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Kodak (Complaint)

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Darwin:
I did record the serial number. It was required as part of the RMA process. That's why I became suspicious of receiving a refurbished product when I noticed the serial number sticker looked as though it had been peeled away. It has the same serial number, but it looks as though it may have been removed from my original camera and placed on a refurbished one. I'm also suspicious because of the work order saying what the problem was and what the solution was, it doesn't sound like what the problem was at all!
-Deozaan (February 28, 2008, 04:28 PM)
--- End quote ---

That's even more disturbing. I guess you have to decide how big a fuss you want to make - to my mind it sounds as if you've had a substitute camera shipped back to you which is no doubt illegal - particularly given the attempt to hide the fact. The issue, though, is how do you go about fighting this? Chris' advice is excellent: contact a consumer advocacy group and find out what you can realistically expect to accomplish.

techidave:
Maybe we should start another thread to see who lives the farthest away from the nearest Wal Mart.  I am 45 miles.

cranioscopical:
... a lesson (that we should all take note of): always record the serial number of the equipment that you send off for repair. Prefereably a photograph.
-Darwin (February 28, 2008, 04:19 PM)
--- End quote ---

It's a very good point to make. Photos are good.
Where possible, engraving a concealed ownership mark onto an object is a good idea, too.
Didn't help Deozaan in this instance but...

Unfortunately the proliferation of email, voicemail, and internet-based communication bedevils a great many issues today. Warranty satisfaction is just one. It's far too easy for companies to hide behind such screens. Even some well-intentioned outfits seem to be disconnected from customers by what they must once have felt would be good tools to provide customer satisfaction.

OFW (old fart warning)SpoilerVeering off-topic here, the combination of increasing erosion of civil liberties combined with staggering levels of error in government data juxtaposed with the ever-increasing difficulty of contacting any party with initiative and authority (similar to what's been discussed in this topic) implies a problem of nightmare proportions for the 'guilty until proven innocent' world into which we're rushing headlong.

Deozaan:
Okay, well I fired off a scathing e-mail to test the waters and see what they would try to do to make it up to me. I basically just replied to everything they said in their last e-mail to me (the one I received after sending the e-mail I posted in the original post).

It was really nice because I was able to vent a lot of frustration, so if they screw up again, I'll probably just drop it.

If you're curious to read it, it will be embedded in the spoiler below. Oh, and I write my e-mails in plain text, so most of the time when I use CAPS it's meant as bold, not really shouting. :)

Click to see the amazing! The tranquil and peaceful Deozaan telling someone off!Kodak,

After taking a few weeks break from months of your infuriating customer support, I have decided to write back and once more express my EXTREME DISPLEASURE with you and the way you treat your customers.

> We understand your concern and we know that this
> can be very frustrating on your part. We do apologize
> for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Oh you think this might be frustrating? Let's go over the track record so far:

I use the ITG but don't find any troubleshooting steps that matched my problem, so I tried what seemed to be closest to my problem. After failing to solve the problem, the ITG tells me to e-mail you. I do. I get an automated response that says I'll get a reply within 24 hours. I'm an understanding person when it comes to delays and expected that to really mean 24-48 hours. However, EIGHT DAYS LATER (192 hours) I finally get a response that tells me to use the ITG to isolate my problem. What kind of useless response it that? The e-mail you received from me included the form information from the ITG, very clearly stating that I sent you that e-mail from the ITG!

I e-mailed back and reminded you of these facts, to which I received a reply to call customer support. So I did. I talked to a support representative who didn't sound like she knew much about camera troubleshooting, in fact, we followed the exact same steps I took with the ITG. Yeah, that same one that didn't really match what the problem was. After that didn't work she took my information, gave me an RMA #, and transferred me to a recorded message with information about how and where to send the camera in.

So I listened to the very long recorded message about what to do and how to do it, and finally at nearly the very end of the recorded message it told me the address to send it to. To my surprise, the company I was sending it to wasn't Kodak. It was Teleplan International. And to my great dismay, I couldn't understand what the recorded message was saying and I couldn't even write down the address fast enough before it went on to the next part. So when the recording finished and gave me the option of repeating it, I repeated it. I needed to know where to send it to and I wasn't able to understand the company name and I wasn't able to write down all the address because it went by too quickly. So as I said, I listed to it again.

Once again I didn't understand the company name, but I got the address. So I repeated it again.

Once again I didn't understand the company name. So I repeated it again.

Again, I could not make out the company name. Finally I settled on "Teleprime International" and hung up the phone in utter frustration.

Do you know how long it took me just trying to decipher the company name? That recorded message is easily 5-10 minutes long, and the company name and address is at the very end, which means at best it took me 20 minutes before I gave up. At worst it took about 40 minutes before I gave up.

Already very angry about what has just happened, I go to my computer and find that all that information that was in the recorded message was e-mailed to me. If I had been informed that I would be e-mailed all that information, it would have saved me a lot of time and anger, and it would have saved YOU from part of my anger that you're receiving today.

So finally I got the camera sent in and after about 3 weeks it came back, fully functional as promised, but in a terrible, sorry state!

I can't even believe that it's the same camera I sent in! It was filthy. It has a deep scratch on it. There is crap underneath the glass screen that I can't get out without taking it apart. There were pictures on the internal memory that were taken at Wal-Mart (which I'll reiterate: THE CAMERA WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW AT BEST BUY AND HAS NEVER BEEN TO WAL-MART UNDER OUR CARE!). The work order for what was wrong and what the solution was does not seem to match what I sent in the camera for. And to top it all off, it looks as though the serial number might have been peeled off the camera I sent in and stuck on this dirty, filthy, damaged camera!

But that's not even the end of my terrible experience with you guys.

I wrote in again to express my great displeasure with my service so far, and the reply I got was nothing. Just a blank empty e-mail message. Hey, that's an honest mistake. I've accidently sent off a blank e-mail before. But in the process of doing that, I notice what I've done and send off a real e-mail. I figured that is what you would do, so I waited, expecting a real response shortly. Finally after FOUR DAYS and no further correspondence with you my patience was ended and I told you that a blank e-mail is not a good response.

So do you think that by writing a couple of lines about how you understand my "concern" and that it might be a teensy little bit frustrating on my part, that, suddenly those words make me feel like rainbows and sunshine? That's a rhetorical question to which the answer should be readily apparent by this time in this e-mail.

> We will do our very best to help you.

I should certainly hope so! Unfortunately you have proven to me so far that most likely your best is about as close to absolute ineptitude as you can get.

> Feedback is very important to Kodak, so we thank
> you for taking the time to share your comments
> about the status of your camera.  With your help,
> we will be able to make our repair center aware of
> what has happened to your camera.  If you have
> other ideas, find any problems, have suggestions or
> comments, or just want to share your thoughts
> about Kodak products or services, please let us know.

I'm glad you feel that way. I bet you're thanking me for this right now...

So here are a couple more thoughts about Kodak products or services:

Your cameras suck. Over $200 for a brand new camera and it broke down in less than 2 months. I've gotten electrical gizmos with moving parts out of vending machines that lasted longer than that, and they only cost a quarter.

Your customer service sucks even more! Your ITG was worthless. Your e-mail support is practically worthless. Your phone support was only helpful in that it finally got me the information I needed to get the camera fixed, but absolutely frustrating in that I had to take at least 20 minutes listening to the same recorded message trying to understand what should be simple and painless instructions on how to send the camera back. And that's not including being on hold, getting transferred to the right people, and troubleshooting with the same worthless ITG steps before getting to that recorded message.

Finally, your repair center is absolutely terrible! In all fairness, the problem I sent the camera in for was resolved, but not without massive collateral damage.

> Your current comments are going to be seen by the
> right people and you can be rest assured, your voice has been heard.

If my voice was heard, I don't think it was understood. So I'm writing again with a louder voice.

> Now, with regard to your camera, we advise you to
> contact Teleplan International repair center directly by
> phone (1.956.843.6801) as it is very advisable that
> there is direct communication between you and Teleplan.

I believe this should be YOUR job, since YOU are the ones who subcontract your repairs with such a shoddy repair center! Why should I have to spend MORE time and frustration dealing with Teleplan? I didn't buy anything from them. I bought something from YOU. My warranty is with YOU. You guys are the geniuses who decided to use Teleplan to repair my camera, YOU talk to them and take care of this mistake.

> If you would like to resend your camera back to the
> repair center, then we need to inform you that if you
> are still within the 45 days from the date that you received
> your camera from the repair center, then you need to
> send back your camera to the same repair center for a
> repeat repair.

WHY ON EARTH would I want to send my camera back to the same place that mishandled, abused, and damaged it in the first place?

> You will not be charged for the repair cost for this.

I won't be charged for the repair cost? Oh thanks, that makes me feel so much better. Just like how I wasn't charged for the repair cost the first time. Well, you know, except for that little out of pocket expense called INSURED SHIPPING! But yeah, I see how it is. Try to make me feel better by telling me I'm getting something for free, then throw in the little fine print about how I still have to pay for shipping AGAIN.

Can you imagine someone buying a shiny new BMW, and in a couple of months the radio stops working, so they call the support number listed on the warranty, they tell him to take it to Hillbilly Joe's Garage to fix it and it is returned with a working radio, but also filthy, scratched up, and with a damaged interior? Do you think such a person would be pacified with the people he bought the car and warranty from telling him "We understand your concern and how this might be frustrating for you. Thanks for your feedback. Oh, and if you want this repaired, you need to talk to Hillbilly Joe's Garage yourself and take it back in to them for more work."

That is absolutely not acceptable!

> Please follow the link below for you to setup your camera for repair:
> http://www.kodak.com/go/itg

Oh great, another person linking me back to your worthless ITG.

> We are glad to be of service and are here for you if you
> need us in the future. If you do reply, please be sure to
> include any previous e-mail so we may assist you better.

Did you ever hear the saying, "Who needs enemies with friends like these?"

Alright, so let me summarize. Everything you've done for me has been terribly frustrating and unsatisfactory. My camera was brand new, and malfunctioned within two months of purchase. I should be entitled to a brand new, non-malfunctioning camera. Instead I had to pay to send my camera off to be mishandled (seriously, why take it to Wal-Mart?), abused, damaged, and with more problems I can't fix myself without voiding the warranty (opening it up to get that crap out from underneath the screen). And now you're telling me that I need to take more of my time and effort and send it back to that terrible place?

I don't think so!

YOU need to fix this with all the urgency your company can muster. If you can't do it, I need to talk to your manager. If your manager can't, I need to talk to his. Et cetera and so forth. I don't care if I have to talk to the president of Kodak. I've saved all my e-mails, I've got everything logged, I'm sure he'll be happy to accommodate a simple request like mine and just DO WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I've worked in customer service and technical support before. I know that the best thing a company has going for it is word of mouth. If you think the words coming out of my mouth (okay, being typed in an e-mail) that are being directed to YOU are unpleasant, you will not believe the things I'll say to everyone I know in person and in online communities.

[signature]

P.S. Now, I know that would be a great place to end, and you're probably wishing it was. But as I said, I've worked both in customer service and technical support and I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of an angry customer. I know that I've been harsh, but I would not have been if I didn't feel it was necessary to get my point across. I've already tried multiple times to express my displeasure with Kodak's service through more amicable means, but it just wasn't getting through. Understand that this is not to be taken personally. I have no qualms with you personally, and I really am sorry that you are the one who has to deal with this.

Please, just do what you need to do to fix this.

Darwin:
I should certainly hope so! Unfortunately you have proven to me so far that most likely your best is about as close to absolute ineptitude as you can get.

--- End quote ---

Classic! Nicely done, Deozaan. I'm copying the text and will be modifying it to meet different needs over the coming decades - couldn't have said any of it better myself! Good job  :Thmbsup:

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