WARNING: GH1 Warranty issues - do not buy!

R

rudyo

New member
I am writing this post to warn everyone of very poor support from Panasonic on warranty service on my new Lumix DMC-GH1 camera. They have now had my new GH1 for 30 days with no resolution.
1)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Purchased DMC-GH1 with 14-140mm lens on September 15, 2009 from [FONT=&quot]Keeble[/FONT] & [FONT=&quot]Schuchat[/FONT][FONT=&quot], [/FONT]an authorized dealer. In December 2009 I purchased the Panasonic 20mm pancake lens & additional Panasonic batteries.
2)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]In March 2010 the right camera strap lug came off during an extended vacation. The nut stayed inside but could not be heard shaking around. Near the end of this trip I also started having the “PLEASE CHECK THAT THE LENS IS ATTACHED CORRECTLY” error intermittently. This error occurred with stock Panasonic lenses. I was not using an adapter plate and did not change anything in the configuration. The contacts on both the camera and lens were checked and cleaned. The error would eventually go away after messing with it and letting the camera sit.
The firmware was the latest release at that time.
3)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]The errors got more and more frequent and in late March the camera had the same error and then the camera would not turn on at all…dead. I tried multiple things with Panasonic customer service to fix it, to no avail.
4)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]The camera was sent to them via overnight FedEx to their McAllen Exchange Center for warranty issue for both problems and received by them on April 8th. I was told that they guaranteed all service issues to be completed within 14 business days.
5)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]I called on the 10th business day and the only update they could give me was that they were waiting for parts. They could not tell me which parts, but assured me that it would be complete on the 14th business day or April 27th.
6)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]I called them on April 27th (the day it was to be completed) and was told that the status was the same, still waiting for parts. They could not give me any more information. After much discussion they assured me that a Customer Service manager would call me within 48 hours. I never received any call.
7)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]I called them again on April 30th and just got the same excuses. The Customer Service reps are not of any help and don’t appear to have any resources. They would not get me to a manager. After 45 minutes on the call I was told that I needed to talk to the actual repair center and was again told that a Customer Service manager from the repair center would contact me within 48 hours. I never received any call.
8)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]I have repeatedly asked to have the issue escalated or to just give me a new DMC-GH1 body or give me a refund. They have said that they cannot do this.
At this point I do not know where to go or what to do. I have over $2000 invested in this setup and should have much better service and support than this. It will be the last Panasonic camera I buy, no matter the quality or technology they have.
Does anyone have any suggestion on who to contact to escalate this? I would like to contact the President of Panasonic if possible.
 
Rabot said:
Wow that seriously sucks.
From what country are you?
Click to expand...
I am in the USA. I also get the impression that their customer service reps are some call center that is not in the US. This makes it even more difficult.
 
Call your credit card company, they usually don't f around and get your money back if you have a legitimate claim.
 
Assuming you paid with credit card. And you can prove the product was faulty in the first place/not as advertised
 
Sorry you had such bad luck. My lug came off so I first tried to fix it myself following instructions on the internet. Unfortunately it had fallen into the front of the camera and I didn't feel comfortable opening the whole thing up so I sent it in. It came back fixed three weeks later.

(Also in the US).
 
You know I probably could have dealt with just the lug issues. But then the lens attached errors started. Even then I put up with them since they would go away. But once the camera would not turn on anymore I was done.

I just don't understand why they wont stand behind their product. In the end even if it is a technological superior product, it just isn't worth the trouble.

Lets hope they can correct their customer service issues, not just for me, but for all their customers.
 
do you guys have like a consumer affairs ombudsman type of thingy in the US? I'd try and see if you can hunt down someone higher up in the chain to vent your frustration.
 
Sounds pretty typical of most consumer video/photo gear warranty repairs. I once put a Canon HV20 in for repair under warranty. It took a over a month to get it back, and when I shared my experience on a forum everyone asked me how the hell I managed to get it back in under 2 months!

My Sony FX7 is in the local Sony Service Centre at the moment and they are just as bad. At least I can call them directly but so far it seems all they have told me is absolute crap. They've had my camera for a month now, I've called weekly to ask what is going on and they say they'll call back later that day but never do. So far with the money I've spent on renting plus the cost of the repair (which I'm only guessing because they still haven't quoted me) would've been almost enough to buy an AX-2000!

Basically the terrible customer service is why you are able to get such a good camera so cheap. Part of the price difference between consumer level gear and professional division gear is in the after-purchase service. With the Pro cams, they understand that you are making your living off their product so they have faster service and may even lend you a camera while yours is being repeaired. It's for this reason that I'll only ever buy pro level gear as my main camera from now on. Actually, if Sony don't get my camera back soon, the accumulated rental cost's could've paid for an NX5 instead of an AX-2000... then I wouldn't have this problem again!
 
Main reason is not cheap camera, but business education in universities.
They now teach you that you need to outsource and make it cheap.
So, insted for professionals working many years with your products you get amateurs changing brands and personell quite frequently and they also want to have high profit (this means they cut staff to minimum possible and order parts only after complains).
It is working from the business side.
From user side it sucks badly.
 
Please note that the GH1 is a product of the consumer division of Panasonic, which is actually a different company than the broadcast division. If you buy a product from the broadcast division, you will receive top-notch service. This is something that people either overlook or completely forget when shopping; they only look at prices and seemingly forget about the rest.

Why will the AF100 be $5000-6000 when the GH1 is only $1200? Because when you need service, you'll be glad that you spent more money upfront.
 
LOL! My one and only contact with Panasonic was practically hilarious. On my second go with a GH1, I noticed that the kit lens had an above average freeplay during zooming. (This is before I realize it was the lens mount issue and an overly tight zoom ring.) So I proceeded to begin the process of sending them the camera for inspection and repair.

The short story is that I went through THREE addresses, one from the warranty info that came with the box, another from their website and yet a third address from a support staff I managed to get hold off. The phone numbers for a live person was nowhere to be found so I was lucky in phone-surfing around. However, I was concerned about whether I should send the body, the lens or both. The first time, she said send everything, including my pancake lens !! Then after consultation with someone else, she then said just the kit lens. That way I can at least use the GH1 with the pancake lens. Finally, they decided to contact another 'source', took down my info including cell phone e.g. and promise I will get a call back within a day or so.

It's been 2 months now and I've never received a call. I figure the kit lens zoom ring will loosen up and the mount free play will decrease. Heck, even if I want to pursue it, I have no idea who to call at this point.

R
 
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