The Order of the Crutch

Stop, before you make conclusions that im another young man cribbing about my country to look “fashionable” like every other young man does, NO I’M NOT THAT KIND!

I was born and Indian, yes i cribbed being an Indian and it all changed when i came to know all about the Indian Army, but thats a different story and its for another time.

Today is the story of how Indianism fucked me right royally and Americanism not only did it save my ass but also brought back a faith in me about canon and its commitment towards its customers.

No I’m not a American fanatic, nor do i kiss ass Americans to get shit out of them. Yes i’m certainly pro American, why? Because everyone else is fashionably Anti-American and i don’t like to do that shit to show off! I’m not the bush basher, he is not my problem cuz he does not rule my contry. The Jackasses like Sonia Gandhi are my problem but lets forget this politics story and talk cameras…

The story goes like this….

On the 26th of January 2006 i “Dilip Muralidaran” after tonnes of hurdles, set backs and effort and pain made one of my long time dream a reality. Its the day when my good friend “Richard Wanderman” wrote, “Dilip, Welcome to the Wonderful World of DSLR’s…” and i will never forget how fantastic and POWERFUL that feeling was and that joyous emotion of owning a High End, 3rd Generation Canon Digital SLR Camera was!

It all started with some casual browsing when i stumbled upon Richards pictures on flickr, co-incidentally i had a high end Sony Camera then which was brand new and i started exploring photography and im glad i did it.

Anyways as every DSLR owner knows the biggest problem in owning ONE DSLR (yes i want another body, can you buy me one please (trying to look cute and sorry) ) camera is you gotta change lenses often but hey thats not the problem, the problem is when you change lenses and if you are not 100% careful you get dust into your sensor. As time goes it accumulates and results in the form of picture dust, blotches and noise on the pictures you shoot.

Call it my bad day, my turn by fate or by time, 6 months into my new DSLR i have collected enough dust and one huge black blotch lodged itself on my viewfinder, even though the sensor in itself was clean i could see a black blotch which was annoying. So i decided to get my camera cleaned and went to the Canon Service Center, which is were the whole story begins…

I went to the Canon Service Center with my Warranty Card which contains valid warranty for the next 2 years. I was told that my Serial no of the camera body did not show up in their system and that i have to produce a proof of purchase.

For starters let me explain that in India 90% of the camera’s are purchased out of the grey market. My DSLR costs Rs. 36,600 as of today in the grey market and Rs. 46,500 in the Shop with genuine bill and warranty.

I brought mine legally from the shop. Canon 2 years Warranty instead of the regular one year + 1 GB SD Card free, that was the new year deal.

So back to the story again, i went there the next day and i produced the bill for my proof of purchase and a credit card slip and a statement and i was told that the camera would be serviced this time under warranty as the problem was simple but from the next time onwards its gonna be pay service.

I checked out Pay service and thats Rs. 2950 for evaluating the problem, repair and spares cost extra. I was now so stupefied i wondered why the beep do i have to pay 6% of my camera price every time just to find out what the beep is wrong with it when i (thought) purchased a genuine canon product from a authorized camera dealer.

I called the place where i purchased my camera and the dealer said that he does not know what the problem is. I got back to the canon service center and i spoke to the Sales manager of Canon who is one of the best idiots i’ve ever spoken to… why?

1. Worst Communication Skills
2. Bad manners (does not listen, interrupts while talking, gets irate, talks bad of his company canon!)
3. Gives you Illogical Bullshit that is beyond the scope of human capability and belief

(I should also include horrible English grammar but i forgive him for that since he appeared nothing less than an illiterate the way he spoke.)

So this sales manager dude says that my camera comes out of Singapore (so does every camera you idiot!) and that i need to fly to Singapore to get service!!!

He also had some valid points (yeah right!)…

1. Dealer not entering Serial No on the warranty card

-> I wrote it, so what if who writes it? Its there dumb ass! You just gotta fill it in.

2. Dealer has not registered the camera after he sold it.

-> Thats my responsibility not the dealers, thats why the freaking website (which does not work by the way!) has a “Register Your EOS Camera” page which is again NOT mentioned on the Owners manual. Nowhere in the world does the manual or anywhere on the website say you are NOT eligible for service under warranty if you don’t register your camera.

So going through this whole saga of bullshit i decided enough was enough and i escalated the problem to a senior VP for sales i knew through someone at canon in the USA. She called someone in Philippines and that guy called the country manager for canon and finally he called me.

I had a long list of crap to talk about with this manager who was sensible enough, he took down my camera body no# and offered to register my camera so that im eligible for warranty. He also made the service on a priority basis and had it done in 2 days time instead of the usual 1 week.

So long for the shitty part, now for the good part. Today someone called from Canon in delhi and confirmed details for my camera registration and offered me an option for a one day portrait photography workshop conducted by 6 of the best renowned field experts of canon (i dont know who) and an option of the workshop at delhi and mumbai. I picked Delhi since i thought i will use this excuse to see the capital of my contry, its been a long dream and yes see the “Taj Mahal” and “Akshardham – the world monument for peace” as well.

A week back i made a firm decision to stop the purchase of all canon lenses, sell my canon DSLR and switch to nikon and write to every newspaper i knew in the world as to how irresponsible canon is. Today although im not much pleased with the nightmare i had to go through canon fixed what they messed in the first place and yeah threw a bone for this dog who has a fetish for portraits! What more can a portrait mongrel want to wag its tail at? One day workshop conducted by the best canon folks from around the world.

Points to note here…

1. Indianism, people think the provider is the king and consumer is at the mercy. Well im telling ya, you ain’t no shit even if you are canon or hassleblad if you cannot keep a basic promise like “problem free service” for your clients money.

2. My camera dealer did not tell me about the Warranty only if registered clause, nor did the canon website or manual, not canon when i payed then Rs. 46,500 for their product. I don’t get it as to how a 2 rupee phone call is expensive for canon or a 1 paise junk email on this one. Again Indianism to the core, taking things for granted.

3. Americanism, i admire it. Accepting facts, acknowledging problems/mistakes, Acting upon it to rectify it.

4. Finally compensating the loss and making a strategic move to re-enforce lost faith and reiterate the commitment they have towards the money i paid for their camera and lenses and the few thousands of dollars i will invest in lenses and bodies for the next few years.

What i place before you is facts, i don’t want to specify names or places but i can discuss in person if you are into a problem like i did. I’ve gotten my way around (a threat of a multi mi
llion dollar lawsuit always works ) and i don’t mind helping you.

P.S. And why the hell did i write a long boring blog? because it’s my blog and you have no other option other than not reading it, LOL

Oh well seriously, i wanted to document it (nose grows big…)

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