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Horrible Contax Service in Canada

G

Guest

I bought my first Contax body (RX) several week ago on Ebay and decided to buy my first CZ lens (50mm 1.7) new from a local supplier.

Five weeks later it has turned into an ordeal and my patience are wearing thin.

I ordered the lens on January 27 from Aden Photographic in Toronto Ontario Canada. The expected time of delivery if the supplier had the lens in stock was 3 days. If the supplier didn't have the lens in stock it was expected to be 7-10 days. After two full weeks I had not heard a word from Aden so I began phoning every day or two to see if the lens had arrived. This continued until last Friday when they told me that they had contacted Contax in New Jersey (not the Toronto distributer) and were told that the lens was due to arrive on Monday February 17.

By mid afternoon that Monday I had not heard from Aden so I phoned them. They explained that the lens would either arrive later that afternoon or the next day. Tuesday I phoned back and the manager explained to me that the snow storm that hit the East coast of the US had haulted all trucks and that the lens would be delayed for a day or two. This hardly makes any sense at all since obviously if someone in New Jersey was able to give a suggested time of delivery, the lens had already been sent.

Today I decided that enough was enough and I began placing calls to Kyocera in New Jersey and in Toronto myself. After being on hold in New Jersey for 45 minutes I hung up and tried a different extension. I talked to a nice guy who informed me that they had 24 CZ 50mm 1.7 lenses in stock, that they had not experience any delays due to the storm, and that they ship dealer orders either the day they recieve them or the next day. If they ship the order within a day of when the order being recieved and they have the 24 lenses in stock then why on earth has it been this long.

I immediately thanked the agent for his help and phoned Aden to inform them of the information I received. The manager informed me that he places his orders through the Toronto distributer who in turn places the order with the New Jersey distributer so all the information he recieves is through the Toronto Office and not the New Jersey one. So he gave me the phone number for the Canadian supplier (who I did not previously attmempt to contact since it was obvious the lens was being shipped from New Jersey) and I spent all afternoon trying to talk to someone there.

The Toronto Office has an automated system to direct calls with four options- Service Desk, Repairs and Parts, Directions, and Operator. First, I selected Service Desk where I got an answering machine explaining that the Service Desk women was on vacation until the 27. The message gave the names and extension numbers for 4 people to contact in regards to service. So I hung up and tried all 4 of the extension numbers but none of them were recognized as valid extension numbers. Unbelievable! So I phoned the main line and selected the second option Repairs and Parts and i got another answering machine. This time, I recieved directions on who to phone if your Yashica or Kyocera digital camera needs to be repaired. The number turned out to be the New Jersey Distributer.

So I hung up and phoned the main Toronto line again this time selecting to speak with the Operator. Oh course I got another answering machine. So I left two messages the first one explaining who I am and why I was calling and the second one complaining about the service. I specifically requested to be contacted before they closed since it is a Friday but by 5:00 I had not recieved a call. I phoned again and left a message once again complaining about the service and requested that I be called immediately on Monday morning.

I absolutely cannot believe the service I recieved. It was literally as though there was no one in the office. I also cannot believe that the person who operates the Service Desk would go on vacation for such a long period of time (the 7th-27th) and leave four faulty contacts. I forget exactly how I got through to the message bod but at one other point, I recieved a message explaining that I could not leave a message because the message box was full!

Needless to say I am extremely tired and angry from having to deal with this. I had to sell my Pentax Equippment to fund the purchase of the RX and the lens. I did so with the understanding that I would be without a camera for 10 days at the most but more likely (the 1.7 50mm is a popular lens) only 3 days. I have now been without a camera for 4 and a half weeks!

Chris
Toronto Ontario Canada
 
Hi Chris,

Seeing as you bought your RX is Ebay (as did I), how about buying your lens there? As I did.
It would be a lot quicker and you would be better of in your wallet.

Paul
 
Update: I sent edited copies of my original post to Kyocera in New Jersey, San Diago, Toronto, and Germany. This morning I recieved a phone call from a representative in New Jersey who had not recieved the e-mail I sent him directly but rather a forwarded version from the head office in San Diago. Apparently, the Head Office in San Diago was fairly angry about the service I had recieved and forwarded the message to New Jersey right away.

The person I talked to was very nice and sympathedic. He called to let me know that he had recieved the e-mail and the San Diago as well as the New Jersey offices were very concerned about the service I recieved from the distributer in Toronto.

Unfortunately because it is a weekend, he cannot access the computer systems to find out exactly what went wrong with my order but he is going to call me back first thing Monday morning to tell me the details.

This phone call has definately restored some faith and I am glad that they are concerned. This was the first time anyone from Kyocera or from Aden Photographic (the store I ordered the lens through) has contacted me.

Chris
Toronto Ontario
 
> What'd be really nice is if Kyocera restored the Canadian office and the great people that worked there like Greg, Akira, Larry and Dino. Fat chance though. I had a great relationship with them and their service dept. If you need good Contax parts and repair people around Toronto, I'd be happy to pass them on. For now I'd look to ebay for equipment. Good luck, Jeff
 
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