[Leica] Re: Leica service

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On May 17, 2007, at 9:05 PM, John wrote:

>  I bought my little sister an Olympus point and shoot years ago.   
> It developed a problem with the flash connection.  It was long out  
> of warranty.  I stopped by the Olympus office in Chicago just  
> before Christmas. It was their lunch time.  The young woman  
> ( receptionist ? ) smiled, took the camera and said " Wait just a  
> minute. " then disappeared.  A minute later she came back and asked  
> " Would you like to wait a little while ? "  Someone stopped in the  
> middle of their lunch and fixed the camera while I was waiting.   
> And I was told " Oh, no charge. Merry Christmas. "
>
>   And that is the truth.


Leica in NJ used to be that way about 4 or 5 years ago. They replaced  
a malfunctioning Digilux Zoom with a new camera. They adjusted the  
meter switch of my Leica CL so that it wouldn't turn off when the  
wind lever was pressed in. The staff was friendly and willing to  
answer questions about cameras and repair. It wasn't even Christmas.  
What happened to customer service? It isn't only the glass.

There is a truism in marketing that it costs three times as much to  
regain a dissatisfied former customer as it does to get a new  
customer. I hope Leica's new owners have deep pockets.

Larry Z