Had my first crash tonight. User error. It still seems to fly OK, but the gimbal is non responsive to controls. The gimbal head itself does not appear damaged - at least on the exterior. I've heard all the horror stories about how terrible DJI service is. Are there any alternatives for repair? Or am I stuck with DJI service.

Hi xrochester, we apologize for the crash accident and the unpleasant impression you've got from some stories on social media, customer's experience is very important to us and we are always working on improving it.
The repair process is pretty easy, it is recommended to start a ticket online https://repair.dji.com/repair/index?site=brandsite&from=nav and send in the drone with the provided shipping label if your address is qualified for it. Each step you will receive the email notification including the package check-in, damage assessment, quotation and so on. You can also track your case online.
In addition, if you need any assistance, you could always contact us via various channels, phone, chat, email, Forum, Facebook, Twitter and so on, we will do our best to help. Please don't worry.

Hello xrochester,

DJI is certainly famous for great drones but also for not having a customer centric customer service. However, keep in mind that this is a Chinese based company who's values and culture is vaslty different than others, so its not really fair to compare.
Overall, the best advise i can give you is follow their procedure for the repair/replacement process and do not have high expectations on the process. It will take about a month from when you send it to when you get it back or replaced with a refurbished unit, maybe longer with the current COVID situation.

I hope you can have more patience than I have.. and you will find the experience satisfactory.

Cheers!