rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Several months ago my favorite lens, the Canon EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L died while photographing my daughters graduation from nursing school. Needless to say I was bummed and a backup lens was in my car that was parked 20 minutes away. I missed several good photo ops but we did lots of staged photos later. Anyway, my lens needed to be repaired so I took it to my go to photo gear repair shop where I've always gotten excellent service at a reasonable price. A few weeks later, they were really busy, they called to tell me the original estimate of $525 for the repair went up. When the technician disassembled the lens he found it would need more parts than originally anticipated. He told me he could do the repair for around $800 or I could send the lens to Canon repair and they would do it for around $650. On his advice I chose Canon.
I boxed up the lens per Canon's instructions and sent it second day delivery to their repair facility in New Jersey, located about 70 miles from my location in Pennsylvania. I shipped it on a Wednesday morning and they should have received it on Friday. On Monday I checked the status and it said the lens had not been received yet. According to the USPS the lens was delivered on Friday morning. I checked again on Tuesday, no change, so I called on the phone. After answering a dozen or so questions it turns out the lens was there and someone made a mistake or two while entering it in the computer, the same information I had already entered correctly, they got my email and street addresses wrong. What was wrong with the info I had entered when I registered the lens for repair initially!?
Corrections were made and I was given an initial quote of $332 for the repair. I told the rep that was way to low but I had to pay it before the work would start. I paid and she told me, in an almost un-understandable accent, the repair would take up to 5 business days.
Over a week later the status was still, my Canon product in being serviced. I again called and the rep told me he would expedite things and I would hear from them by the next day. Later that day I got an email informing me the original quote was wrong and my payment has been refunded. The new cost, plus return shipping, is $666.54 and the repair will be done as soon as I pay. Since I could complete the transaction on line, I entered the requested information but it kept saying there was an error. Turns out they again misspelled my street address and it didn't match the billing address and it wouldn't let me correct it online. The following morning, Friday, I called Canon and straightened everything out and paid for the service. I also asked the rep, since a lot of the delay was on them, could I get expedited service and the rep agreed. That was 10:34 on Friday morning. Friday afternoon I again checked the status and it said the repair was complete and the lens had been shipped. I checked FedEx tracking and sure enough, my lens was on its way home.
The lens looks and works as if it were brand new. They cleaned everything, replaced the AF module and a few other parts and all the dust and moisture seals.
I couldn't be happier with the work performed by the technicians and shipping but someone in the front office really needs to pay attention to what they are doing. They are tainting the good work done by the people who actually do work...
Bottom line, I've got my lens back, it's as good as new, a repair done well and no mention of the eclipse.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I live only 21 miles from Canon's Irvine facility. I drive over (less than 1 mile from our family dentist) to drop off, talk to them face to face and then drive back to pick it up. There are other places in the area I go also. The two times I took cameras in for cleaning or work they finished them a day earlier than I was told. And since my new crown was ready 3 days early I did a twofer on the pickup also. Besides I can talk with their reps and play with the display models. They even have a large HO gauge train setup for practice and tests, plus they will let you put your memory card in their demo cameras to save the shots you take of the trains. At least the people who were there when I was would allow it.

74images Loc: Los Angeles, California

Strange...

A Couple of Days ago a Gentleman Posted about His SX50 Bridge Camera Dying On Him & Canon Couldn't Repair it Due to Lack Of Parts & Sent Him a Current SX60 Model instead.

I Made My Comments about it Like I'm Making Now & Canon is a Good Photo Image Company, but They have its Screwups!

I'm Sorry You Got Screwed by Canon Because of Incompetent, Untrained Employees who don't Follow the Protocol on Getting Addresses & E-Mails Right, & You had to Go Through this Hell Just to Get Your Lens Repaired

I Hope You Raise a Stink About it to its Corporate USA Headquarters in a E-Mail or Letter on What Happend to You & Should Never Happen to You or Other Customers Because of an incompetent Employee Screwup, & the Freaking Cost it Cost You To Repair, Hell... at Least they (Canon) Repaired it Good, so You Shouldn't Have Any Problems with the Lens!

That's All I Have to Say, & Good Luck with Your Repaired Lens

74images

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

To error is human, and from all of the positive posts on Canon's service, this is obviously an isolated incident. Sorry this happened to you, but it's obviously not the 'norm' for Canon service. Mistakes do indeed happen, but that's life!

Lowrider Loc: Kennesaw, GA

I have had two lens repaired in the past year. Both dropped. I sent them to the VA location. Both times the lens got there in 3 days, I had an estimate in 24 hours and the lens was repaired in less than 5 days and shipped back. The whole thing took a week. Did you use the on-line repair service where you completed and sent in the information you entered yourself? Then printed a copy and included it in with the lens? All correspondence was then done my e-mail and tacking the same. Wok was first class but not necessarily cheap.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Canon's repair technicians did a marvelous job with my lens, I couldn't be more pleased with the results of their work. The folks who processed the lens after the repair was done also did their jobs well. I authorized the repair around 10:30 on Friday morning and the repaired lens was in FedEx's hands on its way home by 5:00 Friday afternoon. Now that's what I call good service.
Maybe the customer service representative was new or maybe they are dyslexic, I don't know. Had they copied the information I supplied them correctly, the repair would have been done sooner. The street address error is quite common; the street name my primary residence is located ends in KEL but all to often people change it to KET or KLE. Not really too much of a big deal but, it was the incorrect email address that really caused the delay. Had the rep simply double checked what they had entered in the computer, I would have received the emails Canon had sent. It must have been time to head out to lunch and the rep is probably a millennial and recreation time is far more important to way too many millennials, than work time. Oh well, now I'm speculating.
Bottom line, Canon did do an excellent job with the repair and returning my lens to me and ultimately, that's all that matters.

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I have gone twice to their Long Island headquarters for repair. Both times the women said it would be under warranty. After sending in my lens, I received a bill from Canon that it would be approximately $500. to repair the lens.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

Pesky computers!!!

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

I used the Irvine facility about ten years ago to repair a Canon G7 which had been inundated (with me, the photographer holding it) by a rogue wave. Good as new. Later converted it to IR and have been happily getting great results still. I would the Canon repair people at Irvine CA tops!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

To err is human but if you really want to screw up in an epic manner do it on a computer.