Customer service is much worse than even 20 years ago, particularly at large corporations. I still remember, back around '83-'84, a Parker pen leaked and ruined an expensive shirt. I sent the pen and a letter of complaint to Parker, and their president called me on the phone. He said they hadn't found any residue on the pen, but they would reimburse me for the shirt anyway. He was true to his word, and I received a check a week later.

Fast forward to the '90s and '00s, and I have had major issues with large companies that should be doing much better. In one case, I fought Delta over a $1,000 refund that was due under the terms of the ticket I bought, but which they steadfastly refused to honor. Nothing worked (including a claim through my CC company) until I wrote the FAA. In another case, Nikon damaged a SLR I sent to their California service center. The service center wouldn't admit fault, and the New York corporate HQ wouldn't even acknowledge my certified letter. I did get credit for the charges to my CC, but still took a loss on the camera. Two months later, I decided to sell all my other Nikon gear, including dozens of high quality lenses and film bodies, and I switched to Canon. Just by luck, Nikon boned me just before I went digital. I would have hated to have discovered how bad Nikon service is after spending another $3-4K on their newer gear. Guess there's a good side to almost everything.

'08 America Blue/White; Custom Headlamps, Custom Lowers, Clearview 20", Bafflectomy