This is topic Non-Existent Christie Service in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Arnold Chase (Member # 7988) on 11-01-2018, 04:01 PM:
 
On 9/24/2018, I discovered an active FIPS alarm on my Christie IMB-S2, along with all the expected projector warnings and lights. I immediately contacted Christie and told them I needed to get my IMB repaired/replaced as fast as possible, as I had a private film screening coming up in a week (the CP4230 projector is in a private screening room). I wanted to overnight my IMB to them after they said it was in-warranty, but that I needed to wait until I got an RMA established. Shortly thereafter, I received the following email:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for choosing Christie Digital Systems, this email confirms we have initiated the RMA process for your equipment.

Instructions:

Our RMA Team will be contacting you with the RMA # you will need to return the product to Christie. Please wait for their call or email.

Several days went by, and even though they said to wait for their call, I nevertheless reached out to them since several days had gone by without a phone call or email. They informed me that a replacement IMB had indeed been shipped out. When I told them that nothing had arrived, they hesitated for a moment and then told me the replacement had been sent to CHINA. The rep said they had been "unusually busy", and someone would be back in touch with me shortly. No-one ever did, and as a result the screening had to be cancelled. As before, there was ZERO response from Christie so once again I called them. This time they told me that the delay was because I had not set up a "service account". Even though I did so a year earlier when the previous IMB failed, to make them happy I again filled out the forms and sent them back to Christie. Another WEEK went by with no contact, so I emailed them with the RMA reference asking what the status was, which resulted in NO response whatsoever from them.

Here it is five weeks later, and still NOTHING from "Customer Service". Years ago I went through the entire Series 2 Operations and Repair course, so I am qualified to do whatever repairs are needed, but obviously with a dead IMB there is nothing further that can be done in the field.

Needless to say, my next purchase (which is coming up shortly), will NOT be from Christie.
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 11-02-2018, 05:48 PM:
 
BL&S Rents IMB's and Servers which can be adapted for your Christie and we are within a couple hour drive of you. We also are a certified Christie dealer/service contractor and can assist with getting you parts like this in a timely manner.
 

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 11-02-2018, 07:33 PM:
 
I must say, you've got quite a machine for a private screening room.

It's a bit of a pity those things tend to break more often than you'd expect in this price range.

Unfortunately, dealing with Christie as an end-user can be quite the hassle. If you don't regularly buy equipment from them, going through a "middle man" will usually result in a better service level, even though you're perfectly capable of servicing the machine yourself. Those parties often also have their buffer of spare parts.

Historically, I've had a more consistent experience regarding warranty claims from Barco than from Christie, but Barco seems to have the habit of handling those cases from Belgium, which might cause significant delays for those located on different continents.

You seem to have specifically chosen for a DCI machine. Do you actually play encrypted DCP content in your screening room?
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-02-2018, 07:37 PM:
 

quote: Marcel Birgelen

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Historically, I've had a more consistent experience regarding warranty claims from Barco than from Christie, but Barco seems to have the habit of handling those cases from Belgium, which might cause significant delays for those located on different continents.

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