Communicating with your Bomb Rep Squad, I seriously miss the good old days...

[vincent kardasik]

To be honest, I hate reading this part of the forum and I even hate more posting here...
Till last December, I used to purchase pretty much everything I need online through Red UK.
Since that, things changed and it's recommended dealing with the national distributor, one shop in France, based in Paris.
Problem is that distributor is not only selling Red and sometimes he has other priorities which I can understand.
He doesn't also have all the items we should need in stock and when it's the case, it's hard to order "only one" specific item...
With the distributor policy, other distributors are not allowed to sell outside their country which means for me, being French but also European, I cannot order and be delivered from a German or English distributor...
Last December, I rush ordered a 4,7 Touch Screen, the distributor couldn't handle my order because it was his annual inventory week... I went through the website but it would have taken weeks according to my past Bomb squad rep who was incredibly helpful as most of my previous Bomb Squad... To get that screen in a couple days, I had to get a German friend ordering it and sending it to me... Anyway, a waste of time... And the rest of the story regarding that screen is not solved yet... I still exchange an email a week with support because of some Red account problem...
Last Monday, I tried to order an H20 OLPF VV...
French distributor doesn't have it in stock and the person I talked to on the phone wasn't really helpful.
I ended up ordering through Red website.
I got a reply on Friday, four days after, asking how I want to pay the OLPF and which courrier I wanted to use, etc... All infos already filled online... 4 days after... I replied that I can pay for Fedex or pick it up at the LA Red store if it's faster (and of course cheaper) as I will be there this week... I also asked a question regarding taxes and international VAT number... Since then, no reply...
And it's been like that for most of my requests regarding sales... No reply or replies coming a week after my emails and sometimes totally out of subject...
This is painful...
I use to exchange a lot with my Bomb Reps, get infos and tips from them. When items were in stock, I would received them the next day after a quick phone call and a basic online order... This time is now over and it doesn't make my life easier...
I'm not a famous DP or a rental house but I've been client at Red since the Red One era and I'm really disappointed when after a week, I still don't know how I can purchase an item I need which is supposed to be sent in 1 or 2 business day according the website...
Sorry for the rant, not sure it will help my case but I really needed to share it here as for me, the link between Red and its customers has always been something unique which make this brand so different than any other camera manufacturer...

 

[Daniel Pearson]

The Australian Red distributor only has discontinued cameras on display: a Red One, a Magnesium Weapon and a Scarlet W. They have a handful of mish mash Red items in a display case and some dated posters. It is a bit of a joke.

 

[vincent kardasik]

I've been a Red owner since 2010 / 2011, I bought a Red One, an Epic, a Scarlet, a Raven then upgraded to Epic Dragon, Weapon CF, Monstro and Epic-W... Since my first purchase, I always had two Red cameras in my line-up.
Upgrades have been awesome but more than that, customer service has been incredible. I remember getting an RMA number on Monday and a back-up camera or a back-up screen on Tuesday and so being able to attend a shoot.
I remember talking on a phone with my both my Bomb Squad and an RMA representative and fixing proper issues on camera during a shoot...
With the last two firmwares I've installed my Epic-W and my Monstro have been extremely buggy... I'm loosing communication with my two different Canon mounts on both cameras, I had writing error messages on my Red Mini Mags and I have to reboot my camera between takes which makes me look like a fool...
My cameras used to be rock solid but for 3 months, there's not a single shoot where I din't get any issue...
Recently, it was my EVF mount... It's locked and unusable so I had to contact the RMA, my Bomb Rep replied to me the next day which is great then I had to sent it to a shop in Germany and since then, no news, no reply...
I know the shop in Germany has other thing to do than only fixing red's stuff... I have the same feeling when I need an info or I need to order some gear to the French Red distributor... Their knowledge is really limited and I don't even mention the stock...
In November I went to LA and managed to buy some gear really easily, I'm bummed we can't do the same in France... I'm even more bummed about the new RMA system and customer service in Europe...
What's the point? I really have the feeling, for us, European customer, we lost that direct relationship with the brand...
Remember back in the days when some people were claiming Red cameras are buggy? I was the first one to explain that wasn't the case and sometimes, if there was issue, the customer service was top notch...
I'm not a famous cinematographer and my company is really small but my all professional eco-system (water housing, accessories, etc...) was built around Red cameras but right now, I have the feeling I will jump from issues to more disappointment... With that Canon mount issue, that EVF I can't use for 3 weeks, etc... I really feel I should jumped to another brand...
How is the customer service with another brand?
Jarred, Brent, you won't probably read that but if it happens, please think about all that and how tricky the situation is for us here in France and mostly in Europe...

 

[vincent kardasik]

Because sometimes things turn in a really good way and also because I really enjoy being able to communicate directly with the Red team, I'd really to thank Al Ward and Gary Clayton.
Those two solves my EVF mount issues like proper gentlemen and they also allow me to shoot my biggest TVC so far with the gear I needed so Al, Gary, a million thanks from France, you Guys are legend!

 

[Björn Benckert]

Been trying to get a red vlock mini replaced that was dead on arrival from the Sweden Stockholm reseller... Spent about a year on sending him the battery... Then tons of email from my side asking to get it back. Took about half a year then I got it back uncharged and not working... Then I actually ordered two more of those batteries... Emailed a couple of times. Still to this day like 2 years later I have not received anything. Red loose out so much on this guy it's insane. I would rather pay an extra 20% or so just not having to deal with them.

 

[William Long]

Vincent, I think what you say is really legitimate. I bought my camera with RED Europe but these days it feels like nobody is there. Todays problems and purchases are redirected to CVP UK or Xinegear Germany. REDs presence feels thin on the ground. (I think that wretched phone has something to do with it! )

 

[Björn Benckert]

Yes the dealer thing around here is simply not working. I understand if things are not in stock etc. But here a little sample from no kidding a +25 emails long thread.. about a dysfunctional battery. Its F:ed up. the time spend emailing alone. I rather pay to get a fresh battery some place else. But I needed it for my ronin setup. So I keeped mailing thing is still not resolved. I even told him hey, I buy a new battery... well still not delivered

From: Björn Benckert <bjorn@syndicate.se<mailto:bjorn@syndicate.se>>
> Date: Wednesday, 10 October 2018 at 17:19
> To: Steve Calavitis / Camera Nordic <steve@cameranordic.com<mailto:steve@cameranordic.com>>
> Cc: RED Digital Cinema <support@red.com <mailto:support@red.com>>
> Subject: Re: Red V lock mini Battery?
>
> Hi Steve,
>
> Is this battery on it´s way? I think IBC is past now, no?
>
> Seriously, This worries me.
>
> We use a lot of red stuff if you are the RED reseller/ representative or what ever, then these things must move much faster and with less emails back and forth. This is my email 25 on this very matter and over 9 months has passed to replace a dead battery???? What happens if camera goes faulty, eons of time?
>
> /björn
>
>
>
> On 13 Sep 2018, at 15:17, Steve Calavitis / Camera Nordic <steve@cameranordic.com <mailto:steve@cameranordic.com>> wrote:
>
> Hello yes sorry
> We have it at the office, we are all at IBC but we will send it back on Tuesday
> All the best
> Steve.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 13 Sep 2018, at 15:15, Björn Benckert <bjorn@syndicate.se<mailto:bjorn@syndicate.se>> wrote:
>
> Don’t understand.
>
> What I wonder is when will I receive the missing red min volt battery that I sent to you as faulty sometime beginning of summer.
>
> /b
>

 

[Brad Harris]

Because sometimes things turn in a really good way and also because I really enjoy being able to communicate directly with the Red team, I'd really to thank Al Ward and Gary Clayton.
Those two solves my EVF mount issues like proper gentlemen and they also allow me to shoot my biggest TVC so far with the gear I needed so Al, Gary, a million thanks from France, you Guys are legend!

Vincent - While I'm sorry to hear about the communication issues you've been having in ordering gear, I am very happy to hear that Gary and Al have been able to get your EVF Mount situated.

To all others - There has been a bit of confusion about staff at RED Europe Ltd. since our direct Repair services have been discontinued at this location. While RED Europe no longer provides in-house repairs, Product Support is still there at Pinewood to help. Gary and Al are available through all of the usual means of communication, so please feel free to reach out to us/them for any questions on your RED products!

 

[vincent kardasik]

Vincent, I think what you say is really legitimate. I bought my camera with RED Europe but these days it feels like nobody is there. Todays problems and purchases are redirected to CVP UK or Xinegear Germany. REDs presence feels thin on the ground. (I think that wretched phone has something to do with it! )

I don't want to bash anyone but I will never send anything back to Xinegear. I wasted too much energy with them.
On another hand, as I mentioned earlier, Al & Gary have been proper legend all the way and I could feel the Red presence but I wish I had sooner the idea to complain about Xinegear and skip them.
I haven't tried CVP yet but I know at some point it will be my only option from now... Fingers crossed it works better.
I don't even wish for a Red French repair center, I'd rather get everything directly sent to Red... But for us, with custom paperworks and sometimes issues, it's not easy to send stuff all the way to Irvine.

 

[William Long]

I really echo what Vincent is saying. In order to upgrade to Gemini I will have to go through CVP who will pass it on to Irvine. The alternative is Swedish customs procedures, paperwork and additional costs in order to ship to the US and then back again - that's a nightmare. Now CVP is good but they don't specialise in RED, why should they, they cover everything? Surely one dedicated RED service centre in Europe is possible?

Another way of looking at it would be if all ARRI owners in the US had to send their cameras back to Germany. )

 

[vincent kardasik]

Been trying to get a red vlock mini replaced that was dead on arrival from the Sweden Stockholm reseller... Spent about a year on sending him the battery... Then tons of email from my side asking to get it back. Took about half a year then I got it back uncharged and not working... Then I actually ordered two more of those batteries... Emailed a couple of times. Still to this day like 2 years later I have not received anything. Red loose out so much on this guy it's insane. I would rather pay an extra 20% or so just not having to deal with them.

Been trying to get a red vlock mini replaced that was dead on arrival from the Sweden Stockholm reseller... Spent about a year on sending him the battery... Then tons of email from my side asking to get it back. Took about half a year then I got it back uncharged and not working... Then I actually ordered two more of those batteries... Emailed a couple of times. Still to this day like 2 years later I have not received anything. Red loose out so much on this guy it's insane. I would rather pay an extra 20% or so just not having to deal with them.

I really echo what Vincent is saying. In order to upgrade to Gemini I will have to go through CVP who will pass it on to Irvine. The alternative is Swedish customs procedures, paperwork and additional costs in order to ship to the US and then back again - that's a nightmare. Now CVP is good but they don't specialise in RED, why should they, they cover everything? Surely one dedicated RED service centre in Europe is possible?

Another way of looking at it would be if all ARRI owners in the US had to send their cameras back to Germany. )

Björn, William,

Last November I was desperately looking for an H2O VV OLPF, my only way to purchase it was the French Distributor, TRM: nice people, they're doing a lot of efforts, etc... But first they didn't have it in stock then Red is just one part of their daily problems so not necessarily a priority, they have tons of brand to deal with as CVP or Xinegear do. They had no idea if one was in stock somewhere as it seems they don't have direct access to the global stock.
A last minute shoot opportunity sent me to LA so I contacted Red and asked them if they had that OLPF in stock, they said yes.
I arrived an afternoon before the shoot and went straight to the Red Store, purchased the thing and that was done...
This is exactly what we're missing in France not to say in Europe, a proper and dedicated Red Store in which they know what's in stock and where, in which they have direct access to all the Red ressources and where they sell and repair Red and not 20 different brands.
For Americans, Europe is only one country but for us, having to deal with different language when talking to a germain repair center, dealing with a French or English reseller make things complicated as even with a unique money, we all have different way to deal with business... So if you add to that the fact dealers and repair centers have also to deal with different brands, everything is complicated... Or at least more complicated than it was before.
I guess Red is working on improving all that and I would be really happy to help at some point but I think right now, the system is far from being efficient.
I don't want to order through the Red website then being redirected to the French reseller then if I have an issue with my gear sending it to a German or English repair center... That's at least 3 different companies for one way to deal with one item, way too much.

Vincent - While I'm sorry to hear about the communication issues you've been having in ordering gear, I am very happy to hear that Gary and Al have been able to get your EVF Mount situated.

To all others - There has been a bit of confusion about staff at RED Europe Ltd. since our direct Repair services have been discontinued at this location. While RED Europe no longer provides in-house repairs, Product Support is still there at Pinewood to help. Gary and Al are available through all of the usual means of communication, so please feel free to reach out to us/them for any questions on your RED products!

Hi Brad,
Thanks a lot for your input here.
I can't thank enough Gary and Al and since that, I'm aware Product Support is still at Pinewood, my only concern is that the first thing I did when I had an issue with my EVF mount was contacting Red and I was redirected to either Xinegear or CVP.
I picked up Xinegear (faster for me to ship to Germany than shipping to UK) and I did a mistake, maybe CVP would have be more efficient.
Once again I don't want to bash anyone or any repair center but reality is, our cameras and accessories are professional gear so when when can't use it, we can't work... A top notch product service system is a key in my relationship with my camera manufacturer.
It used to be great, it's not anymore... Any hints on how this is going to evolve?

 

[William Long]

This is exactly the situation we face Vincent.

What would be fantastic is if RED opened ONE dedicated European Sales/Service centre on this 'side of the pond'.

Oh... and to keep Björn and others happy, maybe they could also have one guy tinkering in the back yard with DSMC1 repairs?!