Micro 4/3 Question Your Experience With Returned Repairs - Packaging

[retiredfromlife]

I recently put my Oly Kit in for their Pro Service Check. The paid version where you can send it 1 pro body and 4 lenses.
I sent in my
EM1.3
10-400
12-100 pro
12-40 pro
40-150 pro

I wrapped these in P20 bubble rap in a thinkness of 4 layers, 20+mm thick. you could have dropped the box with no problem.
They were returned in 2 layers of the very cheap pink bubble rap that when you purchase new has some of the bubbles broken.
In some places only one thickness. I measured the thickness very gently with a vernier across a few bubbles and I estimate at best there would have been 2-3 mm between items.

To put it politely I was mortified that my whole kit came back to me with what I consider no protection from the way a courier handles parcels. Not complaining about the courier as they should expect the parcels to be correctly packed.

Now all may be OK and I just worry about nothing, but I used to work in the airline and used to pack avionics for overhaul and would never send out anything with that little protection and avionics are mainly solid state not delicate glass elements in hopefully precise alignment.

I was hoping to go on a wildlife photo trip next year with part of this kit, but now I wonder about the reliability, may work now but later...

Anyway enough of the rambling below are a few pictures

Below is a picture of the box when opened, does not look to bad at first till I check the packaging thickness.

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Below a shot of the thickness, when measuring gently two layers over a few bubbles I estimate 2-3mm between items. IE distance between two lenses inside the packaging including the packaging of both, to me not much better than glad rap [bit of an exageration but not if compared to how I sent the items]

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Below a picture of an item with 2 layers of protection

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Below a picture where part of an item has only one layer in some places. Some of the items had sections where only one layer of bubble rap was present. When touched with a finger no protection could be felt since this bubble rap was very cheap. It looks far better than it was.

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Being the first time I have sent items away myself I wonder how others have fared. Is this typical packaging and would you be concerned?

I kick myself in a way as I considered buying 2 pelican cases for the gear. Wish I had now.
One thing for sure if I going to sell a lens to someone I would never pack it like these were, and I purchased one packed this way not sure if I would want to keep it.

 

[gryphon1911]

coming back from an OEM, I think I would have expected better as well. I would definitely let them know of your displeasure in the return packaging. If they don’t know they can’t fix it.

I’ve had good experiences with others. Never had to do an Oly direct interaction.

MPB and KEH have always packed the gear I got from them superbly. Sometimes they even out the stuff in an actual box and then wrap those boxes in bubble wrap or securely hold them in place with packing material.

When I got my Polaroid SX-70 rebuilt, Retrospekt put it into a brand new box, with a manual, checklist of everything they did to it, then had that box wrapped up inside another box.

Sorry to hear that they did not appear to care for the return of your gear as much as you would have expected. Maybe things are different now that Oly is OM Digital. Hopefully they get that sorted out, otherwise they may have an uptick in damaged returns to loyal customers. Never good for your relatively new business venture.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

When I first got into old cameras upon retirement from working, I [foolishly] sent my family heirloom M3 across the country to be CLA'd. I spent $80 having it double boxed at the UPS store whose owner was also a camera buff so he knew what I wanted. You could have dropped it off a ten story building and it wouldn't have hurt the camera.
When I got it back, the box it came back in looked like it had been used as a football in the sorting room of UPS. Smashed and dented, but marked FRAGILE in big red letters, I felt for sure the camera wasn't in very good shape. The box was smaller than the inner box I'd sent it in. Luckily the camera survived, unscathed as far as any marks goes. It did stop winding after a short time though and needed another repair service. This time I took it to a little old repair man I had found that said he'd trained at Solms. It came back feeling like what it must have been like when new when being cocked. Truly an amazing feeling when the shutter released, you could hardly feel it. Why the other repair person didn't just use the same box I sent it in is beyond me. I was paying for shipping anyways. I guess he pocketed the difference in cost between what it would have cost sending it in my box vs his.

 

[Brian]

Essex Camera (now gone), KEH, Youxin Ye- Safe and Sound packing on repaired gear. KEH- great packing.

RetroSpekt- return packing is a custom made box that is better than the original that came with the SLR680 purchased new.

 

[William Lewis]

The ones Brian mentions are all good. All the packaging from DAG has been excellent as well.

I've never used Oly's service, but I do agree with at least complaining to them.

 

[John King]

Olympus Oz has always been exemplary in this regard, and lovely people to deal with.

I agree that this is unacceptable return packaging.

BTW, never send anything original, only what it says on the service request form.