we're going to have questions, which follow:
Dan said:
Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
Click to expand...
What is PRC?
What is Devo?
Dan V66033 said:
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.
Click to expand...
If customers go in to BestBuy with a complaint about their camera, should we expect that the manager at the digital camera kiosk is going to know what we're talking about?
Dan V66033 said:
Watch for an update early next week for more information on this camera.
Click to expand...
Additionally, if some of us are over the 14-day period for return/exchange, what kind of treatment should we expect from BB? How could we expedite handling of our problem?
 
Ulysses:

I don't work for Best Buy and unfortunately the salesman that printed out this communication for me was brand new and couldn't explain any of the terminology in the memo or amplify on their return policy. Nonetheless I thought it worthwhile to pass along the information for others to follow-up on.

Dan
Ulysses said:
Thank you for this info. Of course, we're going to have questions,
which follow:
Dan said:
Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
Click to expand...
What is PRC?
What is Devo?
Member said:
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.
Click to expand...
If customers go in to BestBuy with a complaint about their camera,
should we expect that the manager at the digital camera kiosk is
going to know what we're talking about?
Member said:
Watch for an update early next week for more information on this camera.
Click to expand...
Additionally, if some of us are over the 14-day period for
return/exchange, what kind of treatment should we expect from BB?
How could we expedite handling of our problem?
Click to expand...
 
GREAT work Dan. THANKS!!!

This does look legit!. I knew it would happened.
What a joyfull news...the kind of news the STF is in dyer need of.

Much thanks!
Kenny
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this
camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus

--
Dan
Click to expand...
 
Ulysses said:
What is PRC?
What is Devo?
Click to expand...
It's obvious that he's referring to the People's Republic of China and the group famous for songs like Whip It. I'm not sure what that has to do with Best Buy, but it's all sounding like a strange conspiracy theory...
 
If its a manufacturers recall then the 14 days wouldnt matter.

Its up to the manufacturer to decide what they will do. Its either gonna be an over the counter straight exchange or its gonna be a sent it in for firmware fix.

So far i see that posting as an internal freeze on "sales" of the F707.
what about the units that are in users hands?

Most important to everybody is what action is to be taken present owners.
Member said:
Additionally, if some of us are over the 14-day period for
return/exchange, what kind of treatment should we expect from BB?
How could we expedite handling of our problem?
Click to expand...
 
Good news Dan! Let's wait and see what happens!

Thanks,

Antoine
Kenny said:
This does look legit!. I knew it would happened.
What a joyfull news...the kind of news the STF is in dyer need of.

Much thanks!
Kenny
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this
camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus

--
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
BestBuy.com lists f707 but says that it's "On Order - Usually ships in 5-7 business days". That recall might be for real.
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.
Click to expand...
.
.
.
.
Dan V66033 said:
--
Dan
Click to expand...
 
I figure if Best Buy is doing this, then we should see the more reputable Internet retailers pulling the plug on the F707. First, I did a CNet price search and only two or three sites even show them in stock. Of those, only one was big, namely 800.com. Went there and was surprised to see Out of Stock and Not Currently Available displayed. They are NOT taking orders.

Check the link yourself:

http://www.800.com/prod.asp?p=6049

It gets curiousier and curiousier.
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this
camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus

--
Dan
Click to expand...
 
Hey All!
I searched the web and found a site that posted some Best Buy codes:

DEVO- Defective Equipment Void of Operation. Product that is broken and not repairable and is still under the manufacturer's warranty.

TAO- Totally Automated Office. Best Buy's e-mail system

No mention of "PRC"...my guess would be "Product Recall Center" (warehouse)

Hope this helps!

Rob C.
Jay Jervey said:
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this
camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus

--
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
As far as I remember,this is the first time when a digi cam maker recalled their product. I know and every single 707 owner know that the camera has some nagging problems that are not acceptable to Sony. But what about other Sony cameras that have similar problems? I think that because the 707 caused a big sensation in the digi cam market and that many people rushed to buy it and started complaining about the camera's problems,Sony can no longer ignore the situation and they had to recall the product.

They might've a little rushed to put this camera in the market.

On the other hand,for the first time,Sony may install a firmware fix to the recalled cameras. They have a high standard and they'll have to do it (or do something) to meet their standard and to satisfy their customers.

Sony had a similar probelm when the Play Sation II came out earlier this year. It had some mechanical problems that could damage CDs. I remember

lots of parents got angry at the poor quality of the Play Station II. It was a worldwide problem,but they seemed to fix that problem.

Quality management is essential to survive in the business and every business has the same problem and even a company like Sony is no exception.

Hide
 
Well guys....what to do next?

I've got my 707 from Sears (finally, a few days ago), I've registered on Sony web site, I've sent them a "warranty" list...bla..bha..

Why I didnt get anything from them about the "recall" ?
Are they so "shy"?

What to do ?
 
Alex,

I would hope that if the recall is true, Sears would have some information on it also. Thus, you may want to call the Sears store where you bought the camera and read them the text in the Best Buy communication that was posted here. Let us know if they have any similar information or plans.

Sears has a super return policy, so if they do have the same info you should not have a problem returning your defective camera for a non-defective one.

The best.
R.J.
Alex said:
Well guys....what to do next?

I've got my 707 from Sears (finally, a few days ago), I've
registered on Sony web site, I've sent them a "warranty"
list...bla..bha..

Why I didnt get anything from them about the "recall" ?
Are they so "shy"?

What to do ?
Click to expand...
 
In digicam market, as you can easily see, Sony produce A LOT OF models in a VERY SHORT TIME INTERVAL (in compare with other brands) :-

Just this year : from S75, P50, P30, then S85, P20, then 707, P5, P3 ... (not to mention those "CD", "FD" series ...)

At a given resource (and time), it will be much much easier to have more design faults, programming bugs, and/or quality control problem occurred !!?

In particular, for 707, and at this price level (in Hong Kong, it is selling at HKD$8,990 !), it is still NOT EXCUSABLE !
Hide Takahashi said:
As far as I remember,this is the first time when a digi cam maker
recalled their product. I know and every single 707 owner know that
the camera has some nagging problems that are not acceptable to
Sony. But what about other Sony cameras that have similar problems?
I think that because the 707 caused a big sensation in the digi cam
market and that many people rushed to buy it and started
complaining about the camera's problems,Sony can no longer ignore
the situation and they had to recall the product.

They might've a little rushed to put this camera in the market.

On the other hand,for the first time,Sony may install a firmware
fix to the recalled cameras. They have a high standard and they'll
have to do it (or do something) to meet their standard and to
satisfy their customers.

Sony had a similar probelm when the Play Sation II came out earlier
this year. It had some mechanical problems that could damage CDs. I
remember
lots of parents got angry at the poor quality of the Play Station
II. It was a worldwide problem,but they seemed to fix that problem.

Quality management is essential to survive in the business and
every business has the same problem and even a company like Sony is
no exception.

Hide
Click to expand...
 
The Best Buy codes deal with return policy for given brands. Olympic cameras (like the E-10), are direct exchange, higher end Sony products are usually repaired, not replaced. In this instance, however, I'd expect they'd replace the units rather than sour all those customers with waiting for repairs on brand new merchandise.

Even as bad at this seems, I'm sure Sony will, in the end, treat the customer with fairness.

dave b
 
If this is true, I would recommend that everyone also call the dealer whether it be Sears, Circuit City, BB, online etailer, etc., and ask about the Sony F707 recall situation... if they don't know about it and assuming it is true, then you will help expedite the learning curve about the defect and recall and everyone might get their camera fixed or exchanged sooner.

Being Dan seems to be a brand new poster to this thread, I tend towards caution until we know him better. Could this be a joke or is it true, call your dealers to find out for sure and call Sony.

Of course I hope it is true. :-)

Willyee.
Dan said:
FYI... the following is a copy of a 10-26-01 internal Best Buy
communication to their stores (in this case Houston, Texas)
recalling all current inventory of Sony F707 cameras.

Date: Friday, 26 October 2001 19:10 CT
To: Merch-News, All Mgrs, Inventory-News, Ops-News, Digital
Imaging-News
From: DIGITAL.BUS@BBCSYS1
Subject: Urgent Sony Digital Camera

The Sony F707 Digital Camera has not met Sony's high-standard
specifications. Due to this we will be sending all of the Cameras
back to PRC (Devo), then ship replacement product very shortly.
This camera is in the ad through Saturday October 27th so follow
these instructions:

Leave the Sony F707 (4315538) up on Display. Write rainchecks for
this on Friday and Saturday (Do not sell current inv) Take all
inventory to the warehouse and secure in warehouse lockup cage.
Ship all inventory to the PRC as soon as possible (Devo)

Response to any customer inquiries about this camera should be that
our
current product inventory did not meet Sony's high standards.

Watch for an update early next week for more information on this
camera.

Any questions tao digital.bus

--
Dan
Click to expand...
 
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