Tuesday 24 Feb 2004:
Took the camera to Canon Service Center. They first estimated the cost at 1,000 Baht, and would call for approval if the cost exceeded 1,000 Baht. I asked when it would be finished; they said it usually took a week for repair (this seems like like a canned answer – earlier when I called for information, they had the same answer – it took about a week.)
Monday 2 Mar 2004:
Exactly a week later, called to check the status of my camera. They said it's being checked. They would call when it's finished – again should be about a week.
Thursday 4 Mar 2004:
Canon called and informed that the problem was due to the optical unit. It could not be fixed but had to be replaced. The cost was 2,510 Baht and needed my approval before proceeding ahead.
One thing was clear to me – they had my camera for over a week and just started working on it. OK, I could understand that they might have had long queue. But why did they keep saying it would be about a week? They should know exactly how many jobs in queue to be finished before they could start working on mine.
The one-week answer is OK for a telephone enquiry, as they can't be sure when and if the customer is really going to turn up. But when I brought my camera in, I expected a better, more accurate answer. They have computers and stuff, is it that difficult to keep track of jobs being serviced?
After approving the cost, I asked again when it would be finished. They did not answer the magic words (about a week) but said it would be within next week, it had to be next week because Friday was holiday, blah blah blah.
Yes, Canon service center is the best – they are open only Monday to Friday, public holidays are closed. And working hours is from 8:15 to 17:15. I think they work as hard as the governmental agencies.
Friday 12 Mar 2004:
Another week was up, no calls from Canon. They had my camera for 18 days.
Monday 15 Mar 2004:
Called Canon asking about my camera. They said it was finished and ready for me to pick up. I asked why I wasn't informed that it was finished. They said it was probably just finished today, and was in the process of contacting me. I was ahead of them.
With this answer I was still wondering – why the hell didn't they call me when they could not finish it "within next week"? And better yet, why the hell couldn’t they give a better estimation of how long I had to wait. Again I am thinking of all the computers they have lying around and all the people working in their office.
Tuesday 16 Mar 2004:
Picked up my camera, paid the bill. They didn't explain anything about what they did with my camera, nothing about the warranty, no usage suggestion or recommendation. It's my duty to ask questions if I want to get information.
I asked a few questions about the problem (E18) I had. I read about E18 from other Canon customers – after experiencing on mine – from this page which was originally for E18 error on PowerShot S100 – but later other models such as A60/A70 joined the crowd. The error was also mentioned a lot in Blue Planet room at Pantip.com (using E18 as keyword yields a bunch of topics.)
I wanted to know how often Canon had seen this similar case and whether they realized that this infamous problem already made a lot of customers sworn never to buy another Canon.
Instead of listening to what I had to say, the Canon service staff seemed to be uneasy with me telling her about the possibility of Canon product flaw. She quickly and later repeatedly said that they never found an incident that was a design fault. All the cameras taken in for repair was due to misuse or improper care (dropping the camera or using in severe environment so sand or dirt gets in the lens).
She said it's entirely up to the customers if they would like to buy Canon or other makes. (i.e., she wouldn't give a damn what I think.)
I got my camera back (it took 21 days, that is 3 weeks exactly, and 2,510.22 Baht – 1,646 Baht for the optical unit, 700 Baht for service charge and 164.22 Baht for VAT.) It seems to be working OK, even though it sounds a bit noisy when the lens is opening or retracting and the replaced optical unit looks a bit suspicious. There are some small scratches on the front metal panel and a minute mark on the lens.
I just noticed these after I got back to the office and I am not going bother with it. If the unit fails again, I will surely say good-bye to it. And no more Canon.
What else is there?
A friend of mine is a gadget guy. He has all kinds of knowledge about cameras and other gadgets. He used to say Canon and Nikon digital cameras were pretty comparable, and are better than Sony. But his personal preference was always towards Nikon, as he thinks its lens is the best.
He said I must be a Canon fan, as my recent cameras I had are Canon. Well, it's not quite that reason. I bought Canon cameras because they were the most economical among others at the time. Nikon is always too expensive, therefore out of my league.
After this Canon incident, I learned two things. One, search the user's error reports BEFORE buying a product. Two, buy a Nikon.
11:19 p.m. - Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2004
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