jaapv Posted August 25, 2011 Share #41 Posted August 25, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I know for a fact that the Customer Service, and that is what we are talking about here, -the factory is a totally separate operation, not even in the same location-, has staggered holidays and is operational for 12 months a year (except maybe after Christmas) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 25, 2011 Posted August 25, 2011 Hi jaapv, Take a look here Communication with Leica Solms?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted August 25, 2011 Share #42 Posted August 25, 2011 I wouldn't suggest that Leica do not benefit from a quiet period to stock take and so on but isn't this business of "shutting down plant at Solms" another red herring? My understanding is that, other than the grinding and polishing of the glass, most of the stuff that goes into Leica cameras and lenses (CNC machined lens barrels, body parts, etc.) are manufactured by third party suppliers and put together in Portugal. Portugal does not put much together - they produce the bodyshells which are finished in Wetzlar. The main asssembly takes place in Solms, but they are indeed dependent on subassemblies and parts that are sourced from around the world. The lens barrels for instance are machined by Uwe Weller Feinmechanik, as is most if not all CNC machining. It would be silly to drag them across Europe, turn them into another half product and then drag them back again to a spot 10 Km down the road... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 25, 2011 Share #43 Posted August 25, 2011 Sorry I'm not going to absorb the expense of phoning Germany. Leica offers email addresses for communication, why do that if they dont reply? They have no excuse, it is just bad treatment of a good customer. I agree that offering a general mailbox, without responding, is not great or courteous. But, I offered two options, each of which works fine. Use a phone. Cost/value? In this day and age of cell phones? I thought Europe was ahead of the US in that regard. And/or get the email address of someone who works there. How difficult is that in the age of the internet? I found my contact on the web (even the Leica site has names and contacts), and even found a few posts on the forum with names of people in NJ who have been helpful. I know you have an internet plan. Do either of these things once, and you'll have a contact person as long as that person works there. I've had my contact for many years. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted August 25, 2011 Share #44 Posted August 25, 2011 Sorry I'm not going to absorb the expense of phoning Germany. ... Jeff, Fair enough but if you use an independent carrier like Telediscount the call will only cost you 1p per minute. From your home phone you simply dial Telediscount's number, listen to a 10 second message on what to do, without hanging up dial Solms's number and then the hash key and you're through. Even if you talked to them for 60 minutes it's less than £1 and there's no signing up or exchange of payment details because the cost of the call just gets added to your normal phone bill. You can do the same with a mobile but the rate is 10p per minute and I think there are other carriers who offer better deals for mobiles. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share #45 Posted August 25, 2011 I agree that offering a general mailbox, without responding, is not great or courteous. But, I offered two options, each of which works fine. Use a phone. Cost/value? In this day and age of cell phones? I thought Europe was ahead of the US in that regard. And/or get the email address of someone who works there. How difficult is that in the age of the internet? I found my contact on the web (even the Leica site has names and contacts), and even found a few posts on the forum with names of people in NJ who have been helpful. I know you have an internet plan. Do either of these things once, and you'll have a contact person as long as that person works there. I've had my contact for many years. Jeff Jeff I have in fact already spoken to Leica UK and my camera has been picked up by UPS and sent to Solms no cost to me as it is in warranty. See my first post. For the future I will always go this route and not bother trying to email Leica Germany. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun Posted August 25, 2011 Share #46 Posted August 25, 2011 A further possible explanation for the delay in replying to your email may be availability of an English speaking engineer. I remember when one of my M bodies went from Milton Keynes to Solms for service there was a delay and MK told me that I may have to wait a day or two until an english speaking engineer was in and could check the camera and respond. Admittedly, that's a bit different -- I was waiting for an email update on what the problem was, but even so it struck me as reasonable that english speakers might not always be available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 25, 2011 Share #47 Posted August 25, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Jeff I have in fact already spoken to Leica UK and my camera has been picked up by UPS and sent to Solms no cost to me as it is in warranty. See my first post. For the future I will always go this route and not bother trying to email Leica Germany. But, do you have a contact who will let you know when your camera arrives, or who can give you updates whenever you want on the progress of the repair, or who will email you in advance of its return, or who will answer any other questions about your camera? I do. You also asked in your first post why Jaap got a response and you didn't. Having a contact is the answer. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share #48 Posted August 25, 2011 I have a contact in Leica Client Care UK who I will deal with. I have followed the instructions of Leica Client Care UK. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 25, 2011 Share #49 Posted August 25, 2011 It does not matter whom you deal with in the Leica organisation - as long as you *the client* are happy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share #50 Posted August 25, 2011 Guess what. Just received email from Solms apologizing for the delay in answering. So all is well. What did you do Jaap? Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 25, 2011 Share #51 Posted August 25, 2011 Ummm...Nothing:( But this forum is monitored by Leica Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 25, 2011 Share #52 Posted August 25, 2011 To each his own. And, like Jaap says, whatever floats your boat (or something like that). I of course always have the option of having a local Leica dealer coordinate any service with Leica New Jersey. And I've exercised that option before. This is similar to Jeff's method of using UK as "the middleman." Nothing wrong there. But, I have found in many cases that service is quicker, and communications far more timely and personal, when I send repair orders to NJ directly. Last time I had an issue, my contact kept me informed at every step in the process, from camera arrival to return. And, in the meantime, because I had a technical question my contact couldn't answer, she had the technical service person working on my camera call me directly and answer all my questions in real time. This wouldn't have been possible using the middleman approach. Leica is a small company, and that brings about pluses (personal touch) and minuses (supply issues, quirks due to few economies of scale, etc). I choose to take advantage of the pluses. Different strokes... Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share #53 Posted August 25, 2011 Jeff, I think you have to look upon Leica Client Care UK as similar to Leica NJ. Although they are small and cant do much with regards to technical work on cameras they are part of Leica, and they did for me (arrange UPS shipping to Solms and shipping back to my home address) exactly what Leica Solms proposed to do in the email I received today. If I had used a UK dealer then that would have been a 'middleman'. I am a real Leica fan, actually a 'fan-pensioner' and I was introduced to Leica at a very early age by my grandfather although it was only when the M went digital that I started buying Leica. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 25, 2011 Share #54 Posted August 25, 2011 Jeff, I look at Leica NJ as a smaller Solms. They perform most technical tasks, and now even employ former Solms technicians. Since I've gone digital (after 25 years with film Ms), none of my Cameras have been to Solms...except to be created of course. But, like I said, no matter. I hope you continue to enjoy your Leica gear and have as few needs from any Leica service as possible. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted August 26, 2011 Share #55 Posted August 26, 2011 In the rest of the World, we don't have the benefit of Leica NJ or similar. We are left with the option of contacting the local agent or going direct to Solms. As the local agent is just going to contact Solms, there is little point in contacting them at all. When I priced coding a lens last year, there was a considerable financial incentive to going to Solms direct. Much like Jaap, I have established a contact with one of the very nice people at customer services in Solms, and I get in touch with him whenever I want information on something (manufacturing dates, the history of a lens etc). They are incredibly helpful, as small companies frequently are. I agree that not getting a response to emails can be frustrating, but honestly? it's not the end of the world. It's a small company. They're fallible. Have you ever overlooked an email? Yes, it's customer service's job, and yes they should have replied sooner. But was it really worth posting here? Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmith Posted August 26, 2011 Share #56 Posted August 26, 2011 It so happens that I had occasion to email Leica services yesterday evening and I received a reply within a few minutes. It was an automated reply but quite helpful. Alwyn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 26, 2011 Share #57 Posted August 26, 2011 Actually it is a real plus to deal with a company that works this way. It infuses humanity into business. Compare the frustration of dealing with faceless large organisations, witless helpdesk employees, Kafkaesque computer muddles etc. The thought of that makes human error by human beings like overlooking a mail a fresh breath of air. There are more companies that work that way. Novoflex is a good example. And the Morgan Motor Company. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share #58 Posted August 26, 2011 In the rest of the World, we don't have the benefit of Leica NJ or similar. We are left with the option of contacting the local agent or going direct to Solms. As the local agent is just going to contact Solms, there is little point in contacting them at all. When I priced coding a lens last year, there was a considerable financial incentive to going to Solms direct. Much like Jaap, I have established a contact with one of the very nice people at customer services in Solms, and I get in touch with him whenever I want information on something (manufacturing dates, the history of a lens etc). They are incredibly helpful, as small companies frequently are. I agree that not getting a response to emails can be frustrating, but honestly? it's not the end of the world. It's a small company. They're fallible. Have you ever overlooked an email? Yes, it's customer service's job, and yes they should have replied sooner. But was it really worth posting here? Cheers John With regard to posting here I did think carefully about it but after I had waited a week without a reply I thought it was not really correct. I expected that most people here would jump to Leica's defence, 'their spam filter removed my email: the factory needed to have downtime: you need to make personal contact' all my fault, when really it was not, I used a communication method provided by Leica. As you say it is not the end of the world but none of the stuff posted here falls into that category. Look at my posts, overall I think they are positive and helpful with regard to Leica, but I dont automatically jump in on the side of the company as many others do. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 26, 2011 Share #59 Posted August 26, 2011 I expected that most people here would jump to Leica's defence, 'their spam filter removed my email: the factory needed to have downtime: you need to make personal contact' all my fault, when really it was not, Jeff Hold on, Jeff, you referred to me.Should I not explain then how it works for me? I.e.making personal contact. I can't recall myself saying "you need to" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share #60 Posted August 26, 2011 Jaap, It was a reply to the general tone of the posts, not to you specifically, sorry if it came out wrong. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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