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Poor Leica Service


rcraig

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I am not sure if this is the forum to vent frustration with Leica. For a company whose entire reputation is based on high quality products, Leica Customer Care does the name a great disservice. I purchased a new Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 ASPH nine months ago. It has been lightly used and never been dropped or bumped against anything. In early July, I noticed the entire front portion of the lens was about ready to fall off. I sent it back to Leica for repair six weeks ago. I know it was delivered to Leica service in NJ by tracking the UPS delivery. I have left repeated messages with Leica Service and I can't get anyone to return a phone call acknowledging the status, or much less that they actually have my lens. I have a fair amount of Leica gear. It is disappointing that you can send them an $8000 lens and get absolutely no response from this company's service department. It is irresponsible of Leica not to spend 40 cents on a stamp or take a few seconds to return a phone call. This is totally unacceptable customer service. I will never purchase another Leica product again. Leica owners be aware if you ever have to send your gear back to them for repair.

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I am not sure if this is the forum to vent frustration with Leica. For a company whose entire reputation is based on high quality products, Leica Customer Care does the name a great disservice. I purchased a new Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 ASPH nine months ago. It has been lightly used and never been dropped or bumped against anything. In early July, I noticed the entire front portion of the lens was about ready to fall off. I sent it back to Leica for repair six weeks ago. I know it was delivered to Leica service in NJ by tracking the UPS delivery. I have left repeated messages with Leica Service and I can't get anyone to return a phone call acknowledging the status, or much less that they actually have my lens. I have a fair amount of Leica gear. It is disappointing that you can send them an $8000 lens and get absolutely no response from this company's service department. It is irresponsible of Leica not to spend 40 cents on a stamp or take a few seconds to return a phone call. This is totally unacceptable customer service. I will never purchase another Leica product again. Leica owners be aware if you ever have to send your gear back to them for repair.

We all understand the frustrations of being Leica owners...  As you have only Posted this one entry, it would be nice if you had introduced yourself before ranting..  I doubt anyone from Leica will read your Post, I further doubt anyone on this forum can actually help you..  Call Leica Corp, tell them........

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had an interesting conversation with another Leica shooter who had been struggling to get status on his repair at Leica NJ.  He had been unable to get Bill Weier, Head of Customer Care, to respond to his emails or to each him by phone.  So he called his supervisor, the VP for Operations.  That individual said he would get Bill Weier to call, but before ending the conversation said that any future calls regarding issues with Customer Care should be directed to the President, Leica USA. We can read into that what we will.

 

During the conversation with Bill Weier my acquaintance got the impression that Bill Weier was overwhelmed and understaffed.  Bill said that he receives over a hundred emails a day.  In my dealings with him I found him helpful and responsive - up to the point when all communication stops.  And that point seems to be "what is the status of my repair". I have no way of knowing the actual situation, but this seems consistent with someone who is overloaded and can only respond to more urgent queries.

 

I infer from the comment by the VP for Operations that whatever the problem is, it is beyond his authority to correct.  So perhaps the solution is to do what he suggests.

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I deal with Leica NJ camera service the same way I deal with my car.  I call someone in advance to discuss issues, pick a delivery date that best ensures quicker turnaround, and send the goods directly to that person so that I have a point person, with personal phone number, for any questions or follow-up.  The key was finding the contact person, which took some time and research, but I've used the same person over many years.  This procedure shouldn't be necessary, but it has (mostly) worked for me.

 

On one occasion when I had technical questions about the nature of a lens repair, my contact put me on the phone with the person working on my gear.  That was a nice personal touch, but unfortunately that person couldn't fix the problem and I had to ship my lens to DAG, who quickly solved the issue.  Things ain't what they used to be, as the saying goes.

 

I've yet to have a situation where my gear needed to be further sent to Germany for repair.  I suspect that even my system wouldn't prove ideal.  

 

Jeff

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If you know that the repair has been forwarded to Germany it is advisable to contact Customer Service in Wetzlar directly in such cases. For me the telephone works best, but an email might be more practical from the USA.

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I've been amazed at how responsive DAG has been with repairs lately. The last three jobs I sent were returned within a week, and I didn't ask for a rush. (These were not full body overhauls, lens and RF calibrations and cleanings.) Some years past his backlog was such that I started using Youxin instead, but now DAG seems faster. I've even sent him some things that were still under warranty, as I knew he would be faster, and would get it right.

I suspect the rise of the digital Ms has cut into his film camera repair business. My M9 is on the way back to me now after he calibrated the RF.

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in my professional career I learned that employees want to do a good job.  And, in most cases, if their work is unsatisfactory it is the result of inadequate training or resources.

 

During my recent interactions with Leica NJ Customer Care I learned there is little automated support for the service reps.  Once a repair order number is assigned they can key that in that number and see what repairs are scheduled (assuming the item has been assessed for necessary work), but nothing beyond that.  The two times I talked with reps about my camera they had to leave their desks to try and find out.  They can check the items completed and awaiting shipping, but if it is not there they seem to have no effective way of finding where it is the queue or when it will be completed.  It seems that even a rudimentary repair inventory management system is lacking. Current technology, such as bar codes and RF chips, allows inventory management systems that can track every item at every point in the process.  I suspect the Customer Care folk may be as frustrated as some of us are. 

 

Senior Management makes decisions regarding resource allocation and staffing based on imperfect knowledge of what is actually happening in the work-space.  The best way to improve those decisions is to elevate the resulting problems to their attention.  Sometimes such communication by subordinate managers is discounted, but they are harder to ignore if received from customers. 

Edited by Luke_Miller
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How about 4 months and no estimate for repair cost?  Four months ago Leica USA acknowledged the arrival of my 280 APO, then sent it on to Germany.  Note to Leica: this is not how to convince me to buy that shiny new SL and 90-280 APO.

 

 

Today I discussed Leica's service with my nearest dealer (2 hrs away) and he said "You're not alone."

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He's an odd chap, our Mr Putts.

 

Does anyone else compose after focussing with an M or am I the only one?

I think it is a -very- roundabout way of complaining about the silence in the M development  division of Leica.

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I think it is a -very- roundabout way of complaining about the silence in the M development division of Leica.

If that's what he wants to say he should say it.

 

What he said is the kind of thing a complete novice thinks. Also his comment that Leica photographers didn't use the viewfinder.

 

He's meant to be an authority on Leica but his comments are just stupid.

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Does anyone else compose after focussing with an M or am I the only one?

 

 

No, of course not. As others have stated, it is normal practice to focus then recompose but there is no doubt IMO that using an RF (and, to a lesser extent, an SLR with a central split image) can influence composition, with the point of focus often remaining close to the centre of the photograph. I don't think it is an amateur thing either: I see this tendency quite often in the work of many very fine (RF using) photographers like, for example, Bruce Davidson, Mark Steinmetz, Josef Koudelka, Trent Parke, even Winogrand.

Edited by wattsy
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The Puts piece is a bit of a 'stream of consciousness' ramble. Some of his references go back to the LTM rangefinder models of the 1930s where the focus and viewfinder windows were separate and then jump forward to the developments of the present day. He is probably right in saying that the trend is towards smart mobile phones at the consumer end with the EVF in the middle and optical models for the few wealthy enthusiasts at the top end. Of some concern is the lack of indication from Leica about the future of its optical rangefinder models. Of even more concern is the evidence that Leica has QC and customer service issues which are not being addressed. Anyone (journalists and consumers) going to Photokina later this month should raise these issues with Dr Kaufmann and his team.

 

William

Edited by willeica
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