Friday, October 14, 2011

Dear Canon, ...

Here's a copy of a letter I received from Canon today regarding my inquiry about repairing my Canon 17-85mm lens:

Dear Shawn Kielty:
Customer service is our number-one priority at Canon U.S.A., Inc. We take great pride in providing you with the best service possible and strive to make your Canon ownership experience enjoyable.

Please take a few minutes to complete a brief online survey and tell us about your experience when you phoned our Technical Support Center on 10/13/2011 14:04:51regarding your Canon product. To access the survey click on the link below, or copy and paste the address into your browser.

https://www.customersat3.com/e.asp?IID=84DBA0FFFD72F0C08357C63910FE1D79

You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Thank you for your feedback and for being a valued Canon customer.

Sincerely,

Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Customer Support
Please do not reply to this e-mail unless you are having difficulties completing the survey.

That's right, please do not reply ... yeta, yeta, yeta.  I don't want to complete your survey.  What I want to do is take a few moments to tell you about my experience with your camera on my recent trip to China.  During my trip I carried one camera, a Canon 20D, and two lenses, A 10-22mm zoom and a 17-85mm zoom.  I'd like to be able to tell you that I made this decision because your gear has been so reliable in the past, but it wouldn't be true. 

Last year just before my trip to China, I had to rent a 17-85mm zoom because mine failed miserably, just a few days before I left.  

So off I went to China for 18 days with a stripped down version of my normal gear, and a few days into my trip, my 17-85mm lens stops working all together, producing repeatedly the oft reported "err99".   Done.   Epic Fail.  I don't want to hear and talk how good your customer service is. 

I want to hear and talk about how good your product is.  I want to hear you tell me that the quality of your product is your number one priority.  I want to brag to my friends about how great your camera is.  The way I used to.      

Alas, I cannot!

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