Canon Canada Customer service experience

Hi folks,

I bought a Canon S30 last November. Nice looking camera. Good photo quality. Apparently, somewhat questionable construction. :/ It slipped from a pocket while its current bearer was squatted to the ground. It fell probably about 1' from a jacket pocket and hit end first. Though the case seemed fine except for a scuff and scratch (when I went over I assumed it would work, didn't even check it until I went to use it later) the LCD was cracked. I don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had other cameras survive considerably worse. So it looks like there is no / poorly designed buffer around that LCD to protect it from shock to the rear panel casing.

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is reasonable, but a MONTH?

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service. They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430. Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning and received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of consequences.

Regards,
Peter

...and you should be angry.

Let's face it, modern electronics are not well serviced by anyone, as far as I can tell. When electronics of mine break, which is rare, I consider it a writeoff because the hassle and wait is just not worth it to me.

Sad but true. But I completely agree with your venting.

-Jagan

Do not get upset,
I have similar experience with Sony US in New York on my new camera,
they are all same, like to charge you whenever they can !!!!
You will not win even if you buy from US.

Ken

Jagan N. Seshadri said:

...and you should be angry.

Let's face it, modern electronics are not well serviced by anyone,
as far as I can tell. When electronics of mine break, which is
rare, I consider it a writeoff because the hassle and wait is just
not worth it to me.

Sad but true. But I completely agree with your venting.

-Jagan

Click to expand...

I've experienced the same thing. They told me my G1 could be fixed and would be sent in a week. I thought "great, canon is awesome". I called up a week and a half later and they said that it wasn't the problem they originally thought it would be so they had to order a part. Which is ok I GUESS.. but such a large company could have easily sent me a new/refurbed camera. (I've heard stories that Sony will put a new one in your hands if they can't repair it by a certain time, but thats just rumors.

ok, so a month after the intial quoted arrival goes by, and I call again. The guy told me that the camera was fixed and ready to go... or so the Canon guy said. A week after that I demanded my camera back fixed or new, and they agreed to have one sent by the Friday of that week. Of course once again the camera wasn't shipped. So I called the following Tuesday and really got on their case and Canon said that they don't handle the camera once it was shipped to the original retailer... so i swallowed my anger again.

To bad when i picked it up two days later at Henry's.. the "sent out" date was the day after I called and told me that it was out of their hands. (BTW.. the camera wasn't fixed.. they rushed out a new one)

Canon Canada Service is reallllly reallly lame. the only good thing that came out of that 6 week waiting time was that I traded in the new G1 they sent for a G2... for an additional 130 dollars (CDN) after tax of course.

Peter said:

Hi folks,

I bought a Canon S30 last November. Nice looking camera. Good
photo quality. Apparently, somewhat questionable construction. :/
It slipped from a pocket while its current bearer was squatted to
the ground. It fell probably about 1' from a jacket pocket and hit
end first. Though the case seemed fine except for a scuff and
scratch (when I went over I assumed it would work, didn't even
check it until I went to use it later) the LCD was cracked. I
don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse. So it looks like there
is no / poorly designed buffer around that LCD to protect it from
shock to the rear panel casing.

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning and
received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

I accidentally scratched the LCD on my G2, so I can commiserate to some extent with your situation.

Peter said:

don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse.

Click to expand...

But were they delicate digicams?

Peter87067 said:

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

Click to expand...

Why did it take you a month to find out? I thought you would have called Canon on a toll-free number, explained the cracked LCD and they would have told you right away it isn't something that would be covered under warranty. I knew my scratched LCD wasn't covered under warranty because it was damage inflicted by me (accidentally scratched it).

Peter87067 said:

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

Click to expand...

The parts pricing is outrageous. It would have cost me about $380 Cdn. for them to replace my scratched LCD. However, I can do the repair myself by ordering the LCD "screen" part for about $250 Cdn. (which includes 15% tax and shipping). The whole LCD (made up of many smaller parts) would have cost a lot more to replace. I'm better off buying a new camera instead of trying to replace the whole LCD (if the whole LCD had been damaged that is).

Peter87067 said:

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning > and

Click to expand...

In this day and age, you're still sending out snail mail for something you want resolved urgently (assuming you wanted it to be resolved quick)? A phone call or even FAX to the right person and would have accomplished things much much faster.

Peter87067 said:

received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

Yurie said:

I've experienced the same thing. They told me my G1 could be fixed
and would be sent in a week. I thought "great, canon is awesome". I
called up a week and a half later and they said that it wasn't the
problem they originally thought it would be so they had to order a
part. Which is ok I GUESS.. but such a large company could have
easily sent me a new/refurbed camera. (I've heard stories that Sony
will put a new one in your hands if they can't repair it by a
certain time, but thats just rumors.

ok, so a month after the intial quoted arrival goes by, and I call
again. The guy told me that the camera was fixed and ready to go...
or so the Canon guy said. A week after that I demanded my camera
back fixed or new, and they agreed to have one sent by the Friday
of that week. Of course once again the camera wasn't shipped. So I
called the following Tuesday and really got on their case and Canon
said that they don't handle the camera once it was shipped to the
original retailer... so i swallowed my anger again.

To bad when i picked it up two days later at Henry's.. the "sent
out" date was the day after I called and told me that it was out

Click to expand...

Just wondering. Why did Canon send the camera to Henrys? Did you also drop it off at Henrys and had Henrys send it to Canon? That may explain the longer delay?

When I called Canon about my scratched LCD, they told me to send it in for repair and the shipping wasn't that much. The quoted return shipping wasn't bad either. I decided not to repair the LCD for now.

Yurie said:

of
their hands. (BTW.. the camera wasn't fixed.. they rushed out a new
one)

Canon Canada Service is reallllly reallly lame. the only good thing
that came out of that 6 week waiting time was that I traded in the
new G1 they sent for a G2... for an additional 130 dollars (CDN)
after tax of course.

Peter said:

Hi folks,

I bought a Canon S30 last November. Nice looking camera. Good
photo quality. Apparently, somewhat questionable construction. :/
It slipped from a pocket while its current bearer was squatted to
the ground. It fell probably about 1' from a jacket pocket and hit
end first. Though the case seemed fine except for a scuff and
scratch (when I went over I assumed it would work, didn't even
check it until I went to use it later) the LCD was cracked. I
don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse. So it looks like there
is no / poorly designed buffer around that LCD to protect it from
shock to the rear panel casing.

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning and
received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Justme said:

Peter said:

don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse.

Click to expand...

But were they delicate digicams?

Justme said:

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

Click to expand...

Why did it take you a month to find out? I thought you would have
called Canon on a toll-free number, explained the cracked LCD and
they would have told you right away it isn't something that would

Click to expand...

I can sympathise with your plight-that is one of the reasons I quit buying Japanese cars. Good machines but they just hammer you when you need parts and repairs. Sparkplugs, etc. cost twice as much if they have Nissan or Toyota stamped on them. If someone in the U.S. starts turning out the equal quality cameras I will keep my business here.

Justme said:

be covered under warranty. I knew my scratched LCD wasn't covered
under warranty because it was damage inflicted by me (accidentally
scratched it).

Justme said:

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

Click to expand...

The parts pricing is outrageous. It would have cost me about $380
Cdn. for them to replace my scratched LCD. However, I can do the
repair myself by ordering the LCD "screen" part for about $250 Cdn.
(which includes 15% tax and shipping). The whole LCD (made up of
many smaller parts) would have cost a lot more to replace. I'm
better off buying a new camera instead of trying to replace the
whole LCD (if the whole LCD had been damaged that is).

Justme said:

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning > and

Click to expand...

In this day and age, you're still sending out snail mail for
something you want resolved urgently (assuming you wanted it to be
resolved quick)? A phone call or even FAX to the right person and
would have accomplished things much much faster.

Justme said:

received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Jim Bullington said:

Justme said:

Peter said:

don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse.

Click to expand...

But were they delicate digicams?

Jim Bullington said:

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

Click to expand...

Why did it take you a month to find out? I thought you would have
called Canon on a toll-free number, explained the cracked LCD and
they would have told you right away it isn't something that would

Click to expand...

I can sympathise with your plight-that is one of the reasons I quit
buying Japanese cars. Good machines but they just hammer you when
you need parts and repairs. Sparkplugs, etc. cost twice as much if
they have Nissan or Toyota stamped on them.

Click to expand...

But you don't need to buy or use Toyota spark plugs....unless you really want to. Another quality brand will do, so don't let that be a deciding factor for whether to purchase a Toyota or not. I bought one because of its high resale value, quality and reliability. That's what counts with me.

Jim Bullington said:

If someone in the U.S.
starts turning out the equal quality cameras I will keep my
business here.

Jim Bullington said:

be covered under warranty. I knew my scratched LCD wasn't covered
under warranty because it was damage inflicted by me (accidentally
scratched it).

Jim Bullington said:

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

Click to expand...

The parts pricing is outrageous. It would have cost me about $380
Cdn. for them to replace my scratched LCD. However, I can do the
repair myself by ordering the LCD "screen" part for about $250 Cdn.
(which includes 15% tax and shipping). The whole LCD (made up of
many smaller parts) would have cost a lot more to replace. I'm
better off buying a new camera instead of trying to replace the
whole LCD (if the whole LCD had been damaged that is).

Jim Bullington said:

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning > and

Click to expand...

In this day and age, you're still sending out snail mail for
something you want resolved urgently (assuming you wanted it to be
resolved quick)? A phone call or even FAX to the right person and
would have accomplished things much much faster.

Jim Bullington said:

received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

On the subject of scratching the LCD, has anyone any experience with using the protective film that is sold to protect the screens of PDA's. I wonder if it could harm them, affect the brightness or colour, or affect the warranty? Anyone, thanks

Yes, I have tried it. I tried both the regular one and the one made for the Palm IIIC. They both detract from the image somewhat. But they are OK if protection is your concern. Don't know if it'll harm the LCD.

James C. Murray said:

On the subject of scratching the LCD, has anyone any experience
with using the protective film that is sold to protect the screens
of PDA's. I wonder if it could harm them, affect the brightness or
colour, or affect the warranty? Anyone, thanks

Click to expand...

Well some people think I am nuts when I tell them I never plan on getting a digital camera repaired..I have heard so many stories none happy about quality of repair jobs and the costs..If my new three Month Canon G2 has a problem I will just write it off..I just don't feel life is long enough to worry about fighting with some stupid service Rep. and then find that the repair was done by some outside vendor under a fixed price deal..they spend say $80 US you pay what ever they can get out out of you..I know many of you will think I am still nuts but I have had so many problems with about everything over the years that for me this seems to work the best.

Ivan
========

Peter said:

Hi folks,

I bought a Canon S30 last November. Nice looking camera. Good
photo quality. Apparently, somewhat questionable construction. :/
It slipped from a pocket while its current bearer was squatted to
the ground. It fell probably about 1' from a jacket pocket

Click to expand...

Try not to worry too much. Canon service in the U.S. is pretty lousy also.

I sent them my G2 to have the LCD replaced under warranty. Two weeks later I received a bill stating that they want $155 to cover labor costs (parts are free). I have spent the past week trying to get a service rep. on the phone to find out why they are trying to charge me for repair. When I call, all I get is a message saying that all agents are busy with other customers and please leave your name and phone number, we will call you back as soon as possible. The problem is I have left five messages throughout the week and no one has even attempted to return my calls.
What great customer service canon has.

Peter said:

Hi folks,

I bought a Canon S30 last November. Nice looking camera. Good
photo quality. Apparently, somewhat questionable construction. :/
It slipped from a pocket while its current bearer was squatted to
the ground. It fell probably about 1' from a jacket pocket and hit
end first. Though the case seemed fine except for a scuff and
scratch (when I went over I assumed it would work, didn't even
check it until I went to use it later) the LCD was cracked. I
don't tend to think a fall of this height should do that, I've had
other cameras survive considerably worse. So it looks like there
is no / poorly designed buffer around that LCD to protect it from
shock to the rear panel casing.

However, my fun was just beginning. I'm in Canada, so I mailed it
to Canon Canada for service. It took them about a month to tell me
it wasn't under warranty. Now, I mean, a couple weeks is
reasonable, but a MONTH?

The answer that it wasn't covered by warranty was hardly a surprise
to me, and while it would have really impressed me if they had
fixed it, I wasn't expecting them to. What did blow me away was
the initial price quoted to me... Over $600 Canadian for the
repair! Considering I paid $900 for it new retail, that was pretty
outrageous. I'm guessing the manufacturing cost to them per unit
is between $300-400, and so their asking me to basically pay the
cost of them making 2 new cameras? I think not.

I emailed them to the extent that I didn't think this price was
reasonable, and I thought they needed to work on their service.
They agreed to lower the price, and final cost came to $430.
Considering that all that was involved was the replacement of the
LCD, I still find this extremely unreasonable. And I remain upset
that I had to haggle with them to get to this price.

Since that time over a month has passed and I have not received my
camera. I sent them a long letter of complaint this morning and
received a response that it was going to be mailed to me today. I
called them before closing this evening to confirm, but they were
unable to provide me with a tracking number which means it was very
unlikely that it was in fact mailed.

So it is now march 8, 2 months after they received my camera for
repair, I still don't have it, and I'm out $430 for work that was
worth about half that. I find that pretty discouraging... Maybe
their support in the US is better, but all I can say is that Canon
support in Canada is really, really poor and will certainly affect
my future purchasing decisions w/regard to Canon.

This is partially venting, but also, I tend to think companies who
have this poor a level of service should experience some kind of
consequences.

Regards,
Peter

Click to expand...

--S. HartSeeing the beauty of life through a camera's eye!

I just received my repaired Canon G1 a week ago. This is the first time I'd seen the camera since Jan 8th. In all, until last week, I've only had my camera in my hands 10 days since November 5th.

This was through Canon Canada. For the whole story search on Carl_L and Carl L to find my posts here. Basically, 3 trips to Canon. I think the 3rd occurred because I was pressuring them to get the camera fixed before Xmas. I figure they slapped in an optical unit that they had just pulled out of someone else's camera. The 2nd trip back was because they didn't replace the optical unit even though they said they had.

The latest optical unit still shows hot pixels under some exposure settings but not all the time like the first one did. I'm satisfied now but I'm hoping when they replaced whatever they did, that they also fixed the power modulator that's known to be a weak link. I know they will nail my hide to the wall the first time I send the camera back for a non-warranty repair.

They never tried to charge for labour. The people I dealt with were always courteous. The manager I dragged in was OK but not very proactive is following up. Considering all that happened, I surmise that their techs are sloppy, maybe low paid and not caring, or that they have internal instructions to deal with repairs in a less than on-the-level manner. Not the level of service I'd expect from a Japanese super company!!

My old Brownie cam is looking better and better... --Carl

Justme said:

But were they delicate digicams?

Click to expand...

Delicate or not, I think any camera should survive a 12" fall. To not do so reveals defects in design, frankly.

Justme said:

Why did it take you a month to find out? I thought you would have
called Canon on a toll-free number, explained the cracked LCD and
they would have told you right away it isn't something that would
be covered under warranty. I knew my scratched LCD wasn't covered
under warranty because it was damage inflicted by me (accidentally
scratched it).

Click to expand...

You're misunderstanding slightly - they always have to conduct their "investigation" of what the problem is when you send something in for repair. I was almost certain they wouldn't repair it under warranty. But their opening the box, and performing a preliminary investigation of what needed to be done took a month. Thats about 10 minutes of a techs time. I wouldn't go back to a repair store that took that long to look at my TV, stereo or laptop and I don't see why I would go back to Canon, after this. (I should also note many companies will do repairs on electronics even when technically not covered under warranty in the name of good customer service. I have had friends send in laptops etc. with significant and obvious impact damage and have the repair covered under warranty. Like I said, I was hoping they would do this, but didn't expect it.)

Justme said:

The parts pricing is outrageous. It would have cost me about $380
Cdn. for them to replace my scratched LCD. However, I can do the
repair myself by ordering the LCD "screen" part for about $250 Cdn.
(which includes 15% tax and shipping). The whole LCD (made up of
many smaller parts) would have cost a lot more to replace. I'm
better off buying a new camera instead of trying to replace the
whole LCD (if the whole LCD had been damaged that is).

Click to expand...

I considered this option, but I wasn't sure how complicated the construction of the camera was under the body. Since over 50% of the cost of the repair they claimed under "labour" perhaps I should have asked for the parts instead, it definitely would have been fixed faster!

Justme said:

In this day and age, you're still sending out snail mail for
something you want resolved urgently (assuming you wanted it to be
resolved quick)? A phone call or even FAX to the right person and
would have accomplished things much much faster.

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Oh, email has been sent in great quantities as well as phone calls. Many companies still respond best to dead trees, however.

Regards!

Peter

Peter87067 said:

Delicate or not, I think any camera should survive a 12" fall.

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Especially into salt water and from moving vehicles.

To

Peter87067 said:

not do so reveals defects in design, frankly.

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I agree 100%.

JRS

Peter said:

Justme said:

But were they delicate digicams?

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Delicate or not, I think any camera should survive a 12" fall. To
not do so reveals defects in design, frankly.

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Well, it depends on the size of the camera too. I read where someone dropped a G2 onto a hard surface (concrete?) and it survived. The smaller cameras may not do so well.

I own two Palm PDAs. A lot of people who drop these things end up with cracked screens (very expensive to replace and not covered under warranty). Does that mean there is a defect in the design? No. It performs well for what it was designed to do. It was designed to be held in the hand and to be small and portable. It was not designed to be dropped onto a hard surface. For that it would have to be made bigger and that would defeat the purpose of a small handheld PDA. Having said that, I have dropped my Palm numerous times (concrete, ceramic tiling, etc.) and not one scratch. That's because my Palm was protected in a slim leather case.

Peter87067 said:

Peter87067 said:

Why did it take you a month to find out? I thought you would have
called Canon on a toll-free number, explained the cracked LCD and
they would have told you right away it isn't something that would
be covered under warranty. I knew my scratched LCD wasn't covered
under warranty because it was damage inflicted by me (accidentally
scratched it).

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You're misunderstanding slightly - they always have to conduct
their "investigation" of what the problem is when you send
something in for repair. I was almost certain they wouldn't repair
it under warranty. But their opening the box, and performing a
preliminary investigation of what needed to be done took a month.
Thats about 10 minutes of a techs time.

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You're assuming your camera is the only one the tech has to look at. I don't know your exact circumstances but here is what I would do (I'm not saying this is what someone else should do - it's what I would do) if something similar happened to my camera.

I would call Canon service and explain what happened. I would tell the rep that the LCD screen seems to be damaged. The rep will tell me that LCD damage is not covered under warranty but send it in to get an assessment on repairs. I would ask the rep exactly how long this process would take and what's involved (send it by...it'll take a few days for it to arrive, then we'll have a tech look at it, then..you should hear from us by....my name is....). If I didn't hear from them by the date promised...I would call them (I would have gotten a contact name and number when I spoke with the rep initially). A simple "Hi. I spoke with so and so on....they said so and so....can you please tell me what the status of the assessment is....what's happened with the camera so far?....".

I can tell you that I wouldn't tolerate a repair taking a month. But if I did the above...it will NOT take a month. It's unfortunate, but sometimes you just have to keep on top of it. It may be like that with a lot of companies. I'm always going to think that "my" camera isn't the only one sent in for repair. People who work at these places aren't perfect and things will happen. But I want some accountability, so I ask for their names and expected dates. Then when I call back...there's some accountability. They know that once I have this info, I can take this higher up....

Peter87067 said:

I wouldn't go back to a
repair store that took that long to look at my TV, stereo or laptop
and I don't see why I would go back to Canon, after this. (I
should also note many companies will do repairs on electronics even
when technically not covered under warranty in the name of good
customer service.

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Well, I really doubt ANY digital camera company will reapir a damaged LCD (if I dropped it) for free. Whether it's Nikon, Kodak, Canon or ....... If it was defective, sure.

Peter87067 said:

I have had friends send in laptops etc. with
significant and obvious impact damage and have the repair covered
under warranty. Like I said, I was hoping they would do this, but
didn't expect it.)

Peter87067 said:

The parts pricing is outrageous. It would have cost me about $380
Cdn. for them to replace my scratched LCD. However, I can do the
repair myself by ordering the LCD "screen" part for about $250 Cdn.
(which includes 15% tax and shipping). The whole LCD (made up of
many smaller parts) would have cost a lot more to replace. I'm
better off buying a new camera instead of trying to replace the
whole LCD (if the whole LCD had been damaged that is).

Click to expand...

I considered this option, but I wasn't sure how complicated the
construction of the camera was under the body. Since over 50% of
the cost of the repair they claimed under "labour" perhaps I should
have asked for the parts instead, it definitely would have been
fixed faster!

Peter87067 said:

In this day and age, you're still sending out snail mail for
something you want resolved urgently (assuming you wanted it to be
resolved quick)? A phone call or even FAX to the right person and
would have accomplished things much much faster.

Click to expand...

Oh, email has been sent in great quantities as well as phone calls.

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The only people who will be reading your emails will be some customer rep who probably doesn't get paid much (probably big turn-arounds with this type of position... I don't know). I get the name and FAX of the biggest guy at the company that I can get and send him/her a FAX that I know they will read personally or at least have it read by their personal assistants. I have done this and gotten very fast results. I know it WORKS. Forget emails except for asking certain types of questions.

Peter87067 said:

Many companies still respond best to dead trees, however.

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Depends on where the 'dead tree' is going to. Send it to the right person. A FAX will be even faster.

Peter87067 said:

Regards!

Peter

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It doesn't matter how many emails you've sent. It doesn't matter how many phone calls you've made. It doesn't matter how many letters you've mailed. The big question is: are you sending all this to the RIGHT person? Well, after the second email hasn't produced any results...I would get the feeling that this person I'm emailing to isn't the one to be in contact with to get anything done. Just a hunch.

Heres' an example with Dell. I spoke with a "rep" and could tell that this guy wasn't going to be able to provide an answer to my question. He was providing canned responses. So, I called the administrative Dell number..gave the person there the reps name and asked who the supervisor was (not to complain about the rep but to get someone who can answer my question). Either have that person call the supervisor or get his/her number and leave a message. Make it clear you had spoken with the rep and gotten nowhere and had to call HO to get his (supervisor) number. (he's thinking at this point...this guy will keep taking this thing higher up until he gets an answer and I want to resolve this now before it goes up to management because this is what I'm paid to do...and I want to be promoted sometime in the near future...and I have car payments and mortgage payments and {fill in here with debt of your choice}). He will call you back prompto. Why? He knows you are someone who is capable of taking this higher (up the chain of command) if it's not resolved. If he doesn't resolve this and you have to speak with management...his job performance assessment will be affected. He gets paid a lot more than the rep. More to lose.

Carl_L said:

My old Brownie cam is looking better and better...

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In contrast to this story, last month I took one of my Olympus OM-1's to Henry's for repair. The TTL light meter had quit metering. It went off to Olympus and came back working fine, even though parts are no longer made. This is the only repair I've had on two OM-1 bodies in over 25 years of solid use. The repair work was done in two weeks with no calls on my part.

The old mechanical cams are less fragile than the new electronic ones. I love my Canon G2 but I think I'll hang on to the Oly's

Gene