RE: [Leica] Noctilux update

[Tom.Henson@bakerbotts.com]

Mitch,

I doubt that they complain very much to Solms about service delays unless
the customer hounds them, which will probably not make for a good
relationship with them. I sometimes got the feeling that their hands were
tied as well as ours when things are sent to Solms through them.

On the times that I have spoken to Brenda Olesin (whom I presume called you
with the news) she was always very polite and to the point. On the one time
that they sent a new lens to Solms to be repaired (it was an APO which can't
be worked on in NJ) she did follow up when I emailed her asking the status.
It ended up taking two months to get the lens back. However, it came back in
worse condition that when it was sent over there. It turned out that Solms
had told her they were sending new lens and then did not. She was so upset
that they gave her bad info and that the lens came back worse that she went
straight to the VP in NJ and showed him the lens.

He immediately offered me a new lens from NJ stock, or to credit the store
from which I purchased it for the full amount that I paid. I took the
credit, and turned around and ordered an new R6.2 with motor drive and had
the store drop ship the entire lot directly from NJ to me.

The fact that I had established a friendly relationship with Brenda I feel
helped resolve the issue. Never underestimate the importance of having a
personal relationship when it comes to getting things done.

Brenda Olesin is the customer service manager in NJ, and Horst Braun is the
same in Solms. Two people to include in the chain of command when dealing
with repair issues. In the case of Mr. Braun, if he feels the situation is
warranted, he will simply walk into Herr Cohn's office and ask for his
assistance in resolving a problem (probably will not need to see him in
person, but a simple phone call or email will do). Nothing like going to the
top to get things done.

Keep in mind that Leica is a very small company and at least in Germany a
small family. Germans take a great deal of pride in their ability to design
and manufacture complicated mechanical things and have a reputation for
excellence in this area (BMW & Mercedes come to mind).

However, like all of us that take great pride in our work, we do tend to be
sensitive at times to mistakes and criticism and Leica is no different than
anyone else. The one thing that I came away with from them, is that they are
sincerely interested in your satisfaction and happiness in the equipment and
will do their best to accommodate you,

Cheers 

Tom Henson


Mitch wrote:

<I suspect so, as things appeared to happen pretty quickly afterwards.
However, no one at Leica NJ has confirmed it even though I have posed
that specific question to them.>