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Panasonic Service Questions
Dear Steve, Jeff and all at Panasonic
We all love your cameras and the quality of your online support. However the service side of the company is a mess. I have so many parts I am waiting for. Some well over a month and counting.
Your talented engineers are overworked and I feel like I am harrassing them everytime I call to check on status.
If it was as simple as just being patient it wouldnt be an issue. I have lots of patience. However every day a piece of equipment is down is a financial hardship. I dread having a problem with your cameras. Subrenting for a month costs a lot.I dont ever deal directly with Sony service on their equipment, but use many of the talented certified independent engineers who can work on their products. Rarely does it ever take a week to get things fixed ( parts order included ). But I have yet to find any independent who will work on Varicams, SDX’s , decks etc. The ones I trust refuse because they have been frustrated getting parts and info. Including one of my favorite engineers who works across the street from your HQ in LA.
So I hope you are all aware of these problems and are trying to talk to Japan about how to resolve them. In the meantime please advise if I am going about getting good fast service in the wrong manner. If there are independent engineers who can help me I would really like to know about them.
Thanks
John Chater
San FranciscoI
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6 Replies
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John,
Not that this help much but the Sony Service Center customer service leaves much to be desired (the senior engineers who I have met there are great in contrast to the administrative staff who scores a zero) . Having freelance engineers who are qualified to service various manufacturers equipment is a major bonus.
It seems that many large companies have a problem with quick turnaround in the service department problems which could be caused by not employing enough engineers on staff, budget cuts, unavailability of parts.
John let me know your email address and I will send you my recommendation for an outside engineer to consult with. The engineer I will recommend is one of the best I have found, quite knowledgeable as well as honest and works on both Sony and Panasonic gear.
Tony Salgado
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Hi Tony
I agree. I have no problem with the people at Panasonic Service either. Jim Fast in LA is one of the most talented and generous engineers. I have learned so much from talking with him. I just tire of having to harass everyone constantly to make sure they are getting to my equipment. Often there is nothing they can do because parts seem really back ordered. Now they appear to have added the HVX to their list of responsibilites.
Please email me at: john at chatercamera dot com. Any references to good independent factory authorized engineers would be welcome.
Best
John -
It is a shame about the poor turn around on service at Panasonic. I send my paint box to NJ for service just after Thanksgiving. I called and emailed a number of times and each time I was told that the parts were out of stock and there was nothing they could do until they came in. It wasn’t until my sales rep. talked to someone that the unit showed up a few days later. One person said that the parts just came in and another told me that there was nothing wrong with the unit in the first place. Doesn’t give me a lot of hope as I now have to send the camera in to have the top cover replaced on the case. Add to that my new LH-1700 has dead pixels in it. Bought it just befroe NAB and figured I limp by until after the show since the entire industry shuts down then. I can see it now.
Ship them to NJ and put a gone fishin’ sign on the door. Too bad we can’t take the time to pay they take to repair.
But given all of that, I still love that camera.Best to all
Dale West
Dale West Video
12225 NE 13th Court
North Miam, FL 33161
305-892-1201 -
Hi Guys,
I shared this thread with our President John Baisley and our Service Manager, Barry Gostomski. Please know that we are aware of the problem and are in the process of resolving the problem. We apologize for the hardships that these delays have caused and hope that as we move forward you will let us know if we are improving. It should take us maybe another month or so, so please hang in there with us, we will make it better, as our customers are very important to us.
Thanks,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Thanks Jan
Thats really great news.
Please try for a worst case turn around of around one week for any pro product. I know that this is a sizeable task for any company, but the trust and confidence this will bring to your customers will pay Panasonic dividends.Best
John -
Just wanted to share that we had a 1 day turnaround on a 1200A we had to ship from Atlanta to New Jersey for service. I notified my local reseller that, as usual, this was a very tight production schedule and I needed the deck back as soon as possible.
He contacted Panasonic directly and gave me a name to ship the deck to. They fixed it within about 2 hours and turned it right back around to me the same day. So it was only out of house 48 hours.
That was exactly what we needed and I know that the direct communication between my VAR and Panasonic was a huge help in making sure the deck was turned around as quickly as possible. We were thrilled to get the machine back so fast and I was very happy that the Panasonic technician took the time to call me and tell me exactly what was wrong and what they did to fix it.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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