Camera Obscura Repairs UK.... Problem 😔

[yawpitch]

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8 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Could you go and bang on his door?

I would have done if I'd had a bigger delay than I actually had. He cleaned a lens for me (well), and it took twice as long as he said - about 6 weeks instead of three (IIRC). Still acceptable as an interval by the standards of Leica and other repairers, but the progress feedback was still non existent. I got off lightly.

As for not finding this thread on the forum....well this forum is not a public service, but I am surprised to hear that there is a Leica owner online who has not come across it. If I was looking for brand-specific servicing, I would go to a brand-specific forum. Facebook is too easily manipulated to hide bad feedack.

His door isn’t exactly close to mine, but if need be there will be bailiffs knocking on it eventually.

As for the forum, I think you might overestimate how readily discoverable it is, at least for a _new_ Leica owner. I only found it via a mention of the larger “repair services” thread on the Leica subreddit on a rather old post, and sadly only after I’d shipped the camera off after seeing several positive (but somewhat older) recommendations for Camera Obscura on other, but Google-indexed, forums.

The fact that Alexander apparently either isn’t on here to read it or doesn’t care about the reputational damage caused by this thread to his business implies that there may well be a **lot** of (possibly new) Leica owners who also haven’t found it.  Not knocking the forum, it’s already turning out to be very useful (if sadly a bit too late), but the threads not being publicly indexed pretty much helps businesses with bad practices avoid reputational harm (and, conversely, keeps good businesses from being discovered).

I admit that FB and Instagram can be manipulated, but hitting him there seems to have been the only thing that got OP their camera back.

[andybarton]

14 minutes ago, yawpitch said:

threads not being publicly indexed

It's only threads in the Bar that are not publicly indexed. All others outside the Bar, are.

If you Google "Leica Camera Forum", apart from two adverts that people would ignore anyway, this forum is the first hit.

[yawpitch]

5 minutes ago, andybarton said:

It's only threads in the Bar that are not publicly indexed. All others outside the Bar, are.

If you Google "Leica Camera Forum", apart from two adverts that people would ignore anyway, this forum is the first hit.

Right, well then, more specifically this thread not being indexed.

i believe my journey involved searches on DuckDuckGo for “Leica cla service recommendations” and “Leica cla UK” and various such variants; I found Camera Obscura and about a dozen other services on other forums (Reddit, rangefinderforum, dpreview, and so on) and searched for their business names + “review” specifically, both with DDG and Google. We can continue to critique my Internet usage if you want, but one way or another I, and apparently several other users, didn’t find this thread until *after* they’d sent in their cameras to someone who appears to ghost everyone except new inquiries.

I’m not trying to be critical of the forum, I just wish I’d found this thread before I left myself without a functional, but in need of minor servicing, camera during a moment in which I needed it.

[andybarton]

18 minutes ago, yawpitch said:

We can continue to critique my Internet usage

No one is critiquing your internet usage. I am just pointing out that if you are looking for a Leica Camera Forum, this one is at the top of search engines. 

[LocalHero1953]

22 minutes ago, yawpitch said:

Right, well then, more specifically this thread not being indexed.

i believe my journey involved searches on DuckDuckGo for “Leica cla service recommendations” and “Leica cla UK” and various such variants; I found Camera Obscura and about a dozen other services on other forums (Reddit, rangefinderforum, dpreview, and so on) and searched for their business names + “review” specifically, both with DDG and Google. We can continue to critique my Internet usage if you want, but one way or another I, and apparently several other users, didn’t find this thread until *after* they’d sent in their cameras to someone who appears to ghost everyone except new inquiries.

I’m not trying to be critical of the forum, I just wish I’d found this thread before I left myself without a functional, but in need of minor servicing, camera during a moment in which I needed it.

I'm not sure what the forum has done wrong (or we the members for not posting on facebook). Sure you're grumpy for getting caught up in this, but have a go at CO, not the Leica Forum because you didn't find it! 

[Anbaric]

Most of the forum is indexed by Google, but not sections like Barnack's Bar that are behind the login wall, so the current discussion is invisible to the wider world. If it had been started in the film M section here or on somewhere like Photrio, RFF or Reddit, prospective customers would be much more likely to see the red flags with a simple internet search, which many would try when dealing with an unknown business (I'm not sure if the original poster was aware posting here would limit accessibility). Reviews could also be posted on resellerratings or Trustpilot. Someone with direct experience of this repairer might consider sharing their experiences more widely than in a private members' area like this. I can find a few relevant posts in the big 'repair specialists' thread in the Collectors and Historica forum here with a Google search, but they aren't as negative as those in this thread, and a non-member won't be getting the full picture (or even realise they are missing anything, since other posts in the public aread of the forum are visible to search engines).

Edited October 9, 2023 by Anbaric

[yawpitch]

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3 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I'm not sure what the forum has done wrong (or we the members for not posting on facebook). Sure you're grumpy for getting caught up in this, but have a go at CO, not the Leica Forum because you didn't find it! 

I never had any sort of a go at the Leica Forum or its users, in any way, what I did was express my wish that I’d been able to find this thread, by any means, BEFORE I was harmed by a business that apparently has been actively harming others in the same manner for at least a year. As I said above the forum is useful, and me expressing my wish that I could have found it earlier isn’t me attacking it, or you, or anyone.

 

[yawpitch]

2 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

Most of the forum is indexed by Google, but not sections like Barnack's Bar that are behind the login wall, so the current discussion is invisible to the wider world. If it had been started in the film M section here or on somewhere like Photrio, RFF or Reddit, prospective customers would be much more likely to see the red flags with a simple internet search, which many would try when dealing with an unknown business (I'm not sure if the original poster was aware posting here would limit accessibility). Reviews could also be posted on resellerratings or Trustpilot. Someone with direct experience of this repairer might consider sharing their experiences more widely than in a private members' area like this. I can find a few relevant posts in the big 'repair specialists' thread in the Collectors and Historica forum here with a public Google search, but they aren't as negative as those in this thread, and a non-member won't be getting the full picture.

Amen, and that lack of a full picture for non-member is **precisely** what I’m talking about. I’m a new user, I haven’t the slightest clue — nor do I really care, TBH — what this “Bar” area is, I just want to get some of this discussion out into the area where non-members can access it and avoid the pain and stress and worry of losing a camera that may be **very** important to them.

Thanks for the above, as it helps me know where to post my own (so far very negative) experience with this particular vendor in the future.

[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, yawpitch said:

I never had any sort of a go at the Leica Forum or its users, in any way, what I did was express my wish that I’d been able to find this thread, by any means, BEFORE I was harmed by a business that apparently has been actively harming others in the same manner for at least a year. As I said above the forum is useful, and me expressing my wish that I could have found it earlier isn’t me attacking it, or you, or anyone.

 

Looking back, I read your air of being miffed at missing the forum thread, and unjustifiably amplified it - sorry!

Edited October 9, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[yawpitch]

2 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Reading back, I read your air of being miffed at missing the forum thread, and unnecessarily amplified it - sorry!

No worries, appreciate the apology.

[andybarton]

We have moved this to the Customer Forum section, where Google, DuckDuckGo etc can find it. 

Thanks. 

[yawpitch]

17 minutes ago, andybarton said:

We have moved this to the Customer Forum section, where Google, DuckDuckGo etc can find it. 

Thanks. 

Very happy to hear that, thank you!

[Chris Piuckett]

On 10/9/2023 at 2:52 PM, yawpitch said:

His door isn’t exactly close to mine, but if need be there will be bailiffs knocking on it eventually.

As for the forum, I think you might overestimate how readily discoverable it is, at least for a _new_ Leica owner. I only found it via a mention of the larger “repair services” thread on the Leica subreddit on a rather old post, and sadly only after I’d shipped the camera off after seeing several positive (but somewhat older) recommendations for Camera Obscura on other, but Google-indexed, forums.

The fact that Alexander apparently either isn’t on here to read it or doesn’t care about the reputational damage caused by this thread to his business implies that there may well be a **lot** of (possibly new) Leica owners who also haven’t found it.  Not knocking the forum, it’s already turning out to be very useful (if sadly a bit too late), but the threads not being publicly indexed pretty much helps businesses with bad practices avoid reputational harm (and, conversely, keeps good businesses from being discovered).

I admit that FB and Instagram can be manipulated, but hitting him there seems to have been the only thing that got OP their camera back.

Is there a problem with Camera Obscura then as he has my m2 

[andybarton]

I suggest that you read the thread from the beginning. 

[plaidshirts]

8 hours ago, Chris Piuckett said:

Is there a problem with Camera Obscura then as he has my m2 

The short answer is YES. Apparently, Camera Obscura is like a one-man restaurant serving great food with the worst service ever. The food arrives months after you order, frequently with no communication, or in some cases, never at all.

I’ve never read through 11 pages of a thread this quickly. Riveting stuff. May God bless all of you currently dealing with this guy with the patience of Job. 

[Chris Piuckett]

I am wondering if anyone has recent dealings with this company run by a guy called Alexander. 

He has my M2 for a full overhaul and customisation which I have paid a lot of money for and I am getting no response from my email for an update on proceedings 

I had an e-mail from him stating that the process was 95% complete on September 6th but nothing since. 

I am a little concerned - I hope someone has something positive to say 

Kindest 

Chris

[Anbaric]

25 minutes ago, Chris Piuckett said:

I am wondering if anyone has recent dealings with this company run by a guy called Alexander.

Probably best to post to that thread to keep the discussion in one place.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Anbaric

[pedaes]

35 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

post to that thread

It is certainly bringing new people to the Forum. Hope they stay and post good stuff 😀.

Edited October 16, 2023 by pedaes

[Anbaric]

17 hours ago, plaidshirts said:

The food arrives months after you order, frequently with no communication, or in some cases, never at all.

And when you visit the cloakroom on your way out, you may or may not get the same coat you arrived in.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[LocalHero1953]

Perhaps the mods could merge this thread back to the long one cited above (where the OP had already posted - so I'm a bit puzzled by this new thread)