I’ve been using a pair of RODE videomic pro since 2012. They’ve been great for sync sound and interview audio over the years and always make it into my camera bag. After almost 4 years of use, I finally managed to break the cradle off while chasing actress into a car.

I, didn’t really have a lot of time to do anything about it, so I simply switched over to my backup videomic pro and finished up the shoot. The broken mic ended up at the bottom of my camera bag for a few months and was pretty much forgotten about until I finally had time to clean up.

A lot of companies arbitrarily stamp packaging with random claims of  a “Lifetime” warranty, but trying to contact them for an RMA number or customer service can be tough or even impossible in many cases. It is pretty refreshing when you contact a company and get a good response.

This was the first time I’ve managed to break a RODE product and the first time I’d attempted to use their customer support for a broken mic. While the broken cradle was caused by regular use and abuse, I logged into RODE’s customer support page, typed in my serial number as well as a quick message about my problem,  and sent it in. The response came back within a day.

We’d be happy to send you out a replacement VMP coldshoe assembly with our compliments.

My experience with RODE’s customer support was easily one of the smoothest I’ve ever had. I would have gladly paid for the replacement bits, yet without prompting they were kind enough to simply send it out.

It’s easy to rant when you’ve had a bad experience with a company, but sometimes we forget to mention it when they do a great job. So thanks RODE, I will continue to carry my videomic pro with me far into the future.

The weather is nice in Seattle, it might be time to step away from the computer and enjoy the afternoon while Thanksgiving dinner finishes up.

Tags: Rode VideoMic Pro, Shotgun mic, Videomic