It's always a gamble when buying a product of significant importance and $$ value. You never really get to know a company and their customer worth until it comes to claiming a warranty repair. In the modern world of electronics there is so much which can go wrong during production that even with the most advanced automated quality control processes at ones disposal a few rotten peaches will always get through (I am currently employed as a electronics test engineer designing automated QA test systems, this should provide at least some credibility to my claims).
Anyway, getting back onto topic, I recently experienced such a conundrum having purchased a Fuji XPRO 1 two weeks back. While out shooting, in less than favorable lighting conditions (my poor retina), I was noticing what can only be described as BOKEH BOMBs popping up all throughout the hybrid optical view finder. The viewfinder is best described as an electronic range finder which is completely sealed from the user (unlike a DSLR where you can clean out the chamber by blowing air over the mirror and focus screen to get rid of the dusties which accumulate over time). Getting annoyed and distracted that my brand new camera was suffering I approached FUJI.
After a quick email conversation and a chat with service technicians at FUJI NZ headquarters I laid all my concerns onto the table and waited for a response. The phone operator smugly said "the clean out of the electronic view finder would be around $45 + GST, but if the electronics within the view finder are damaged you can expect an $800 bill". Freaked out at the prospect, I reluctantly bought the camera into the service center the next morning, logged the repair with the receptionist and spoke with a really nice young man (leading technician at Fuji NZ) who promised to take good care of my camera.
Not wanting to be without my camera for even a single day, FUJI promised to have the repair done in 24hrs and it would be covered by warranty......... I couldn’t believe what I was hearing....... No camera manufacturer has ever been that organised, let alone guaranteed their service time.
A little sad that I was unable to play with my camera that night I pondered my experiences with other company customer services and couldn’t help but grow a grin from ear to ear. Fuji NZ is really a cut above assuming they come through on their promise and the quality of their work isn’t compromised by their snappy turn around time.
Come Wednesday I must have spent most of the day staring at my phone waiting for it to ring, 11:30 and I got the call I was waiting for "camera was ready for pick up!". In just over 24hrs they pulled the camera apart, did a complete view finder clean, reassembled it and fixed what looked to be an iffy seal on the diopter so it doesn't become a reoccurring issue.
26 hours and I was reunited. Not only was the cleaning job simply superb but FUJI came through on their promise which speaks for itself. Fuji will go far in the photographic industry and their new X Range if my experience is anything to go by.
THANKS FUJI NZ !!
- Sven