John Erwin Review of Precision Camera & Video
I was pleased to find a major camera store within ...
I was pleased to find a major camera store within a 2-hr drive from my small community that offered repairs via shipping. Having heard good reviews and recommendations from other togs about Precision, I decided to try their repair service.
Perhaps I wasn't clear enough on the online work order, but I have an old Nikon FM camera that replaced one I lost many years ago. The body of said camera shows dust in the viewfinder/focusing screen and I wanted them to see if it could be cleaned.
Since they don't include a category for older analog cameras, I checked the minimum "Basic" service charge, expecting that the repair folks would advise me if it was more.
After a 2 week wait, I got notified the "repair" was complete and that the charges (w/return shipping, btw) came in under the $60 Basic charge.
I waited another week for the camera to arrive and called Precision to find out where it was. My camera was found sitting in the "Pickup" area and hadn't been shipped yet. Mind you, I had already been charged for return shipping. This was quickly remedied (thank you, Rachel) and the camera arrived a day later.
However...on checking the work, the viewfinder, penta-prism, focusing screen area was not cleaned. It's functions were checked, light seals,etc and basic outside cleaning, but I still have stuff in my viewfinder. Not a real happy customer right now, having paid over $35 for shipping & insurance to get it there & back, plus a thankfully minimal charge for repairs.
**** Update****
A few days after posting the above review, I was contacted by Noel Rankin, Service Manager for Precision Camera, noting my unfavorable experience and agreeing that things could and should have worked better. I wrote him back, explaining, in polite terms, my problem along with some suggested improvements. We exchanged of a few messages and came to a more than fair arrangement to get my old camera back in top shape.
I sent the camera back to Precision and he personally prioritized and oversaw the cleaning and refurbishment. The repair took less time than normal, and the cost of shipping and the previous service was deducted from the overall expense and I am very happy with the result. My sincere thanks go to Noel Rankin, manager and Rachel Haubert, repair coordinator for their excellent follow-up and friendly efforts to help make an awkward situation much better! I will remain a happy Precision customer.
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