SweetMacTips

Panasonic - Buyer beware

I normally don’t use this Tumblr as a soapbox (though I’ll use this one as one) but customer service is something near and dear to my heart, mainly because I don’t mind paying extra for getting good customer services.  It’s why I buy from Apple and use American Express.

Because some of you may be looking for a new digital camera, read on:

I purchased a Panasonic Lumix camera for my daughter back in April. She’s 14 and is generally very good with her electronics. She takes good care of her iMac, her phone and her iPod. She’s also taken good care of her digital camera. She was going away to Washington D.C. for a school trip and her existing camera was a bit long in the tooth, a Nikon. 

After some digging around with various models and reviews, we purchased the Lumix DMC FS25 from Amazon on our Prime account.

She went to Washington and had a great time and took some great pictures. 

However, after 3 months of light use, the lens stopped working. It was jammed out. So, I did like any other person would do and sent it in for repair as it was outside of my return window from Amazon.

The setup of the RMA was easy enough actually, I went online and setup the repair. They provided a label to print out and I sent it back, including my purchase information from Amazon.

Then, in the mail, I get a notification that the repair it out of warranty.  Want to know why?  This:

So, I did what any normal, self respecting geek would do and got out my ruler. Just how big is that ding?! Well, after measuring the length of the camera in the picture and comparing it to the specification of a length of 4.5 inches, that puts the ding at 2x3mm. Millimeters!

Panasonic is telling me that a normal wear-and-tear ding of 2x3mm is going to cause the entire camera to stop functioning?! Wow.  I need to call someone. So I call the number on the paperwork that came with the photo to get ahold of someone. It was in Texas. Yeah, good luck. 

The long and the short of it is that I could never reach anyone in Texas. Ever. I even called at the stroke of 9am (their time) when they opened and miraculously, all support personnel were busy with other people. It was also the kind of hold that you can’t be on indefinitely.  They dump you to voicemail eventually.

Being an investigative enterprising kind of guy, I found the phone number for Panasonic’s general support and called them. They insisted that the say of the repair center was final. I asked to whom I could complain to. They gave me an address to write a letter. “I can’t call them?” “No,” was the response.

Great.

Like I said, I’m an investigative enterprising kind of guy. I got ahold of the phone number for Panasonic’s US headquarters and finally got in touch with the Customer Affairs department. 

Ah ha! Someone that could help me!

Well, no. After 3 days of going back and forth with them, they also have turned me down. I also have no way of talking to anyone technical in nature that can explain to me how a ding on the camera from normal use can effect the lens on the other side of the camera.

So, I called Chase, who issues my Amazon.com credit card (I’m a real shill for Amazon, eh?). Though they understood the place I was in, their extended warranty coverage only kicked in after the original manufacturer’s warranty lapsed. And if there were any claims on their service, they side with the manufacturer’s assessment of the product. The agent was understanding of the situation but couldn’t really do much. Oh well it was worth the shot.

Know who finally stepped up?  Amazon. And they didn’t even have to. The camera is on its way back to me from Texas and I’ve got a return shipping label waiting for me in my email already to go back to Amazon. I’m only getting an 80% refund as it’s waaaaay beyond their return window but hey, it’s way more than I was getting out of Panasonic. 

I’ll be taking my 80% and returning to Canon, where I should have started in the first place. All of my imaging products have been Canon for a long long time and I guess karma finally bit me one when I went elsewhere ;)

I’m not saying, “Don’t buy Panasonic” as I’m just one customer with one experience, but do beware. After doing some other poking around, I’ve read similar horror stories. 

They say the recipient of a good customer service experience will tell two friends. The recipient of a bad customer service experience will tell 10 friends. Well, I’m telling 5000+.

Good bye Panasonic.