Is there Leica customer service? If so it sucks.

[natehoward]

I have to complain here. I shoot an M6 for work as a professional for a

newspaper and freelance.

I contacted Leica several times to get a professional service status for repairs

loans etc.

Much like Canon and Nikon, CPS, NPS.

After several emails they sent me a form, I filled it out and heard nothing from

them again.

And this from a working pro. Just how high and mighty does Leica think they

are?

Anymore I shoot canon and nikon, I am disappointed with Leica. In my opinion

I can do without.

Canon kicks ass by the way for those working shooters out there that really

use their cameras daily. I am skeptical on this Leica gig.

[gl5]

ok so what's your question?

[guy bennett]

If your Canon does everything you want and need and you're not satisfied with Leica, then why not drop the latter and stick with the former?

 

That would seem to be the obvious solution, or am I missing something here?

[thidglance]

Leicas are rarely used by pros these days (not to say that there are not pros doing it, but lets look at numbers). Anyway canon and nikon are - Leicas are mostly bought be destists and doctors who don't take pictures but like to talk alot about their precious cameras.

[nesrani]

Leica is used quite a lot by pros, actually, and probably would be even more if their entire service philosophy wasn't based around sending everything back to germany if you really want the work done. I have problems with my cameras that I'm not going to get fixed, why? because I don't want to be without them for two months or so. Eventually I'll just sell them and get something digital, probably.

 

Leica service stinks.

[john_amiet3]

To Nathan & Rob & others that think similarly.

I suggest that maybe your attitude is what is really getting in your way. I spaeak as a working pro using hasselblad, Nikon and leica. I have had occassion to seek service on ALL of them have PROVEN that the level of service I receive is DIRECTLY proportional the degree of civility I use when dealing with ANY of the above named company's. I have always been given replacement/loan gear to keep me working if required. I have spoken to other photographers that say they "heavy" the company because they are pro's and got nowhere! I know of one current instance where the photographer concerned complained with demands to Leica in Germany and met a brick wall. I advised her to change her attitude and she is now being offered a free repair AND a complementary lens as compensation! This is paraphrased but true in essence. In my own case I was given a new body after a failure on a 12 year old body. I know it was my attitude that pushed the decision in the right direction.

Think, what would be your attitude if your client(s) made DEMANDS on you. I reckon it would be naturally defensive. These company's are no different. Use some psychology. It works.

my view for what it's worth.

[nesrani]

John - I think you're presuming a bit here. Now what on earth would make you think that a vile, anti-american, self-loathing, hatred-filled, bigoted mattress muncher like me would ever shout at anyone? ;-)

 

Maybe I should have added to my post that I live in Italy, where the Leica, Canon and Nikon service are all equally appalling. My local "pro" camera shop now refuses to deal with repairs because he's so sick of having to explain to his customers why their stuff is returned from the official workshops in exactly the same condition it went there in. It took about a year for my wife to get a simple circuit board problem on her F100 dealt with, and I have had numerous problems with Leica gear.

 

Italy... great food, nice weather, zero service.

[robert_clark]

Rob,

 

I recently had problems with my M6 and wanted it repaired in the short time I was in Germany. I emailed them and told them my problem and they told me to send it to them when I arrived in Frankfurt, which I did. I phoned them again when I was in Germany and spoke to the guy I had emailed. He told me there would be no problem with my timeframe - two weeks - and that they would have it ready in good time.

 

I phoned them again one week later, while I was travelling around and they confirmed that it was there waiting for me. So from my perspective their service has been excellent.

 

Try them out again, get a personal contact. They seemed pretty human and willing to help to me.

 

Good luck.

[andy_piper2]

Hmmm - I just had a burned shutter curtain replaced (requiring major shutter strip-down) by Leica NJ. No trips to Germany. Turnaround was 18 calendar days (9 business days, since it included the T'giving holiday)including shipping time both ways. Which is faster than I've gotten from Nikon on some NPS "Pro" repairs. In fact practically the fastest service I've ever gotten on any camera repair from any source.

 

And wasn't even Leica Pro service - just regular Passport warranty. They even called when it was shipped back (2nd day air) and gave me the UPS tracking number.

 

Attitude may help - When I worked for a hospital the risk management guy quoted studies showing that good doctors with arrogant bedside manners actually got sued for malpractice more often than error-prone doctors with sympathetic bedside manners.

 

"To succeed in this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." - Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in "Harvey"

[andrew1]

I will heartily second the excellent point about being polite and

patient when seeking service- it'll always get you a lot farther. If

Leica had a lot more money, maybe they could afford to have

yes-sir-right-away-sir service that Canon and Nikon provide-

even for the often snotty self important "pro" shooters (not saying

you are one of these, BTW).

 

But Leica can't afford to do this. They don't even try- they can't

compete, and they know it. They also know they make a great

camera, one that people love, to the point of over-looking the

lousy service. If you really love the tools they make, you'll be

patient and polite, eventually you'll get it back, and you'll shoot

with it for another ten years. If you can't handle those terms, don't

complain- go elsewhere. Happily, there are a lot of choices in

the photographic world. Canons are a lot cheaper anyway!

[karl_yik1]

I had a lens repaired by them, took about 3 months.... enough said

[michael_kastner]

Nathan, move to Germany. It's better here.

[sparkie]

John makes good sense. Apply a little shoe switching. Perhaps if you say you are an amateur [rather than a pro] and plea that your precious gear has died, and almost in tears, they will feel sorrow and take pity on you [or just to shut you up] -- they will service your gear with a little more steadfastness and verve. But I cant help but think that it is who you get to deal with that determines the level of service you inevitably recieve. Unless of course there an ingrained culture [nationally or within the company] that exists. My experience of Leica UK has been pretty good so far.

[phill kneen]

I sent an F5 to Nikon for a service and got it back 4 months later. I asked for a spare to use and they said they didn't offer this service.

 

I sent an M6 to Leica for a service and got it back 8 days later. Leica offered me the use of a spare M6 AND a lens of my choice to try if the service was going to take more than 10 working days.

 

Writing to Leica is a waste of time, you have to phone them and explain your situation and be nice. (yes, even I can be nice!)

[albert knapp md]

Nathan: Please call Leica NJ and ask for Brenda, she will

expedite but as Andy said, be nice. As my grandmother said:

"you can get more from a bear with honey than vinegar." As to

James, your comment about dentists and doctors (yes I am a

physician) are silly and I ASSUME that this ad hominen attack

was made only in jest....

[nesrani]

"Ad hominem" in this context would mean that James was dismissing a claim of yours, Albert, by using your status as a doctor to discredit it. On the contrary, the fact that you are a doctor tends to support his thesis. If, despite your status as a doctor, you also take a lot of pictures, then that would tend to undermine at least that part of his claim, however.

 

God, it's such a burden having to carry this giant brain around all day...

[sal dimarco]

Nathan, There have been many excellent responses to your unfounded complaint. First of all, Leica is a very small company. They do not operate in the grand fashion of Canon and Nikon and Leica doesn't have the same amount of loaner equipment, Canon & Nikon do. Leica USA has never really needed a formal professional service program. They know who their professional customers are. Everytime, I've called Leica and said "Help!" they have come through for me and many other working pros and hobbyists. Unfortunately, this type of service isn't universally available. The quality of customer service varies with the individual distributorships in the world. Italy is really, really bad. (sorry, Rob) As others have said, try being polite.

[al_kaplan1]

So now we're discussing doctors? I've found that the best way to sift the wheat from the chaff is, on first visit, start calling them by their first name. If they accept that great, if not it's back to the HMO's directory.

 

As for service, the last new Leica camera I bought was an R4-S in 1981 I think. Before that it was an M2-R about 1969 or '70. Everything else has been used, private sale, no warrantee, no problems. Nice hardly used stuff probably owned by doctors. For the occasional CLA or extremely rare repair I use a local guy with a thick German accent who sometimes does minor adjustments while I wait.

[bobtodrick]

I'll weigh in on this one from the perspective of someone in the industry who sends Leica, Canon and Nikon in for repair on a near daily basis (maybe monthy for Leica - there aren't as many of them around). First, over the last few years Nikon and Canon service have suffered the most because of they myriad P&S cameras on the market. It used to be that the 'biggies' all catered to the pro market because pros help sell cameras (remember the ads from the 60 & 70's...usually some rugged looking shooter out with his Nikon F....now the ads are all some family looking scenario - lots of fun and the latest P&S). Anyway a lot of these little $200 cameras break down, and in they go for repair, with your F5/EOS1 about 40th in line to be fixed. Leica on the other hand tends to be slow because they are more careful - though there have been complaints here about the need for re-repair - on the whole we see a lot more Nikon/Canon come back from repair and head back the next day because they were not fixed properly. But in all this there is one thing in common to all. Most repair shops are understaffed. If you have a problem call ahead...ask to speak to the service manager and explain your problem - explain that you need the camera quickly and NICLEY ask that they expidite it - even offer to ship it to them express at your cost to show that you are serious. I've found all of them Nikon, Canon and Leica to guarantee service in 48 hours unless there are parts to be ordered. I can also guarantee that telling them how important you are...how you've used there stinkin' equipment 20 years now and this is the crappy service you're getting...etc...will ensure your camera sits on the back shelf for at least a couple of weeks. And guess what...if someone approached you at your job you'd probably do the same. I'll bet all the people here with 'great' service stories were polite and to the point...not 'hey, I'm Joe Pro and need things fast'. END OF RANT.

[Robin Smith]

Bravo Rob, your brain is useful! Also of course it is not an ad hominem attach rather an "ad species" attack or perhaps more accurately an "ad pares" attack as the collective term "doctors and dentists" were referred to not Albert Knapp M.D. per se - he being only a member of the set of doctors and dentists. Unless of course one assumes that Albert assumes that the term "hominem" actually refers to man as in mankind - but this is not in general usage methinks.

[natehoward]

While my question had a harsh tone, I was very polite when approaching

these folks. Not sure where the "be kinder" thing came from. I understand that

philosophy yet I have not even shared more than a few emails to try to get

some assistance. Canon has truly amazing service. Much better than Nikon.

Nikon is not bad. Also, I have sent in cameras, digital and eos, and f1 and

never have I sent the camera back for the same problem. Anyway, I will try to

be as kind as possible. Also, am I screwed because I buy used? No warranty.

I appreciate the quality of the Leica and yes, it is rare it needs anymore than a

tune-up, I still am amazed at some cases I have read here and my own

experience. Anyone know if Canon ever plans to build a pro rangefinder

again?

[bobtodrick]

Nathan - the tips I mentioned are general guidelines that work well in most instances. Unfortunately we sometimes catch people having an 'off day' (though this is no excuse for poor service). Also some repair depots just have a better reputation than others. In Canada (where I live)one of the major brands mentioned here (not Leica) had services centers in Vancouver (on the west coast) and Toronto (ovr 3000 Km away). Though it's better now for the longest time you got crappy service from Vancouver, and great service from Toronto...yet both the same company. Again no excuse! New or used shouldn't make a difference, I think most of the companies out there want to keep everyone happy. One hint of course is to search the archives here, there are a number of Leica repair shops out there that have fantastic reputations.

[thidglance]

Sorry for stiring people up about 'doctor and dentists' - I'm not a Leica shooter but I do apreciate that they are nice cameras and fantastic lenses. Nothing would make me happier than them being only owned by doctors etc. and those same doctors taking thousands of wonderful pictures - it is just that normally when you step into the world of leica you find alot of people obsessing over the upgraded to the lasted weasel fur cover M8 or whatever ! Howerver I see the same every day in the rest of photo.net as well. For the record my dad is a doctor, but he doesn't own a leica so I can't test my theories on him :-) What really rials me up is to see fantastic cameras, and lenses owen by people who love the equipment, but hardly use it. And then I see really tallent photographers using old camera, and crappy lenses because it is all they can afford - but who puts on the best exibits in the end ?

 

Case in point, look at the number of ads etc here and on ebay for Leicas that have had 10 rolls or so put though them ....

[lemastre]

All these pro and con responses indicate to me that Leica

service departments operate under no uniform enforced

policies. That is, the personnel respond according to how they

feel that day or how the customer presents himself or perhaps to

the novelty of the problem or to whatever piques their interest or

causes them to yawn, take offense, etc. As you know, they don't

consider themselves to be competing with anyone for business.

[bobtodrick]

I'm sorry but I just have to respond to the last two posts. Kieth...as I said I deal with service dept on a daily business. Firstly you can go into any major dept store - get great service in the shoe dept and lousy service 1 floor up in mens underwear. Oddly enough I know of no 'service dept police' who go around making sure everyone 'conforms'. Secondly...think about it. Though it's now excuse for poor service, these people on the whole are spending their entire day dealing with people who are pissed off because their camera is broke. And of course it seldom their fault. And lots of these people are far less than polite. Again - no excuse but it's the nature of the beast. How many people here when they have gotten good service ever take the time to call the service dept and tell them how happy they are. Few if any. Now onto James. Leicas are expensive. They are often purchased by people with lots of money, little time to take photos (how do you think they got their money), and so what. How many Ferrari's or BMW M series cars are put through their paces on a daily basis. How many Rolex Submariners never see any water other than the shower. And BTW, a 'real talented photographer using crappy lenses' is probably not that talented - otherwise he'd be selling his marvelous talent and making enough money to buy what he wants.