TL; DR: If you need a tripod repaired by Tiffen Support, expect a long drawn out process that may result in more problems then you started out with. I expand on my personal experience below:
I am sorry this is so long but I am posting this because I have benefited from hearing about the experiences of past dvxuser member’s with companies and I would like to share my own experience with Tiffen Product Support regarding the repair of my Davis and Sanford Provista Tripod with FM18 head.
This all started at the beginning of November last year. I had begun to notice that locking down the pan knob resulted in the head shifting ever so slightly, which was messing up my final composition (this was especially noticeable on longer lenses). No problem, the tripod was still under warranty and I may as well check in about whether this issue could be fixed or not. I sent an email and received a prompt reply the next day asking for me to fill out my information through their support page, which I quickly did in addition to uploading a video illustrating the issue. One week later – no response, which I found odd, considering the top of the support page states “most individuals receive a response within 24 hours.” I am really not the type of individual that likes to hound customer service (that’s why I waited a week in the first place to receive a response) but I sent another email asking if maybe my support ticket had not gotten through seeing that I still had not heard back. The next day support responded that they were especially busy and sorry for the delay. Another week went by, it’s now the end of November, and I finally received a Return Authorization instructing me to just send the head without handles so that my shipping costs wouldn’t be too high. Off I sent my tripod head relieved that it would finally be fixed.
It was the holiday season so I waited for the entire month, but ultimately never heard anything. Finally, I inquired through the support page if maybe they had encountered a problem with the repair. The next day, support responded that the head had been repaired and was leaving the service department either that day or the next. No mention of what the problem was or how it was fixed, but whatever at least I would finally have a tripod. One week later (the beginning of February) the package arrived – but something was clearly not right.
At first I couldn’t get the head to fit onto my tripod legs. I tightened up all the screws on the bottom and it finally went on, but the leveling handle became completely stuck and would not budge. Not only was it impossible to loosen the leveling handle, but I couldn’t even get the head off the tripod if I wanted to. Defeated, I sent another email to support notifying them of this new issue --- no response, but I waited hoping that they were just trying to catch up from the busy holiday season. Two months later I still hadn’t heard anything and decided to try once more to explain this new issue through the support page. Finally, I received a reply instructing me how to loosen the leveling handle (I knew how to do this, I had had this tripod for years) and inquiring more about the issue. After some more back and forth over email I finally received another Return Authorization about a month later (April 25th). This time I was instructed to ship the entire tripod back insured, which was a tough pill to swallow considering the problem was on them and these shipping costs were quickly adding up. After mulling it over, I finally decide to eat the shipping costs and let them have the opportunity to make this right by repairing my tripod.
The package was sent at the end of June and by the end of July I still had heard nothing. Feeling I bit of déjà-vu, I inquired about the status of my repair through the support page but received no response. I waited a couple of days to send a direct email, which finally got an apologetic reply (on July 25th) that my tripod should be done by the week’s end. Almost a month later I had no tripod or communication from support and feared that maybe the package was stolen from my porch. I sent a final email on August 22nd asking for any information and received a reply the next day that the tripod was going to be shipped out on the 24th.
Well I finally got my tripod back this morning with a leveling handle that is still wrenched down and impossible to loosen. However, this head now has the added problem of not being able to lock down the pan knob at all. Needless to say I am probably going to have to chock this whole experience up to a lesson that not all company’s customer support departments are made equal. With that being said, when I could finally get a hold of individuals at Tiffen Support they were nothing but nice and seemed very genuine about handling my concerns. However, at the end of the day I am still out a tripod and a nice chunk of change in shipping costs. Hopefully other dvxuser members can chime in about their positive experiences, but I for one did not have one.
I am sorry this is so long but I am posting this because I have benefited from hearing about the experiences of past dvxuser member’s with companies and I would like to share my own experience with Tiffen Product Support regarding the repair of my Davis and Sanford Provista Tripod with FM18 head.
This all started at the beginning of November last year. I had begun to notice that locking down the pan knob resulted in the head shifting ever so slightly, which was messing up my final composition (this was especially noticeable on longer lenses). No problem, the tripod was still under warranty and I may as well check in about whether this issue could be fixed or not. I sent an email and received a prompt reply the next day asking for me to fill out my information through their support page, which I quickly did in addition to uploading a video illustrating the issue. One week later – no response, which I found odd, considering the top of the support page states “most individuals receive a response within 24 hours.” I am really not the type of individual that likes to hound customer service (that’s why I waited a week in the first place to receive a response) but I sent another email asking if maybe my support ticket had not gotten through seeing that I still had not heard back. The next day support responded that they were especially busy and sorry for the delay. Another week went by, it’s now the end of November, and I finally received a Return Authorization instructing me to just send the head without handles so that my shipping costs wouldn’t be too high. Off I sent my tripod head relieved that it would finally be fixed.
It was the holiday season so I waited for the entire month, but ultimately never heard anything. Finally, I inquired through the support page if maybe they had encountered a problem with the repair. The next day, support responded that the head had been repaired and was leaving the service department either that day or the next. No mention of what the problem was or how it was fixed, but whatever at least I would finally have a tripod. One week later (the beginning of February) the package arrived – but something was clearly not right.
At first I couldn’t get the head to fit onto my tripod legs. I tightened up all the screws on the bottom and it finally went on, but the leveling handle became completely stuck and would not budge. Not only was it impossible to loosen the leveling handle, but I couldn’t even get the head off the tripod if I wanted to. Defeated, I sent another email to support notifying them of this new issue --- no response, but I waited hoping that they were just trying to catch up from the busy holiday season. Two months later I still hadn’t heard anything and decided to try once more to explain this new issue through the support page. Finally, I received a reply instructing me how to loosen the leveling handle (I knew how to do this, I had had this tripod for years) and inquiring more about the issue. After some more back and forth over email I finally received another Return Authorization about a month later (April 25th). This time I was instructed to ship the entire tripod back insured, which was a tough pill to swallow considering the problem was on them and these shipping costs were quickly adding up. After mulling it over, I finally decide to eat the shipping costs and let them have the opportunity to make this right by repairing my tripod.
The package was sent at the end of June and by the end of July I still had heard nothing. Feeling I bit of déjà-vu, I inquired about the status of my repair through the support page but received no response. I waited a couple of days to send a direct email, which finally got an apologetic reply (on July 25th) that my tripod should be done by the week’s end. Almost a month later I had no tripod or communication from support and feared that maybe the package was stolen from my porch. I sent a final email on August 22nd asking for any information and received a reply the next day that the tripod was going to be shipped out on the 24th.
Well I finally got my tripod back this morning with a leveling handle that is still wrenched down and impossible to loosen. However, this head now has the added problem of not being able to lock down the pan knob at all. Needless to say I am probably going to have to chock this whole experience up to a lesson that not all company’s customer support departments are made equal. With that being said, when I could finally get a hold of individuals at Tiffen Support they were nothing but nice and seemed very genuine about handling my concerns. However, at the end of the day I am still out a tripod and a nice chunk of change in shipping costs. Hopefully other dvxuser members can chime in about their positive experiences, but I for one did not have one.