How long should Zeiss service take? (1 Viewer)

chill6x6 · Jul 7, 2016

Earlier in the year I sent my SF 8X42 binoculars to Zeiss because the armoring had stained after only a short time of use. The ONLY possibility is the S4Gear Lockdown harness may have rubbed off on them(dye, IDK). Of COURSE they were always treated with kid's gloves! I've never had any armoring on any other optic device ever stain. I tried to remove stain first with water, then soap and water, then a Mr Clean Magic eraser lightly to no avail. I was afraid of using harsher chemicals, so I sent them in.

Of course the stain does not hinder operation or anything else with the binocular for that matter. But I'm just of the opinion that a $2500 binocular should not stain in normal usage...LESS than normal usage even. So I sent them in.

FRIDAY 07/08 will mark the four month anniversary of me sending them to Zeiss. I have not received any communication from Zeiss whatsoever. It doesn't seem like there are TOO many options for Zeiss. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Return the binoculars to me still stained.
2. Clean the stain off with something other than what I used(or scrub harder than I did!)
3. Replace the armoring.
4. Replace the binoculars.

I'm not really sure what is taking so long. I know I'm impatient anyway.

Soooooo...

How long is reasonable to have the binoculars returned to me? What do you think?

NDhunter · Jul 7, 2016

Chuck:

This should not merit a thread on here. Call Zeiss, and get your answer.

Sounds like a personal problem.

Jerry

jgraider · Jul 7, 2016

Chuck, my buddy had the focus knobs on his Zeiss spotter quit working a couple of years ago so he sent them to Zeiss USA. It took them 5 months to get them fixed and back to him. Not sure that's the norm, but that was his experience. You're much more patient than I am though.

PhilR. · Jul 7, 2016

Chuck,

I hope that you do not give much credence to NDhunter's post. More than once has he come on here and tried to dictate to others what should and should not be discussed here on this public discussion forum. No doubt it will be the last time either. I think that it is fine to discuss your binocular experiences here, and to try to find out what the experiences of others that may have been in a similar situation has been.

NDhunter · Jul 7, 2016

PhilR. said:
Chuck,

I hope that you do not give much credence to NDhunter's post. More than once has he come on here and tried to dictate to others what should and should not be discussed here on this public discussion forum. No doubt it will be the last time either. I think that it is fine to discuss your binocular experiences here, and to try to find out what the experiences of others that may have been in a similar situation has been.

Phil:

I have experience with service at several optics companies including Zeiss,
and I can tell Chuck has not tried hard with communicating with Zeiss.
Zeiss will get it done.

Phil, If you don't like my reply, you can stuff it. :C

Jerry

etudiant · Jul 7, 2016

jgraider said:
Chuck, my buddy had the focus knobs on his Zeiss spotter quit working a couple of years ago so he sent them to Zeiss USA. It took them 5 months to get them fixed and back to him. Not sure that's the norm, but that was his experience. You're much more patient than I am though.

Well, in this day of email and free long distance, there is no good reason to let months go by waiting in limbo.
When I've sent my Zeiss 8x30BGAs for service, admittedly just to tighten the hinge, it came back within 2 weeks, with communications beforehand to keep me posted.

PhilR. · Jul 7, 2016

NDhunter said:
Phil:

I have experience with service at several optics companies including Zeiss,
and I can tell Chuck has not tried hard with communicating with Zeiss.
Zeiss will get it done.

Phil, If you don't like my reply, you can stuff it. :C

Jerry

Actually, I *do* like your reply. Your posts often provide a great amount of amusement.........:t:

NDhunter · Jul 7, 2016

PhilR. said:
Actually, I *do* like your reply. Your posts often provide a great amount of amusement.........:t:

Glad to help. I can tell you don't have much experience with optics.

Jerry

chill6x6 · Jul 7, 2016

jgraider said:
Chuck, my buddy had the focus knobs on his Zeiss spotter quit working a couple of years ago so he sent them to Zeiss USA. It took them 5 months to get them fixed and back to him. Not sure that's the norm, but that was his experience. You're much more patient than I am though.

Ok.. So I guess I'm certainly not outside the norm for Zeiss service. Thanks for your useful reply! :t:

chill6x6 · Jul 7, 2016

PhilR. said:
Chuck,

I hope that you do not give much credence to NDhunter's post. More than once has he come on here and tried to dictate to others what should and should not be discussed here on this public discussion forum. No doubt it will be the last time either. I think that it is fine to discuss your binocular experiences here, and to try to find out what the experiences of others that may have been in a similar situation has been.

Thanks Phil! Everyone is entitled to their opinion! And you are exactly correct...just trying to find out what others experiences were/are with Zeiss and even other companies. :t:

berryns · Jul 7, 2016

I've had two long waits from Zeiss - one was for my Zeiss Safari rebuild and the other was my Diascope Eyepiece, which eventually was replaced.

Both times it took 4-5 months and both were sent to Germany. Zeiss eventually made things right, but you should call.

Every other interaction, about 4-5 other instances, took 2-3 weeks and the repairs / maintenance took place state side.

I would bet your SF's went to Germany. Keep us posted and good luck.

Vespobuteo · Jul 7, 2016

chill6x6: You don't happen to use any nicotine enriched goods?

(don't remember if any conclusions about the staining cause were made in
the earlier threads from upnorth.)

chill6x6 · Jul 7, 2016

berryns said:
I've had two long waits from Zeiss - one was for my Zeiss Safari rebuild and the other was my Diascope Eyepiece, which eventually was replaced.

Both times it took 4-5 months and both were sent to Germany. Zeiss eventually made things right, but you should call.

Every other interaction, about 4-5 other instances, took 2-3 weeks and the repairs / maintenance took place state side.

I would bet your SF's went to Germany. Keep us posted and good luck.

I guess that's going to be the time frame I'm looking at. The reason I haven't called...I don't know what good it would do? It's going to take the amount of time it's going to take whether I call or not.

Thanks for your reply!

chill6x6 · Jul 7, 2016

Vespobuteo said:
chill6x6: You don't happen to use any nicotine enriched goods?

(don't remember if any conclusions about the staining cause were made in
the earlier threads from upnorth.)

None whatsoever. Can't imagine what it is..

perterra · Jul 7, 2016

chill6x6 said:
I guess that's going to be the time frame I'm looking at. The reason I haven't called...I don't know what good it would do? It's going to take the amount of time it's going to take whether I call or not.

Thanks for your reply!

Actually no, there is a reason they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

etudiant · Jul 7, 2016

perterra said:
Actually no, there is a reason they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

It also helps make sure that the order is not stuck somewhere in the process. This seems to happen at times, even with larger purchases. Knowing that somebody cares always helps.

Hopefully WJC will provide some front line perspective on what is a reasonable interval and on whether customer inquiries were helpful or not.

chill6x6 · Jul 8, 2016

An update:
So I called Zeiss USA this am. The SFs did go to Germany, I figured they did. They reported that they are on the way back to the USA and hopefully would be on the way back to me next week.

etudiant · Jul 8, 2016

chill6x6 said:
An update:
So I called Zeiss USA this am. The SFs did go to Germany, I figured they did. They reported that they are on the way back to the USA and hopefully would be on the way back to me next week.

Great news!
Just in time for fall migration. The shorebirds are coming through already.

BruceH · Jul 9, 2016

Glad to hear you gave Zeiss a call and now know they are on the way back. Do you know the serial number for the unit you sent back? It will be interesting to see if they are sending a replacement or if it is the same guy with a new cover.

SuperDuty · Jul 9, 2016

That's good news Chuck.:t:

chill6x6 said:
An update:
So I called Zeiss USA this am. The SFs did go to Germany, I figured they did. They reported that they are on the way back to the USA and hopefully would be on the way back to me next week.

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