"Cockpit Colin" wrote in message
...

"Joseph Chamberlain, DDS" wrote in message
.. .
Dear colleagues:

Last week I purchased a Canon EOS 1Ds Mk II. I usually purchase my photo
equipment from BH Photo in NY and have come to rely on the equipment I
always receive from them since they maintain a huge inventory.

This week BH is closed for the Jewish holidays and I couldn't wait since
I
needed to purchase the camera for an event this past weekend. On Friday
I
purchased the camera at a large reseller in Los Angeles that shall
remain
nameless for ethical reasons. I have no reason to doubt this reseller
but
wanted to have some assurance that the equipment was new and not
something
that had been opened before and handled by numerous customers.

I remember that a while back we had a discussion on this forum about a
feature available in many high-end pro cameras that allowed the owner to
have access through the menu of how many times the shutter had been
released.

I called Canon and was told that this feature is not offered for any of
Canon's cameras. I then asked the customer service agent to check the
camera's serial number to verify if the camera was indeed a new camera
that
had let the company recently. The only piece of information the agent
could
share with me was the fact that no call had been made to customer
service
on
that serial number, but this is hardly an indication of whether the
camera
is new or not.

I am very happy with the camera and have no reason to doubt the reseller
who
sold it to me. However, it is only natural for a customer to try to
obtain
some form of guarantee or assurance when buying a product such as this.
I
would expect Canon to provide better service and support to its
customers
than that which I received over the phone. This type of support would be
reprehensible if one received it for an issue involving a
point-and-shoot,
200 dollar camera. This is definitely not the way I would expect Canon
to
stand behind me as a customer when I am buying from the company a camera
with accessories in the price range of a new car.

Another thing that concerned me was the statement made by the customer
service agent about being considered acceptable to have a certain number
of
dead pixels on the sensor. I asked him what would be the best way for me
to
verify if there were any dead pixels so I could exchange the camera for
another one if any were present. His claim was that Canon considers it
to
be
within the range of acceptability (meaning the camera will pass its
quality
control inspection and reach the customer) if up to approximately 11
pixels
on the sensor are dead. This is not what I would like to hear from the
manufacturer after purchasing a camera as expensive as this one.

Any ideas ? What is your opinion on the dead pixel count ? Is this true
and
the standard for the industry ?

Since the reseller had claimed that the camera was shipped to its store
from
Canon's warehouse the day before I went to purchase it I also tried to
verify if it was indeed true. According to the reseller the camera came
from
Canon's warehouse located in Lake Success, IL. I also asked the customer
service agent to verify this information but he informed me that he had
no
means to verify if the camera had indeed left the warehouse on that
particular date. What kind of company is this that seems to have such
poor
control over its own inventory and database ? I would expect a company
such
as Canon to be able to track one of its products with the serial number
and
tell where the camera was, the address it was shipped to and when.

I have contacted Canon's technical support department in the past and
have
been quite disappointed. The "specialists" I spoke to were far from
being
the true knowledgeable specialists I was hoping to reach. But the
customer
service I've just received over the phone is insane.

Since I am discussing my new camera and Canon's service and support I
will
try to avoid carrying the subject over to other areas but only wish to
add
that it seems to happen to other companies as I just recently took a D70
I
own to Nikon's own service center for sensor cleaning and received one
of
the worst services I have ever received for any product (with the
possible
exception of Dell computers). What is going on with these companies ?
Whatever happened to good, quality support and service ?

Please forgive me for the longer post but I am "venting" here and wish
to
get your feedback on how to make sure my camera is indeed a new one that
hasn't been played too much with.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,

Dr. Joseph Chamberlain
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Gentlemen, start your [flame] engines!

Personally, I don't think there are many companies left in the world where
staff understand the true meaning of "CUSTOMER Service" (Remember
customers? - you know, the ones who contribute approx 100% of the income
of
most manufacturers). Once upon a time the golden rule of customer service
was: "The Customer is ALWAYS right" (if it appears that the customer is
wrong, then re-read the golden rule).

There was a time when a service-based organisation would go out of their
way
to adapt their resources to the needs of the customer -- but for far too
long now too many organisations have totally inverted this to the point
were
it's the customer who must adapt to "the firms way of doing things". In
other words "if you don't like the way we do it then bugger off"

For whatever reasons that are important to Joseph, he feels the need to
clarify the fact that a major purchase is in fact pristine and new - it's
not something we all might choose to do, but at the end of the day
(especially considering the profit they're about to make on an easy sale),
why the heck can't they step up to the plate and try to help?

I'm very happy with my Canon equipment, but from all that I've read, it
sounds like Canon has a corporate mentatity much like Hewlett Packard -
keep
everything close to your chest - neither confirm, nor deny many things
(the
the rest of the world has known about for months) - veil of silence -
company mantera etc etc etc, to the point where the customer is just
another
brick in the wall - if the brick is the wrong size and shape then it's
replaced with one that conforms.

Instead of treating customers as individuals they prefer them to be
Sheeple.

Baaaaaaah!


Sorry, but as someone who works in the medical service industry and deals
with numbskull doctors who either expect everything to be perfect or think
they know everything, day in, day out, this guy had it coming even if it
really isn't justified on the face of it. It beats me why he had to have
his new toy, right now GODDAMNIT! Where is all his other equipment he raved
about buying through the normal place of business?? And he said he had no
reason to doubt them. So why ask. I just spend half of my savings for the
last 5 months on a new camera and didn't bat an eyelid and proof was in the
state of the packaging and cleaniness of the camera I bought. There's some
things you just know. Oh well, we were all probably a bit harsh on the poor
guy. It's not every day you spend the equivalent of a deposit on a house!!
I WISH!!
You are, alas, right about corporate mentality/mantra. It is a disgrace.