Entre Les Murs

New Camera

A little while ago my Canon Powershot S200, which I have had for at least six years and been very happy with, developed a problem with the display on the back.  The image was scrambled, and it wasn't just the display because I tried taking a picture using only the optical viewfinder, and the resulting image was no better.  Well, when you have an electronic gadget that has covered as many miles as that one had (France, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Thailand, plus Owen Sound, White Rock and the Canadian Rockies, to hit just the photographic highlights) it's easy to be philosophical and get ready to go shopping.

However, I am my mother's son (who is her raised-in-the-dust-bowl mother's daughter) and I couldn't toss it without at least trying to have it repaired, so looked up a 1-800 number for Canon service, where I reached a very helpful fellow who told me that the problem sounded like something they fix for free.  That surprised me because it couldn't possibly be still under warranty; but they sent me via email a UPS shipping label enabling me to send it to Canon on their dime, and so I did.  Very shortly after that I got an email and a letter telling me that they had received the camera and it did look like the thing that they fix at no cost.

Now at this point I was pleased, but I have to admit, I had started looking at flyers advertising the new cameras and had mentally prepared a set of specs and a price range, in pleasurable anticipation of a trip to the camera store.  I fully expected that the next note from Canon was going to advise me that because of other defects/I had dropped the camera/I'm over forty/too many odd numbers in my zip code, they were going to charge me at least $150 to get the camera back - at which point I would say for such an old camera, thanks but no thanks, I'll just go buy another - which is what I figured we both really wanted me to do anyway.

But a week went by and I received another email telling me that the camera was on its way back to me, and a day or two after that the box arrived.  The note in the box had an invoice with the magic figure of $0.00 on the bottom line - and one little note at the very end explaining that since they didn't have the parts they needed on hand they were sending me another camera of equivalent features and value.  The device I pulled out of the box had a sticker on it saying "refurbished" but otherwise appeared completely new.  It is a Powershot SD700 IS, which means that it is smaller, has a longer zoom, much larger display, better software and more features than the old one.  I got my new camera with very close to my desired specs completely for free.  So thank you, Canon!  I'm not sure if this is a good business model, but top marks for customer service.

posted 9.7.08