How Kirk Messed Up My L-Bracket Order (And How They Gained a Customer for Life)

by Sean Setters

To be perfectly blunt, I'm addicted to L-brackets. Ever since getting one for my EOS 5D Mark III, I've grown to loath shooting without the convenience of a well-made L-bracket. When upgrading cameras, I always budget for the purchase of a battery grip and an L-bracket to go along with it. They are essential accessories to me.

Unfortunately, there were no L-brackets available for the EOS 7D Mark II and BG-E16 battery grip when the pair first hit my doorstep in November. In fact, L-brackets have only recently become available for the 7D II camera + battery grip combo. Having been thoroughly satisfied with the Kirk L-bracket I purchased for my 5D Mark III, I opted for picking up the Kirk model for my new 7D II and battery grip (BL-7D2G).

The weeks spent using the 7D II with a standard Arca-Swiss compatible camera plate attached left me wishing the L-bracket would be available sooner rather than later. I had forgotten how much I had grown to rely on the convenience it afforded me. Finally, my long awaited bracket arrived late one Friday afternoon. I eagerly tore open the box, ripped apart the packaging and immediately paired the bracket to my camera. And...

IT.... DIDN'T.... FIT.

Kirk L Bracket Incorrect Model Number Engraved

I was crestfallen. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the bracket to fit the way it was supposed to. It had the right model number laser engraved on it, but it simply wasn't right. I took a few images to help illustrate the fitting problem I was experiencing.

The following Monday I called Kirk to let them know there was an issue with the bracket I received. I was happy to find an actual person on the other end of the line after only the first IVR (Interactive Voice Response) option. As I was explaining the issue to the friendly service person on the phone, I emailed them a few images to help them understand how bad the L-bracket fit was. After only a few minutes of cordial back-and-forth, what the lady on the phone said left me astonished...

She told me they would be overnighting me a replacement that included a return shipping label for the incorrectly fitting bracket. She went on to explain that they would be sending me the very L-bracket they had just used to create the official product pictures for their site (which were not live yet) so there would be no doubt that I would receive a correct fitting replacment.

Keep in mind that the person on the other end of the line had no idea that I worked for The-Digital-Picture.com. To her, I was just a random guy who was dissatisfied with his L-bracket. And the speed and efficiency with which she handled my call left me awestruck.

If I hadn't talked to Kirk after that, I would have been amazed at their efficient and satisfactory customer service. Shortly after the call I received a shipping notification email generated from the shipping label that had been created for my replacement. About two hours after that, I received a phone call from Kirk...

Another technician had called me to offer an explanation of what they thought had happened. The following is recounted from the best of my recollection:

"Hi Sean, I think we figured out what happened. The 7D II + battery grip bracket looks almost identical to the bracket for the _______ camera and battery grip. It looks like a small batch of them were laser engraved with 7D II + battery grip model number on them because the operator mistook them for the 7D II brackets, but they weren't. We apologize for the issue, and your replacement is on its way."
Before I began working for The-Digital-Picture.com, I worked for a business that owned several manufacturing firms. As such, I've seen a lot of things that went wrong on a factory floor that led to orders being sent out incorrectly. It shouldn't happen, but it does. So I can understand how two parts that look nearly identical could be mislabeled. But Kirk didn't have an obligation to tell me what went wrong; but they did. And that type of communication, being open and honest about how things might have gone awry, is somewhat rare (but very appreciated). I love the fact that they called me back to explain what they thought happened; it shows a level of caring (about their end customers) that many businesses fail to display.

The next day my replacement L-bracket arrived....and it fit perfectly (it's shown at the top of this post). I sent the incorrect bracket back to them (at no cost) using the shipping label they provided me.

In short, Kirk really impressed me with the way they handled my order. True, the product I received was wrong; it didn't work. However, they did everything they could to resolve the issue, and even went above and beyond by personally calling me back to tell me what led to the problem in the first place.

Defense may win championships, but good customer service wins customers for life.

B&H has the Kirk L-Brackets for the EOS 7D Mark II available with free shipping.

Posted: 1/5/2015 6:33:12 AM ET   Posted By: Sean
Posted to: Canon News, Sony News    
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