I have used lots of different types of equipment in my pursuits over the years and I have never been as well taken care of.
This story starts out with what every photographer fears Dropped damaged or destroyed equipment. I recently had an Alien Bees AB1600 mono block flash fall and break. The hole where the cord attaches broke out so being resourceful and semi mechanical I decided to fix it. I managed to attach a new receiver for the cord by drilling holes in the light housing and adapting one from an old power backup I had laying around. Trying to put it back together I broke the power slide control. Of course I did DIY repair rarely turns out well!
I surrendered and obtained a repair return from the Paul C Buff company who manufactures the Alien Bees lights. I expected a hefty repair bill this is not a cheap piece of equipment and photographers are easy targets since the market is small the margins have to be good to stay afloat I am sure.
I was in shock when the repair rep called and informed me the repair would be 40.00 and that included return shipping. I thought what a great policy and was happy as could be. It gets even better when UPS delivered the repaired flash I took it out of the box expecting to see the same old beat up light I had grown to love. They not only repaired the damage and the part I broke trying to fix it the put all of my parts into a brand new housing with an improved light stand connector. I could not have been happier.
The unit worked great for a week or so and then the power started dropping off half way through the session and just continued to get worse.
I decided to return the unit for more repair and expected to pay for repair again as it had been a month or so. I got the unit back this morning with a packing slip that said no charge repair warranty for repair whatever date it was there before. I love these guys no charge for the repair no charge for return shipping.
It is rare that a company takes such good care of customers even with expensive items I have never had such a positive experience
with a product or such prompt no hassle get the customer taken care of policy.
I just wanted to publicly thank the Paul C Buff company and in the future I will be upgrading to the Einstein line of flashes made by this wonderful company.