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Leica Should Take A Page Out of Canon's Playbook


sanyasi

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For me this has been the year of the busted camera. I had to send my MM into Leica New Jersey for work four months ago. The repairs took 3 months and the process operated like by a black hole. The camera went in for repair and I never heard anything until it came back.

 

Two weeks ago today, I sent my Canon 5D, Mark III in for repair. At every point in the process I received an e-mail--they received it, it was examined, the problem was identified, this is the cost, we received your payment, we are shipping the camera back to you.

 

My camera arrived today. The cost of repair was $243, which included sensor cleaning, an 18-point inspection program, and fixing the problem. As you might expect, the MM repair was considerably more.

 

There will be those who will attempt to justify Leica's poor customer support/repair because it is a much smaller company. I completely disagree. They know repair rates. They can staff accordingly. In this age of digitization, implementing a customer communication system is not rocket-science. And most importantly, most premium product dealers recognize the importance of customer satisfaction after purchase. Leica should stop screwing around opening stores in airports and art galleries. It should start servicing its customers.

 

And another lesson. Normally I don't buy warranty extensions, but I had been doing that with Canon cameras. Never again. Canon's service was so good, inexpensive, easy, and quick, that I am happy to deal with them directly even if the camera is out of warranty.

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My Leica NJ experience mirrors Rick's.

 

Same here - when I had to have my 50 Summilux serviced after a friend dropped it, LNJ got it done promtly and covered the work under warranty.

 

It sounds like perhaps the good folks in Wetzlar could take a page from Leica NJ's play book. ;)

Edited by Carlos Danger
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For me this has been the year of the busted camera. I had to send my MM into Leica New Jersey for work four months ago. The repairs took 3 months and the process operated like by a black hole. The camera went in for repair and I never heard anything until it came back.

 

Two weeks ago today, I sent my Canon 5D, Mark III in for repair. At every point in the process I received an e-mail--they received it, it was examined, the problem was identified, this is the cost, we received your payment, we are shipping the camera back to you.

 

My camera arrived today. The cost of repair was $243, which included sensor cleaning, an 18-point inspection program, and fixing the problem. As you might expect, the MM repair was considerably more.

 

There will be those who will attempt to justify Leica's poor customer support/repair because it is a much smaller company. I completely disagree. They know repair rates. They can staff accordingly. In this age of digitization, implementing a customer communication system is not rocket-science. And most importantly, most premium product dealers recognize the importance of customer satisfaction after purchase. Leica should stop screwing around opening stores in airports and art galleries. It should start servicing its customers.

 

And another lesson. Normally I don't buy warranty extensions, but I had been doing that with Canon cameras. Never again. Canon's service was so good, inexpensive, easy, and quick, that I am happy to deal with them directly even if the camera is out of warranty.

 

Took the words right out of my mouth - I have been wanted to write this exact post for a long time. Canon service is amazing - and Leica NJ has loads to learn.

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Sorry to hear about this Jack. Oddly, when I have (three times) in the past sent cameras to Cs in Solms I received emails repeatedly updating on what was being done.

 

Philip

Same here.

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But will you stop buying ?

 

No, at this point I have too many lenses. At the same time, I do have the following thoughts, which should trouble Leica. Do I really need the Leica macro lens? I've got three top quality Canon macro lenses. Is a rangefinder really a macro camera? Or, maybe it will keep the lenses, but as Fuji and others come out with cameras that are similar to an M, maybe I will buy an adapter and skip a Leica upgrade.

 

I am not saying I am a banding Leica, but repair and service issues make me think twice before digging a deeper Leica hole.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just wanted to mention I visited Leica NJ in person on Monday to drop off a wobbly 50 Lux ASPH that is more glowy than usual wide open. Was informed it would likely be an 8-week turnaround, in part due to summer holidays.

 

That said, I also made the point that as a Canon CPS member, repairs are usually done within 4-5 business days and I receive loaners during that period. Therefore, why can't Leica NJ do something to improve turnaround times? Of course, the very friendly CSR was not in a position to offer an official answer, and I wasn't expecting one. Rather, wanted to personally express my opinion in the hopes that one more somewhat unhappy customer might add to the greater cry of displeasure.

 

While I was there, I also requested an M240 sensor cleaning because of a persistent spot I was not able to remove myself. I was informed that even an M240 sensor cleaning is not a simple procedure because official policy is that the camera must be put 'on the machine,' which I take means a thorough inspection. Luckily the technician agreed to look at it on the spot and put it through the full process, and got the sensor nice and clean. Even tweaked the RF, which looks like it resolved a slight back focus tendency.

 

I was so focused on the 50 Lux ASPH problem that I didn't even look at the work order for the M240 until at home:

 

"Cleaned CMOS, adjusted RF. Test photos OK. Checked sensor position/tilt. Checked light meter, checked and found OK."

 

In this respect I'm very happy that they were able to accommodate me on the "spot" and also appear to have fixed the slight RF problem I've noticed but was never annoyed enough with to bear being without the camera for weeks/months.

 

But bottom line for me is that it's difficult to put complete faith in shooting Leica for paid work, at least without being able to afford a complete backup system (which for me means keeping a DSLR system), because should something go wrong with it, it's simply not practical to be without a camera for a month or two.

 

Leica and/or Leica USA need to improve turnaround times and/or consider an equipment loaner program, at least for those who would be willing to join an equivalent to Canon's paid membership CPS program. Or, implement options such as those available to EU residents through Leica Germany to pay for fast (5-day) or express (2-day) expedited service. If loaners were available, then I really wouldn't care how long they took with repairs...

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Extrapolating the sensor cleaning experience I mentioned above, it would appear Leica NJ has comparable service capabilities to that of Leica Germany (the special M240 inspection machine, for example). One would expect, given the size of the American market to Leica, that there would be a desire to resolve service requests locally, rather than shipping them to Germany.

 

From what I've read from others, it seems Leica's service experience in Asia is even worse...

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Some time ago i did send a Sony RX 1 for repair via CameraNu in the Netherlands. This was the company i bought the camera from. I got every week an update on the repair status. Sony replaced the lens and the shutter within 3 weeks. No doubt the regular push/reminder from the supplier did help.

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  • 2 weeks later...
That said, I also made the point that as a Canon CPS member, repairs are usually done within 4-5 business days and I receive loaners during that period.

 

Canon has been equally quick for me when I've been a CPS member and when I haven't. Even with the lowest level (zero cost) CPS membership, repairs are completed within a week. Even when I dropped a lens and broke it completely, I had it back good as new the following week. Repairs are so quick that I don't need loaners.

Edited by zlatkob
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