I recently called Sony to ask how much to repair my Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 lens – the AF/MF toggle on the outside barrel had started coming out. It looks like there is a very thin layer of adhesive that holds it in place. The price quoted by Sony was $540.10, which they indicated was their flat rate for lens repairs. It was not clear if that was a flat rate for this specific lens, or any Sony lens. Based upon that, I decided to just use tape to keep the AF/MF toggle in place. Wow, $540 to glue a part back into place.
Then it gets worse: I asked how much to clean the mirror assembly on my a900, and to inspect the a900 body for dirt, as I had a lot of dirt get on the mirror and the sensor on a recent trip even though I did not change or remove the lens. Sony quoted $80 to clean the sensor (reasonable), and said that they would give me an estimate to clean the mirror and inspect the body upon receipt of the camera. After I shipped the camera to them, their quote to clean the mirror was $499! (in addition to the $80 to clean the sensor). I called Sony to see why this seemingly simple service should cost $499. The Customer Service Rep said that he did not know, but would find out and call me back. They never called back. I then replied to their email with the same questions. No response. I then called them a couple of days later, and Gabriel said that the $499 was their flat (minimum) rate for camera repairs, no matter what the repair. And, he said, the pricing could be higher. I asked Gabriel why Sony did not tell me that there was a minimum cost of $499 when I called to arrange the service - if I had known that, I would not have sent my a900 in to them. He did not have an answer. Based upon this very poor customer service experience, I told Sony to not service my camera and to ship it back to me. I'm now waiting for its return.
My message to Sony: Your pricing for simple repairs and cleanings is ridiculous. And, you’ve disappointed and angered one of the bigger fans of your a900 camera and lenses. To thank you for this pretty poor customer service experience, I’ve decided to tell the photography community, your customers, about it. You need to take a serious look at both your pricing and your customer service practices - they are in serious need of change and improvement. And, based upon this experience, I’ve decided to stop building out my Sony system: future investments will be in my current Canon system and Pentax 645D systems, not Sony.
Have you had a poor or similar Sony service experience? If so, please post your story.
Sony - I hope you read this, and I invite your response.
