Last Thursday, I checked my Sony DVD Videocam for any possible glitches that could ruin my plans to cover the Masskara street dances, queen candidates, and the car race PALumba that my drag racing friend was joining in. It had a loose switch and kept turning on even if you already moved the knob to the off position. Never wanting to risk premature failure of the gadget on the scheduled events, I had it checked by the nearest Sony Service Center. I relayed the problem to the rep, she entered the info on the computer and asked for a deposit of PhP300. The diagnostic fee total was PhP780. By diagnostic, they probably mean "We're just going to open it". I was tempted to do that by myself but knowing that Sony has proprietary parts, it was best that they dissect the unit themselves (at least I could blame someone if it gets worse). The vidcam was just over a year old but still under warranty (In Canada) and it got me thinking why the coverage doesn't cross borders but knowing it was pointless to debate the unfairness of policies with a representative from a corporate giant, I reluctantly handed over the cash asking how soon I could claim the item while emphasizing that I may need it for the coming festivities. Without fail, the cute CS rep replied *insert huge smile here* with the safest answer, "It depends on the diagnosis and the availabitlity of the parts, sir."

The next day, I received a text message saying I could retieve my precious instrument. I was elated, that was faster than I normally would expect- and they're even open on Saturdays too.

Saturday (10:00 a.m.)I hopped and skipped to the center, paid the balance, and took my beloved home. The original problem is gone. The switch works fine now, I was told by the rep that the part costs PhP3,000. Luckily, all the technician did was tweak the innards of the switch. A thing that any Juan could do.

Today (8:00 a.m) I ran by my checks on the cam again: Infravision, Backlight, Flash, Mic, LCD, USB connection, A/V outputs, Zoom, Focus, Touchscreen menus, etc..It was now time to record in Video---fine. I took a still shot--- or at least, attempted to take one. The LCD displayed a flashing error C:13:01. WTF!!! I tried the remote. The remote didn't work either. I had a single problem before I took the piece to Sony. Now, I have two. They probably could have knocked a few connectors or bent a ribbon cable. There was no problem with the formatting of the Pro Duo™ memstick. It was read fine by the card reader and a Cybershot™. As for the remote I'm not sure yet if it's just the battery, those things usually last very long. I pressed reset. No effect. Time to visit the cheery rep on Monday (at least I have a reason to). Just when I thought I could take pictures of the Masskara queen nominees in the mall.

Murphy's Law sure sucks.

Lessons:

Non-digital cameras are more reliable.

Repair fees = Extortion

Face-to-face CSRs = Kawaii!