As (in my own opinion) a fairly objective and impartial consumer of several brands of birding optics with no major loyalties, I just wanted to recognise a really nice piece of customer service from Leica that I experienced this week.
Just before Christmas I took the plunge in purchasing a pair of Leica 10x25 BR compacts through a special offer that meant you got a 'free' leather case. (A bit 'dude-ish', I know, but it makes for a very nice 'extra' and it's undeniably well made.)
Then just last week I discovered that another birder I know who had availed of the same offer more recently had received not only the leather case but also the standard cordura case too. This features a belt clip and is much more discreet making it more practical for a city break where you don't necessarily want to advertise the fact you've got some quite pricey optics on your person.
Anyway, long story short, I contacted Leica by email to query the discrepancy. Within 24 hours a very helpful customer service representative (Wendy) had replied, explained the discrepancy (due to additional promo packs having to be created from standard packs to fulfil the backlog of later orders, apparently) and offered to send me the cordura case free of charge. Within 48hrs of my original query I had received the case.
You obviously pay a bit of a premium when you buy Leica kit so, I think, it's not unreasonable to expect good follow-up customer service. But this was refreshingly well-handled and I really felt my original custom was valued.
I know elsewhere on this forum there are many who knock Leica's customer service because they've had a bad experience. I just thought I'd redress the balance a little with this small but nicely-handled example that impressed me a lot. Well done Leica (and thank you Wendy!)
David
Just before Christmas I took the plunge in purchasing a pair of Leica 10x25 BR compacts through a special offer that meant you got a 'free' leather case. (A bit 'dude-ish', I know, but it makes for a very nice 'extra' and it's undeniably well made.)
Then just last week I discovered that another birder I know who had availed of the same offer more recently had received not only the leather case but also the standard cordura case too. This features a belt clip and is much more discreet making it more practical for a city break where you don't necessarily want to advertise the fact you've got some quite pricey optics on your person.
Anyway, long story short, I contacted Leica by email to query the discrepancy. Within 24 hours a very helpful customer service representative (Wendy) had replied, explained the discrepancy (due to additional promo packs having to be created from standard packs to fulfil the backlog of later orders, apparently) and offered to send me the cordura case free of charge. Within 48hrs of my original query I had received the case.
You obviously pay a bit of a premium when you buy Leica kit so, I think, it's not unreasonable to expect good follow-up customer service. But this was refreshingly well-handled and I really felt my original custom was valued.
I know elsewhere on this forum there are many who knock Leica's customer service because they've had a bad experience. I just thought I'd redress the balance a little with this small but nicely-handled example that impressed me a lot. Well done Leica (and thank you Wendy!)
David
