If you caught my 3-part series recapping my recent trip to Walt Disney World then you may recall my mentioning that my Canon Powershot SX100 IS gave out during the vacation. Befuddled and sad, I knew it would need to be repaired and that getting it back in early November meant I couldn’t take it to California.
Let’s backtrack a tad. I’ll go on record and tell you the necessary repair was entirely my fault by accident. The camera was sitting in it’s case, turned off with 2 spare AA batteries in the front pocket. The whole thing fell about 1-2′ to the carpeted floor. The batteries seem to have banged into the lens barrel leaving 2 small dents.
As with cars, digital cameras are now comprised of cheaper materials than when they were first born or even in their toddler years. Also, with computer parts that are itsy bitsy inside, there’s more to go wrong than in a 35mm camera.
I’ve heard it a bazillion times before when I worked in a retail camera shop and tried selling service plans, “I’m very careful.” Guess what? So am I. Life happens.
It had been imbedded into my brain that camera repairs take a minimum of 6-8 weeks by my previous employer which is why I thought my beloved Canon wouldn’t come home for quite some time. What a bunch of hooey.
Here’s the timeline for my camera repair.
Sat., September 26 – I ship the camera via USPS Priority Mail with tracking and insurance
Tues., September 29 – Canon in IL receives the package, assess the repair cost and e-mails me
Wed., September 30 – I pay for the repair online, late at night
Fri., October 2 – Canon e-mails me to say the camera has been fixed and shipped
Tues., October 6 – I receive my camera by FedEx
That’s a total of 11 days from start to finish! Extraordinary service and at $89 plus $10 shipping, that’s roughly 35% less than I would have charged my customers.
If your camera or camcorder needs servicce, contact the manufacturer by first visiting their website or check the info packet that came in the box.
Lisa, thanks for sharing your experience…it has encouraged me to send my amnesiac camera off to Canon. It went out yesterday and I hope to have the same kind of experience with the repair that you did!
Lisa responds: Yay!
Hey Lisa,
It is important to remember the company that you are dealing with when having a camera repaired and replaced. Canon is very good at their repairs and are very speedy. Nikon is a good company as well. However some companies do not offer fixes to accidents, will make customers wait 6-8 weeks for even a quote, and will charge as much as a new camera for repairs. Some companies will give customers a refurbished model of their camera instead of their own back. I work in camera retail as well and have seen many struggles customers have faced when repairing a favorite camera. Just because Canon has excellent customer service records does not mean other companies will follow.
Lisa responds: Wow, I’ve never seen anyone wait 6-8 weeks for an estimate. I’ve seen delays caused by employees/managers who don’t ship things out and by shipping delivery/pick-up guys who don’t do their job. It’s true one can be charged nearly the same as a new camera for a repair, thy name is Sony.
Canon Rules!