Notice the crack at the bottom of the thumb screw base
Back at the beginning of September I was doing yet another shoot with my dogs Journey, Skittles and Stuffy (right to left). I hung a Lastolite 24" square E-Z Box on the light, hung the rig on a boom to use as overhead light. The light kept sagging, and I couldn't seem to tighten it enough to hold it in place.
Now, in my defense, I'm not a cranker - one of those types that cranks a screw to the breaking point just because I can (and sadly, I couldn't even if I wanted to). I typically tighten slowly till the light hangs where I want without sagging. However, this time I couldn't get it to stay, and discovered the crack you see above when I examined things closer.
So, I went in search of a replacement part...
In the U.S., Elinchrom is distributed by Manfrotto. So, I sent an email requesting help to their sales department (I couldn't find a support/repair contact). Mailed on the 8th of September, I get a reply 2 weeks later on the 24th. Frank Giokas tells me to contact parts and gives me phone and email address info.
However, by that time I'd given up on them and contacted Denver Pro Photo (DPP), where I originally purchased the lights. Turns out they are the Colorado service provider for Manfrotto and hence, Elinchrom. I drove down, met with a sales person who helped me fill out a repair request form. I left the part with them and returned home in high hopes of a reasonable, timely response.
A month and a half later I got tired of waiting and called DPP to find out what's up. Travis takes care of service for DPP, and he informed me that Elinchrom (and by extension Manfrotto I assume) are aware of a quality control problem resulting in the crack I experienced. He tells me this is a warranty issue, that Elinchrom is getting replacement parts sent to the U.S., and he expects news and maybe even a part for me within a couple days.
I voiced my frustration with not having been informed. In my career at Hewlett Packard I've managed customer support services for the internal divisions (my customers were other HP-ites). Keeping a customer informed and in the loop was a critical component of successful customer service. Your customer will be a lot more patient and understanding if they know what's going on.
Apparently that's not a policy for DPP. As I write this, it's now just over 3 months and I STILL haven't received a replacement part, nor heard from anybody. Travis hasn't bothered to contact me after assuring me he'd do better at keeping me in the loop.
If you promise a customer that they should be hearing from you within a couple days, THEN CONTACT THEM WITHIN A COUPLE DAYS! Not a hard concept in my mind.
Just how long does it take to replace a stupid part anyway?!
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