Outstanding Customer Service from Leica (1 Viewer)

garymh said:

I am now fortunately working for another German alpha optics manufacturer who appreciate the importance of UK based servicing facilities.

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I am glad you have found another job so quickly Gary. Well done. If the manufacturer in question is German rather than Austrian I imagine it begins with a 'Z'. Good luck in your new employment.

Ron

garymh said:

Hi,

As you have probably noticed the housing is not metal and so could possibly have taken a knock and cracked. It should be a very simple repair - unscrew the objective lens mount, unscrew the broken tube, screw in a new tube, screw in the objective mount, adjust focus and fill with nitrogen. Milton keynes could have sorted it out in a day or two.

Unfortunately all the service staff (myself included) have been made redundant as Leica UK is concentrating activities around the London shop and none of the MK service staff were moved there. This also includes the service admin. staff who would normally have taken your call. All repairs , except minor jobs such as replacing eyecups and cleaning external optics, will now have to go to Germany.

I am now fortunately working for another German alpha optics manufacturer who appreciate the importance of UK based servicing facilities.

I will be at the Birdfair next week and would love to see those of you that know me.


Gary.

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I was surprised to see that the housing was not metal, it looks like some sort of plastic composite. Good to hear that it should be a simple repair, but what a shame it will have to go to Germany and not to MK. Is there likely to be a problem getting a replacement tube, now that the model is no longer produced? Glad to hear you got sorted with another job, thanks for your comments. Not heard from Leica yet, so will give them a ring next week.

Clive.

The tube is not a problem to obtain. I had plenty of spares in stock but with the demise of the service dept. at MK all the spares stock was boxed up and sent back to Germany.

All they need in London now is a stock of eyecups and some lens tissue !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although I am not going after a Spotting Scope, this is definitely one of the reasons why I purchase a Ultravid 10x25BR !!!

Ok here is how I got on..after several phone calls to Leica UK I felt I was getting nowhere, I was simply told they would ring me back but they could not say when. To be fair the move to new premises probably didn't help, but I thought they were not very helpful.
I decided to contact Germany directly, on 18th August I e-mailed their depot in Solms. It took a while for a reply, but I received shipping instructions and by 6th Sept my scope was on it's way.
Received the scope back yesterday 4th Oct, fully repaired (they even replaced my split eyepiece cover).
Here is the good bit, total cost...Nothing! I did not even have to pay for shipping.Apparently the cost of the repair would have been 151.60 Eur.
A big thankyou to Leica.:t:
Once I was in touch with Germany I was dealt with very professionally.
If people are going to spend 2-3k on optics, then they are going to want good customer support should something go wrong.Leica's new goodwill policy is exactly what people will be looking for.

This is an old thread obviously, but I wanted to say that I had a stellar experience with Leica's service department. I sent in a straight televid 62 with debris in the body and a bad focus knob. I was not the original owner of this scope, and it is non-apo and although very clean, it is dated.
I also sent in my Geovid 10x42 bincs for a good cleaning an inspection; they have been loved but well-used.

The products were quickly returned...the scope was completely replaced and the geovids were inspected, lubricated, cleaned and had all new rubber cups and caps installed.

All of this was "no charge" goodwill service from Leica.
Hell of a company is all I can say!

Now if I could find some original televid caps and a stay-on cover! lol...

Minolta, at their UK base in Milton Keynes and before they disappeared, totally replaced my 7x50 Activa binoculars which I'd bought "used", and which showed collimation errors, with a brand new, boxed pair complete with case and caps. When offered payment, they indicated the lifetime warranty, which I hadn't known about as I'd bought used.

(On camera gear, I've had very good service from Canon UK.)

Therein lies my problem with Leica, there are examples of excellent service, but unfortunately also many examples of frankly appalling service. This inconsistancy will lead to me choosing Swarovski this summer for my next bins & scope. I have owned Leica bins previously & liked them, & have tried their latest offerings & been impressed. But when parting with a large sum of money which I have saved hard for over the last three years, customer service will be prominent in influencing my choice.

John.

JohnnyH said:

Therein lies my problem with Leica, there are examples of excellent service, but unfortunately also many examples of frankly appalling service. This inconsistancy will lead to me choosing Swarovski this summer for my next bins & scope. I have owned Leica bins previously & liked them, & have tried their latest offerings & been impressed. But when parting with a large sum of money which I have saved hard for over the last three years, customer service will be prominent in influencing my choice.

John.

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Me too. These stories of good service sound promising but it would take a lot of convincing for me to switch back after my previous bad experiences. Swarovski customer service is superb and that is a huge factor when buying.

Rob