NikonUSA has apparently outsourced most of their customer support, as I'm receiving quite a few comments and complaints about what now happens when you call the Nikon technical support hot line. (Note to NikonUSA: you might want to invest in English lessons and a spell checker for your Internet responses. The text of responses I've been copied on lately by users is, to put it politely, embarrassing.) It appears that not only are the new folk not exactly fully up to speed on Nikon equipment, but they're also not linked into any of NikonUSA's customer databases, don't have familiarity with many of the high-end products (DSLRs, etc.), and have no easy way of escalating things to someone who might have the answer.
I was criticized late last year by many on the net about my comments that Nikon needed to up their support game if they expected people to pay US$7999 for a new DSLR (the D3x). But, if anything, the situation is now worse, and it has the potential to impact everyone using Nikon equipment in the US. I watched a lot of personal computer companies play this game when the market got saturated and the economy got tight, and the ones that made the most cutbacks on customer support are no longer with us.
And yes, I'm going to harp about Nikon marketing again. Marketing is all about customer perception. The perception right now for Nikon users in the US is that prices have gone up and service has gone down. For example, NikonUSA was the last to get downloads for the latest software up on their site, and some of us had trouble getting them initially. Why is it that the country that's currently nearing 40% of Nikon Imaging's sales is making steps backward?
It doesn't have to be this way, and it shouldn't. Fortunately for Nikon their products are good and their competition hasn't knocked the product or customer service ball out of the park yet. Perhaps there's a belief at Nikon that they can just ride things out. But cameras below the D300 level have become commodities now. The great companies rise above commodity levels with their products, and they do that with both great products and great support. Nikon's playing with half a deck right now, and all it takes is a product miscue or two and they won't have many cards left. Putting product support for everything from a US$100 to a US$7999 camera in the hands of an outside group is not a smart move, IMHO.
I know times are tough--we're all seeing the economy hitting us in ways that hurt. But I fear that a lot of companies are using the econolypse as an excuse to take the easy ways out, to prune where they don't necessarily need it, and to cover up real cutbacks to customers. My experience is that cutting once is just a prelude to cutting again and again until there's nothing left to cut. Businesses require growth and forward movement to thrive. What I'm seeing from Nikon, especially here in the US, is exactly the opposite: a clear step backward.
I'll reiterate the point I made when the D3x came out: provide real support, even if you have to charge for it, and the user base will be happy. Keep the current trajectory going, and the entire user base will be unhappy. Simple as that.
Want to be the preeminent camera maker in the world, Nikon? Then use the recession as a time to up your game. Everyone else is cutting back. Don't join them, rebel! Be the company that showed everyone what to really do when the times are tough.
What Goes Up...
Let's see, first the dollar had the worst year against the yen, now the yen has had the worst month against the dollar. The currency exchange guys are losing hair rapidly, I think. However, after seeing price hikes in the 15-20% range for Nikkor lenses due to currency changes when the yen appreciated 24% against the dollar, don't you think it's about time to see the flip side of that with the dollar having rebounded 9.2%? I do. If the currency reversal stays for even a short period of time, I think we'll see the return of lens rebates out of NikonUSA. I don't think we'll see price drops because the volatility of the currency rates is very high still; we'll see short-term rebates on products that have experienced inventory build-ups is my guess. And soon.