aidanfindlater.com

I hope I’m not infringing any CBC copyrights with that title…

As you may or may not be aware, I took Drew’s camera (Canon S200) on the backpacking trip while he ‘field tested’ his parent’s new camera (Canon SD400). This is because my camera (Canon S400) was in Staples’ hands, being repaired. Here’s the story, from first call to pickup: (for just a quick summary, scroll down to the bottom)

• May 3: Camera is all broked up. By this I mean it was dropped (not by me!) and the case broke open. I snapped it back together, but the review button wasn’t working afterwards. Good thing I have an Extended Service Plan from Staples!
• May 4, morning: Call the number on the ESP form. Super-easy, got my case number no hassles.
• May 4, afternoon: Walk into the local Staples armed with my camera, my ESP form, and my case number. Found a salesperson. This was the first ESP repair the guy had taken (mostly they just replace, not repair), so it took a little while. It was really painless, though: “Wait here while I find someone else. Wait here a little more while we run about. Sign this form. Sign this too. Okay, that’s it.”

Up to this point, I was feeling genuinely satisfied with spending $60 on something Consumer Reports recommends against. Everything’s been really easy, no worries mate. I’m leaving in two weeks to Montreal, and I promised the guy I’m visiting that I’d bring the camera. Two weeks doesn’t seem like too soon to hope for, does it? In fact, it was. I had to borrow Justin’s Nikon to get the job done. This is about when I phone Staples ESP centre.

• May 20: First phone call to them. I’m told that they aren’t authorized to repair Canon cameras so they had to send it to an authorized repair centre. The guy I was talking to isn’t allowed to call them for me, but he can call the Staples repair people and leave a message for them to call the Canon repair people. Uhhh… Okay. I just have to call back in a few hours to see what their reply is. I forget to call back.
• May 22:Another call to them. I’m told the same thing (it’s with Canon’s people, it’s out of our hands), only this person didn’t offer to do that convoluted thing. I didn’t press it.
• May 25:Third call. Same story.

It’s nearing the end of May and I have other things to worry about now, like putting off studying organic chemistry. My cell phone bills also appear to be following some increasing exponential function, so I’m loathe to make any calls. I’ve misplaced June’s phone bill, so I’m not sure if I called them again, but the answer wouldn’t have changed.

Then, suddenly, it’s home time.

• June 25: Leave for Regina, camera-less. Visit friends, camera-less. Go on a weeklong backpacking trip with a surrogate. This is when I’m really hating Staples the most.
• July 19: Back in Kingston.
• July 20 (today): Call up Staples ESP centre to see if they’ve finished. She tells me that the camera was shipped back to the Kingston Staples, and that the shipment was verified to have arrived on July 12th. She offers to call them up and make sure it’s there, but I tell her I’ll do that myself. Then I do. After a long wait, I find out they have it. Oh boy. I walk down to Staples, tell them I’m there for my camera, they make me sign something. Then finally, it’s in my hands again.

I somehow managed to walk out of there with the bill that the Canon repair people sent Staples. How much was the repair, you ask? They billed parts and labour for… wait for it… $242.78. Whoa! That’s one hell of a little button, eh? And now, the quick-pick-summary, including info gleaned from the recently acquired documents:

• Drop off at local Staples: May 4, 2005.
• Arrived at Canon people: May 11, 2005
• Repairs completed by Canon people, sent back to Staples ESP centre: June 25th
• Confirmed to arrive at local Staples: July 12th
• Total time until return: 2 months, 8 days
• Cost to me of ESP: $59.99 pre-tax
• Cost to Staples of repair: $242.78
• My savings (approximate): $182

Was $182 worth two months without my camera? I don’t think so. You can’t really argue with saving $182, especially as a student, but I almost would have rather got a $242 in-store credit to buy another camera. At least then I would have had a working camera.

The bottom line: Very simple for me to get the camera repaired, but a two month repair time is fucking ridiculous. Satisfaction: low.

Pump it or dump it? Decide for yourself.

P.S. For those who want to know, the company that took a month and a half to repair the switch was InterTan Technical Services. I’d recommend not using them in the future.