WOW!!!! Amazing service from LEICA and CameralandNY

[One Day...]

For those of you who followed the thread Leica Contact (https://www.africahunting.com/threads/leica-contact.45582/) some of us had a bit of a challenge recently reaching Leica and getting service from them.

Africahunting.com Member @gr8fuldoug Doug, one of the two brothers who own CameraLandNY (https://cameralandny.com/) and one of Leica's largest US distributors was kind enough to offer his help.

In August, I brought back from South Africa (see hunt report at https://www.africahunting.com/threa...-2018-plains-game-paradise.45017/#post-474349) Huntershill Head PH Jason Olivier's Leica Geovid R Rangefinding 10x42 Binoculars. They were HARD used, as you would expect from binocs bouncing in the truck or on a PH's neck 365 days/year for a few years, but truth be told I was also dismayed by the lack of attention they got. Somehow I have always babied high dollars binocs, but I guarantee you that Jason does not. These are working binocs for sure...

Jason had taken a fall with the Geovid and the focus knob was broken and gone. The binocs were unusable without it, and Jason simply could not find a way to get them serviced in South Africa. Also, as a result of the aforementioned hard life, there must have been at least half a pound of dust and mud encrusted on the darn things, and I have never (or rarely) seen external glass surfaces so dirty and so scratched (no, wiping glass with the back of a sleeve shirt in the field is not a good idea!).

The path to salvation was:

1) Consult africahunting.com to see if others had a challenge reaching Leica. That yielded a PM (personal message) from @gr8fuldoug Doug offering his help. Never mind that the Geovid were not bought from his store to begin with...

2) Call Doug at (516) 217 1000 to get the proper high level contact at Leica.

3) Call Jennine Jacques, Director of Customer Care for Leica Camera Inc. at (201) 962 9956.

4) Let Jennine know that I was calling on Doug's personal recommendation.

5) Explain the situation to Jennine. Now, that is the part where I was a bit uncertain. I do not own the Geovid, Jason does. Jason did not buy them in a store but at the SCI show 3 years ago; hard to track. Jason did not keep any paperwork as he was concerned with RSA customs coming back home; no proof of purchase. Jason never registered the Geovid with Leica; no record. Oh and by the way, it was unclear to me whether Geovid are covered under Leica's unconditional life-time warranty. Some early Leica statements explicitly excluded them from the Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Protection Plan Warranty. Jennine had plenty of ammo to deny coverage, and what could I have said... But none of that, Jennine was an absolute pleasure to work with. Things started to happen. Fast.

6) The same day I received a UPS shipping label from Leica by email. A few days later, I was informed that the binocs arrived and were examined. Not only was the focus wheel gone (as I knew), but both eye pieces were broken, and the electronic was irreparable due to water leakage. Dang!

7) Another chat (by email) with Jennine aleviated my fears. Not to worry, Leica would swap the body of the Geovid and fix whatever needed fixing.

8) Nine work days later (this morning), the UPS truck showed at my door. After unpacking the box, I am left speechless: this is either a truly magical repair work, including polishing and re-coating of lenses (?), or these are brand new Geovid !?!?!?

9) Ouch, there was also an invoice in the box. OMG what did I get myself into? Well, I got myself into world-class Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Protection Plan Warranty: a brand new pair of Geovid for my PH friend Jason, at $0 cost:

What else to say without starting blabbering !?!?

Thank you @gr8fuldoug Doug at Cameraland NY for caring enough about customer service to even take care of those who were not YOUR customers. You can bet that whatever next camera, scope, binoculars, rangefinder, etc I will buy from CamerLandNY (https://cameralandny.com/).

Thank you Jennine Jacques, Director of Customer Care for Leica Camera Inc. at (201) 962 9956 and Jennine.Jacque@leicacamerausa.com. You were awesome. Thank you for believing the strange but true story and thank you for waiving a slew of administrative and paperwork check boxes.

Thank you Leica @Leica Sport Optics. You went above and beyond, in returning a truly as-new (?) or an actual new (?) pair of Geovid that had been damaged/destroyed through no design or manufacturing fault of your own.

Africahunting.com community, my Brothers in Arms, that's all I have to say about that. You know what I am buying next and where

 

[BRICKBURN]

Nicely done @Leica Sport Optics

 

[markm]

For those of you who followed the thread Leica Contact (https://www.africahunting.com/threads/leica-contact.45582/) some of us had a bit of a challenge recently reaching Leica and getting service from them.

Africahunting.com Member @gr8fuldoug Doug, one of the two brothers who own CameraLandNY (https://cameralandny.com/) and one of Leica's largest US distributors was kind enough to offer his help.

In August, I brought back from South Africa (see hunt report at https://www.africahunting.com/threa...-2018-plains-game-paradise.45017/#post-474349) Huntershill Head PH Jason Olivier's Leica Geovid R Rangefinding 10x42 Binoculars. They were HARD used, as you would expect from binocs bouncing in the truck or on a PH's neck 365 days/year for a few years, but truth be told I was also dismayed by the lack of attention they got. Somehow I have always babied high dollars binocs, but I guarantee you that Jason does not. These are working binocs for sure...

Jason had taken a fall with the Geovid and the focus knob was broken and gone. The binocs were unusable without it, and Jason simply could not find a way to get them serviced in South Africa. Also, as a result of the aforementioned hard life, there must have been at least half a pound of dust and mud encrusted on the darn things, and I have never (or rarely) seen external glass surfaces so dirty and so scratched (no, wiping glass with the back of a sleeve shirt in the field is not a good idea!).

The path to salvation was:

1) Consult africahunting.com to see if others had a challenge reaching Leica. That yielded a PM (personal message) from @gr8fuldoug Doug offering his help. Never mind that the Geovid were not bought from his store to begin with...

2) Call Doug at (516) 217 1000 to get the proper high level contact at Leica.

3) Call Jennine Jacques, Director of Customer Care for Leica Camera Inc. at (201) 962 9956.

4) Let Jennine know that I was calling on Doug's personal recommendation.

5) Explain the situation to Jennine. Now, that is the part where I was a bit uncertain. I do not own the Geovid, Jason does. Jason did not buy them in a store but at the SCI show 3 years ago; hard to track. Jason did not keep any paperwork as he was concerned with RSA customs coming back home; no proof of purchase. Jason never registered the Geovid with Leica; no record. Oh and by the way, it was unclear to me whether Geovid are covered under Leica's unconditional life-time warranty. Some early Leica statements explicitly excluded them from the Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Protection Plan Warranty. Jennine had plenty of ammo to deny coverage, and what could I have said... But none of that, Jennine was an absolute pleasure to work with. Things started to happen. Fast.

6) The same day I received a UPS shipping label from Leica by email. A few days later, I was informed that the binocs arrived and were examined. Not only was the focus wheel gone (as I knew), but both eye pieces were broken, and the electronic was irreparable due to water leakage. Dang!

7) Another chat (by email) with Jennine aleviated my fears. Not to worry, Leica would swap the body of the Geovid and fix whatever needed fixing.

8) Nine work days later (this morning), the UPS truck showed at my door. After unpacking the box, I am left speechless: this is either a truly magical repair work, including polishing and re-coating of lenses (?), or these are brand new Geovid !?!?!?

9) Ouch, there was also an invoice in the box. OMG what did I get myself into? Well, I got myself into world-class Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Protection Plan Warranty: a brand new pair of Geovid for my PH friend Jason, at $0 cost:View attachment 256392
What else to say without starting blabbering !?!?

Thank you @gr8fuldoug Doug at Cameraland NY for caring enough about customer service to even take care of those who were not YOUR customers. You can bet that whatever next camera, scope, binoculars, rangefinder, etc I will buy from CamerLandNY (https://cameralandny.com/).

Thank you Jennine Jacques, Director of Customer Care for Leica Camera Inc. at (201) 962 9956 and Jennine.Jacque@leicacamerausa.com. You were awesome. Thank you for believing the strange but true story and thank you for waiving a slew of administrative and paperwork check boxes.

Thank you Leica @Leica Sport Optics. You went above and beyond, in returning a truly as-new (?) or an actual new (?) pair of Geovid that had been damaged/destroyed through no design or manufacturing fault of your own.

Africahunting.com community, my Brothers in Arms, that's all I have to say about that. You know what I am buying next and where

 

[markm]

I have bought from cameraland they are an awesome company

 

[sierraone]

Cameraland N.Y. has an outstanding reputation when dealing with Leica products which you now have learned first hand. Unfortunately for me I don't own any Leica glass, but if I ever do, Cameraland will be my first choice for the shop to deal with....because of their rep!!!

Congratulations to you and Cameraland!

 

[Bushpig4Ever]

It has nothing to do with Cameraland of course. It‘s Leica to whom you must be grateful. As a German I‘m proud that we have companies like Zeiss and Leica. I‘m a hunter since 40 years, only have optics from Z and L, both binos and telescopes. What outstanding service I‘ve received. My old Leitz bino got damaged one day. I handed it in, it was fixed free of charge. Not long ago I purchased a second hand Zeiss telescope. I forwarded it to Zeiss, Germany. They took it apart, checked everything, cleaned and sealed it. Didn‘t have to pay a cent.

 

[One Day...]

It has nothing to do with Cameraland of course. It‘s Leica to whom you must be grateful. As a German I‘m proud that we have companies like Zeiss and Leica. I‘m a hunter since 40 years, only have optics from Z and L, both binos and telescopes. What outstanding service I‘ve received. My old Leitz bino got damaged one day. I handed it in, it was fixed free of charge. Not long ago I purchased a second hand Zeiss telescope. I forwarded it to Zeiss, Germany. They took it apart, checked everything, cleaned and sealed it. Didn‘t have to pay a cent.

Beg to disagree. Leica's service is clearly to be credited to Leica, but the issue was that a number of us here in the USA simply could not get a return call or email from Leica USA recently, until Doug from CameraLand NY stepped in. And that it a fact.
So, credit is due where it is due. CameraLand apparently has the economic weight to catch Leica USA's attention when such attention is focused somewhere else.

 

[rnovi]

I've spent more money at Cameraland than I care to say...and I've not regretted it one bit. My Leica Scopes and Bins are absolutely my favorites.

 

[sambarhunter]

Isn't that refreshing to read of a company going all out for a customer, thats excellent service.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

I’m glad things worked out so well for you.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

It has nothing to do with Cameraland of course. It‘s Leica to whom you must be grateful.

I tried to hold my tongue but could not. You are so wrong. If you read the background which was provided via link in the first post of this thread, you would know Leica CS was the root of the problem.