rscheffler Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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First of all, I hope we can keep this a productive thread.
I've had good and bad experiences.
Good was being able to arrange in-person visits for sensor cleanings and RF adjustments and each time pick up the camera by the end of the day (since I was 'passing through' the area).
Bad was having to send back the same lens (50 Lux ASPH) several times over the course of a couple years until they finally replaced the right parts to keep it from loosening up to the point of going all soft and glowy and losing RF calibration. But while there was finally resolution of that aspect of the lens's performance, it came back with the infinity hard stop focusing past infinity and the RF not reaching infinity... When informed about this, they questioned whether it might instead be my camera (though it was only the 50 Lux doing this) and requested I send back the lens AND my camera. I told them no dice if it's going to take 4-8 weeks like it typically did to service the lens, unless they provided a loaner. Never heard another peep from them... And since then they did not responded to any new inquiries about arranging service, until I sent an email from a different address I never used with them, and got an actual reply.... kind of weird. Maybe my original email address was getting caught in a spam filter? Or they ignored me...
I've had other stuff in previously and the pain was always the long service times. You spend a lot (A LOT!!) of money on the gear for it to then be unavailable while it sits unproductively in their service queue. It just doesn't jive with the premium nature of the brand. The in-store service is great. The gear is great... until something goes wrong. Then it's like you paid your money and suddenly you're dealing with a totally different company that can't get its act together and makes you suffer its incompetence.
The above is primarily referring to Leica US. I've had some dealings with Leica Germany too, when I was from time to time in Germany. I used their premium 'express' service that guaranteed service turnaround within the EU of 2-3 days plus shipping time. They kept the promised turnaround time, fixed the original problem, but introduced a new one, so it had to go back again the next time I was in Germany...
The general feeling I have about Leica US's service quality is how I felt about Canon Canada's CPS program back in the mid 2000s before the huge Americas CPS revamp. It sucked. Period. Slow turnarounds, multiple trips to fix one problem. Lack of loaner availability. I had to maintain a fairly redundant system. I.e. a couple 1D series bodies and relevant lenses. Fast forward to now. I pay $250 annually, but I get turnarounds in the range of several days rather than weeks, immediate loaners and less need for system redundancy. Sure, I still have backups, but I don't feel compelled to keep multiple current generation bodies on-hand, which saves me some money.
Whatever Canon did to totally turnaround their CPS program, Leica should do similar. At the least, some sort of professional services option to expedite repairs for those who rely on the equipment for their livelihood. Or if they can't cut turnarounds, guarantee loaner availability. If I have a loaner, I don't care if it takes them six months. It's their problem. But since I can never get loaners from them, I'm the one who suffers.
I requested a loaner when my 50 Lux ASPH was in last year, yet again, and I had a number of shoots coming up... they said it might be possible, so I sent it in. When I inquired about the loaner after they received my lens, I was informed they could 'maybe' send a 75 Summarit... WTF?! This is a prime reason why I haven't sold my ZM lens collection, which I bought as a 'starter kit' when I first got into Leica. IIRC, Allen bought a ZM35/2.8 to tide him over while his 35 Lux FLE was at Leica.... Given the poor state of service, if you rely on the gear, you really do need to maintain sufficient redundancy. With it being Leica, that's of course an expensive proposition...
Every time I've visited Leica NJ to drop something off and mentioned the horrible turnaround times, the CSR has apologized profusely and confirmed they're well aware and working to improve it. I honestly wonder if they'll ever turn it around?
So, yes, I have things to gripe about, in respect to service (repair) experiences, but I want to reiterate that it's about the only thing marring an otherwise generally great experience with the equipment and Leica staff I've dealt with in person, either in NJ or at various Leica stores. I really do enjoy using my Leica system. A lot. Unfortunately I can't rely on it 100%.
Shooting Leica sometimes feels like a masochistic experience. There's a lot of joy from the experience, but also a certain amount of pain you're forced to endure. It could be odd camera quirks, or the terrible service experiences. But it's like you're forced to suffer for the privilege.
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