Buyer beware - Nikon repair service

[bcotter]

I have been buying Nikon gear for many years. Now that I need something repaired I'm really regretting it.

I sent a Coolscan scanner into Nikon's Melville NY office for repair and they sent me an estimate on 8/13. I immediately approved it and they charged it to my credit card.

The online status form then showed it moving through their repair process. On 8/17 it showed as completed and ready to ship. Since then nothing has changed. I've called Nikon and keep getting promises that they will look into it and call me with an update but no one ever does call. Yesterday I spoke to a supervisor named Arshad who promised without a question of a doubt that it would go out overnight and that he would call me with the tracking number. Well, it didn't ship. I tried him back but the agent who answered said he was really busy and would have to get to me tomorrow.

I tried their corporate number in Melville and have left voice mails but haven't heard anything at all back.

Nikon may make great equipment but at this stage their customer "service" is about the worst I have experienced. They have my gear, they have charged me for the repair, but they haven't sent it back and I have no idea what is going on.

I'm open to any suggestions on what to do next. In the meantime, buyer beware.

Bill

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Took 6 weeks for my D7000 to be returned for a simple warranty job.

 

[ceejtank]

call your credit card company (if that's how you paid for it) and file a complaint. They'll fight it out for you.

 

[Derrel]

I sent my Nikon D1 to their California repair center through my local professional photo store dealership, to have the diaphragm actuation lever inside the camera fixed; it quit working, and would NOT stop down any lenses. They "repaired it", and sent it back, and the dealer bill was $704!!!!!!!! I balked, and got the bill reduced--the DEALER had marked up the repair cost QUITE a bit....and guess what? NIKON had 'effed up the repair!!!! Pressing the depth of field preview button causes the D1 to trigger off three frames!!!!!

Doah! Talk about a ****-up instead of a fix-up!

 

[cgipson1]

Oh well.. at least no one's hands are turning black, right? lol!

 

[KmH]

Similar stories have been told here regarding Canon, Sigma, Pentax, Sony, and just about every camera makers warranty repair. So, this time it's a Nikon story.
Similar stories are all over the Internet regarding pretty much every kind of consumer product made.

"Life's a beach, and then you swim." - or something like that.

 

[molested_cow]

Well, if you are not using the warranty, I'd suggest KEH. I had my F4S overhauled by them. It was a prompt and well done service.

 

[jrizal]

It is the generally the problem in a country where land mass is huge like the US unless you live nearby a service center. If something messes up, you'll experience a lot of hassle. I live in LA and fortunately for me a lot of manufacturers have a service centers within a 30-40 mile radius. Still some distance to cover, but I don't have to mail my device and immediately get it if it's already repaired. And if there's something wrong I can got to the service center to arrange things. I guess, we have to live with it. Not exactly an ideal situation though for others...

PS It's sometimes worth to purchase replacement warranty for high ticket items so that it will be immediately be replaced by the store although online purchases are a different issue. The real downside is that if you didn't from Nikon USA, then Nikon won't repair your gear even if you are willing to pay full price.