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NJ M8 Service is a joke.


Shootist

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I sent my chrome M8 in last Monday for a repair/replacement of the sensor because of a line in the images.

I asked IF they could not save the cover that was on the camera when I sent it in, which was Camera Leather's black GripTac that I had installed, to put the new style covering on at no charge or not to bother putting any cover on it. As I would just replace the original style covering that came on the M8 with something else. We all know the original covering it the worst.

 

Since they have to take the cover off to disassemble the camera to work on it and then replace the cover I figured they could just as easy put the new cover on it.

 

I get a email from Sarah Mayville saying I need to use a mastercard or visa to pay for the new style covering. $330.00

No way in hell will I pay this outrageous price for any covering. I have a CL Black Beauty leather covering that cost a little more then $50.

 

You would figure that after sending in for repair 2 different M8's a total of NINE times in less then 2 years that they could at least install the new covering at NO charge.

 

I am just about fed up with Leica, Leica service and the lack of quality in all of there products.

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my camera does not keep the date, they're working on that.

 

i found a dead pixel and banding from the dead pixel.

 

sent out the images, 100% crops as well.

they tested it and found nothing wrong with the sensor.

 

im with you on this one.

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May I suggest that you call and try to speak with the head of repairs/service?

If this does not work perhaps you should try to call or email someone higher up- even Roger Horn if needed. Let them know you have been loyal to Leica and have bought plenty of M stuff- if this is the case.

 

However, please be nice. I say this as someone who sometimes is impatient with service folks and later regrets not being nicer than I was at first.

 

Also, not everyone thinks the original M8 covering is so bad, so you may not get much sympathy from them on this point.

 

Good luck.

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I will be sending my M8 in later this week for the upgrades.

 

I noticed a bad pixel (that turns into a blue line at high ISO), about a month after buying the M8, but decided to wait for service since the summer was here, and I figured I have two years on the warranty.

 

Now that I am sending the M8 to NJ for the upgrade, I asked about replacing the sensor at the same time because of the bad pixel. The woman on the phone told me to just write everything down on a piece of paper and include it in the box with the upgrade forms.

 

But now I am starting to wonder if they will need something more from me to replace the bad sensor? Will they need test photos that prove my point?

 

Will they possibly debate the issue with me, and I have to prove to their satisfaction that the sensor has a problem?

 

I ask because I do not want to have the camera go back and forth a few times while we debate the issue.

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I had my black M8 replaced because it had a focusing issue that after 2 trips to NJ service they couldn't seems to fix it. That replacement camera had a line in the sensor the FIRST day I had it. Sent that camera in for a sensor replacement and when it came back the images it captured were way off center to what you viewed through the viewfinder frame lines. Leica sent a call ticket and did fix it. But within a 1.5 month period I had ship a camera to Leica service 4 times.

Had a similar thing happen with my chrome M8. Sent that off in the beginning of the summer because of a turn on problem and when it returned the vertical alignment of the rangefinder was off BY INCHES. I didn't even need to mount a lens on the camera to see this.

I immmediately called Leica NJ and explained the problem and the first question I was asked was Did I Drop It.

I had just taken it out of the UPS shipping box and held it up to my eye.

 

 

I will be sending my M8 in later this week for the upgrades.

 

I noticed a bad pixel (that turns into a blue line at high ISO), about a month after buying the M8, but decided to wait for service since the summer was here, and I figured I have two years on the warranty.

 

Now that I am sending the M8 to NJ for the upgrade, I asked about replacing the sensor at the same time because of the bad pixel. The woman on the phone told me to just write everything down on a piece of paper and include it in the box with the upgrade forms.

 

But now I am starting to wonder if they will need something more from me to replace the bad sensor? Will they need test photos that prove my point?

 

Will they possibly debate the issue with me, and I have to prove to their satisfaction that the sensor has a problem?

 

I ask because I do not want to have the camera go back and forth a few times while we debate the issue.

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basically, they can not do anything major in USA/NJ. Same here in Australia(although they have best technician there!!!). It is not their fault, it is Leica Germany`s fault.

I know that jig to adjust M8, they are so expensive and it is not worth for repair centre to buy one( although they bought v/f adjustment kit for M8!!AUS)

When CCD or Main circuit was replaced, they have to adjust it using software(BUT it should not cost that much!!!!=Leica should sell those tools to leica agant around world @ low price!!!)

 

With leather,,, mmmmm it is very hard to say. Because anything you modify the camera, it is your responsibility and Leica can only return the leather to you(might be damaged, because of very strong double side tape or glue!!)

If you had genuine leather fron Leica, they will put new one @ no charge. You could only ask them to be careful to remove leather.

Actually this make me think not to get snakeskin type covering.....I will wait till my M8 become out of WTY!

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This is what gets me. They had to take whatever covering off the camera to do the warranty work and if it couldn't be saved and they need to replace it anyway why not put the best covering Leica offers back on.

But they have the BALLS to try and charge me $330.00 for something that needed to be replaced anyway.

They will get a call from me today.

 

I dropped my M8 (don't ask!), and Leica repaired it under its Passport Warranty for free.

 

I had a Cameraleather covering on it, and when I got the camera back, Leica had replaced the covering with the new M8.2 one without being asked, presumably because it looked closer to the Cameraleather cover than the smoother, more slippery standard M8 one. More importantly, they did this at no charge!

 

(Incidentally, I must've been one of the first to see the new covering outside of Leica, as this was last August!)

 

So, Leica servicing isn't all bad experiences...! At Solms, anyway, where my camera ended up (I'm in the UK)... :D

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It is indeed strange. With the upgrade in the same situation Solms offered me to do Vulcanite instead of the standard covering because they had to take off "special leather"- for free. As it happens I declined, but still...

Having said that, they are of course under no obligation at all to put on anything but the standard covering under guarantee. Anything over that is a goodwill gesture or payable.

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From all the complaints that have been vented here on the forum in recent weeks, it seems that Leica NJ needs a serious wake up call. While problems and hiccups do occur from time to time, even in the best service company, this seems to be very excessive at NJ at the moment.

 

Andreas

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It seems like user "Thrid" whom has been posting possible new designs for the M9 (very nice I must say) should also shine his light on the re-org of the Leica service organization.

 

Obviously it's very nice getting things for free, things you haven't asked for but then one should establish rules, workflow and methods for this, not just the one and not the other .... Leica Service center seems like a bit of a mess to me with a "hap-lucky" end result. This must also have it's effect on the economy of the company as well as their PR and service level satisfaction.

 

I must say I was pleased when I received my M8 back and lots of things were done which weren't needed or asked for (free of charge) but formality of events might be important in these times. Also for a high-class company like Leica you can't afford to have different service quality levels within different geographical area's.

 

And with the amount of M8's being returned at this point in time (end of guarantee period) some standardization is needed

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I asked IF they could not save the cover that was on the camera when I sent it in, which was Camera Leather's black GripTac that I had installed, to put the new style covering on at no charge or not to bother putting any cover on it. As I would just replace the original style covering that came on the M8 with something else. We all know the original covering it the worst.

 

I get a email from Sarah Mayville saying I need to use a mastercard or visa to pay for the new style covering. $330.00

No way in hell will I pay this outrageous price for any covering.

 

I am just about fed up with Leica, Leica service and the lack of quality in all of there products.

 

OK, let me see if I get this straight. You asked them to either leave the covering off or give you a new covering for free. They declined to give you a new one for free. So just to be clear, did they refuse to just send you back your camera naked and holding your camera hostage unless you pay up? If not, then what are you complaining about? Why do you think Leica owes you an upgraded M8.2-style cover for free when the rest of us has to pay for it?

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It is indeed strange. With the upgrade in the same situation Solms offered me to do Vulcanite instead of the standard covering because they had to take off "special leather"- for free. As it happens I declined, but still...

Having said that, they are of course under no obligation at all to put on anything but the standard covering under guarantee. Anything over that is a goodwill gesture or payable.

 

I agree with you about 90%.

Good will would mean they actually build a camera that works 100% and for some ODD chance the camera fails they fix it RIGHT the first time.

 

This has not been my experience.

 

Good will mean I have sent in this same camera 4 times in less then one year and I haven't ask for my money back as it is, and the service is, a LEMON. As all M8's & M8.2's are.

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OK, let me see if I get this straight. You asked them to either leave the covering off or give you a new covering for free. They declined to give you a new one for free. So just to be clear, did they refuse to just send you back your camera naked and holding your camera hostage unless you pay up? If not, then what are you complaining about? Why do you think Leica owes you an upgraded M8.2-style cover for free when the rest of us has to pay for it?

 

I haven't called them yet, I did send off a email yesterday, to find out what is going to happen. I would be fine if they sent the camera back naked. I have a leather covering at home looking for a new home.

In all other repairs I have heard about if they take a covering off that can't be reused they replace it, FREE of charge.

I ask if that was the case to forgo the original and install the newer M8.2 style or leave it naked. As I would just remove the original M8 style cover and replace it and leaving it naked would save me the time to remove it.

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, a LEMON. As all M8's & M8.2's are.

 

Thats BS. My M8 has been to NJ twice, once when it failed doing a firmware update that may have been my fault and once for the upgraded shutter and frame lines. Both times it was handled very quickly and professionally. First time was 5 days turn around and that was shipping from Canada and the second was 2 weeks but the first week was during the thanksgiving holiday. Some people have had problems for sure but not everyone. I have had far far worse problems with my Canons and with Canon service.

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Thats BS. My M8 has been to NJ twice, once when it failed doing a firmware update that may have been my fault and once for the upgraded shutter and frame lines. Both times it was handled very quickly and professionally. First time was 5 days turn around and that was shipping from Canada and the second was 2 weeks but the first week was during the thanksgiving holiday. Some people have had problems for sure but not everyone. I have had far far worse problems with my Canons and with Canon service.

No it is not BS. I have sent in one M8 4 times and another 5 times in less then 2 years.

So you got lucky, having the camera returned the first time with everything working correctly.

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After just posting in the happy thread, I could add that the only minor irritation I have is that when the battery runs out it dramatically and suddenly dies on you without prior warning. Some sort of prior warning would be useful.

 

I guess we all have 'sound' mode switched off - would it give a warning bleep if I switched the sound on? Or did the software wizards of Solms forget to add this feature altogether?

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After just posting in the happy thread, I could add that the only minor irritation I have is that when the battery runs out it dramatically and suddenly dies on you without prior warning. Some sort of prior warning would be useful.

 

I guess we all have 'sound' mode switched off - would it give a warning bleep if I switched the sound on? Or did the software wizards of Solms forget to add this feature altogether?

 

It is a characteristic of Lithium-Ion batteries to lose power abruptly and unexpectedly. I doubt an accurate warning is possible, unless it were given so early that there would be a lot power left in the battery in 90% of the cases.

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It seems Leica New Jersey works with the "all bets are off' when you send something in.

 

1.I sent in 2 lenses last year for a 6bit upgrade _ 4 months later I got both back _ the 35mmm Summilux had the 6bit, the 50mm summilux twasn't touched (just keep it for 4 months). They said that wasn't one of the lenses covered by the offer _ Why they didn't return it after looking at it in the 1st week remains a question.

 

2. One January 5th I sent my M8 in for a tuneup after calling and asking the approximate turnaround. Either Colleen or Mary said about 2 weeks was the general rule. Today after not hearing from LeicaNJ regarding the camera, I called Colleen who said it was due to be fixed (looked at?) on February 16th or so. That is a 5 weeks turnaround if it actually happens..

 

3. When I mentioned that the upgrade prices were rumored to change around that time (mid February) she said she thought it would be in March. On further prodding she said she had no idea when the prices would change she said I would know before her. I mentioned that Leica could do customers the favor of putting such info on their site (hidden as it is). That seems to be asking too much.

 

4. I suggest anyone sending something into Leica call directly and keep track of their slothful ways. They seem to be masters of avoidance and forgetting things.

 

and so it goes.

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I won't call NJ service a joke (yet), but FWIW I just called to check on my M8 which was just sent in for upgrade and was told that they wouldn't have the rangefinder masks in for 2 weeks and to call back then to see if the parts have arrived. It would have been nice to have received some sort of communication to that effect when my camera arrived. In fact I heard about the back order situation on this forum and only called Allendale as a result of that. So now an upgrade which I was told would take two weeks when my camera was called in is up to four, and had I not reached out myself I wouldn't have ever known that.

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