Sony Support/Service - My opinion

[Heidfirst]

Barry, were you speaking to Pencoed directly?
If, as I suspect, you weren't but to general Sony tele support who also handle TV, DVD, PC etc. etc. you may well do better speaking directly to Pencoed.
Certainly in the UK you would be well within your rights to reject it for a full refund from the supplier & there are certainly s/h ones available should you wish to replace it (LCE had a couple & they would come with a 6 month warranty from them).

[bfitzgerald]

This was the UK number I was given
0870-240-8060

[bfitzgerald]

Another update I got this email this morning.

Dear Mr Fitzgerald

Thank you for your patience.

Please accept my apologies that I could not contact the service centre yesterday regarding your Alpha A57 repair, I have contacted them this morning and would like to update you with the following:

- The camera has been received on board on the 4th of February from BAVS centre in Ireland.

- They ordered 4 parts for it on the 5th and the 11th.

- They are still waiting for the parts to arrive so far.

- By the middle of next month, in case the parts have not arrived, they will look into exchanging the camera.

Regarding your complaint about the length of time the repair has taken, I will do my best with my manager to discuss it after you receive the camera back.
Please reply to me once you receive the camera from the repair centre so I can take it from there.

Please never hesitate to reply to this email in case you need any further help.



Looks like they are not playing ball they have no spare parts in stock and the number of parts has gone up from 2 to 4 spare parts!
I'm not sure how emailing support "after I get the camera back" is going to help me how? What an apology that the repair has taken so long or a genuine effort to appease a customer who has waiting a long time for a solution?

I have not replied so far, other than refusing to accept a repair (ie not accepting a delivery at the door) I'm not sure what I can do to put more pressure on them.

[bfitzgerald]

I replied to that email and said maybe I'm better off with a Canon as they would have sorted the problems out by now (well likely a lot sooner)
I also questioned what "compensate me" means

I got this back

Dear Mr Fitzgerald

Thank you for your reply.
I quite appreciate your concern about the length of the repair of your Alpha.
In response to your queries, I would like to advise of the following:

1- This delay is most probably because the Irish authorized Centre exported the camera to Sony Central in the UK for some procedural reason that, unfortunately , I’m not aware of.

2- The costs of the repair and the major parts order matter is a very appreciated perspective, however, this is purely related to the repair centre and Sony policy calculations. With all respect to your point of view which I agree with, only the engineers know which parts are needed and if they are major or not.

3- In order for me to discuss a compensation for this inconvenient delay , I will need to have a full picture of the experience and a full report to be able to assist you, therefore, I would appreciate that you reply to me when you have received the camera already.

I hope that the above answers your query and please never hesitate to reply to this email in case you need any further help.



So I will have no choice but to wait (I don't expect anything to happen by next week) probably a few weeks more. I'm curious though to see what the "compensate me" aspect is, doesn't sound too exciting maybe a free lens cap! But I will update things if I get the camera back (you can be sure I'll be checking it very thoroughly for creaking and not being put back properly)

I probably will end up writing a letter to Sony as over a Month has passed (a time I would consider to have had the repair done or a replacement)
Not a great experience and it seems Sony are too tight to replace the camera and would rather pay for a main board and other components and pay someone to take it apart and put it back, which considering the estimated margins on these things is rather strange.

Still that's the story other than refusing to accept the delivery if and when it turns up I don't seem to have a lot of choice in the matter. It makes it hard to suggest people look at Sony they have a rather snail like repair process and you have to fight just to get some basic information. Unimpressive is a gross understatement.

[bfitzgerald]

Next week marks the seventh week since the camera was sent off. And amazingly no camera!
I've had to resort to some very strong emails reminding Sony of their legal responsibility under the sale of goods act to repair/replace the product.

What should have been a fairly simple procedure, has in fact turned into one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever heard of (let alone experienced first hand)
Even with a delay in spare parts I'm struggling to see how you can take this long to sort it out. I will say though, it's been a real eye opener!

[MarcoC]

Sorry you have had such a bad experience Barry.

Can't help wondering - could you not have returned the camera to the point of purchase and ask for an exchange for a new one? Too late now, but in your OP you said the camera was only 2 weeks old

Next week marks the seventh week since the camera was sent off. And amazingly no camera!
I've had to resort to some very strong emails reminding Sony of their legal responsibility under the sale of goods act to repair/replace the product.

What should have been a fairly simple procedure, has in fact turned into one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever heard of (let alone experienced first hand)
Even with a delay in spare parts I'm struggling to see how you can take this long to sort it out. I will say though, it's been a real eye opener!

[bfitzgerald]

No it was not 2 weeks old I posted over 2 weeks having "sent it back"
The seller did not have another A57 at the time and I did not expect such a long delay from Sony on this (I'd have expected a 2-3 week turnaround at most)

Evidently the camera is on it's way back. I can't comment on the repair until it arrives, but clearly I will have to write to Sony to complain about the length of time and lack of communication. I would advise in most circumstances going back to the retailer if a fault develops (but you can go to the maker or seller it is probably quicker to go to the seller). This was a kind of a Sony test (I was curious to see how they did), and they failed it in spectacular fashion.

I'll report back on what the repaired A57 is like, you can be certain I'll be looking over it very closely in every respect.

[bfitzgerald]

Update:
I got the camera back yesterday and it was well packaged (some small credit where it's due), but did not include a report about the parts replaced.
The body looked fine and there was no obvious issues with the re-build, no creaking on the body.

The level indicator is now accurate and works properly
Unfortunately the "green line issue" has not been resolved (sigh)

After all this time..well I am lost for words
I have contacted support again to explain the situation, will report back with more information.

[Atgets_Apprentice]

Update:
I got the camera back yesterday and it was well packaged (some small credit where it's due), but did not include a report about the parts replaced.

That's par for the course, in my experience, Barry. When my a580 came back, I had to contact them and DEMAND details of what had been done.

The level indicator is now accurate and works properly
Unfortunately the "green line issue" has not been resolved (sigh)

After all this time..well I am lost for words
I have contacted support again to explain the situation, will report back with more information.

Refund time, I'd say......

[classiccameras]

Barry
You have been treated very unprofessionally and deserve better.

I would tell them that you are putting all the details on Facebook. They hate that because its negative publicity world wide.

Seriously, its time to jump ship.

The first sign of problems with my A37 and it goes in the skip, not worth sending to Sony and Fuji here I come.

Pete

[bfitzgerald]

I'll probably have to go back to the retailer on this one.
I will give Sony the chance to have their say (I don't expect much from them so far they've not done a decent job in every way esp communications)
And they ignored my request previous for a replacement (which now seems to have been the right approach)

As for jumping ship there is only one boat left in town, Canon. The Fuji X series looks interesting enough though it's early days for that, some not bad lenses out though, but not a lot of them.
If I did jump ship I would have to offload everything I own A mount to make it worthwhile

[bfitzgerald]

I got an email from Sony asking me to send it back to Pencoed. I've informed them that if they can't find a proper solution to the problem I will be taking it back to the retailer.

I expect that I will go down to the shop and try to get a replacement for the time being, if they don't have any in stock then I will have to wait a bit (or take the refund and buy a Canon 60d or something like that!). Sony just don't seem to understand the concept of "customer service" it's as if it's ok to have a stupidly long turn around time, then a failed repair and still not be forthcoming with a replacement.

It's difficult to want to deal with this company again. I will have to sit down and think about this one

[classiccameras]

At least you will have a vast range of Canon and third party lenses to choose from, not to mention a huge second hand market.

I already use the little Fuji X10 and although a fixed lens and small sensor, it produces superb pictures. Its because of this that the new X-E1 has been on my short list as a possible system to transfer to. As you say, lens choice is still quite small. What they already do would satisfy my simple needs but I guess not enough for the more profesional users amongst us. Plus i'm not sure that using a range finder system is going to be better or as good as an SLR.

I'm lucky enough to have the Canon UK Service centre very near, about 3 miles away, so if I did go Canon and there was a fault, I could speak to them eye to eye. They do have a good reputation for customer support.
Do you prefer Canon over Nikon.

[bfitzgerald]

I'm more interested in Canon full frame than APS-C, but I'm mostly interested in stuff that works!
I went back to the retailer and they have had it picked up and it will be forwarded to Pencoed (I am told it has to go back to the Sony factory there)
They were fine and it's in line with their policy (ie after 5 months of ownership send for repair) I just wanted to avoid any extra costs so I can't complain about their policy.

I did explain in detail about the repair and delay previously to them and showed them the "green line" issue. I will be writing a letter to Sony to complain about the inability to repair the camera properly (puzzling considering the details and sample CD I sent them) and the lengthy delays. I don't expect to see the camera for a good few weeks. I was concerned to see the file number up to nearly 8000 when it was under 2000 when I sent it off (one wonders why that happened tons of shots?)

Where I go from here is another interesting question. The Fuji X system looks interesting and I like the sensor technology and the style of bodies, but I don't know enough about it or the situation with flash etc etc.
Canon well you can never ignore the top maker (DxO scores aside!) they do have a huge range and you can get anything you want. I cannot look at Nikon again, not after 5 bodies with serious AF issues, more talk about sensor splats and QC problems. I did like Nikon in a lot of ways, great flash system (shames Sony here), bodies are fine for handling + well featured. No way I'm going through that hassle again I think 5 tries is more than any maker deserves. Pentax well the K-5II does seem nice, but I can't help but wonder where they are going and the small lens range and s/h market is a problem, and I can't say I think much of their customer support either.

At the moment I can't do much until that body returns, but I will complain and in a way which I feel expresses my frustration at poor service. I am in 2 minds on this, I have mostly a fairly complete system on A mount (for both APS-C and FF) including flash certainly more than adequate for my needs, there would not be much more to add to this set up if I am honest. If I decide to try Canon I don't at the moment have the resources to invest in FF, that's not a huge issue as long as you avoid too many APS-C lenses. But I have to start from scratch, and it also takes time to get used to things every maker is different.

I am also well aware that many of these vintage Minolta lenses are not actually worth that much! Which is great if you are a buyer, not so great if you are trying to sell it off. I will have to sit down and try to calculate what I could get for offloading the entire A mount inventory I have, including film bodies and accessories etc. It might add up to a not bad sum will have to see. The other option is to keep what I have and maybe try the Fuji X stuff down the road, as I don't tend to shoot at longer focal lengths much it "might" be good enough for portrait/wedding shooting. If I like it then I could offload the A mount stuff, or just keep some of it for other duties and secondary service (ie action stuff etc)

Having tried twice to change mounts I think the best way to do it is sell everything all gone.

[alphaomega]

A thoroughly disconcerting story told by Barry fitzgerald about his A57. Personally I have not had a similar problem with Sony. If that happened I am lucky in having cover in that I have A580/550, NEX-6/5N and if my RX100 went out of action the NEX-6 with 16-50 could cover although less compact. Canon cameras look good and price competitive at the moment. My recommendation is that a spare SLT camera would probably be cheaper than a complete conversion to Canon.