This isn't a camera gripe - there wasn't a proper place for this but it's going up whether this square peg has a hole or not.
First time buying a Canon camera was last night. It'll be here in 2 days and I already hate it. I mistakenly bought a camera that doesn't have 4K - only 1080p - for video (the only reason I was buying a camera). I discovered this 5 minutes after placing the order last night and there was seemingly no way to cancel the order (nice website, Canon!)
Tried calling the number I was told I must call - closed. Maybe when you're a bigger company you can have customer service 24-7.
Made a note - called about 8:30 AM - hit (2) for help with orders already placed. Dead end. "Please go online" or some such BS and then hung up without giving me an avenue. Amazing.
Called back - hit 1 (sales). Got a nice lady with a vaguely Filipino accent on the line who took my order number and promptly let me know the order had processed and there was nothing she could do. "But I see here when I click "Track" it says its 'processing'. "Yeah, no - that's wrong. You'll get another email when it ships."
"Ok" I said, unconvinced. "Is there any chance anyone higher up on the totem pole could maybe stop it from going out?" The order was made with Klarna and there was no way I was going to get another order sent out until Klarna heard that the order was cancelled. If it went out it would be 2 weeks.
"That would be me" she said, inferring that she was the supervisor - a lady who picks up the phone for a random sales call was the customer service supervisor - ok sure. "When you get the camera you can return it up to (whatever days)". I had tuned out.
"I guess you guys will cover the return shipping" I said - trying to prod her to recognize the loss of revenue to Canon if this wasn't addressed immediately. "No, you'll have to pay for that"...
4 hours later I got a series of emails. "Your order has been processed." - "Your first payment to Klarna has been made" - "Your order has shipped".
I KNEW it was too fast - 8:30 AM after a late night order for my order to be processed. It obviously wasn't. She obviously thought she was making a decision on behalf of the company. An order kept is an order made. Well, let me tell you something, Canon...
I've owned Nikons, I've owned Sony's, I've owned a Blackmagics. I've never owned Canon, new or used. Canon.com - buying new -first time. Accidentally bought the wrong camera. Turns out I accidentally chose the wrong company. Pretty sure the sales rep chose the wrong angle. With 0 reservations (I need 4K) I'll be paying the $30 to return the camera and with extreme prejudice I'll be buying another camera, almost definitely from someone else (new or used).
Canon needs to instruct their sales people on proper practices to make up for mis-purchases like mine turned-horrible customer service experiences. Could have gone about 100x better. Getting lied to in the hopes I'll come around and decide I made a good decision turns out to be the worst decision little miss sales rep could have made. Bad call with that hire, Canon. Bad call with that policy if its yours. Hope you get a good return on this returned camera I'm going to use for extreme dirt sports footage for the next 2 weeks.
Have a nice life, Canon. Bye.
