A change to the way Canon is doing things is good news for customers, and could signal a shift in consumer expectations moving forward.
When Murphy’s Law strikes, you can more or less expect to be disgruntled slightly. In gadgets, it’s typically just when your warranty ends, which is right about the time you can expect something to go wrong.
Broken devices, dead pixels, and a support option that now costs money. That’s how Murphy’s Law reveals itself, right when you didn’t need it, about two years after purchase when the warranty has ended.
But what if the warranty went on a bit longer, and what if during that crucial two year mark your warranty was still worth something? What if it went even longer, and you didn’t have to worry about shelling out during the same time?
You might occasionally see lifetime warranties for memory cards and smartphone cases, but you don’t see them in many other places, and certainly not on big ticket items.
However that might be changing, as Canon this week signals a shift in the way it treats warranties, moving from the two years it has previously supported on its camera gear to five years.
The shift from 24 months to 60 months is a standard warranty Canon will offer from this week onwards on digital SLR camera, mirrorless models, digital video camera, and lenses, and it comes off the back of research that suggests customers have been conditioned to expect warranties to be short. That may be fuelled by the idea that consumers are shaped by the idea that technology changes too quickly, so quickly that a two year warranty is viewed as acceptable.
“At the end of the day, every brand should be providing products that offer the most value and the best possible experience to its consumers,” said Jason McLean, Director for Consumer Imaging at Canon Australia.
“It is time for brands in the industry to modernise their manufacturer warranties to reflect consumer expectations of quality, trust and good value,” he said.
It’s not just the camera department that sees the five year warranty. Canon told Pickr that it will also extend to the WG inkjet printer range, and that it applies to selected purchases made in both Australia and New Zealand on or after November 25, 2019.
However, it’s a local warranty, so if you damage your gear overseas and need it repaired, it’s not an international warranty and doesn’t qualify for an international repair. In other words, best wait until you get home for Canon’s five year warranty to be used.
While that might not be the best of news if you happen to need a repair while outside the country, it is at least some good news that Murphy’s Law is less likely to kick you while you’re down on a Canon product.
It might also signal a change in the industry, and force other camera brands to deliver a warranty that matches what Canon is doing.
