Hasselblad H6D-100c experience

[ejpeiker]

When my Phase One XF required a battery door fix due to it not keeping the battery in contact with the internal contacts, I contacted my dealer, Digital Transitions, and I had a loaner XF at my door the next day, in fact, the FedEx driver that brought the loaner, took my shipment of the camera in need of repair from me at the same time. the same thing when it was returned. I was never for even a moment without a functioning body. At the price levels of Phase or Hasselblad medium format gear, having a dealer and company with this type of service should be expected, similar to a luxury vehicle where a quality loaner for the duration of the service is a given. You may want to, if you haven't already, discuss this with whoever your Hasselblad dealer is. Unlike Phase, you can buy Hasselblads from the big houses like B&H and others where you don't tend to get this type of service but the prices on gear like that is relatively fixed so it is worth it to seek out specialty dealers like DT or CI. Of course I don't know where you bought it and I know this doesn't help much now but at least for the future, it should be a consideration.

 

[BANKER1]

When my Phase One XF required a battery door fix due to it not keeping the battery in contact with the internal contacts, I contacted my dealer, Digital Transitions, and I had a loaner XF at my door the next day, in fact, the FedEx driver that brought the loaner, took my shipment of the camera in need of repair from me at the same time. the same thing when it was returned. I was never for even a moment without a functioning body. At the price levels of Phase or Hasselblad medium format gear, having a dealer and company with this type of service should be expected, similar to a luxury vehicle where a quality loaner for the duration of the service is a given. You may want to, if you haven't already, discuss this with whoever your Hasselblad dealer is. Unlike Phase, you can buy Hasselblads from the big houses like B&H and others where you don't tend to get this type of service but the prices on gear like that is relatively fixed so it is worth it to seek out specialty dealers like DT or CI. Of course I don't know where you bought it and I know this doesn't help much now but at least for the future, it should be a consideration.

Agreed. My neighbor owns a Tesla, and when he needs service, they send their representative from Cincinnati, 150 miles away, with a loaner car on a trailer that they drop off. Then, they load up his car and take it back to Cincinnati. As stated above, the reverse is true for the return of his car.

Greg

 

[PedroL]

When my Phase One XF required a battery door fix due to it not keeping the battery in contact with the internal contacts, I contacted my dealer, Digital Transitions, and I had a loaner XF at my door the next day, in fact, the FedEx driver that brought the loaner, took my shipment of the camera in need of repair from me at the same time. the same thing when it was returned. I was never for even a moment without a functioning body. At the price levels of Phase or Hasselblad medium format gear, having a dealer and company with this type of service should be expected, similar to a luxury vehicle where a quality loaner for the duration of the service is a given. You may want to, if you haven't already, discuss this with whoever your Hasselblad dealer is. Unlike Phase, you can buy Hasselblads from the big houses like B&H and others where you don't tend to get this type of service but the prices on gear like that is relatively fixed so it is worth it to seek out specialty dealers like DT or CI. Of course I don't know where you bought it and I know this doesn't help much now but at least for the future, it should be a consideration.

I regret Jordan had problems with his H6D100 c camera, and as Jordan's dealer I tried on a few occasions to rectify the problem, but I could not and it had to go back to Hasselblad. Hasselblad has its rules and we have to comply with them, even as a dealer I paid shipping when sending any equipment for repair. I would have gladly given him a loaner, however, we are a small, non-stocking dealer and do not have an extra camera to loan. I did phone my sales manager and he told me that Hasselblad does have a loaner program for a flat fee, however, Andrew was getting his demo H6D50c returned no later than Tuesday that he would gladly send it to Jordan, at no charge, but it did not have a charger. Since Jordan had a charger for his batteries, this should not have even been an issue. As for shipping, it has always been Hasselblad's policy to pay the shipping back to the customer, but the customer pays the shipping to Hasselblad.
I would like to point out that I have built my business on customer service. I make my personal cell number available so a customer can call at any time for support, day and night, which Jordan did and I always got back to him. If I did not know the answer, I made sure to get back to him when I did. Unfortunately, I could not help him anymore and the camera had to go back.
Anyone involved in this discussion, please feel free to PM me with your phone number and I will get back to you.

 

[PedroL]

I also must trumpet my accolades for Peter Lorber, the ultimate Hasselblad dealer and the finest gentleman one could encounter.
When I purchased my first Hassie over ten years ago, Peter gave me his personal cell phone number with the pledge that he was available 24/7 to help with any situation.
Being new to medium format, situations were abundant and I called Peter during personal hours more often than is excusable.
He is a world renowned panorama expert as well as a student of the physics of lens capabilities in addition to being the kindest person imaginable.
When I became intrigued with technical cameras, he pushed Hasselblad to arrange for an attached battery on my H5D50.
When the H6D100 became available, I waited 18 months for a technical camera solution calling Peter monthly because at my age (78) time to enjoy all those megapixels is unfortunately evaporating.
Hasselblad had too many problems (financial and production) to address peter's
urging for a attached battery solution for their back on a technical camera and so with his blessing; I bought a Phase One back.
I still call Peter for advice and I treasure his friendship
Stanley

Thanks Stanley, dont make me blush....

 

[dave.gt]

Curious situation here, which should have a simple answer. Despite the comments, I am not feeling it.

Come on, somebody step up and solve this problem after three days. It isn't like the Hasselblad rep cannot be contacted, or some communication cannot be established with the corporation about their flagship model, right?

Surely, after the holiday weekend, some sense of responsible service will be offered to a man who has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a camera, of all things. The sheer amount of money involved is mind boggling to the average person. I am betting on Hasselblad making this right...

Looking forward toward a resolution soon.

 

[JK12]

Update:
Yesterday morning at 6am I receive an email stating that they were still awaiting my approval to ship it off to Sweden, WHICH I had already approved on Friday. I call today after confirming twice by email just to make sure. The person on the other end of the line says "no one marked it approved, but that they had received my initial approval". No "sorry for the confusion". I immediately responded on Friday knowing that it was a long weekend and not wanting anything to keep my tool away from me for too long. Well apparently it's going out today... So much for worrying that the long weekend was even a factor. I gotta say though are they marketing their cameras to professionals or what? I need my camera back as soon as possible- TO WORK.

 

[bab]

JK
You probably won't understand the complexity of red tape in the East Coast office I don't I would imagine neither does anyone else living in the USA, this is from experience with them. But in the end it will work out, they just have bad communication skills or every answer has to be approve by senior management it seems like. And they have to do EVERYTHiNG the hard way as if every customer is out to screw them.

Regards,

 

[JK12]

JK
You probably won't understand the complexity of red tape in the East Coast office I don't I would imagine neither does anyone else living in the USA, this is from experience with them. But in the end it will work out, they just have bad communication skills or every answer has to be approve by senior management it seems like. And they have to do EVERYTHiNG the hard way as if every customer is out to screw them.

Regards,

Thanks bab, I appreciate the reassurance.
This isn't just for me- I honestly would feel the same way about this situation if it were happening to someone else. I may not start a thread about it but it is happening to me so therefore I am sharing my experience. I'm not one to pick apart every little poor customer service interaction I encounter, on the contrary I usually make a point of sharing the good ones.

 

[tcdeveau]

Thanks bab, I appreciate the reassurance.
This isn't just for me- I honestly would feel the same way about this situation if it were happening to someone else. I may not start a thread about it but it is happening to me so therefore I am sharing my experience. I'm not one to pick apart every little poor customer service interaction I encounter, on the contrary I usually make a point of sharing the good ones.

I'm sure it will work out well in the end as well, in my experience it has in the past. They are definitely not great with communication which can be very frustrating. I sent my X1D in to HB in NJ last week (thankfully the scroll wheel fix is something that can be done stateside), and the only information I received was the generic "we've received your item" response, and then today an email saying shipment was ready and asking to verify my shipping address because they couldn't ship out without verification. No other info.

The X1D may not be as $$ H6D-100c, but the process is more stressful on the customer than it should be no matter the camera, and Hasselblad could take some simple steps (like improving communication) which would go a long way towards easing the minds of their customers and improving customer satisfaction.
-Todd

 

[pflower]

Hmm. It might be different elsewhere. But, here in England, I sent my X1D in because I had a minor problem with the front dial which I only noticed after updating to the latest firmware. A courier arrived to pick it up less than 24 hours after I had discussed the issue on the telephone with Hasselblad. It was returned by courier in less than 3 working days - after a telephone call to ensure that someone was available to receive it. Years ago I dropped my H3D-39 on a concrete floor cracking the screen and the plastic parts of the body. Again it was returned within a week after extensive repair, re-calibration and testing (and I believe that it had to be sent to Sweden). Mind you Hasselblad charged a huge amount of money for that - from memory about £2k - since they insisted that everything had to be taken apart and put back together again. Fortunately I was properly insured. So my (limited) experience with Hasselblad support in the UK has been exemplary. Sorry if it is not so good in the US.

I'm sure it will work out well in the end as well, in my experience it has in the past. They are definitely not great with communication which can be very frustrating. I sent my X1D in to HB in NJ last week (thankfully the scroll wheel fix is something that can be done stateside), and the only information I received was the generic "we've received your item" response, and then today an email saying shipment was ready and asking to verify my shipping address because they couldn't ship out without verification. No other info.

The X1D may not be as $$ H6D-100c, but the process is more stressful on the customer than it should be no matter the camera, and Hasselblad could take some simple steps (like improving communication) which would go a long way towards easing the minds of their customers and improving customer satisfaction.
-Todd

 

[tcdeveau]

Hmm. It might be different elsewhere. But, here in England, I sent my X1D in because I had a minor problem with the front dial which I only noticed after updating to the latest firmware. A courier arrived to pick it up less than 24 hours after I had discussed the issue on the telephone with Hasselblad. It was returned by courier in less than 3 working days - after a telephone call to ensure that someone was available to receive it. Years ago I dropped my H3D-39 on a concrete floor cracking the screen and the plastic parts of the body. Again it was returned within a week after extensive repair, re-calibration and testing (and I believe that it had to be sent to Sweden). Mind you Hasselblad charged a huge amount of money for that - from memory about £2k - since they insisted that everything had to be taken apart and put back together again. Fortunately I was properly insured. So my (limited) experience with Hasselblad support in the UK has been exemplary. Sorry if it is not so good in the US.

Yeah it's not like that here in the US sadly. I wish it was. As discussed at length above, in the US, customers themselves are responsible for arranging and paying for shipping to the service center, even for warrantied repairs. If one does this insured (as they should), it can cost a considerable amount of $$...esp for cameras like the OPs H6D-100c. Some dealers may be able to help with shipments for warrantied repairs, and I forgot to check with my dealer first before sending in my X1D. Hasselblad then picks up the return tab. A courier would be lovely, and had the OP received the type of experience HB UK customers such as yourself receive, this thread would more than likely be of a different tone.

The types of services than can be performed in the US facility are also often limited, so extensive repairs require the equipment going back to Sweden, which can take a long time to get things back. Not Leica long, but a couple weeks or longer. I think shipments from the US to Sweden only happen once a week too. Repairs that can be done at the facility in the US usually take about 10-14 days between sending gear off and getting it back from my experience, which isn't bad, but it is longer than the time you quote above. The US facility is also not great with communication.

 

[cerett]

I wonder if Hasselblad is paying attention to any of this? Since they have responded to threads on this forum in the past, it would be nice to hear from them!

 

[JK12]

I don't see how there can be such a disparity between how the US and UK divisions of Hasselblad handle their customer relations. I kept hoping that I'd hear from someone higher-up at least to express their concern and apologize for the inconvenience. All I ever received, with the exception of one nice woman over in NJ, was the feeling that this was a major inconvenience for THEM.

 

[JK12]

Update: no update. No one has reached out- I have no idea what they've found wrong with my camera or when it will be repaired. Everyday that goes by is another day I could be using this camera and apparently that's not a good enough reason.

 

[dave.gt]

Update: no update. No one has reached out- I have no idea what they've found wrong with my camera or when it will be repaired. Everyday that goes by is another day I could be using this camera and apparently that's not a good enough reason.

Jordan,

Be proactive, call the Hasselblad rep for your region!:thumbup:

Squeaky wheels get the grease.

 

[JK12]

Dave- I've contacted a few people- I can't see a better platform than coming to the place that many of us do for honest and independent opinions. Obviously I feel the companies themselves should be here too and paying attention. These threads and forums are a big part of how we make our decisions in what gear we're going to invest in. I don't think that many of us have local shops where we can buy this type of semi-exotic gear... The bottom line is that they should be checking in with me as opposed to me having to hound them. Hey if they fix the camera and it doesn't fail again, of course I'll be pleased, but I will now be anxiously anticipating that happening and then this whole experience happening again- which should be at the core of their concerns as a camera company marketing a camera to professionals.

 

[StevenP]

Jordan,

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. Horrified is actually a lot more accurate. I'm a longtime lurker on this forum and I do not own any MFD gear, yet, but I plan to, one day. I did shoot Contax, years ago, so I do have some (wonderful) experience with that platform...but I digress.

I sincerely hope that some people, who can actually do something, pay attention to this thread, for both your sake (obviously) and also for their own sake, because, I assure you, after reading a thread like this, I would NEVER invest in Hasselblad.

I hope a strong statement like that doesn't come off as being overly negative, for the sake of being negative, especially since this is my first post. I mean, who wants to be labeled a "hater" on day 1, right?!? That's not my goal and I hope that doesn't happen, but this thread DID push me up to the register button...

I understand that nothing is perfect and things break...that's no fun, but something can go wrong with anything. What's not cool is the service you're receiving. I just can't imagine any scenario where that kind of treatment is acceptable, for anyone, let alone a working professional. THIS is what got me responding to this thread. I make 100% of my income from photography. The thought of my main camera, which costs a fortune in almost anyone's book, floating around, while I'm in the dark, holding nothing, while possibly missing work opportunities, or at the very least opportunities to work with the incredibly expensive gear I bought, to, you know, make a living, is horrible. The offer to let you RENT a camera, while yours is under warranty, is just insulting.

I know I can't be the only photographer (or potential MFD customer) out there, who reads these forums for the purpose of researching of a potential investment. I sincerely hope that we hear a happy ending to this story, where Hasselblad falls all over themselves to make it right, with you, and to redeem themselves a little, in the eyes of those watching. In the mean time, the folks over at DT and CI, who already have a stellar reputation, are looking even better...

 

[bab]

Dave- I've contacted a few people- I can't see a better platform than coming to the place that many of us do for honest and independent opinions. Obviously I feel the companies themselves should be here too and paying attention. These threads and forums are a big part of how we make our decisions in what gear we're going to invest in. I don't think that many of us have local shops where we can buy this type of semi-exotic gear... The bottom line is that they should be checking in with me as opposed to me having to hound them. Hey if they fix the camera and it doesn't fail again, of course I'll be pleased, but I will now be anxiously anticipating that happening and then this whole experience happening again- which should be at the core of their concerns as a camera company marketing a camera to professionals.

Did you fill out the consent form? You know the one that says you give them permission to contact you and you won't hold them liable? If not they won't. J/K.
I'll bet it's already shipped back to you.
Regards

BAB

 

[JK12]

BAB-
That's funny . I'd be incredibly happy if it's already on its way back!

Did you fill out the consent form? You know the one that says you give them permission to contact you and you won't hold them liable? If not they won't. J/K.
I'll bet it's already shipped back to you.
Regards

BAB

 

[StevenP]

Jordan,

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. Horrified is actually a lot more accurate. I'm a longtime lurker on this forum and I do not own any MFD gear, yet, but I plan to, one day. I did shoot Contax, years ago, so I do have some (wonderful) experience with that platform...but I digress.

I sincerely hope that some people, who can actually do something, pay attention to this thread, for both your sake (obviously) and also for their own sake, because, I assure you, after reading a thread like this, I would NEVER invest in Hasselblad.

I hope a strong statement like that doesn't come off as being overly negative, for the sake of being negative, especially since this is my first post. I mean, who wants to be labeled a "hater" on day 1, right?!? That's not my goal and I hope that doesn't happen, but this thread DID push me up to the register button...

I understand that nothing is perfect and things break...that's no fun, but something can go wrong with anything. What's not cool is the service you're receiving. I just can't imagine any scenario where that kind of treatment is acceptable, for anyone, let alone a working professional. THIS is what got me responding to this thread. I make 100% of my income from photography. The thought of my main camera, which costs a fortune in almost anyone's book, floating around, while I'm in the dark, holding nothing, while possibly missing work opportunities, or at the very least opportunities to work with the incredibly expensive gear I bought, to, you know, make a living, is horrible. The offer to let you RENT a camera, while yours is under warranty, is just insulting.

I know I can't be the only photographer (or potential MFD customer) out there, who reads these forums for the purpose of researching of a potential investment. I sincerely hope that we hear a happy ending to this story, where Hasselblad falls all over themselves to make it right, with you, and to redeem themselves a little, in the eyes of those watching. In the mean time, the folks over at DT and CI, who already have a stellar reputation, are looking even better...