So, get this… I got my 5D camera body back from Canon. I sent it off last Friday with a broken shutter (look for my previous post about how I destroyed it). I sent it two day Fedex, so they would’ve received it on Tuesday of this week. Well, I just got it back today – Friday, one week after I sent it – and that includes my slow shipping!
Talk about fast service!!! But, that’s not all. There’s more tale to tell…
So, I’m a member of Canon’s CPS. It stands for Canon Pro Services. You have to actually apply and show proof that you are a pro shooter, with minimum gear purchases and tear sheets proving you shoot for real and aren’t just some weekend warrior or soccer mom. I’ve been a CPS member for years now.
A while back, I got a certificate for $100 off any CPS service. However, I let it expire a good six months ago and never used it. Well, I put it in with my broken camera and crossed my fingers, hoping they would ignore the expiration date. They went ahead and took my certificate, even though they didn’t HAVE to. How nice/cool/awesome is that?!?
It was pretty important that I got the extra $100 off, because it turned out that only the parts were $300. There was still $300 in labor to deal with. I was originally assuming a $300 total bill, after the 20% discount that CPS members get. The total wound up being (with misc shipping, tax, etc) about $650, minus the $120 for my CPS 20% discount, minus the $100 from my certificate.
That extra $100 certificate made the cost a little easier to bear. $430 vs $530 (or $650 if I weren’t a CPS member), I’ll always take the $430 charge! Of course, I’d prefer a zero dollar charge, but that just wasn’t possible here.
Canon is so cool. fast service, really great customer care, and great products to begin with. I needed a company to love, and Canon came to the rescue!!!