FUJIFILM PROFESSIONAL SERVICE - MY EXPERIENCE
In this blog post, I show some images from the Fujifilm GFX 50s in the Studio.
About a year or so ago Fujifilm introduced the Fujifilm Professional Service; this is pro-level support for customers who have purchased qualifying products.
As soon as Fuji opened the registration, I was there with all my gear, ready to get everything registered on their dedicated site.
With a break in my weddings for a good few weeks, I thought it was time to get a few things looked at on one of my XT2's and get the other booked in for its annual checkup, body clean and most importantly the sensor clean.
I gave Fujifilm abuzz last Friday (12th of Jan) and spoke to a helpful service advisor who pointed me to the Fujifilm repair centre website. From here, I login in using my FPS details and picked which item on my account I wanted to repair and after I submitted my payment details, I got an email confirming that packaging would be sent to me free of charge along with details for postage.
Now - I thought that would take a while, but amazing the return packaging was delivered to me on Saturday (13th of Jan).
I followed the instructions and got the cameras packed up, and popped in the 1 pm guaranteed delivery bag that they sent.
Monday (15th) I took a trip to the post office and handed over my parcel - making sure to get a receipt of posting. Now I expected Fuji to get the camera's on Tuesday, have them for a few days and maybe return them the following week - But NO!
Fuji sent me a text to say that they had received the cameras and they would be looked at ASAP. Later on Tuesday (16th), I had a further text to say that my cameras had been repaired, cleaned and had been dispatched.... then another text from DPD, the delivery company said that my cameras would be delivered back to me on Wednesday! (17th)
What did I have done?
I had a simple clean on one of my XT'2, the other one, I had lost the half-press action on the shutter button, and the screws for the tripod mount had fallen out - so that bit just rattled around. For the shutter button issue, they have replaced the whole top plate section of the camera.
What did it cost?
The cleaning was free, but the repair was done at a standard charge - £153 after the FPS discount - £180 without the discount.
Is there an annual fee?
At the time of this blog post, Fujifilm has waived the annual fee for the first two years of registering yourself as an FPS member; after the two years, there is an annual charge of £260 a year. This might seem a bit steep to casual shooters, but for someone that relies heavily on my cameras to be able to shoot weddings, £260 is nothing when you consider how quickly the repair took and the annual clean.
My overall thoughts
Really good - I couldn't have asked for better. I registered the repair on Friday and got the cameras back on Wednesday - short of me going to Fujifilm with the cameras and waiting for them to be repaired; I'm not sure they could have done it any quicker. It has given me comfort that not only do Fujifilm look after us shooters with firmware updates etc.. but they look after us if something goes wrong.
Now time for the GFX to get cleaned!