Jessops service... or lack of it! Rant!

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Dylanlewis2000

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Dylan
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I'm writing this in a state of sever frustration. Last December I Purchased a Canon 50mm F1.8 from Jessops in Cardiff. After some testing the lens was severely soft on one side therefore I took it in to my local branch and they swapped it on the spot, no questions asked. My beloved 50mm suffered a slight fall a few weeks ago and anyone who has used this lens knows that if it touches the floor it comes to pieces. Never fear I had purchased the Jessop's extended warranty.

The shop took my lens in at the beginning of October and sent it away. The lens was returned on the 17th of October... speedy service or so I thought. The lens was full of dust, literally and when I showed this to the shop assistant he simply said "that will not affect the image quality". As unhappy as I felt about the condition of the lens I needed it that night. I signed that the repair was unsatisfactory and that the lens was full of dust. That night when taking photos it was evident that the lens had not been repaired properly. Every photo was out of focus and shooting at any aperture rendered the image unusable. The lens was sent back the next day with a note enclosed. I received the lens back on Friday and decided to take it out to test today. To my complete and utter dismay the lens was still not repaired which meant another trip back to the store.

I was calm and polite but it didn't help the matter, with the manger insisting the lens must go off for repair again, and he cannot simply give me another lens in store. His exact words were "We need to send it for a re-repair" which he was not amused when I told him this was a re-re-repair. When asked if I could have a loan lens I was told that this was simply not an option.

Although I am just a hobbyist I cannot for the life in me work out how can a photographic retailer who specialises in photography equipment expect pro photographers to purchase items from them when they cannot repair even the most basic of lens in a reasonable amount of time.

The thing that annoys me most about this whole episode with Jessops is that the high street is suffering from intense competition from the Internet and other places at the moment, the only thing they have to offer is customer service, but if they are no longer going to offer any service, is there any point in them being there? Each round trip to the store is around 20 miles for me, and seeing as I don't work anywhere near the store, each trip is out of my way. So far we are on 5 trips ~100 miles or so, lucky me ey!
 
Well I'm surprised you bought anything from to be honest ... I know everybody has differing opinions of Jessopa but frankly every one I have visited in London - I've gone to maybe 4 branches - I've had rubbish service. Staff didnt seem to have the most basic of knowledge about photography and in some cases seemed dismissive of customers and couldn't be bothered to serve them.

I personally wouldn't care if they disappeared, with such good service from second hand shops such as MPB and Aperture I don't ever feel the need to go to an overprices shop with bad customer service. Maybe I'm being harsh but I'm just judging from my own experiences.
 
Why would you expect a replacement when you dropped it, is that what the extended warranty covers?
 
gramps said:
Why would you expect a replacement when you dropped it, is that what the extended warranty covers?
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I would have thought that as its a £70 lens, sending it away for someone to fiddle with and order parts for would be a waste of time. The lens was sent away, came back faulty, sent away, and is still faulty, and has been sent away again. I understand it could have been a slip up to send it back dirty and not wokring once, but twice? In total they have had the lens around a month.
 
I'd say it's probably now cost them more to have it repaired than it would to simply replace it but hey, who are we to question the workings of insurance companies? :LOL:
Just out of interest, how much did the extended warranty cost?
 
I must say i got an amazing deal from them for my initial kit but when revisiting a different branch i found the lack of knowledge very worrying.
Very often retailers are judged by their after sales service, its easy to be nice when taking someones hard earned but doing something for seemingly nothing is a different matter.
What other options do we have on the high st for new gear, not a lot, currys and comet are even less knowledgeable,
Good luck with sorting it out but i would already have been on to the area manager - head office route by now because fro your description of events it is totally unacceptable,
Best wishes
Cliff
 
Read your fine print. I think you will find you can now claim for a replacement as it has failed repair. I.E not repairable as it is still faulty.

They should not worry about giving you a replacement as D&G who the warranty is under would probably replace. I would suggest giving them a phone as letting them know what has happened and what you should do. There numbers are in the paper work you had supplied and also when they sent you confirmation of the warranty.
 
The absolutely crucial question is does the extended warranty cover accidental damage?

If it does, then fine. If not, I'm surprised they're even offering to repair it at all.
They were right to change it without question when you got a bad copy, and that's what you should expect, but expecting a free repair on something you've dropped is a bit much unless it's specifically covered by the warranty. Of course if this is the case I'd be hacked off too.
 
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Flash In The Pan said:
Did you tell Jessops that the lens had been dropped....?
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Yes i did. The warranty does cover damage, as this was the main selling point.

Re the fine print... i didnt get any, all i had was the reciept, unless this is available online?
 
Bill Roberts said:
but expecting a free repair on something you've dropped is a bit much unless it's specifically covered by the warranty. Of course if this is the case I'd be hacked off too.
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Im not expecting a free repair, as i have paid for the insurance. The only reason i wanted them to exchange it is due to the fact that it had been in for the initial repair, came back faulty, went away for a "re-repair", and came back faulty again.
 
No that's fair comment. If it is covered then you've every right to expect both the repair and a lot better service than you've had so far.

In fact I'd be pushing for a replacement too. Contact head office if you're getting nowhere with the branch manager.
 
Bill Roberts said:
No that's fair comment. If it is covered then you've every right to expect both the repair and a lot better service than you've had so far.

In fact I'd be pushing for a replacement too. Contact head office if you're getting nowhere with the branch manager.
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:plus1: terms makes all the difference.
 
I wouldn't beat around the bush. Email the Chief Exec, Trevor Moore.

His details can be found here.

I find this works wonders when you are getting bad service.

Ken
 
Ty for the help so far. With regards emailing the chief, do you think it's worth it? Jessops admitted that the lenses were not sent to canon for repair even though when the warranty was purchased I was told that any repair work would be carried out by canon.
 
Dylanlewis2000 said:
Ty for the help so far. With regards emailing the chief, do you think it's worth it? Jessops admitted that the lenses were not sent to canon for repair even though when the warranty was purchased I was told that any repair work would be carried out by canon.
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I would. He needs to know how bad the customer service is and how much it is costing the company to follow the route it's taking. In fairness to him, he probably doesn't realise. Set out what has transpired in a clear manner, detail the timeline but, above all, be polite whilst expressing your frustration. Ask him if this is the service he expects his customers to receive from him.

I would also mention that you have posted on a large photography forum about your dissatisfaction.

My experience is that he will appoint someone who's job it is to ensure the matter is resolved fairly and quickly.

Good luck.

Ken
 
On Jessops sending getting a canon approved centre to repair. They make no secret on who they use. I belive its Thomas Camera Services and they are not Canon approved.

In your instance this makes no difference as Canon do not cover damage in their repair. But your insurance does and you are intitled to a replacement at this stage.

My Jessops seams to be very helpfull and told me everything I needed to know about the D&G insurance. At my work we actualy use them too. Its a good product you just need to get your local store to sort them selves out.

Personaly I would contact their customer services if you get no joy out of the store.

I would go for a replacement. Yes the wanrranty is then over as you have claimed for a new product butyou can take it out again.
 
What can have a good effect is if you go to the branch and ask the manager to write his full name down and area managers details (even though you may already know this). I often find this pushes the right button and they buckle, as they know you are serious, avoiding you having to send email after email.

I was in my local Jessops last week (plymouth) and one chap asked another "this body is good for macro pictures right?"...the other guy replied "its the lens that makes the difference isnt it?"....hardly inspiring.........
 
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