I don't know why I feel this will be one of my best written postings. A creed of anger? A "Rage-quit" in proper English? Perhaps I'll get it proof checked by my English teacher then get it published as a book.
This post is completely relevant to the video aspect of my CSX railfanning, and is why I have not been able to come up with video progress nor tutorials of the benchwork.
So you know I am regularly, by convention, an HD videotaper. Only recently, November the 6th, the camcorder gave up for the first time. The electrical problem prevented it from starting up at all costs and receiving any form of power or electric contact. My camcorder had become a vegetable, for what it's worth!
The first transaction with the servicemen at Panasonic went reasonably smoothly. Even at a cost of 119.00, within warranty (cheap-asses), I managed to establish a firm case order and send the product to the nearest repair center, in Texas, for repair. It was a bit of work of course to do it, packing, pre-paying shipping, etc, but I was praying for a smooth exchange when I mailed it off on Sunday, November 27th.
The repair lasted from December 6th until the 13th (when that day I experienced a Doral Trolley ride that gave me more reason to appreciate the driver I regularly see - as a friend) and they shipped it back the 15th. Happy, dandy business; fortunately I withdrew plans to go to the Tampa Golden Spike Train Show one week in advance so as to not expend money for the right to videotape trains and Laygoes with a phone.
The camcorder arrived the 20th. I did feel like I won the lottery, at least a little bit; it was a refurbished camcorder and almost looked new. Unfortunately, on the 22nd, I had a little boo-boo at Tropical park and was filming myself on the bike, but that was NOT the cause of the camcorder to not power up. The little incident was very minor in scope and only did a couple of scratches to the camcorder. It worked for 6 more days.
The camcorder stopped working on the 28th, when it would not charge in the electrical outlet at the Anatolia restaurant in Boca. So purely, it's THEIR screw up that left me without a camcorder. They did not do enough of a job fixing it; all they did was create another hassle and I hope the person who did this poor job pays dearly for it. So I started wondering, "Do I have no right to have a camcorder anymore?"
We called Panasonic technical support on the 30th and they said the repair will now be on them. YEAH. WE PAID FOR YOU TO PUTZ AROUND ALREADY. If not enough, they will replace it for free as it is within part warranty. So we send it January 6th; I was in a colorless mood that day, but hell, the day was nice and hope was there. Then, the vapor begins to rise. We have not heard anything from them. Anything. For two and a half weeks, NOTHING has been accomplished. So we finally call them this week; and today they give this. (paraphrased)
Yes, we have received the product, but we will not fix it until it is paid for. You will have to pay 211.50 for the repair.
Ridiculous! They probably didn't read the little note on the proven Panasonic Invoice for the previous work order which happened just before the resend. We paid 360.00 for the camcorder, and are being asked to double the money for it to be in tip top shape again. What an insult! We are in the process of contesting it, but these lazy people keep sitting around, REFUSING to help us! It is taking an ongoing measure of getting referred to the Repair Coordinator to get this happen for free, with simple proof we paid for it and are incurring the same problem immediately after the repair. I have been losing my patience over this absolute incompetence on the techies' part. They just cannot put two and two together. Shame on you, Panasonic!
So it goes to show you, their camcorders are damn nice, but their technical support sucks. Yet, I have to suffer as my railfanning has taken a drastic hit, but so has the motive of my LEGO videos, one of my cashing points in the YouTube hobby. No wonder January has been low in monetization.
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