To be honest I’m usually not very impressed with the ‘service industry’ here in China. In particular I find that here in Western China customer service generally is divided into two types.

Type 1: Near complete indifference towards the customer. Via both words and body language I get a crystal clear message that I’m greatly inconveniencing them. Regardless of whether I’m asking a question about a product, asking if they have something in stock, or even just asking someone to ring up the purchases and take my money.

Type 2: Puppy dog service. Immediately upon entering (or sometimes even nearing) the retail store I have one or two customer service employee’s come up to me to welcome me. They then follow me around for the entire duration of my visit to the store. Recommendations based on their likes and preferences are frequently directed at me. When asked questions about a product I usually find that they know nothing at all about it, but try to bluff their knowledge anyway to make sure that I am satisfied.

Not sure how things are done in the east of China, I only have experience here on the west end.

Although I do get frustrated by this from time to time I’m not however angry at them. Rather it makes me aware of how blessed I have been in the U.S. by a high standard of customer service. Also there are exceptions…

Canon 5D

Wow! I am *extremely* pleased with the service I was given at the Canon Service Center in Chengdu! I came with low expectations (according the the above experiences). But I received quick service by knowledgeable employee’s that far exceeded the best I could have hoped for!

I brought my Canon 5D in for a checkup – have been having a few issues and wasn’t sure where the problem was. I bought the camera second hand and therefore have no receipt or paperwork, it’s not registered in my name, and it is long since out of the warranty period.

However they examined it for (US$50-75 in the U.S.), cleaned the sensor (another US$25-50) and gave me a printout of how many shots had been taken (US$??). All for free. It was a holiday week but they were able to offer next day service (again amazing!). Since I was flying out the next day they instead shipped it fedex next day delivery to my home in Kunming. All for free. The only thing I had to pay for was a replacement battery door cover that I had been missing – and even this cost me less than half price of anywhere else.

Thanks Canon in Chengdu, you gave me a wonderful surprise with your outstanding service!