I finally got around to sending our older Canon PowerShot off to the company’s customer service center a few weeks ago. To recap the story quickly, earlier this year our PowerShot SD110 started malfunctioning, taking shots with a magenta cast and horizontal lines through each frame. Research revealed that Canon had an out-of-warranty replacement program for the problem, and a quick phone call confirmed our camera was eligible.

I had dawdled in sending our camera in not because I was waiting on the company for anything, but because I never got around to the UPS store to drop the package off (new baby and all). I should also mention that Canon’s customer service has been nothing but stellar from the beginning. Each call I made was handled by someone obviously well-trained and motivated, and they sent me a pre-paid UPS label promptly via email after my first contact. When our camera arrived at their shop, I got an email notification. And when they emailed me about a return package en route, I expected it to take a week or so to arrive.

Imagine my surprise when we got a FedEx delivery this week, with a small but curiously heavy box inside. Accompanying the box was a dry, matter-of-fact letter which informed me they had, in fact, tested out camera and found it was defective, and because parts weren’t available anymore, they shipped us a replacement PowerShot SD900 instead. I think you could have knocked me over with a feather.

It’s a refurbished model, which means it had been returned to Canon for repair/replacement; there are a few small nicks on the corner where it had been dropped somewhere. Otherwise, it’s a clean unit with a huge LCD display and 10MP resolution. (The physical condition of our old 110 was embarrassing). The battery is charging on the wall as I write this, and I can’t wait to try it out.

My first serious digital camera was a Canon G3, which I loved, and when it came time to go to DSLRs, I went with Nikon over Canon for various reasons I don’t recall even though it seemed like everyone I read was doing the opposite. I’ve got nothing but good words for our Nikons, and I still plan to upgrade to a D90 when I can afford one (I have already made a sizeable investment in Nikon glass), but I still praise Canon to the heavens whenever I’m asked for an opinion. This customer service experience almost makes me regret going with Nikon, because I do vote with my pocketbook, and I’d like to reward this company for going above and beyond the call of duty. They could simply have told me there was nothing they could do, and shipped back our brick; they could have discontinued the program years ago. Instead, they have further cemented my brand loyalty, and made an evangelist out of me. Nice work, Canon.