lamontcranston

My daughter-in-law gave me a new Tamron 18-270 F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD for Christmas to use on my Nikon D3300. Due to the frigid temperatures I have not had a chance to use it yet. I went to register the 6-warranty on the internet yesterday and was unable to complete the process because I didn't have the original sales slip (proof of purchase) to submit with the paper work. So I called Tamron Customer Service in the New York area this morning and explained that I didn't have the original sales-slip because the lens was a gift. The lady very rudely advised me that I could not register the 6-year lens warranty if I did not submit the original sales slip, regardless if it was a gift or not. I feel very reluctant to ask my daughter-in-law for the sales slip since it was a Christmas gift. The very rude Tamron CS rep said "Sorry, no proof of purchase, no warranty on the lens." I'm very disappointed there is no provision for registering a gift without the original receipt. But I am more disappointed at the rude attitude this CS agent displayed. It's very doubtful I will purchase a Tamron product in the future. Just a word to the wise, if you are buying a Tamron product or receiving one as a gift, you'd better get the original bill of sale or you can forget about their 6-warranty on their products.

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

Unfortunate experience. Just remember, the person on the other end of the phone represented Tamron on the day you called but she is likely just an employee without regard for representing the company well. It might be totally different on another day. Tamron makes a good lens- it would be a shame to write them off. Ask your DIL for the receipt and get your lens registered. The price of the lens is not a secret- it is published on multiple photo sites.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

OMG, ask the DIL for the receipt. Failing that, call Tamron and ask for the President of the Company (US Division). You'll probably reach someone with the title of Executive Customer Service Manager and pitch your story. Might or might not work. But honestly, ask for the receipt.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

‘Lamont’ - Those who know me know that I am very quick to judge, and if necessary, execute rude CS agents. That being said, perhaps - just perhaps - the lady was rude because it was her 250th call regarding “gift registration” on this shift alone and she despised what Tamron Corporate was making her say. Turn your entirely justifiable distain toward the manufacturer, but give the agent a break. If any any other UHH members are listening, I will deny having said this.😉

Exposures and Art Loc: Murrells Inlet SC

This is 2018-start the new year by calling Tamron support &request a supervisor & advise of your first call-if that supervisor is rude ask for his/her supervisor! Do not let them get away with shoddy treatment of customer. We spend too much $$ on gear to be treated this way-demand perfection! Just my $.02 ! Good luck.

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

OK - send relevant info to your daughter-in-law and have her submit. Yup, stuff like that is a real pain, but with all the fraud going on I can see why. No excuse for rudeness!

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Very sorry for your inconvenience. The rude people at Nikon and Sigma required that I submit the appropriate receipt as well.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Have your DIL register it for you with the info and it's handled.

swandsch

Okay...There are a bunch of saying out there...'The Customer is Always Right'; 'It's the new normal'; 'She was having a bad day' 'Turn the other cheek' etc., etc., etc.
Bottom line Customer Service is Dead! Period! Why? Many theories. My explanation is we, the customer dosen't do anything about it. In this example, there were many good solutions to how the FIL should deal with it. Deal with it? I say no, until we, the consumer get real about this type of treatment we will be dealing with this again and again and again. Good Lens - yes, good price - probably - but does that give the manufacture the green light to treat us this way? Because Sigma does it, Nikon does it, Tamron does it - this is golden, this is it? Enough already. Just imagine for a moment, everybody who got an item as a gift that could not register it because of a lack of the original receipt took the item back. Now there's a statement! Everybody complains, nobody does anything about it - including me. Maybe 2018 I'll start standing up, speaking up, and take action.
One more thing...Six year warranty is a great selling point, but if a high percentage of consumers can't get their product registered for one reason or another, a lot less exchanges under warranty - bottom line dollars looking pretty good for the manufacture.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Undoubtedly there is also a bunch saying that maybe the rep wasn't rude and provided an unwelcome answer.

Joe Blow

I would follow up with another call and speak to another CR. Check out their website and look for an email address and send off an email to with explanation that this was a gift.

I am unaware of any manufacture that requires the original purchaser submit their sales slip in order to register an electronic product. At this time of year there are many people that received a gift without proof of purchase. Setting up a bad relationship between the consumer and the company is not good for future business. While Tamron has improved their quality, they still remain well behind other third party lenses and do not need this added handicap. When I think of how Canon has bent over backwards to keep good relations with its base (and apparently Nikon and Sony have as well), it would be a smart move from Tamron not to alienate their customers.

Hank Radt

I guess I'm a little confused by the whole need a receipt thing. I recently bought a Zeiss batis and in the package was a warranty card that said if you want an extra year, register your product on the website. Which I did. They asked for the product details and the SN, and then a bunch of marketing questions - which is really why manufacturers want you to register the product on their website in the first place (as an ex-marketer, I can say that it is very difficult to get good customer input and one of the most productive ways to get it is to offer an incentive, i.e., a longer warranty). And of course, my email - with anti-spamming legislation, the only way a marketer can ensure that they can send stuff by email is to get the customer to "opt-in" (there are some pretty serious negative marketing consequences for spamming if you get reported; doesn't stop the real scammers, who change websites, but any legitimate business pays close attention to this...).

So, someone at Tamron is either really, really stupid, or their marketing and customer services departments are in completely isolated silos (which also means someone high up at Tamron is really, really stupid...). Hard enough to get customers to buy these days; makes no sense to make it harder...

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

That is very strange, in all the lenses etc., that I registered, I never needed to supmit any sales slips of any kind!
The closest thing to that is, that I had to mention where I bought the lens or body or...

Hank Radt

Exactly the type of question that a marketer should be asking - it helps determine where best to spend promotional $$$.

The value of this type of information to the marketing department likely FAR exceeds the cost of warranty repairs, particularly since warranty periods are determined statistically - no one is going to offer a six year warranty if the MBTF / MTBR (repair) is 5 years. More likely it is 7 years or longer (and yes, manufacturers calculate these statistics before offering warranties).

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

PROOF OF PURCHASE is the one and only way ALL manufacturers verify that you actually bought the lens new and not used. Its required! If you choose to sacrifice your 6 year warranty right because you are too "embarrassed" to ask for a copy of the receipt, then that is your choice and your choice ALONE. If she does not want you to know what she paid for the lens she can simply black out the amount. But Tamron NEEDS to know WHEN the lens was bought AND whether or not it was bought from an authorized dealer to validate the warranty. No camera or lens manufacturer will require any less! Tamron offer their "Pre-Registration", you do not HAVE to pre-register for warranty work, but you WILL have to submit that proof of purchase to receive warranty repairs in the future. Their pre-registration is simply a convenience to the customer so you don't have to submit that same documentation again in the future should you need service.
Time to put on the big boy pants and follow all the rules that the rest of the world has to follow!