Warning to Washington, D.C.-area photographers

I recently changed companies that provide and service the boiler in our home. The company that I used to use has a B+ rating and is not accredited by BBB. The company that I changed to has an A+ rating and is accredited. Based on my limited experience with the new company, I do have to agree that Matt has a point that I would assess the two companies exactly the same as BBB. Perhaps I'll start looking at BBB info in the future.

I also have a paid membership with this site: http://www.checkbook.org/ OK I can let the thread die now :)

Mike, I'm not sure if the BBB operates the same in the US as it does in Canada, but personally, I don't buy into it. In Canada, it doesn't take a whole lot more than an annual fee to get they're fancy sticker plastered all over your front door.

That being said, consistent bad ratings are what they are, and if a company has a bad average rating, there's obviously something up.

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Originally Posted by flyingSquirrel

OK I can let the thread die now :)

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Why would you do anything so silly, Matt. :D

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Originally Posted by Mike Buckley

I only know that according to a Nikon website they are not authorized by Nikon to repair the camera that I gave to them. That's completely contrary to what the service manager told me.

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They can repair it alright - the problem is unless they are an authorized Nikon repair firm, Nikon won't provide them with Nikon parts.

http://ifixit.org/1349/

And maybe because their service went south, Nikon won't authorize them to repair Nikon cameras.

Glenn

I got word today about the cost of fixing the camera and grip using Calumet Photo who shipped them to Nikon. It will cost about $25 less than using the company that kept my equipment for so long and never fixed anything.

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Originally Posted by Mike Buckley

I got word today about the cost of fixing the camera and grip using Calumet Photo who shipped them to Nikon. It will cost about $25 less than using the company that kept my equipment for so long and never fixed anything.

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Thanks for the update Mike. No prizes off guessing where many will go first next time.

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Originally Posted by ShaneS

you would much rather hear the truth, a sincere apology, and a plan on how to move forward rather than a bunch of lame excuses and technically 'true' statements that are misleading at best

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My saga has almost come to an end in a fashion exactly as Shane and all of us would hope.

It took a little longer for Nikon to repair my camera and grip than initially estimated but the retailer that I used as a middleman kept me up to date in a responsible and timely manner. I received both items two days ago with only one slight problem: my battery was not returned. The retailer immediately apologized on behalf of Nikon. I just now received an unsolicited email from the retailer explaining that the battery will be shipped overnight today. He also clarified that I should not be surprised if the inclement weather that is so prevalent on the east coast of the U.S. delays that by one business day.

My email response to the news was "Thanks for the great service, Craig! Stay warm!" (It's bitterly cold in my area, well below average temperatures, and it's supposed to stay that way for several more days.)

The retailer is the Calumet store in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Craig is the manager of their repair department. My experience from beginning to end with Craig and his staff have been superior, as have all of my purchase and rental transactions with the store for years before it was recently bought by Calumet.

I am glad your story had a happy ending Mike.:)


Bruce

As I said before...I love happy endings. Good luck in the future. I hope you do not have to go through this again. I've never had any of my cameras repaired in the past knock on wood, I am lucky so far...

Mike,
I have come to this rather late, but I'm pleased it has all been resolved. Point!.... you could have done without the hassle.

I am interested though in your assessment of Calumet. We have them here in Birmingham (UK), and I have dealt with branches here, in London, and in Belfast.

They have always been excellent for service, and are extremely professional, informed and helpful.

I was particularly impressed with the Belfast Branch, when I had my car broken into and a lot of camera gear stolen back in late 2012.
They went as far as taking lens serial numbers and circulating them to the photographic community (clubs etc), and other photographic companies in Ulster.

Actually much more helpful than the police in fact. There are still some good ones out there thank God.

( I never did recover any kit unfortunately.... and I lost my favourite 15 yr old all weather jacket alnong with the kit :( :( which I still miss ... replaced the kit, but have not yet found god replacement for the jacket! )

Keep warm yourself....

Sorry to learn, James, that you never found a suitable replacement for your jacket. I wear clothes for years and years, so I can relate to that.

As it turns out, there is one final tidbit to my story. When I received the replacement battery, it was a knock-off rather than an exact replacement of my battery with Nikon branding. I asked the manager of the repair department if it's the company policy to replace a lost item with something similar rather than the exact product. He explained that normally they would have replaced the product exactly but couldn't because he had no Nikon batteries and didn't want me to wait for a replacement. (I checked the Calumet web site later and verified that the exact Nikon battery is out of stock.) So, he sent a brand new, unused battery that had been purchased to be included with cameras that they rent.

It was really interesting that the Nikon repair center swears that the battery was not in the camera when it arrived there. The local manager explained that it wasn't worth getting in an argument with them, as the lost product is inexpensive and this sort of thing happens rarely. Instead, his department took the monetary hit and he got the replacement to me right away.

I actually wasn't concerned about the battery and was more concerned about a policy that might, as an example, allow the company to replace a lost Nikon grip with a knock-off. I'm glad to learn that this is not their policy and am very happy with the explanation. Now if I can only get it by my wife. :D

Mike, are they going to replace your battery with one made by Nikon eventually?



Bruce

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Originally Posted by Digital

Mike, are they going to replace your battery with one made by Nikon eventually?

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No. I could have asked for that but felt that it was unnecessary. If it had been, as an example, a grip, I would have insisted on an exact replacement.