Leica Cust. Service?

[Mike 338]

Went to use my rangefinder (Leica 1600 original) the other day and it seemed a little opaque. Didn't think much about it. Figured it might need some cleaning. Got it home and checked it out and it's fogging with a bubble on the inner ocular lens. Did some poking around and found out there is a, not so insignificant amount of dissatisfaction with Leica's Customer Service. Seems a common amount to fix a issue such as fogging is about 1/3 purchase price when outside of warranty. Also, seems like wait times are way outside of what I would consider reasonable. I'm not the original owner. Was curious to hear what experiences others might have with Leica sport optics and Customer Service.

 

[RandyinVa]

I have Leica 8 x 50 s and they need service. Cost of fixing them outweighs the value. Will be looking for another brand,

 

[catorres1]

Mike,

I have heard of CS issues with Leica in the past. Same with some other imported high end manufacturers to be honest. My experience with Zeiss was less than impressive, for example.

However, Leica knows this as well. Last year, they added something like 50 percent more CS staff and I believe they are on track to double that this year. They know that CS is now very often the thing that differentiates between a wide variety of good choices, and posts like this keeps everyone in the know.

I had need of their CS in just the past few months with my 1600. I had a contact over there and ended up dealing with him directly and had the opportunity to meet his boss at DSC and spend some time talking with them generally. Good guys.

It took a bit of time due to it being Christmas etc., but I can tell you that in the end, they MORE than took care of me. My impression is that they want to take the CS issue by the horns and they are eager to take care of their customers. That does not mean they'll give away the store, obviously, but I do believe they see their CS record as being a critical part of their future success.

That said, your RF being an original 1600 means it is way outside warranty, so I honestly cannot guess what they can do here or what it will cost to fix the problem. I think alot of manu's of these devices don't actually fix them anymore, they just replace them. I'm guessing Leica is the same, but it's worth a call to them to find out what the issue is and if anything can be done.

Good luck, and if you cannot get the right person on the phone, let me know and I'll see what I can do to connect you to someone.

 

[guru]

I had a Leica CRF 1200 crap out on me a few years ago and sent in back for repair. Leica told me they don't repair them and since it was out of warranty that they would sell me a new 1600b at a special price, I don't remember exactly but I think it was around $400 or $500 . It only took a couple weeks from the time I sent it until I got my new one back from them. Great customer service with no issues at all.

 

[LaHunter]

My crf 1600 has gotten a little 'opaque' also. Unless it is bright sunny skies, the view gets pretty dim. Also, I am having problems getting ranges on deer beyond 400 yards on flat ground. Still ranges beyond that on really large objects, however. Looks like I will be contacting Leica also. My unit is about 5 years old.

 

[jgal72]

A few years back my rangefinder crapped out. I believe it was a 900 crf. It was five years old at the time. Sent it in to Lieca for repair. They sent me a new 1000R, No Charge.

 

[RandyinVa]

My problem is my Leica 8 x 50 binocs were black market. old out of NY house, so the cost to fix them was about 1/3 of their value. I am old and retired and don't have the money I used to so I guess my favorite Leicas are to be considered throw away and I will have to buy something not as good to get by.

 

[Mike 338]

My problem is my Leica 8 x 50 binocs were black market. old out of NY house, so the cost to fix them was about 1/3 of their value. I am old and retired and don't have the money I used to so I guess my favorite Leicas are to be considered throw away and I will have to buy something not as good to get by.

That's what I've been reading. 1/3 the value to repair. A person might see some value in a deal like that if he though the repair would hold but from what I've been reading, these Leica sport optics have a high failure rate. I put mine in a UPS truck yesterday. We'll see.

 

[catorres1]

That's what I've been reading. 1/3 the value to repair. A person might see some value in a deal like that if he though the repair would hold but from what I've been reading, these Leica sport optics have a high failure rate. I put mine in a UPS truck yesterday. We'll see.

Curious to know what they told you on the phone, and also what they will do for you...

 

[bigngreen]

Buddy got a rangefinder back last night that was fogging, new unit, cost him $8 shipping. Had another buddy who had an issue with binos and they replaced them for nothing.

 

[antleredacres]

Buddy got a rangefinder back last night that was fogging, new unit, cost him $8 shipping. Had another buddy who had an issue with binos and they replaced them for nothing.

I have a rifle scope I sent in due to the illumination not working. Got a reply back that it was under warranty, good news. They said they had to send it back to the factory in Portugal for repair. It's been over 2 months and I still don't have the scope, bad news. Called CS and was told they would send it went it gets back, however they could not give me any kind of estimate just when that will be. My last leica product.

 

[catorres1]

Buddy got a rangefinder back last night that was fogging, new unit, cost him $8 shipping. Had another buddy who had an issue with binos and they replaced them for nothing.

Yeah, Leica are definitely trying to step up their game on the CS front, they have a real opportunity here to set a standard in their class. Hope it works out for Mike!

 

[Weatherby Fan]

I sent in a pair of Leica 10x42 Trinovids for eyecup replacements as they were cracked, cleaning and alignment check, it cost me a Cpl hundred bucks in the end which wasn't so bad but it took 2.5 months from the time I received them back, so mailing them to New Jersey form British Columbia and return all in all wasn't terrible for turn around time.

 

[catorres1]

I have a rifle scope I sent in due to the illumination not working. Got a reply back that it was under warranty, good news. They said they had to send it back to the factory in Portugal for repair. It's been over 2 months and I still don't have the scope, bad news. Called CS and was told they would send it went it gets back, however they could not give me any kind of estimate just when that will be. My last leica product.

Yeah, think time problems for many of these optics comes when parts have to sourced or stuff has to be shipped overseas. I sent in a set of Zeiss FL's a year or so ago to be cleaned and adjusted. There was a tiny little plastic screw cover that was missing, so I asked them to replace it. Took something like 6 months and tons of calls to finally get them back.

Turns out they told me the wait was for that tiny cover to come from Germany. I have heard worse when they have had to ship the entire unit back to Germany for service.

Not sure how manu's solve that issue other than making sure they keep a full supply of the parts and maybe the service stateside so there is not so much of a delay. But there is a limit on how much they can keep on hand, I imagine, and stock for older products would probably not be available except for special order.

There are a couple ways to solve this, but not knowing what their margins are on these products as well as return rates, it's hard to say what would work. What is certain is that companies like Vortex have changed the CS expectation for everyone. They were a real disruptor in the market that others are scrambling to figure out how to respond to. As Doug from Cameraland mentioned in his Shot update this year, Leica has seriously ramped up their CS staffing to try and resolve customer issues, hope they are successful in matching the new paradigm and others are as well.