Hi everyone,

Once in a while one comes across customer service that not only meets one’s expectations but greatly exceeds them. I hope that I don’t sound too cynical but, from my experience, this seems to be quite a rarity nowadays. One so often gets used to dealing with large companies where the customer service is mediocre at best and sadly, quite frequently, downright poor and you are left with the impression that you are dealing with someone who really doesn’t give a hoot. I know that customer support can be a very difficult, thankless and challenging job at times. I’ve worked quite a bit with the public in the past and I do have a fair deal of understanding for anyone working in support but at the end of the day the person one is dealing with represents the company and thus the impression that one gets reflects directly on that company.

My much cherished Olympus OM-D E-M5 which has served me faithfully developed an out of guarantee fault, “just my luck” I thought to myself and so I contacted Olympus customer service who were very courteous, friendly and helpful. I was in two minds about whether the cost of the repair would be uneconomic as the Mk ii model has been out for some time and thus there are Mk 1s going secondhand which I could perhaps consider buying as a replacement. I mentioned this to the lady in Olympus support and she kindly offered that they would arrange a courier to collect the camera so as to avoid delays in getting it to them, she’d keep a watching brief on things and then provide me with a repair estimate as quickly as possible for my approval before proceeding with the repair. I got the repair estimate which I thought was fairly priced, accepted it and paid.

Earlier today I received an e-mail from Olympus support saying that unfortunately they couldn’t repair my camera due to the unavailability of the required spare part/s.  😦 What blew me away was that the very generously offered to provide me with a brand new EM-5 Mk II titanium edition body at no extra expense! 🙂 .It took me a few seconds for it to sink in and then a matter of nanoseconds to accept their amazingly kind offer. I have been a huge fan of their equipment for over forty years now, first with my OM1, OM2 and OM3-Ti (my favourite model) film cameras and lenses and nowadays with the micro four thirds OM-D digital system and always been very happy to personally endorse it based on my experience. I know that the cost to them isn’t that great but the value in customer relations is immense.

All I can say is a huge thank you to Olympus, I’m still pinching myself as this kind of thing just doesn’t happen to me. They could have just turned around and said “Sorry but your camera is beyond repair, here’s your repair money back” but they didn’t and that to me speak volumes and deserves due praise and recognition.  I should add that I have absolutely no professional association with Olympus Cameras and I’m not under any obligation whatsoever to write this, I choose to do so of my own volition.

If anyone at Olympus should happen to read this, thanks again, kind regards.

He everyone,

A toned monochrome work of the beach at Worthing with the Dome cinema on the right. Same building as the model on the right in my previous upload.

Best wishes

Hi everyone,

We took our granddaughter to the seaside at Worthing yesterday and had a lovely day in the sunshine. Taken with my 14-150mm zoom @150 mm, a little soft but I think it suits the subject.

Best wishes