Canon Replaces Lazy Reader's Printer 6 Months Out Of Warranty
Canon is apparently a very nice company. So nice, in fact, that they will apparently replace a product out of warranty even when it's the customer's own forgetfulness that led to the delay. That's what reader Chris reports happened when his Canon printer broke down.
Back in March, my Canon Pixma MX300 personal printer broke. I bought the printer in April of 2008, alongside the purchase of my iMac. When it broke, the printer would continuously report that there was a paper jam when there was no paper jam, and would refuse to function in any way. I checked online on some forums and found many people having the same issue,but I never got around to actually fixing the printer due to a combination of time restraints, laziness, planning a wedding, and running a small business among other things.
Fast forward to Wednesday night, October 14th. My schedule is free! I had recently needed the scanner on my MX300 and realized I was unable to use it due to the paper jam issue, so I knew I should really find some time to fix it. So on Wednesday night I took the printer apart as much as I could, sprayed it clean with compressed air, checked the feed sensors, and made sure that the paper feed path was completely clear. I reattached the printer and it is still reading paper jam.
Despite knowing that the extended warranty expires after a year, I decided a call to Canon for assistance might be helpful as this seemed like a fairly common issue based on the search results I found. After almost zero time on hold waiting to speak with someone, a CSR named Bill answered the phone. We discussed the issue and I described the issue, and the measures I had taken to resolve the problem. He explained that unfortunately, the product was out of warranty and checking the sensors and paper feed was pretty much the only resolution he could offer. I didn't really mind, as I explained that I knew it was 100% my fault that I had not contacted them regarding the issue, and was about to hang up when he decided to speak with his supervisor about the problem.
He put me on hold, and then his supervisor named Glenn answered the phone. He asked me to explain the situation again to him, and after again explaining that the measures I had taken were the best I could do he asked me to hold for a moment while he discussed something with his manager. After a few minutes of waiting, Glenn came back on with the good news that despite my warranty being up for over 6 months, they were going to replace my printer for me, and best of all that they would do it free of charge. He took my information and explained the process to me and hung up.
Thursday I received an email from Canon saying that my replacement printer had shipped, and that it was a Pixma MX330, which is an upgrade from my current printer. The printer arrived on Friday afternoon, a brand new, upgraded MX330 with Bluetooth, and instructions to return my printer.
I just wanted to express my gratitude and thanks to these two individuals who clearly went above and beyond to make sure that I was a satisfied customer with their products. Not only was my printer warranty plenty expired, but they replaced it for free, with an upgraded model, and I received the replacement 2 days after the initial call. Thanks to Bill and Glenn, I will most definitely continue to purchase Canon products in the future.
Great service on Canon's part. While this may have had more to do with the known issues with that particular model of printer than a broad corporate policy of generosity, it still clears the paper jam in our heart.
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Comments:
kudos to canon.
I guess it depends on who you talk to. I contacted Canon support for a big issue with a MX700 all-in-one. The automatic document feeder not only gets jammed, it "eats" the paper you try to feed it, (appropriate, I guess) turning it into a wrinkled mess. If you DO succeed in getting one through cleanly, the resulting scan is a bunch of black and white macro-blocks.
This seems to be a well-documented issue with this model. The suggested fix is to clean the sensors, and ensure there is no blockage, just as the OP was told. I tried with no luck. I tried to see if they'd do anything for me, even though I was 2 months past warranty, but was only offered a meager 10% off my next purchase as part of some "loyalty" program. No thanks.
While I realize I was out of warranty, having the most important part of a business scanner break with no possible way of repair, only 2 months past warranty, is unacceptable.
They were certainly within their rights in denying my request for replacement, but I'm also well within my rights to buy another brand next time around. Congrats to the OP though, you caught a huge break!
@You Be Illin': Of all the printer manufacturers I have dealt with, HP, Epson, Lexmark and Canon, I find Canon to be the best regarding ink. My MP500 that I've had for years has very large, clear ink tanks that list how much ink you get on the packaging. Also, the price is pretty fair as well.
Each of the color tanks are 13 ml and run about 15 each, and the text black is 26 ml and runs about 18, or 2 for 30 even at regular retail prices. When I had a HP, it was all colors in one tank and if one color runs out, you have to buy a whole new tank. On the Epson, the tanks didn't tell you how much ink they came with. When I was in the market to buy my printer to replace my Epson, the HP with the single tanks of a similar price point as the canon had different amounts of ink per tank, as low as 3ml of ink for around $15.
So, Until Canon does me wrong, they are getting my money.
I really like seeing positive letters regarding companies on this site. I get sick of all the corporate trash talking sometimes.
Companies deserve kudos when they go above and beyond but they also deserve brickbats when they fail. It was a nice gesture for them to take care of Chris by replacing his failed printer but this was only a single case. Canon appears to be much more averse to taking care of problems that are apparently due to design flaws, such as in the case of Mike8813 (above) or the equally well-documented problems with their old Optura 20 and 30 camcorder lines.
@You Be Illin': You obviously have never owned a Canon camera. They will run through fire for you. My best friend had his Canon camera replaced about 3 years out of warranty--with a brand new current model. For free. That's just how they roll at Canon.
In short, Canon = ♥ ♥ <-- Hopefully I did that right and you see the hearts ;)
Canon is always the top of my list because this kind of thing is typical of how they treat their customers. Their products are also top-notch, but their service is what made me a customer for life.
@You Be Illin': I know Canon has had the best / most ethical ink cartridge policy of any printer manufacturer for some time. Is that still true?
I knew the director of the customer service group for the Camera division - That guy had a no BS attitude and VERY strict guidelines about ensuring the customer was happy.
A bit off topic, Canon was also a good employer - The money was rarely competitive, but the culture was great. I miss working there. :(
Canon printers are also very well supported under linux, which is quite nice.
@Adhominem: Especially when they trash the same companies over and over again for trivial things (like Target and its penchant for poor shelf-label placement).
Yes they will replace out of warranty if you have a compelling enough reason. I told the guy that it was unreasonable for my toner to fail after a year even though I only printer a few dozen times. He gave me the run around and I told him that I would send then the cartridge and expect a full engineers inspection report back. Sure enough 1 week later I had a new toner cartridge at my door step. Canon really understands customer service.
@Thorgryn:
I have a Canon multi-printer (about 4 years old), and I love the ink setup. They have separate ink cartridges for each color and the print-head is on the printer itself. (I know that HP has the print-head on the cartridge, making them more expensive.)
About a year ago, I started filling cartridges with 3rd party ink (good stuff online, not the crap in regular stores). It is EXCELLENT. I don't know if it's good for pictures, but great for color and b&w documents.
I also enjoy my Canon camera, old school, but with 2 AA battery replacements.
@You Be Illin': @West Coast Secessionist: Seconded. Canon replaced my out-of-warranty S2 IS camera a few years back when the sensor went out. Their customer service rocks!
@You Be Illin': I have nothing but praise for Canon's camera department. I've yet to pay for a repair for any Canon camera, even ones which were 2 years out of warranty. It's been a great marketing tool for them -- I've only bought one digital Nikon. 3 digital Canon cameras, looking to add a 4th.
Yeah, Canon replaced mine when it was about a month out of warranty (13months since purchase).
It wasn't really an expensive model, and the one they gave me was a refurbished model (looked brand new), but I was really impressed with their service.
They even gave me free shipping.
They just want to keep selling him more ink cartridges. Let's see if they do the same for a digital camera.