LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Yesterday, for something to do and wanting to see a bit of their operation, if I could, I, along with a friend, drove the 180 miles to Canon's S. Brunswick, NJ repair facility. Dropped off my 7DII for their 18 point DSLR maintenance service at about 11 AM. $129 plus tax and return shipping. Last evening I got an e-mail that my camera was done and had been turned over to Fed-X at 5PM. Darn quick service!
Other then the drive which gave my friend and I some photo ops, the Canon part of the trip was pretty much a bust. You walk in the door, there is a counter in front of you, you fill out the necessary paperwork, use your credit card, and that's it. Nothing else to see. The woman on the counter was very pleasant and happy to answer any questions. Told us that they have had very few eclipse related repairs and that they have 7 repair technicians. 5 for cameras and 2 for video. Considering the size of the operation I expected far more. Even those can't be too busy if they got my camera turned around that quick.
Two buildings. A big one for repair, corporate offices and probably training, etc. A much bigger one that, from the number of loading docks, must be their distribution warehouse. I'd love to be turned loose in there!
I read someplace that Canon's west coast facility has equipment to try, etc, for customers bringing in their gear. Was hoping for the same here. Oh well. Probably a good thing I didn't get to play with any new toys!

BB4A

Good to hear that prompt, friendly attention is still a key component of their service model.

I hear you about "new toys", but, out of the 3 bodies I own (1DX MkII, 5D MkIV, 7D MkII), I am still sometimes surprised about the versatility of the 7D MkII. Must be those dual Digic 6 processors and all the other goodies Canon crammed in there, but it always seems capable of pulling off a good picture under all weather conditions, and it's built like a tank. Probably means I'm more willing to risk it "in the muck and bullets" situations I sometimes have to shoot in.

IMHO, the best bang for the buck in a Canon body at the moment.

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

Dude sounds like you muffed an overnight to save on shipping. Glade you you had a great experience. Hope you got some good shots and had some BRO-TIME.

J. R.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I live 20 minutes away from the facility, which is actually in Jamesburg, near South Brunswick. I wish I had known you were going. I could have saved you the trip if your goal was to see their operation. Unfortunately, as you discovered all you get to see is the drop-off desk. Turnaround at this facility is very fast. Since I am so close I've always dropped off and picked up my gear rather than ship it. Turnaround for me has been as little as 1 day and as long as 5 days. From my experience and the experience of others using this facility, its rare for them to keep equipment in-house more than 5 days unless they are waiting for a part to be delivered. Two or three days seems to be the norm.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Thanks for the thought, but I probably would have made the trip anyway. My wife and I will be driving to Austin next month for the Formula 1 race and I wanted to see if the hip I had replaced 6 mo ago was going to give me any problems on long drives. No problem, it turns out. Also wanted to see what kind of gas mileage my pick-up will get at Interstate speeds. Turns out that 25 mpg, or more, should be no problem. So, all is good!

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I live about 40 minutes from the facility. It's actually in Jamesburg, not South Brunswick. I visited it once because I felt the mount for my 70 - 200 f/2.8 was a bit loose. They looked at it and indicated it was fine. I was there about 10 minutes. Great service.
Mark

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Fed-X just dropped off my camera. 26 hrs after I left it at Canon's facility 180 mi from here. Not bad! Looks like new.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Yep I've had similar experiences. I needed a new board, under warranty, for my 7D Mark II a year-and-a-half ago. I dropped it off at Jamesburg mid-afternoon on a Friday and got a call from them first thing Monday morning that it was completed. I was surprised to say the least. I assumed that I wouldn't have it back for most or all of that week. Their turnaround as indicated in my previous note is usually surprisingly fast.

While I don't know the average turnaround for Nikon repairs, I recall reading people indicating that two or three weeks at least seems to be about the norm.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I just had my EF 28-300L serviced there. I sent it in via second day mail for $10 from southeastern PA. Initially someone made a data entry error that delayed the process but as soon as I resolved the issue by phone, they had it fixed and in FedEx' hands, on its way home within hours. I resolved the data/billing issue at 10:30 on a Friday morning and received an email with FedEx tracking number around 4:00 Friday afternoon. Considering the work they did to the lens, that was super fast. I guess they were making up for the delay they caused. Either way, I couldn't be happier with the end result, and my favorite walkabout lens is as good as new. It even looks brand new. I think they polished the red band. ☺

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Yep, that is a great facility and their turnaround, except in rare cases, is phenomenal and generally exceeds most people's expectations.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Yes, we hear a few horror stories about Canon but they are few and only one side of the story.
Good to hear you had a great experience...., but 180 miles????
That woman must have been a playboy bunny!!! LoL
Most of my Canon experience is through CPS and they're extremely good and very fast, not to mention the hotline is 24/7!!! Great stuff!
SS

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

When I dropped it off I was told I could expect to see it in 5-7 working days. Obviously, that was a conservative estimate! My impression of Nikon is that their repair service could use some improvement, but I don't know how widespread the problem is.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

The mileage was nothing. During my years as a trucker a 360mi round trip would have been an easy day. Turned out to be a nice day and a nice drive. Even the Jersey traffic wasn't bad.
As a matter of fact, she was very pleasant to not only talk to but to look at. She certainly made her low-cut blouse look awfully nice!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

You are clearly a discerning and experienced gentleman, Sir!

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Sounds like she may be motivation for a camera check every year! LOL. 180 miles is a walk in the park. I travel 55 miles, one way, just to get to my favorite (only really) pizza restaurant. When traveling from NJ to NC/SC eastern shore, I make the 650 mile trip in 9.25 - 9.5 hours. (providing no traffic and includes 1 gas and 3 - 4 quick pit stops). Have done this for 30+ years. I try my best to time the travel to when there is little traffic.
Mark