DREWspective

I begin DREWspective with a tale of a blessing…

I was on vacation in Spain just last week. While I was on the beach, minding my own business and taking a few candid photographs, I dropped my camera into the sand. It shouldn’t have gotten any sand in it whatsoever from the way it landed, but just to make sure I decided to check if it was still working.

The camera turned on, but immediately turned back off again. From the outset there was a problem with the zoom lens; initially it was stuck, so I had to manually press it in while turning the camera on and off.

After a few knocks and shakes, the camera began to function again. Except now it wouldn’t zoom in or out at all; if you tried to, the LED would flash green and red, before the camera automatically switched itself off.

It wasn’t a battery problem either, as I’d first thought, because the problem remained after trying fresh and old batteries. There went my zoom lens, but at least I had my new cameraphone to take pictures with.

What could I do?

Luckily I had been using some poor soul’s unsecure wireless connection throughout the vacation, so I sent a support request to the manufacturer. I got a reply the next day, with details for arranging with DHL to have the camera sent to their repair factory. As I was still out of the country, I had to wait until yesterday before I could have it sent.

Little did I know that a package had been waiting for me when I got home. It was a DHL package, and from the looks of things it was the camera.

In fact, I’d been sent a replacement camera—a brand spanking new one at that—as a goodwill gesture. (I don’t have a camera strap though; for some reason the one that came in the package had been cut.) Maybe not that impressive, except the camera was bought one and a half years ago!

What can I say, apart from this: that is what I call good customer service. Not just a replacement camera, but the very next day too. DHL sure works fast!

The Dixons Group could learn a few things from that experience.