That which can be taken...

I remember reading somewhere that once a man gets past their fear of death/dying that they somehow gain an insight to life that lets them live worry free from that point onwards in some sort of magical life where they can now accomplish anything because they fear nothing...

I'm going to share a little secret with you, which may or may not already be apparent but I think I reached a stage long ago where death and dying didn't really seem the worst that could happen and I think that while most of the time I don't really want to die, I'm not really afraid of the when or how... (if that makes sense?)

Despite reaching this awareness, it seems that the whole "what can you take from someone who doesn't even fear death itself?" with the answer being "quite a lot actually..."

There is a famous story about a Polish Jewish man who as a single last act of defiance against his Nazi captors attempted to take his own life before being sent to his death via the gas chambers, the sick irony being that he failed to succeed in his attempt and was then put in the infirmary to "recover" (not sure about the logic behind that) and whilst he was healing the war ended and he was ultimately released and saved from the horrors that his brethren weren't so "lucky" to avoid.

Just to make it clear, I don't think death or dying is in anyway not a huge tragedy and can appreciate how devastating it is to those around the person. I just think there are some things that are worse than not being alive...

I'm pretty sure I did have a point somewhere that I was trying to make, but I think I've lost it, in any regard the above is merely a (very) small sample of some of the random crap that permeates my conscious thoughts.

Maybe I'll share some more, maybe I wont... the one thing I do sometimes fear is having all my freedom (or perceived freedoms) taken away from me, which might cause me some restraint in these matters.

Alas I digress...

Poopin Diamonds...

Poopin diamonds... or when stress gets too much to handle...

They say that Diamonds are just coal (or carbon) that have been under immense stress for a very long time, it is with that knowledge in mind that I put forth that very soon I shall be pooping diamonds...

The tough thing with stress is that for the most part, the people around you don't even really know how bad you're suffering unless you literally break down before them...

For the majority of today I've had a constant head-ache in my temples, I know it's because I'm stressed about everything that is going on at the moment, but I don't know how to ... just relax...

I believe writing about it is sort of therapeutic ? but at the same time I feel like I'm constantly whinging/bitching about everything that's going on ... perhaps I should just man-up and just give up already...

I'm fairly confident if people could read my mind I'd be locked away in a small padded room by now, so I do find myself being quite careful about how much I do actually "share"... so it's kind of a tough balancing act between "releasing by writing" and worrying I'm sharing too much...

hmm that's enough for today... lets see how tomorrow turns out.

Nuclear Fission (or when 1 become 2)

Unfortunately, again it has been quite some time since my last blog update... and even then my recent thoughts committed to "paper" have been my rather interesting experiences with my camera purchase... (if you're interested in the story it starts here and here is part two and then there was part three here and then finally part four here)

I'm not quite sure how to write it, but at around the same time my partner of the last six years ended our relationship, what does any of this have to do with Nuclear Fission you ask?

Well it's been quite a distressful time for me and I've probably not coped very well to be honest, but something that came to mind was how in nature when you force something apart, there's usually a very violent and powerful reaction...

Just like the reaction that powers Nuclear Bombs with their devastating capacity to do harm so too the end of the relationship started a very powerful reaction that nearly ended with as much violence as the aforementioned chemical reaction...

Since then I have tried to recover from my emotional Chernobyl and there has certainly been some good days and some bad days...

I have recently taken up regular exercise, in an attempt to:

a) get fit & healthy

b) lose the small (but very annoying) belly fat that has started to accumulate

c) release natural Endorphins (see this)

I think when you go running, (at least for me anyway) there's a certain point where you know you've pushed yourself so hard that you're physically exhausted and feel like you might just fall over and die, (okay so that's probably just me) and when I get to that point I'll embrace it... because when you're right there on the edge of oblivion... nothing else really matters... The single voice of reason drowning out all others is just BREATHE! or possibly PLEASE STOP RUNNING NOW K?

So that's kind of where I am at, at the moment... I'm not entirely sure if that is a good or a bad thing but I think I'll keep running anyway...

An Update (The Letter Part 2)

A few days ago I posted a candid account of my experiences thus far with B&H Photovideo (which can be found here).

Since then they have been in contact with me (primarily through email as the time difference makes any other communication quite difficult) and have taken on board most (if not all) of my concerns.

They are currently re-lodging a request with Fed-Ex for the refund that was promised, personally I suspect that it will not be successful, but I think the lesson here is to not use Fed-Ex for my international shipping requirements in future. They are decent at getting something from A to B, but add in any requirement of actual customer service in there and they fail quite terribly (which is a shame really as it's the "last-mile" that most clients get to see)

In addition to this B&H are going to cover the cost of returning the defective camera to them, including the return import fee, as I mentioned I was quite surprised when this was offered during the initial RMA process (as it's not documented on their RMA website) but I am pleasantly surprised they are following through with it.

Interjection:

I feel having worked quite closely in a customer service field myself has given me some appreciation for (and value of) actual good customer service. The company I worked for prided itself on being the very best at what it did and there was a real cost associated with that, especially when a consultant would promise the customer something we might not be able to deliver upon, but we would then endeavor to satisfy anyway simply as reassurance for our customers that we deliver upon our promises (essentially what good customer service boils down to).

/Interjection

Now, B&H were recommended to me by a good friend of mine and despite the order being quite large I had confidence in their ability to deliver. In addition to this I had heard they were very good if you do run into any problems. Which is why I purchased from them rather than some HK discount operation...

When I received my camera and it was faulty all of that seemed to fly out of the window and despite the problem having very little to do with B&H (it says a lot more about Canon's quality control more than anything) the outcome could have been quite the nightmare, if they hadn't handled the situation so professionally and with such empathy.

The RMA process was quite straight forward, I simply described the defect and indicated that I wanted a replacement unit and not a refund a few days later (the time difference adds about 24 hours to any responses either direction) it was approved.

Since then I've been in contact with the B&H customer service department a few times and they have really done an exceptional job of looking after something which, considering the physical distance between us probably could have been easier to just fob-off.

I think I need to summarize this post before it becomes a novella, but I think quite simply if you are going to be buying any photography gear, B&H will be able to help you, not only that, in the event you do have any problems they'll be there to make sure they are resolved.

TL:DR version

- Awesome customer service (or lack of) does have an explicit cost (either to you or the retailer)

- B&H have really gone the extra mile to make sure I'm happy and my issues are resolved.

- When buying online ALWAYS consider the customer service/returns side of things as-well as it could cost you a lot of money.

A Letter ...

Here is a letter that I recently wrote to the Customer Service department of B&H

To (name withheld),

I appreciate there is very little chance that this letter will ever reach you, however remote that chance is I still feel the need to explain my recent experience with B&H PhotoVideo.

I've always enjoyed the subtle art that is photography and recently felt the need to make the jump from a simple point and click (Canon PowerShot A720IS) to something with a bit more customization and control, I've always liked the Canon brand and felt they offer a really good quality product albeit at a premium so going with an EOS was an easy decision. I narrowed this down to the 550D and the 60D and after physically holding both of these the 60D with its superior ergonomics won me over.

Now it just came down to where I should buy it from and after much deliberation and a few recommendations from friends, it seemed B&H could offer me the camera I wanted with a very nice lens and at a price that was definitely within my budget.

As this was quite a large (expensive) online purchase, I was understandably very anxious about the whole process and would have loaded the track-n-trace site nearly 100 times before it arrived here in Perth. Due to some terrible customer service practices from Fed-Ex the package was delayed by 12 hours unnecessarily and so I took it upon myself to lodge a complaint with their CS team and was offered a refund of the P&H to give me some reassurance in the Fed-Ex brand.

Then; disaster struck, as the very expensive camera I had purchased (with the intention of using it for some great Christmas happy snaps amongst other things) was defective and for some reason was producing very terrible images and so begun the RMA process.

Now I should point out that every customer service rep I have spoken with, has been excellent, friendly and knowledgeable even if they cannot directly 'fix' the problem I was experiencing.

Part of the RMA process one of the representatives mentioned to send the package back to B&H as cheaply as possible with tracking and to include a receipt of the costs so that this could be covered, I was quite pleasantly surprised as the information on your website regarding the RMA process didn't mention this anywhere.

Today I received my replacement camera, after having to pay yet another hidden fee (Australian Customs are thieves!) and I'm really wondering why I bothered with all of this in the first place. That $1399 Camera + Lens which looked like an amazing deal didn't include:

- the $193 in P&H (which I was later offered to be refunded but then Fed-Ex global reneged on)

- the $243 in Import Duty and Tax (which I am happy to admit is my own fault for not investigating more, but still comes as a bit of a shock when added to everything else)

- the $163 in P&H to send it back (defective return, which was promised to be covered by B&H but doesn't seem like it will)

- finally the $55 to re-import something I had already paid import duties on.

Would I buy from B&H again, maybe ... if the item is under $1000 and warranty isn't likely to be an issue (e.g. camera bags, memory cards, etc) but with all the drama's I've had with this purchase it certainly makes you pause for consideration.

In summary, I appreciate that it is unrealistic for B&H to test every single camera body that it sells and that I am the one in a 1,000,000 case where a camera is DoA (defective on arrival), but hopefully you can take some of this feedback on-board to ensure a better experience for international buyers (perhaps a step in the buying process that could alert the buyer to some of these issues and to check before proceeding).

Finally I am really in love with this new camera now that it is working and can't wait to really get into the amazing/challenging fun that is DSLR photography,

I honestly thank-you for taking the time to read this far (if you do) and hope you can appreciate just how frustrating this entire ordeal has been,

Kind regards,

(me)

------------------------------------------------

At some points there I really wanted to break down and cry, especially when I had to send back my new camera to be replaced as I knew there was next to no chance I'd have it for Christmas.

Would I recommend buying a camera online, mmm probably not after what I went through but I would honestly happily buy again from B&H just keep the order under $1000 so you don't get stung with Import Duty + GST and also use USPS as your postage option!

I'd be interested to hear others experience with online purchases regarding semi-expensive consumer gear?