Video The Only, Lonely Protester at CES (Video) 259
Tim: CES for the most part is a very apolitical show. People aren’t outside protesting the show’s giant carbon footprint or the e-waste that all these gadgets generate. But outside there is a guy who has got a very specific beef with some of the manufacturers here, specifically Japanese camera manufacturers, who he says cost him his business. Meet camera repairman and former CES exhibitor, Kelly Chong.
Kelly: My name is Kelly Chong. I am from San Diego, California.
Tim: What are you doing here at CES?
Kelly: I am trying to help US consumers by demonstration.
Tim: Now, you are holding a sign that says NIKON CAMERA; you are calling them ECONOMIC TERRORISTS. What do you mean by that?
Kelly: They are not supplying local repair shops service repair parts and service literature. For example, you have a Canon video camera, if your camera has a problem, there is nowhere to go fixing your camera, they are going to affect US consumer and economy. That is why we call them economic terrorists. We have to protect US consumer.
Tim: Now what do you think should be done?
Kelly: We have to protect our country. I am a US citizen.
Tim: What do you think should be done?
Kelly: We don’t have much money to hire an attorney. That is why I come in here. I am a US citizen. I am trying to protect US customer. I am proud of America. We have to protect our country. They have to supply parts, all the local repair shops, that is all.
Tim: Now this isn’t your first time in CES, is it?
Kelly: Yes, yesterday I tried to get inside, they kicked me out. They already violated my constitutional right.
Tim: Now you were here before as an exhibitor?
Kelly: Yeah, I am an exhibitor. I have been visiting since 1985, Kelly Camera, now we are in San Diego, now Pro Camera Repair Inc. We complain to fifth estate, Congress and Senators, and President Obama. We are awaiting final result from court. The case about five to six years. We don’t have much money to hire an attorney but we did.
Tim: You would like to see these companies being required to supply parts?
Kelly: Yes, they should supply the parts; that is all.
Tim: Okay. And how have you personally benefited by this?
Kelly: Because we sent a letter, so many complaints, they just ignored it. We are a small local company. So I would like they to bring final result. I just am pissed off. That is all.
Tim: Okay. Anything else you would like to add?
Kelly: I would like to protect US consumer because I am US citizen. That is all.
You do not fix things. (Score:5, Insightful)
Back in your place, consumers. You barely even own what you own, much less have any right to fix it or pay someone else to fix it.
The economy of America will collapse unless you keep buying brand new stuff constantly. You don't want that, do you? Are you some kind of terrorist?
Good for him (Score:5, Insightful)
As a member of a large professional camera repair society (SPT), I can firmly say: f*** Nikon. Chong's point is entirely valid. Sadly enough, as a photographer, I love Nikon's DSLRs but I can't support them due to their policy towards independent shops.
CES is not a political show? (Score:4, Insightful)
CES is not a political show
Wow. Set off my bullshit detector in the first sentence.
Former President Bill Clinton pushes for stricter gun control during Consumer Electronics Show speech [nydailynews.com]
I suspect we witness here a case of a political view, and even a politician, that is considered so mainstream that they no longer suffer the "political" qualification.
Just for the record, any "show" that has Bill Clinton as a featured speaker is political.
Re:Sucks, I guess, (Score:3, Insightful)
And what if car companies also took up the same idea. No independent repair shops, and higher prices for all repairs.
I believe that any company that refuses to provide repair parts should then not be allowed to complain if third party companies come along start providing them.
Re:Sucks, I guess, (Score:0, Insightful)
Ding. If customers care, they'll buy from different manufacturers. This guy doesn't have a right to those parts.
Re:advancing technology (Score:5, Insightful)
No: this is a completely different issue, it is not about new tech make old tech obsolete. It is as if you could only have your horses shod at a few ''approved'' farriers. Supply & demand would mean that these farriers could charge a lot of money ... but to become approved they need to pay bribes\h\h\h\h\h\h 'approval & training fees' to a central body.
Re:Sucks, I guess, (Score:5, Insightful)
To not do so is called abuse of monopoly, it is anti competitive. It pushed up maintainance prices, these prices are, generally, not considered when buying a new camera. Hopefully: in a few years NiKon cameras will have aquired a bad reputation for high maintainace and no one will buy them.
Before anyone says: Nikon do not have a monopoly in selling cameras, they just are trying to get one when it comes to maintaining them - by tying repair shops to them & presumably charging large approval fees.
Re:Justified? That depends... (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, a manufacturer, unless obligated by law, does not have to provide anything post-sale unless they've stated that they will.
Would like to watch when car manufacturers (all at the same time, sure) will start to follow NIKON'S policy.
CC.
They already kind of are. You can get more details here, at the Right to Repair coalition:
http://www.righttorepair.org/ [righttorepair.org]
Basically, various companies have realized that they can charge dealers exorbitant fees for diagnostic equipment if they make said diagnostics proprietary trade secrets, and then the dealers will have to funnel the costs to the consumer -- which is fine, because the dealers are the only place in town to get the cars repaired at. It's gotten so bad that I've even seen proprietary light bulbs for some vehicles.
Re:Sucks, I guess, (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:You do not fix things. (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh I was not stupid enough to let them know where I got it, only that it came from "the internet"
Right to Repair (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Sucks, I guess, (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:advancing technology (Score:4, Insightful)
They are, but only to their authorised repair services.
The regulation reads 'shall make available to service and repair facilities'
It doesn't say authorized service and repair facilities; it doesn't say service and repair facilities that the manufacturer prefers; it doesn't say service and repair facilities except independents
There's no listed exception there at all....
Therefore: if there exists a place that is a service facility or is a repair facility, that requested literature and parts, and there is refusal to offer sufficient literature, or parts, then they would be in potential violation