In the Mail

Last week I sent my malfunctioning lens to Sony's Laredo, Texas repair center. Yesterday I got an email stating "Sony Service has received your product for repair." Today I go to the Sony site to track the progress expecting to see the same message I saw yesterday about how it usually takes 10 days to fix the problem. Instead it read:

The Sony product that you have inquired about was shipped back to you.

If you do not receive it within 5 business days, please call:


• 1-800-222-7669
  
• 1-800-476-6972 (PC products only)
  
• 1-800-847-7669 (VHS Products only)
  
• 1-877-646-6582 (Konica-Minolta Film Products only)
  
• 1-877-462-4464 (Konica-Minolta Digital Products only)

I'm thinking: "This can't be good. They must not have seen the problem and they're gonna screw me." So I call the repair center's number. A guy with a strange accent answers and asks for my work order number. I supply it. He says my flash has been repaired. "It's not a flash," I say.

"Oh, right," he says, "The flash has..."

"It's not a flash," I interrupt. And on the third try the guy tells me that the focus on my lens has been repaired and, yes, it has been sent back to me.

What are the chances I'm going to get a flash?

In other news, the lock on my mailbox has broken. Until I get a new one, I have to retrieve my mail from the Post Office. Today the mail included checks for two WEDU stories and my last effort for the Dodge High School Sports Report. The checks really were in the mail! There was also a new catalog from B&H Photo/Video. I'll try not to spend the entire largess there.