!!!! Long down mentaily alert!!!
A bit of an off-topic photo industry ditty (off-topic, not Pentax). Just
one of those random recalls of the past. Through the 80s/90s I worked
for a Japanese marketing company that supplied various brands of camera
equipment (later expanded to audio/TV – different stories) For retail
sales on US military bases globally. If any of you bought your first
equipment somewhere on a Army, Air Force, Navy base in Asia or Europe in
was supplied by my crowd or 1 or 2 others. This was a serious,
well-established industry. Tokyo HQ, fully staffed sales orgs in
Okinawa, Philippines, Viet Nam, and Europe. I was a Europe guy.
Anyway, early/mid 80s our primary product line was Minolta – just
nipping the heels for #1 position from Canon. We sponsored in-store
displays, active sales, special sales and occasional free camera
cleaning clinics. (We got great tech from Minolta Germany even though
our business was totally outside their business loop). Three – four
times a year they'd send a Japanese factory tech out that I would haul
around for a week our so to the bigger US bases like Frankfurt,
Stuttgart, Nuernberg, Kaiserslautern.
Saturday morning, Stuttgart. (Stuttgart was always Saturday morning...)
Guy brings in his 101. Disgruntled. I looked at it at it felt, well …..
sticky. Asked if something had perhaps, spilt. Nope. No spills. Wants a
completed refund on a 6 month old kit – lenses, filters, et al.
Over to the tech to have a look. Have you ever seen one of these factory
guys take a camera apart? Screw driver in each hand and – buzz – piles
of parts about 30 seconds later. Everything separated and organized.
Every screw in an exact place to be reinserted. Bare bones. Film advance
lever, rewind mechanism, base cap, top gone, top most circuit board
laying exposed to the elements. Slight sticky-looking gleam on the
board. Tech finally looks up at the horrified GI – he couldn't believe
the full-out assault on his camera! - and simply said 'Coke?'
Mr. horrified GI really cut loose – lawsuits! damnation! second invasion
of Japan! and refundrefundrefund!
Never taking his eyes of the customer, the tech picked up the 101 and
gave it a long, slow, clean lick from one end of the circuit board to
the other and simply said 'orange juice'.
Tech produced a plastic bag, swept all the camera components and debris
into it, handed back to the GI saying, 'warranty cancel'.
Back to lock down mentality. Notified today we still have 10 days to go.....
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