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Message: <blockquote data-quote="stephen b" data-source="post: 2606899" data-attributes="member: 80110">Steve, Yes, I was quite surprised with the as you said and certainly one way to put it- "the run around" from Nikon. I think at the time and afterwards the thing that surprised me was the CS I got right away from both the after hours the CS rep in the Dominican Republic and the USA Nikon CS rep the next day.  Both of them made the assertion and assumption that the damage was done before the binoculars arrived to the repair warehouse; but both of them had no way of knowing when or how the damage occurred. Especially the first rep- she was all ready to make it my problem and put the onus on me for the damage. And both made a point to point out that Nikon would not be responsible for any impact damage. It was just "send them back in and plead your case" so to speak. I found it quite off putting, and quite a different way of treating a customer. And the whole part about- "No you can not speak to anyone in repairs, they do not have time for that; you just need to send them in with a note outlining what is going on". I know that the repair dept. is busy, but they made the line between them and the customer very clear.And Steve- you mention Swarovski and your CS experience- as the other Steve here ( There are a few "Steve's" here in this thread |:d|)  put it "It just seems that Swarovski is willing to go "above and beyond" compared to some of the others.  I also have had nothing but great service from them the couple times I have used them. A couple years ago I sent in my newly acquired used 7x30 SLC's for a check up and to see if I could possibly get the newest updated lens coatings. Before sending them in I spoke with the CS rep and mentioned I would like to also get ( and pay for) the winged eyecups that are available. The CS women told me she would make a note of that on my RO repair notes. She also said to send them in without the regular twist up eyecups and when they send them back they would have the winged eyecups put on them instead. While they were in for the checkup I was able to speak with an actual service tech about the possibility of new lenses- how about that! I also got this email note back from CS when they were in for the checkup:"Hi Stephen, I hope you are doing well today.  When you called you asked for the new lenses with the EZ to clean coatings , unfortunately the glass is not available for 7x30 SLC’s, they have been discontinued.  According to the technician, your lenses are in almost perfect condition .  He will be working on them under warranty, they will be going through a inspection and external cleaning.  You requested 7x30 winged eyecups and we will be putting on the winged eyecups and sending them out with your binoculars.If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at 800-426-3089.  Business hours are Monday thru Friday 8am-4:30pm EST. Best regards,"...........- Pretty different level of service, when compared to my recent Nikon experience.And... 3 weeks later I receive the 7x30' in the mail and they have both the winged eyecups on them along with an extra set of twist up eyecups included in the box. And they knew I already had those. Also,  Swarovski tells you to send in the binoculars without any of the accessories on them ( like the glass covers, etc- so they do not get lost). Well... my 7x30's came back with a brand new set of ocular and objective glass covers on them. I figured out at the time the winged eyecups and both sets of glass covers retailed for over $50- and they sent them to me for free, along with an extra set of twist ups. I thought that was great. And I have heard of many cases where they have done a complete rebuild and brand new lenses at no charge at all.It is just a great service model they have.</blockquote>

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