Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Gary, I agree with you in that a manufacturer cannot be expected to provide parts support indefinately for very old products. Leica, however, looks very proudly to thier illustrious past, and it would seem to make sense to continue to support these older cameras. It is indeed reasonable to me that a manufacturer would horde the last supplies of parts for very old products. But the recent announcement is not limited to parts for these older cameras. We're talking about, for example, a customer purchasing a replacement rewind crank for a current M7. Even for such a simple replacement, we are now expected to send the camera back to Leica USA. It's important to remember that Leica is not alone in this type of policy. I called Nikon the other day to obtain a replacement spring (a flimsy pressed steel part) for a Nikon SF-200 slide feeder, only to be told that I would have to send the whole feeder back to them for estimate and repair. I consider the spring to be user replaceable. It's just bent and I can easily swap it out in about 5 minutes with a simple philips screwdriver. I don't need some level 1 tech at Nikon to look at it and make a more informed decision. The problem is obvious. As I can't afford to be without the feeder right now, I have bent the existing spring into submission and while it works, a new spring would be better. The net for Nikon is an unhappy user who bitches about thier film scanner in public forums that are read worldwide by prospective customers. I don't expect Nikon to be responsible for any damage I may do to the feeder in the process of any servicing I do myself, but I do at least expect them to provide parts. I think John Brownlow is correct in his comment "win the battle, lose the war". With the exception of the M rangefinder system, Leica has very few competitive advantages these days, and the most valuable of these is the loyalty of the existing customer base. Alienating these people is a grave mistake that, in the long run, will prove far more damaging to the company than the small loss of revenue that results from selling spare parts to independent repair people. - --Jim Gary Williams wrote: > As both a newbie to Leica (with no Leica baggage) and as a person with over > 20 years of experience in the business world, I have a slightly different > take on this topic. > > Leica is probably the only company in the world providing active support of > products that are 25-35-50+ years old. B.D. a.k.a. "Mr. Sunshine" compares > the Leica decision about parts sales to individuals to requiring owners of > new automobiles to get repair service only at dealerships. This analogy is > flawed. Try taking your classic 356 Porsche or '55 Chevy today to a dealer > to get it repaired. Not even B.D.'s charm could pull this off. > > The real issue here is not some kind of corporate bumbling, or conspiracy to > squeeze out the independent repair folks, or any other act of malfeasance by > Leica. How many years have elapsed since many of these Leica camera parts > were last produced? Is Leica willing to retool production to make more > rangefinders for the M3, or shutter assemblies for the SL2? Or willing to > contract a third party to manufacture a limited production run? In a time > and in an industry driven more than ever by "disruptive technologies" (to > borrow a phrase) and economic challenges, this is absurd. > > The simple fact is Leica is running out of many spare parts after all of > these years of support. Leica is in a no win situation with this. > Eliminating sales of parts to individuals may not be the result the Leica > classic user wants in the short term, however, it's the only decision that > makes any sense from a company perspective. Eliminating sales of dwindling > parts inventory to individuals insures that Leica has access to any > remaining stock so that Leica is in a better position to continue its > support of its antique models. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html