IkarusJohn Posted July 21, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Sometimes, Leica is its own worts enemy. Generally, I'm a huge support of the company, and I have lots of their products, but their service ranges from brilliant to basically completely useless. I needed a new code for my LightRoom software, so I ordered a new licence key (for my Leica T). I got a prompt response from Leica with the key. I filled it in in the software, and I got the message "The serial number you entered is invalid". I checked it, tried filling it in again, downloaded the software again, but no deal - couldn't licence the software. So, I copied the error message and sent it off to Leica Software Support expecting a prompt and helpful reply. Hmmm, a week later, and not even an acknowledgement of my email. I guess the email address ust goes into a Junk Mail folder somewhere - certainly, having paid my money, Leica doesn't seem to be interested. Grrrr Edited July 23, 2014 by andybarton No email addresses please Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 21, 2014 Posted July 21, 2014 Hi IkarusJohn, Take a look here Licensing LightRoom. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
IkarusJohn Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted July 23, 2014 Interesting - I decided to share my annoyance with my dealer and the local importer (both of whom I hold in the highest esteem). Within 24 hours I got a response from Adobe, with advice on how to fix the problem. Nice. Still no reply from Leica. As I said to a boat builder once - if I had a client who used my services or bought my products, I'd jump if they had a problem. Actually, that is exactly what I do. I have 4 Leica cameras, a nice collection of Leica's best lenses, and I don't even warrant a reply email when I can't get the software to load. I find it baffling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalHeMan Posted July 23, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 23, 2014 Maybe their reply went into your junk folder? I have always received quick responses from Leica CS email Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanyasi Posted July 23, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 23, 2014 Once again, an example of poor after-purchase support. There will be those who defend Leica by reporting their own positive experience, but that does not excuse the many reports of poor support. At the of the day, Leica needs to provide a more uniform experience. It should spend less money on boutiques and more on customer service. As for the reference to checking the junk mail folder: That is a glib response. Stop blaming the victim of poor service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalHeMan Posted July 23, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 23, 2014 As for the reference to checking the junk mail folder: That is a glib response. Stop blaming the victim of poor service. Not really. The OP suggested that his original mail had gone to the junk mail folder as well, and the mails coming from Leica do trigger a number of spam filters due to their construction (at least in my experience) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 23, 2014 Share #6 Posted July 23, 2014 Once again, an example of poor after-purchase support. There will be those who defend Leica by reporting their own positive experience, but that does not excuse the many reports of poor support. At the of the day, Leica needs to provide a more uniform experience. It should spend less money on boutiques and more on customer service. As for the reference to checking the junk mail folder: That is a glib response. Stop blaming the victim of poor service. Hmmm... Why do most Internet companies urge their customers to check their Spam and Junk folders then? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted July 23, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Maybe their reply went into your junk folder? I have always received quick responses from Leica CS email No, I check my junk folder daily, and it didn't go to customer support but to software support - an empty email address? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 23, 2014 Share #8 Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) So, it was Adobe giving you the run around then, seeing as they knew how to fix it. Maybe Leica are as bemused as you as to why the valid code they gave you didn't work, given they aren't a branch of Adobe. A bit like asking a boat builder to fix the plumbing, after all it's all just a water problem. Steve Edited July 23, 2014 by 250swb 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 23, 2014 Share #9 Posted July 23, 2014 So, it was Adobe giving you the run around then, seeing as they knew how to fix it. [...] I would like to know what was wrong. . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted July 23, 2014 I have no idea what was wrong. While I was waiting, I sorted it by uninstalling and then reinstalling LR. Not sure how you get Adobe giving me the runaround, Steve, but if the works for you, go with it. I used a code provided by Leica, and it didn't work. I contacted Leica, and still have had no response from them. I contacted the local dealer and importers (both of whom have been exemplary in the past) and shortly thereafter, I got assistance from Adobe (which it turned out I didn't need). I then got a nice response from the importer. Now, it maybe that Leica moved heaven and earth for me - I'll never know as I still haven't had a response to my email to their software support email address. Hope that clarifies the position. I'd say local Leica +1, Adobe (global) +1, Leica (global) 0 Cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 24, 2014 Share #11 Posted July 24, 2014 . Not sure how you get Adobe giving me the runaround, Steve, but if the works for you, go with it. I used a code provided by Leica, and it didn't work. I contacted Leica, and still have had no response from them But Leica only give you the code, they don't (can't) affect, modify, or implement Adobe's installation procedures. Software problems can be specific to the individual PC, what is already installed for instance, and while it is a good idea just to check if there is a glaring and simple problem that Leica know about, it is hard to understand why you think they should be computer techies to come up with any answer specific to your computer. My new 'free' copy of Lightroom installed alongside my old copy for instance, the activation code worked perfectly, and I just put it down to luck, chance, the brilliance of Adobe, the fact that my PC is weirdly behaving itself for once, anything except to think Leica had a hand in it. Steve 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted July 24, 2014 I'm very happy for you. Simple issue - you get a product from a vendor. Any product. You have a problem with it. You go back to the vendor, and you get silence. You're a professional photographer, right? You take some wedding photos, and you send your client a link to Dropbox to down load them. You've (hopefully) charged them a lot of money. So, the DropBox link doesn't work. You ignore them, right? Don't answer emails, just hope they'll go away, and blame their ISP provider perhaps? Look, it's simple. My transaction was with Leica - silence isn't really good enough. The local importer came to the party. Adobe came to the party. Leica? Zip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted July 24, 2014 Share #13 Posted July 24, 2014 I have had some couple of mails back and forth these last couple of days actually. I wanted to register a second hand camera in my name. This has been resolved for me now. I just got another mail from Customer Care apologising for the delays in communication as they had a server breakdown and making sure that the problem had been resolved for me in the meantime. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted July 24, 2014 Customer Service has always been very good by comparison. It did occur to me that there might be a server problem, so I did send follow ups. I am not, and have never been out to hang Leica. But that does not make them immune from criticism. An apology goes a long way ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted July 24, 2014 Share #15 Posted July 24, 2014 I've never suggested that Leica Camera should be immune to criticism either. Nevertheless a report of a very positive experience such as I had there, is as valid as one reporting a deficiency. From what I can read you have never got an email response to your question to software support there which would be annoying. It is possible but of course this is only my guess that your message was lost due to the server problem I was told about. However, whatever the issue with your Lightroom installation it was not due to any deficiency by Leica Camera from what I understand. It's great that you sorted it out. Lightroom in the permanent licence model has a EULA defining how you may install and use it but in fact does not restrict multiple installations (but they would be in violation of the EULA of course). There is no actual activation process. Personally I think that Leica Camera would have been better off just pointing to the normal Adobe servers for downloads rather than hosting their own. But then I'm just a customer with an opinion too. I don't think they have the capacity to support installation or operation issues. They do need to support firmware and Image Shuttle of course. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share #16 Posted July 25, 2014 However, whatever the issue with your Lightroom installation it was not due to any deficiency by Leica Camera from what I understand. It's great that you sorted it out. That may be a fair assumption, Geoff; it might not be. The licence key was generated by them (through some link up with Adobe) - by that I mean, you request the key from the Leica site, and then you get the key from Leica. That is less of a concern to me - the point of contact is Leica, so they should be the one to either pass me on to the relevant person or to resolve the issue. In fact, that is all that the local importer did after I expressed my frustration to them. Cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted July 25, 2014 Share #17 Posted July 25, 2014 I only got email responses from Leica CS after a few days and following up with a phone call. In the phone call the friendly lady acknowledged my initial email was in their system. Once I had established through the phone call contact with a specific person then that person with her specific email address kept in touch and would respond to my emails. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted July 25, 2014 Share #18 Posted July 25, 2014 That may be a fair assumption, Geoff; it might not be. The licence key was generated by them (through some link up with Adobe) - by that I mean, you request the key from the Leica site, and then you get the key from Leica. That is less of a concern to me - the point of contact is Leica, so they should be the one to either pass me on to the relevant person or to resolve the issue. In fact, that is all that the local importer did after I expressed my frustration to them. Cheers John John while we see this differently, I'm glad that you got it sorted out. But I think you want to emphasis the point that you never got an answer from Leica software support and I'm talking about whether they did give you a valid serial number in the first place and how you sorted out the problem with your re-install. Never mind, enjoy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share #19 Posted July 25, 2014 You're right we do see this differently. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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