Repair Question - Replacement Camera?

River Man

River Man

Member
Hello Everyone!

Need a little info....

I had to send my DVX100B in for service (it's still under warranty) about a month ago. The problem I'd been experiencing was that the tape wouldn't always catch when inserted. Though no tapes were eaten, the distinct crinkling sound of the tape could be heard and ultimately I even received the dreaded ‘AUTO OFF T_REEL LOCK’ message.

Anyway, I've got a shoot on June 3rd & the Service Center is still waiting on a part from Panasonic. My question; what's Panasonic's policy (if any) re. loaner cameras? Considering the fact that the bulk of us use our DVXs professionally, a loaner camera policy (while still under warranty obviously) wouldn't seem all that unreasonable.

Thanks in advance!

River Man

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Okay, so here's the deal -

Today the Panny service person at in my area tells me that he sent the camera to NY for repair. 'Didn't I mention that?', he asks me. (I've called the place once a week for the last 3 weeks now & was told they were waiting on parts! I sent the camera in on 4/25, between shoots, and told them I needed it back by 6/3 (our next shoot). So, he checks in w/ NY & they tell him they're still waiting on parts ~ that the parts for the DVX100B are hard to come by. Let's see...I spend roughly $3,500.00 for a camera & then when it breaks down THE PARTS ARE HARD TO COME BY?! Anybody else have this problem yet, or did I just luck out...?

(FYI: Called Support & was just given the number of the Regional Sales Mgr. in my area. He's calling NY now to see what's up... )

River Man
 
I know its a JOke, Give us the Money and then I'm Sorry who are you? what did you need? Oh well that will be 6 to 8 weeks.
 
Honestly!

So, it turns out the ‘regional sales mgr.’ was really just someone from the engineering dept. ~ who, incidentally, I never heard back from. So, I called him back ~ and someone answered in Arabic! They sounded a little confused & eventually gave me the Engineer's direct line (legit) & I left him a voice mail.

Jan Crittenden, are you listening?! HE-L-L-P!!!!!
 
This is why I hate warranty repairs, especially warranty's that you pay extra for, like the Mack warranty. Whenever it is on their dime, you can bet they will take as very long as possible to get the camera back to you.
This is why I never get extended warranty's on things that make me money. 2 months to get the camera back to me? "I'm sorry I don't use the camera to shoot my kids baseball games, I actually make money with the camera."
So you have to figure it this way, in the 2 months that it takes them to get you the camera, how many shoots are you out? How much money have you lost? is it worth the $300-500 you would have spent to take it to an actual repair center to have it fixed?

Sorry your in this situation, that really sucks. How long did you have the camera before it went TU on you?

If it were me, I would constantly badger and harrass them until I got the camera back. That is just rediculous.
 
I couldn't agree more on the whole 'extended warranty' thing ~ total rip job all the way around. I mean, let's face it, equipment this complex is only going to last so long to begin with. If you get four great years out of your camera before the big repairs kick in, you're doing pretty damned good, in my book. By that time, it's on to the next model anyway...

Actually, I got my DVX this past January & after three shoots the above tape issue started looking more & more like a problem, so...

By the way, I LOVE this camera ~ I'm definitely not kicking myself over the purchase. However, I WILL aggressively hound Panasonic for the rest of the week, if need be!

In the meantime, thanks for the support!
 
UPDATE: After making several calls & sending several Emails to key Regional Sales Managers, it looks like I'm going to get my camera before our June 3rd shoot! I received several calls this morning from Panasonic assuring me that the part will be in today or tomorrow & the camera will back out to me in time for the shoot. (They also promised to follow-up once things were underway, no later than tomorrow.)

Naturally, I'll keep you posted...
 
I'm glad that you're being taken care of! We see parts issues like this all the time. It's a natural thing in the repair industry. That's why we try to stock as much as possible.

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
 
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