NIKON USA--TERRIBLE SERVICE EXPERIENCE.

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show at
the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a Panasonic or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it. They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the quantity
rather
than the quality.

Perhaps you're not acquainted with Canon's L series.
The story is entirely diferent. Built like tanks, with absolutely rock
solid construction and optical quality.
For that matter, Canon's consumer lenses are very well-built...until you get
down to the cheapie kit lenses. -Even those don't fall apart as Sigmas
have.

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
newskqud.613$2r.309@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show at
the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to
e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a Panasonic
or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it. They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name
product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no
buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the quantity
rather
than the quality.

Perhaps you're not acquainted with Canon's L series.
The story is entirely diferent. Built like tanks, with absolutely rock
solid construction and optical quality.
For that matter, Canon's consumer lenses are very well-built...until you
get
down to the cheapie kit lenses. -Even those don't fall apart as Sigmas
have.



I was talking more about the wide public electronics.
Obviously a lens worth several thousands dollars is not aimed towards
general public.
Even few hundred dollar lens is still more that what most people would spend
on a complete camera.

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
newskqud.613$2r.309@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction
counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show
at
the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys
the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is
now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach
the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to
e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a
Panasonic
or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it. They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name
product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no
buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the quantity
rather
than the quality.

Perhaps you're not acquainted with Canon's L series.
The story is entirely diferent. Built like tanks, with absolutely rock
solid construction and optical quality.
For that matter, Canon's consumer lenses are very well-built...until you
get
down to the cheapie kit lenses. -Even those don't fall apart as Sigmas
have.



I was talking more about the wide public electronics.
Obviously a lens worth several thousands dollars is not aimed towards
general public.
Even few hundred dollar lens is still more that what most people would
spend
on a complete camera.

Then perhaps your input was misplaced entirely. This is a 35mm equipment
forum. The lenses and camera bodies didscussed here are commonly valued in
thousands of dollars. There are still companies who take good care of their
customers. Canon, for instance, will perform warranty repairs even on
imported lenses.

In article , Paul Bielec
wrote:

It costs less to loose one or few customers that to
provide efficient support.

This is probably the single most important fact about marketing in the
21st century. Support is expensive; advertising is (relatively) cheap.
There's always another customer to be found.

Especially for the under warranty repairs.
Once the warranty expires, they don't want to repair your camera. They want
you to throw it away and buy a new one...

Not long ago, I purchased an Imation tape drive for my computer, at
about $500. When it failed shortly after the warranty expired, I was
horrified to discover the company offers ABSOLUTELY NO OUT OF WARRANTY
SERVICE. The sole remedy was the purchase of a new unit, despite the
fact that the only thing wrong was the external power supply (with an
unusual voltage and a proprietary connector).

I escalated my complaints to some species of manager, and made the
usual threat of never buying their products again - and was told, in so
many words, "So what?"

In article , Paul Bielec
wrote:

It costs less to loose one or few customers that to
provide efficient support.

This is probably the single most important fact about marketing in the
21st century. Support is expensive; advertising is (relatively) cheap.
There's always another customer to be found.

Especially for the under warranty repairs.
Once the warranty expires, they don't want to repair your camera. They want
you to throw it away and buy a new one...

Not long ago, I purchased an Imation tape drive for my computer, at
about $500. When it failed shortly after the warranty expired, I was
horrified to discover the company offers ABSOLUTELY NO OUT OF WARRANTY
SERVICE. The sole remedy was the purchase of a new unit, despite the
fact that the only thing wrong was the external power supply (with an
unusual voltage and a proprietary connector).

I escalated my complaints to some species of manager, and made the
usual threat of never buying their products again - and was told, in so
many words, "So what?"

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Tom Hudson" wrote in message
...
ThomasH wrote:
So you are speaking here about Olympus UK, not about Nikon, right?

Tom Hudson wrote:

tech support department (olympus uk), so they have no interest in

Er, yes, though now you mention it I only mention it in passing and even
then near the end of the blah. Damn, that's annoying. Oops.

If it makes things any clearer, Olympus UK sucks when it comes to
after-sales support.

Tom

The truth is just there "after-sales". You paid, they don't care anymore.
Why would they anyway? It costs less to loose one or few customers that to
provide efficient support.
Especially for the under warranty repairs.
Once the warranty expires, they don't want to repair your camera. They
want
you to throw it away and buy a new one...


There are many businesses today that don't want to have to do anything for
their money. The owner just wants to spend his time out on the golf course
while teenagers stand by the cash register with their hands out taking in
the money. There are a few really good repair organizations that are still
in existence. One is IBM. They charge you a monthly fee for the service
contract on their machinery, and they stand by it. I have seen whole
machines replaced because they couldn't fix some ridiculous thing. There was
one machine (an extraordinarily simple machine) that they actually sent back
to the factory and had it stripped down to the frame and completely rebuilt.
(of course, the customer got a new machine long before that)

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show at the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a Panasonic or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it. They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the quantity
rather
than the quality.


Or, you do the following: You find a small company that is well known for
building a quality product. You buy them. Then you have a billion cheap
plastic imitations made in China (or somewhere) with the company's logo on
them. You sell them at an inflated price and make lots of money before the
buying public catches on that the company is no longer selling quality
merchandise.

William Graham wrote:
"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark=B2" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in
message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction
counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show
at the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys
the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is
now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach
the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to
e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It
was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a
Panasonic or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it.
They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name
product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no
buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the
quantity
rather
than the quality.


Or, you do the following: You find a small company that is well known
for
building a quality product. You buy them. Then you have a billion
cheap
plastic imitations made in China (or somewhere) with the company's
logo on
them. You sell them at an inflated price and make lots of money
before the
buying public catches on that the company is no longer selling
quality
merchandise.


^^^ Exactly! Or - you're already owning and running a small company
that is well know for building a quality product. So, then you decide
that you want to become big, and even knowing darn well that your
previous reputation is going to go down the drain, you decide that you
want to plow headlong into the mass market. However, despite the fact
that quality-wise you're now making the most "pedestrian" products
imaginable, your buying public will still think that there's some
"mystique" to your brand name, and that magic fairies build (*and* are
the only ones who can properly service) your product in secret
manufacturing facilites in the Andes mountains.

William Graham wrote:
"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark=B2" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in
message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...
Any big corporation that says that the customer satisfaction
counts,
lies.
It is like a politician saying that he cares...yeah right...
All that matters to them are the figures they'll be able to show
at the
next
shareholder meeting.
How to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible, using the
cheapest
resources available and still convince the customer that he buys
the
best
there is.
So the camera that was once made using metal parts in Japan, is
now
made
out
of plastic in China. And when it brakes, you'll be able to reach
the
customer support in India to help you out...

You sound like a Sigma owner.


No, all Canon as far as cameras go.
And there is a Canon service center few blocks away, so no need to
e-mail
anything if it brakes.
Used it only once so far for my point and shoot pocket camera. It
was
under
warranty and everything went smoothly.

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a
Panasonic or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it.
They
share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name
product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no
buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the
quantity
rather
than the quality.


Or, you do the following: You find a small company that is well known
for
building a quality product. You buy them. Then you have a billion
cheap
plastic imitations made in China (or somewhere) with the company's
logo on
them. You sell them at an inflated price and make lots of money
before the
buying public catches on that the company is no longer selling
quality
merchandise.


^^^ Exactly! Or - you're already owning and running a small company
that is well know for building a quality product. So, then you decide
that you want to become big, and even knowing darn well that your
previous reputation is going to go down the drain, you decide that you
want to plow headlong into the mass market. However, despite the fact
that quality-wise you're now making the most "pedestrian" products
imaginable, your buying public will still think that there's some
"mystique" to your brand name, and that magic fairies build (*and* are
the only ones who can properly service) your product in secret
manufacturing facilites in the Andes mountains.

"Mark²" wrote:

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message
...

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
news:U_pud.607$2r.129@fed1read02...

[...]

It was more of a general statement.
Brands don't mean much anymore. That you buy a Sony, a JVC, a Panasonic or
Sanyo doesn't change anything.
There is probably one of them that own another, or a part of it. They share
components and are all made in China and surroundings.
They'll have better finishing and better feeling that the no name product
you'll find at Wal-Mart, but that's about it.
And we cannot blame the companies neither. We had the choice of no buying
the cheaper products at the beginning.
Now it's clear that there is more money to be made with the quantity
rather than the quality.

Perhaps you're not acquainted with Canon's L series.
The story is entirely diferent. Built like tanks, with absolutely rock
solid construction and optical quality.

Ahem, ahem.... my 100-400 L IS was the *only* lens which
I was forced to repair. The manual focus ring became very
jerky I heard strange grinding noise inside while I was
turning the ring. The assembly was replaced, cost $300.

Old Nikkors were build like rock! My 80-200F/2.8 ED (the
single ring shift version) took some beating over the years
and is still going strong. The only fault is that the spring
holding the aperture ring mechanism is weak and sometimes
the stupid ring turns and disables the program mode...
It's one more reason that I am not sad about Nikons
transition to G type of lenses...

Thomas


For that matter, Canon's consumer lenses are very well-built...until you get
down to the cheapie kit lenses. -Even those don't fall apart as Sigmas
have.