My first Sony failure - real time Chronicles...

SantaFeJoe wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:
"Once again, apologies for your experience. I have reached out to my manager and we want to offer you as a one time accommodation for your troubles, a 50% discount on the service fees.

Pretty sad that after waiting this long, this is the best they can do! They should send you a brand new camera and NO charges!
No good business practices here.
Joe

At this point I just want the camera back and am glad that it's costing me $300 less than their original quote but I do agree that they should have covered it.  That aside, I am much more concerned with the delays and that has put a bad taste in my mouth resulting in contemplation of selling the Sony gear and getting a Z7 with 14-30/4, 24-70/2.8 (both of which should be available in the next couple of months, and then the 70-200/2.8 once it ships later in the year.  With the recently announced Voigtlander E-Z adapter, I could even use my Voigtlander 12mm on the Z7.  It's something to contemplate and I will consider it if Nikon delivers on the promised AF improvements through FW.  Or maybe not... just a thought and pricing exercise at the moment.

I guess I should have involved my rep at Sony Imaging Support sooner but then again I shouldn't have to since I used the SIPS process to initiate the repair to begin with.

Well, it's now been three days since Sony re-authorized the repair but nothing from Precision Camera, they just don't respond to telephone or email...

In a Karmic event though, my AC failed today on my car (first 80 degree day of the year) and the car is 4 weeks from being out of warranty - the world is setting things right

Sometimes they build things wrong.

Just a quick update - another week gone by with absolutely nothing - even Sony Pro Imaging Services can not get any information out of Precision Camera Repair on the status of my camera.  It is ridiculous and I am now of the belief that Sony can not be relied on as a professional camera gear supplier, not because of their gear which is among the best in the world but because of the third party they have contracted to handle their repairs in the USA.  The complete lack of response, ignoring of emails, and ignoring calls by this third party contractor is horrific.

That's terrible. I have no experience with Sony in Canada, but pro support seems like the biggest challenge to Sony if they want to unseat Canikon or at least play at the same level.

Food for thought. What is absolutely not acceptable is that Sony themselves cannot throw any weight towards the repair at this stage.

I've been following along with this saga.

Third party notwithstanding, has anyone at Sony, at any point since it's become clear that the contractor is non-responsive, told you that they're going to make this right (and how they plan to go about doing so)? The answer to this question will go a long way in determining whether anyone there has even an inkling of what the terms "customer service" and "client retention" mean.

Kerry wrote:I've been following along with this saga.

Third party notwithstanding, has anyone at Sony, at any point since it's become clear that the contractor is non-responsive, told you that they're going to make this right (and how they plan to go about doing so)?  The answer to this question will go a long way in determining whether anyone there has even an inkling of what the terms "customer service" and "client retention" mean.

I have two people at Sony Imaging Pro and now their manager trying to remedy this but they are also being stonewalled by PCR which is about 3000 miles from where the SIP folks are.  I have told them that I have lost confidence in Sony as a provider of professional tools due to this.  I have asked for but not yet received an answer to what my remedies are if this is not resolved by the end of this week?  I do feel that the SIPS people are trying and I also sense that they have a long history of problems with this contractor but have absolutely no say with the mothership in Japan about dealing with this problem - that's from reading between the lines on my communications both verbally and i writing with them.

Sony used to have a good repair shop in Mexico (mailing address Texas) and closed it down (maybe the mordida "the bite" got too extreme). Moving to Precision has been a disaster and Sony really needs to fix it.

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Kerry wrote:I've been following along with this saga.

Third party notwithstanding, has anyone at Sony, at any point since it's become clear that the contractor is non-responsive, told you that they're going to make this right (and how they plan to go about doing so)?  The answer to this question will go a long way in determining whether anyone there has even an inkling of what the terms "customer service" and "client retention" mean.

I have two people at Sony Imaging Pro and now their manager trying to remedy this but they are also being stonewalled by PCR which is about 3000 miles from where the SIP folks are.  I have told them that I have lost confidence in Sony as a provider of professional tools due to this.  I have asked for but not yet received an answer to what my remedies are if this is not resolved by the end of this week?  I do feel that the SIPS people are trying and I also sense that they have a long history of problems with this contractor but have absolutely no say with the mothership in Japan about dealing with this problem - that's from reading between the lines on my communications both verbally and i writing with them.

Like many here, I have also been watching this post.  I'm disappointed that this hasn't been resolved for no other issue than unfinished business for EJ, which is just not good.  Appreciate the latest data as it does send a signal to us regarding the way it is with some retailers these days.     My interest is not Sony related, but customer service related as brand difference doesn't matter.  

Wouldn't now describe this as a Sony failure per se, but a service failure.  Unfortunately, one has to go to the manufacturers to get resolutions, so they must ultimately accept responsibility and pick up the tab.  In my book, I'd be terminating that contract with PCR pretty sharply, or at least re-defining operational standards. 

Not having any data, a question repeatedly crops up when companies such as PCR are unresponsive.  They are either overwhelmed with work and do not have any procedures to cope, hence the lack of reply, or they just do not recognise they are not coping and believe their process is acceptable.  

Just personally hope it does get settled for you in a less frustrating manner.

E.J. Peiker wrote: I have two people at Sony Imaging Pro and now their manager trying to remedy this but they are also being stonewalled by PCR which is about 3000 miles from where the SIP folks are.  I have told them that I have lost confidence in Sony as a provider of professional tools due to this.  I have asked for but not yet received an answer to what my remedies are if this is not resolved by the end of this week?  I do feel that the SIPS people are trying and I also sense that they have a long history of problems with this contractor but have absolutely no say with the mothership in Japan about dealing with this problem - that's from reading between the lines on my communications both verbally and i writing with them.

  Nikon repairs (and cameras) are sounding better and better! As you previously noted, this repair company in CT (Precision Camera Repair)
has terrible Yelp reviews, so I guess there is something to these reviews being accurate.  Many years back I had a Sony video camera that broke shortly after the warranty expired and, though I have looked at their cameras since, have not gone back. 

In 12 years of NPS service with an average of 2 repairs per year through, I have only had one that took more than a week due to requiring a part from Japan and that one took 3 weeks (80-400) but they were responsive and kept me informed.  I also had two repairs that I had to have redone.  The first was my D800 that decapitated in a fall of of a cliff.  The fact that they decided to repair it at all was a miracle. They completely rebuilt the camera with new parts except for the sensor.  That one went back because the AF system was not accurate enough after the total rebuild.  After the second repair it was perfect.  The other was a 24-70mm f/2.8 that required a new AFS motor and when I got it back, the AF was slow as molasses.  That repair was redone overnight.  A technician had grabbed an incorrect AF-S part out of a bin on the initial repair.  The later redo triggered a $600 bill in their system that it shouldn't have.  I immediately contacted NPS and they resolved the issue that very day.  Before that, in the early 2000's I had good repair performance through CPS as well.  A big difference is that Nikon and Canon own their repair facilities and have direct control.  Sony has zero control over their contracted facility it seems.  I have had nothing but excellent repair service from Phase One and Zeiss as well and in those cases the gear had to go to Europe for repair and I still got the stuff back in under 2 weeks.

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Tom Robbins wrote:Sorry the malfunction occurred EJ, but am grateful to be able to watch this process unfold from the sideline. We'll all learn from this experience.

A question if you don't mind: are the folks you're dealing with aware of who you are and that you are sharing the results with a fairly large group? Just curious as it may affect the outcome.

They just know that I am a Sony Imaging Pro Services member.  

I rolled back to early days of this thread...

Maybe it's time to let the folks you're dealing with know that you are sharing the results with a fairly large group.   

The rubber hit the road with this fiasco a long time ago; it's probably time to pull out all the stops in an attempt to attain a favorable outcome as quickly as possible.

Just as a side note, Precision is also the repair center contracted by Ricoh/Pentax. I have had some experience with them, and seen reports of lots of other cases as well in the Pentax community. My experiences were poor, and Precision's general track record seems like it isn't that great. Repeated complaints (including my own) are that communication is virtually non-existent, everything takes forever, and the efficacy of repair work can be somewhat questionable. I had one situation I had to escalate to Pentax North America HQ to get an equitable resolution. My last repair on my 645Z was to fix a broken remote cable release socket under warranty. When I got the camera back (something like 8 weeks), the socket broke again a few weeks later: off-warranty now of course. I never bothered to send it back to repair again.

What I see in this thread is not a surprise to me...

I just received a communique from PCR asking me to reauthorize the repair. This is the first communication that they have had with me since Feb 16 despite multiple attempts. I also received an email from SIPS that said that the issue at PCR has been resolved. I then received a phone call from PCR with what at least seemed like a very sincere apology and the person I talked to said that the oversight was totally their fault and that she takes full responsibility and will personally walk the camera through the repair process and contact me as soon as it ships. She said I'm sorry at least a dozen times... We shall see how it goes from here.

E.J. Peiker wrote:I just received a communique from PCR asking me to reauthorize the repair.  This is the first communication that they have had with me since Feb 16 despite multiple attempts.  I also received an email from SIPS that said that the issue at PCR has been resolved.  I then received a phone call from PCR with what at least seemed like a very sincere apology and the person I talked to said that the oversight was totally their fault and that she takes full responsibility and will personally walk the camera through the repair process and contact me as soon as it ships.  She said I'm sorry at least a dozen times...  We shall see how it goes from here.

Did they mention repair costs or doing it as a courtesy since it was so close to the warranty period?

Joe

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Kerry wrote:I've been following along with this saga.

Third party notwithstanding, has anyone at Sony, at any point since it's become clear that the contractor is non-responsive, told you that they're going to make this right (and how they plan to go about doing so)?  The answer to this question will go a long way in determining whether anyone there has even an inkling of what the terms "customer service" and "client retention" mean.

I have two people at Sony Imaging Pro and now their manager trying to remedy this but they are also being stonewalled by PCR which is about 3000 miles from where the SIP folks are.  I have told them that I have lost confidence in Sony as a provider of professional tools due to this.  I have asked for but not yet received an answer to what my remedies are if this is not resolved by the end of this week?  I do feel that the SIPS people are trying and I also sense that they have a long history of problems with this contractor but have absolutely no say with the mothership in Japan about dealing with this problem - that's from reading between the lines on my communications both verbally and i writing with them.

Sorry to hear of your troubles, Locally, I've heard nothing good about Precision.  If they are the only available repair for option for Sony, that is more than enough to keep me in the Nikon camp.  If Sony wanted to make this right, they would send you a new camera, or maybe a re-furb.  Maybe it's time to start pushing in that direction. 

Baywing wrote: If Sony wanted to make this right, they would send you a new camera, or maybe a re-furb.  Maybe it's time to start pushing in that direction. 

If I was in this situation for this length of time, I would demand a new camera directly from Sony. No refurbs, especially if the refurb was done by these guys! It’s definitely enough to make me think twice about ever buying a Sony again. I have had several P&S Sony’s that had problems and I don’t abuse my equipment. I never sent them in for repairs because it just wasn’t worth it on an inexpensive camera, but I feel much different about a high end mirrorless. Customer service means plenty to a pro who shoots daily. Some prominent pros I know don’t have the luxury of owning a high end back up camera to cover them for this length of time.

Joe

Makes you realize that all the best features in the world are nothing if the camera does not work or is not in your hand. Despite Canon having the lesser sensor tech, crippled video features and what not, I do value their robustness and of course three day turnaround on repairs (or a loaner) when anything happens.

Was it not Matt Granger, who waxed lyrical about Sony cameras for so long, eventually went back to Nikon due to the service issues (or the chance of future issues)?

Neilyb wrote:Makes you realize that all the best features in the world are nothing if the camera does not work or is not in your hand. Despite Canon having the lesser sensor tech, crippled video features and what not, I do value their robustness and of course three day turnaround on repairs (or a loaner) when anything happens.

Was it not Matt Granger, who waxed lyrical about Sony cameras for so long, eventually went back to Nikon due to the service issues (or the chance of future issues)?

Yes Matt did make that comment a couple of years ago - great cameras, great lenses, but not the level of service behind them that a working pro needs.