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Alpha, but from a repair service/after sales point of view (1 Viewer)

Jerry:

I had two Toric 10x42s and a Maven 8x30. I had some issues with the first Toric unit, and asked for a replacement which I received very promptly, if I remember correctly, even before returning the first unit. The second unit also had a number of problems (I am picky...), and the 10x42s were out of stock. The owner (Jon) suggested that the unit is sent to their repair service in San Diego (Kamakura), which I did and the turnaround time was less than a week. I was not fully satisfied with the results (they fixed some problems but apparently could not fix all), so I returned the Toric for a full refund----all S&H costs were graciously covered by Tract. I should add that Jon was very quick at replying emails and always had a positive attitude and he's ready to do his best to help. What I said in the last sentence applies to Maven too, but I do not have a direct experience with their repair service.

Peter.
 
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pesto said:
Jerry:

I had two Toric 10x42s and a Maven 8x30. I had some issues with the first Toric unit, and asked for a replacement which I received very promptly, if I remember correctly, even before returning the first unit. The second unit also had a number of problems (I am picky...), and the 10x42s were out of stock. The owner (Jon) suggested that the unit is sent to their repair service in San Diego (Kamakura), which I did and the turnaround time was less than a week. I was not fully satisfied with the results (they fixed some problems but apparently could not fix all), so I returned the Toric for a full refund----all S&H costs were graciously covered by Tract. I should add that Jon was very quick at replying emails and always had a positive attitude and he's ready to do his best to help. What I said in the last sentence applies to Maven too, but I do not have a direct experience with their repair service.

Peter.
Click to expand...

Peter:

Thanks for the explanation, the service sounds good, but the quality
of the optic sounds suspect.

The thread is about Alpha binoculars, and it seems Tract should not
even have been mentioned.

Jerry
 
Peter:

Thanks for the explanation, the service sounds good, but the quality
of the optic sounds suspect.

The thread is about Alpha binoculars, and it seems Tract should not
even have been mentioned.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry:

Toric and Maven are not "alpha binos", they compete in the crowded second-tier segment. However the thread is about "alpha binos from a service point of view", which is why I mentioned them (along with Vortex and Vanguard).

Peter.
 
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Nikon's service in the UK is good, and comparable to equally pleasant experiences I've had here with sending back Leica and Swarovski bins to be repaired.
 
NDhunter said:
The thread is about Alpha binoculars, and it seems Tract should not even have been mentioned.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry - I think the OP intended this to be a discussion of "alpha" quality service i.e. which vendor/brand delivers best in class after sales. I take that inference because he mentions Swarovski and Opticron in the opening post and with the best will in the world, whilst our service is pretty good most of the time, our optics are not in the alpha league :)

HTH

Pete
 
I can definitely vouch for Opticron's stellar after sales service in the UK. In my experience a product sent to them for service/repair will be back with you as good as new within a week, often only just a couple of days.
 
pete_gamby said:
Jerry - I think the OP intended this to be a discussion of "alpha" quality service i.e. which vendor/brand delivers best in class after sales. I take that inference because he mentions Swarovski and Opticron in the opening post and with the best will in the world, whilst our service is pretty good most of the time, our optics are not in the alpha league :)

HTH

Pete
Click to expand...

Pete:

So, tell us about your repair policy, your company is very new to the
USA.

Do you have the ability to fix optics, and if so, where are your repair
facilities, or do you just replace ?

This gives you the opportunity to help educate.

Jerry
 
NDhunter said:
Pete:

So, tell us about your repair policy, your company is very new to the
USA.

Do you have the ability to fix optics, and if so, where are your repair
facilities, or do you just replace ?

This gives you the opportunity to help educate.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry

USA members will be interested in the answer to your question but don't forget the OP is based in Europe so his 'alpha' comment refers to Europe, and Mulligatawny Owl's post, based in UK, clearly refers to a good experience of a repair (not replacement) being effected quickly and effectively over here.

Lee
 
I think the OP intended this to be a discussion of "alpha" quality service i.e. which vendor/brand delivers best in class after sales. I take that inference because he mentions Swarovski and Opticron in the opening post and with the best will in the world, whilst our service is pretty good most of the time, our optics are not in the alpha league :)
Click to expand...

Pete, you are correct.
I meant "Alpha" (or "Best") from a best in class after sales point of view.
I think that's interesting to have Europe, UK ;) and US opinions about this,
and I would like to thank everyone for their contributions.

Pete, I have to say that I do consider Opticron as an "Alpha" brand :clap:(from my own criterias)
 
I noticed some slight movement in the eyepiece of my vanguard ed spotter, I called them to see about sending it in for repair, or if they could just send me the screw. They just sent me a whole new eyepiece-didn't even want the old one back.
 
Leica Ultravid sent in because of very sloppy focus knob free play. I got it back, in two weeks with slightly less free play (pre-repair amount returned within weeks) and a diopter that was perfect before but on return was 2 points off. That was totally unacceptable. No second chance given.

My alpha got omega service.
 
NDhunter said:
Pete:

So, tell us about your repair policy, your company is very new to the
USA.

Do you have the ability to fix optics, and if so, where are your repair
facilities, or do you just replace ?

This gives you the opportunity to help educate.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Hi Jerry

Don't want to take the thread too far off topic so I'll be brief :)

Yes, we can and do repair. We have a team of three service technicians here in the UK who can basically rebuild any of our optics from scratch. In the US we carry out minor repairs such as eyecup replacements in our Huntersville, NC office but anything requiring major surgery comes back to the UK.

In some cases, the labour cost to effect a repair is more than the cost of a replacement so in those instances we do just replace. I would guess that is the norm for most suppliers.

HTH

Cheers, Pete
 
When I bought my Zeiss 7x42's about twenty years ago, the first time I took them out to the field one of the rubber eye cups fell off at some point and I was unable to find it - Dawlish Warren sand dunes!, Bearing in mind I'd just spent over £700 quid on them I was not impressed. I contacted Zeiss about it and they basically told me, in no uncertain terms, it was my fault for not checking they were screwed on properly (like it's the first thing we all check when we buy anything new don't we?!), and if I wanted a replacement it was going to cost me £15. I argued about consumer rights, and the product being sent out in not fit for use condition and eventually after about twenty minutes they backed down and said they'd send me one free of charge. They were obviously so concerned about their reputation and keeping me happy as a customer that it took them three weeks to do so. Shoddy to say the least.
Fortunately nothing's gone wrong with them since and they are still a great pair of bins.

In contrast when a friends' Swarovski's developed a fault just before a foreign birding trip, they sent him a replacement pair to borrow/take with him while they repaired his and they swapped back when he returned home. And all free of charge.
 
Leupold promptly and with no fuss at all, 1 1/2 years after purchase, took back my binocular, which had some faults, but which I told them I had also tinkered with, replaced it with a newer model, of a pricier configuration (I had asked them if this was possible), and shipped that back, all free of charge.
 
Alexis Powell said:
...my several experiences each with Swarovski USA, Zeiss USA, Bushnell USA repair center, and Nikon USA Repair Dept...Leupold, Swift, Mead, and Eagle Optics...Leica
Click to expand...

Blimey!
Leads me to one of two conclusions (and neither is mutually exclusive):
Either, firstly, what the hell do you do to your binoculars to have to keep sending so many back!?
Or, secondly, these top brands aren't as well made as they should be.
 
I'm sent some ELs in for service from the USA. I received an email in one week that said that they need to go to Austria. I will get them back this week. Details will be posted in the Swarovski thread.

Leica - I called about a broken rubber strap on a universal tripod adapter. They sent a free replacement. I personally haven't had bino issues. A member on another forum recently damaged the objective lenses on a hard hunt. I think bad scratches. He sent them in and the lenses were replaced free of charge.
 
In praise of Swarovski Optik NA Customer Service (USA)

RobMorane said:
Any others from your point of view?
Click to expand...

Recently I sent my favorite EL 8.5x42 to SONA for repair. There was one warranty item, and it needed a tune-up (it’s a 2003). They suggested some additional work that wasn’t required but recommended. The cost was reasonable, and I really like this bino, so I agreed.

When I got it back, I saw two things right away: 1) they did a tremendous amount of work on my binocular, practically rebuilding it from the ground up, and 2) the way they corrected the warranty item was not to my satisfaction. To be fair, what they did was completely correct in their view, and I understand their logic, but it wasn’t acceptable to me. I won’t go into detail here, since that would probably take us off topic, but suffice it to say it was a judgement call and Swarovski and I came down on opposite sides of the decision.

I wrote an email praising the work that was done but questioning the warranty repair, and I got a phone call from a very nice regional service coordinator who explained the reasoning behind their decision. Then I explained the logic supporting my position, and after some discussion they agreed to correct the matter. They emailed me a return shipping label, they put a high priority on the repair, and exactly one week later I got my bino back, and this time it is perfect. I know they didn’t have to do that, there was defensible logic to support their original action; but I very much appreciate that they were willing to understand my position, and they responded quickly to resolve the issue.

I was already impressed with Swarovski customer service, and now I must say I am overwhelmed.

John
 
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