How 1 Employee Can Ruin Your Reputation

IDX employee decides to ignore customer problems.
Hero JVC employee takes responsibilty and earns customer loyalty and future sales.

Professional video makers have been quick to adopt new video cameras from JVC, Sony and Canon that offer the least expensive way to switch to the new HDTV format (high definition TV). Camera maker JVC has offered a 6 hour IDX company battery to power the new high definition camera for free. A free professional camera battery is a tremendous offer, considering that a single battery and charger can cost from $ 1200 to $ 3000. This promotion has increased the popularity of the JVC camera, and allows IDX company to make inroads to the pro TV battery market dominated by rival battery maker Anton-Bauer.

Unfortunately for California video producer JL Ames the free IDX batteries have taken weeks to arrive. While waiting for the batteries, Ames had 5 HDV cameras sitting idle since he needed the batteries for a video shoot in the desert. The factory battery supplies barely 40 minutes of power. Considering that typical shooting days are 8-10 hours, these expensive TV cameras are almost useless without the high capacity batteries.

Some filmakers like Robert Kurtzman, the video effects supervisor for horror movie "HOSTEL" are making new movies using the film-like settings on the HDV camera from JVC. Kurtzman is also the Director of "The Wishmaster" and the creator of "From Dusk til Dawn". Kurtzman found the HDV camera to be good enough quality to make a new horror film, theragefilm.com. So did nature filmmaker Andrew Young, who produced a show for National Geographic cable using the same JVC camera.

Above is the JVC HD100, a professional 3-chip camera for the new HDV format that records high definition tv on standard DV tapes for less than $ 6000. Before the introduction of these cameras a video company, network or TV station would have to pay more than $ 50,000 for a high definition tv camera. The lower prices have made the new HDV format cameras very popular with TV producers, who are buying them at a rapid pace.

A call to IDX only put filmmaker Ames in contact with an IDX employee who hung up on him twice. Ames was shocked at the shabby treatment and posted the story to the DVXUSER.com internet forum.

While Ames, his local Hollywood salesman and fellow filmmakers on the DVXUSER.com forum wrestled with coming up with a solution, on Friday Ames was looking at cancelling a Saturday five camera shoot involving thousands in expenses for the cast and crew.

Ames made several posts explaining his problem on the DVXUser forum. Usually independent filmmakers, like other customers, have little influence with manufacturers when something goes wrong.

JVC and IDX had the beginnings of a promotion gone terribly wrong because of poor organization and one IDX employee who chose not to take the responsibility to solve a customer problem.

But the story has a happy ending. JVC employees became aware of the problem and took responsibilty to solve the problem. One JVC employee named Marion saw the difficulty accidentally caused by the IDX battery promotion and decided to take action.

Here's how Ames describes the solution to the battery problem:
" JVC FedExed my 31 pound, 5-unit package out yesterday afternoon and due to severe ice storms in the east coast, the planes are grounded so my guaranteed Saturday delivery will not be until Monday. Do I care? Heck yes. But the weather is not JVC's problem. They went above and beyond knowing I have a crew on stand-by that needs power and did everything possible to get it to me short of Marion flying herself and the package out to me in LA herself. And for me, leaving no stone unturned is good enough for me. Bottom line, don't tell me you're going to "exceed my expectations." Just meet them, honor your word and the rest will take care of itself.
So, in closing, I say to JVC and to everyone who supported me in this, "Thank You".

...JVC exhibited that honor, that esprit de corp and that integrity that evokes loyalty in customers. ... I know that JVC has sincere people like Marion on staff who sympathize and, for all I know, empathize, with our situation, working to help an independent producer in any way she can.

IDX would do well take a page from JVC's book. Expect another 5-camera order from us and we'll expect a program that works to put the power to the people the next time JVC has a problem. And you can rest assured that there will be a next time and dvxuser.com will be watching to see how it's handled. Hopefully good weather will have my IDX kits winging their way to sunny California tomorrow and I can re-schedule the shoot next week without Home Depot extension cords and inverter power."

This is the power of forums and blogs to give consumers a voice and solve problems.