Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Revisiting Leica Customer Service

Due to my previous 2 dismal Leica service experiences I guess you'd have to say I'm not very smart in that I have acquired a NIB 3200.com unit from an acquaintance of mine. No, I did not buy it directly from a retail facility, but it is still NIB, never used.

Yesterday I got these out of the box, put in the battery, and lo and behold this thing won't range squat, only very occasionally it may read something under 100 yds. Yes, 100 yds, and nothing at all, zero, nada over that range. Disappointing for a $3000 unit.....that's an understatement, as I start hunting mule deer and whitetails in 3 1/2 weeks.

I reach out to Leica Customer service yesterday morning and get crickets until I finally got a contact name from Doug at CL named Hamilton. I reached out to him and he finally did call me back and told me he thought it could be a DOA unit so he sent me an email to get the ball rolling with Brenda at Leica. Didn't hear squat all day yesterday and basically half a day today. She finally emailed me saying that since even though these were a brand new, never registered unit, they would not honor the DOA policy so she got another customer service lady in the loop. Crickets for a few hours then finally another email telling me where to ship them back to. Upon receipt they would guesstimate an ETA for getting them back to me. Yes, I ship and insure on MY dime (about $100), even though this is a brand new, never used, never registered unit. I'm very tempted to demand a refund from my acquaintance in which I purchaser them and let him deal with it, and thank my lucky stars I don't have to deal with Leica Customer Service that still apparently sucks in spite of what I have heard otherwise.

Am I being unreasonable with my experiences and expectations?

No I be mad 2

Can't fault Leica, or expect them to honor any warranty, on this one. Get your money back from your acquaintance and let him deal with Leica.

I’d be talking to the acquaintance.

1. I would take them back to your acquaintance

2. You have bad luck. I have never had that type of experience… Just goes that way sometimes…..

I guess it really bothers me because I have had to send my Swaro SV's back twice due to me dropping them in the sand and them rolling around, a couple of Leupold RF's, and a new to me Vortex Fury AB that I sent back to fix a very hard to use focus wheel. In every single case they manufacturer sent me a prepaid shipping label. Swaro had them back to me within 3 weeks, Leupy 2 weeks, and Vortex 10 days. Leica seems to think customer service involves sending an email every 8 hours, or when they get around to it.

I will say this without hesitation though......if you own a Leica sport optic product, a guy at Leica by the name of Hamilton Boykin is world class, and will go to bat for you, and you need to know how to contact this guy. He actually picks up the phone and calls you, while everyone else there plays grabasss via email every 6 hours.

Sorry to hear that, I was hoping they'd gotten better.

Dam sure can fault Lieca, that no honoring the DOA warranty is total and complete BS

Brush up on Leica's new warranty, or remain ignorant, whatever you prefer.

https://leicacamerausa.com/pages/leica-sport-optics-new-usa-and-canada-warranty-program.html

One of the clowns at customer service emailed me and said "were not purchased from an authorized Leica dealer". In fact, Hamilton traced them back to being purchased exactly as I said, from Guidefitter recently, and they are an authorized Leica dealer. Hopefully he'll school his own ignorant people on how to verify before they continue making fools of themselves.

I take heart that Doug has spoken up for the "new" Leica creed in customer service and warranty, but Leica has dug such a deep hole within their company on this score that I am not surprised they are still struggling. Even with a full house effort a company doesn't turn things around on a dime, there is a culture within every company that takes a while to weed out, and I am not holding my breath. Wish the best for Leica and their excellent products, but a guy is still taking his chances with them........

One, high end rangefinder binos scare me for this very reason. Two, I bought a Leica rangefinder despite my reservations, but made sure I bought them from Doug who appears to have the chutzpah to bring Leica to heel. Three, the majority of Leica units with problems I'm aware in recent times have been the Geovids, and not just the electronics.

I have two good friends who bought Ultravids in the 90's, and when they eventually had problems, they stubbornly and doggedly persisted and eventually got their binos repaired, but it took almost a year and both binos had to make the voyage across the pond.

I'd continue to lean on Leica for a few more days or a week, maybe they will come through in the end.

Hope it works out in the end. My last two experiences with Leica's CS, just needing some minor parts, has been excellent, I didn't even have to play the "Doug" card.

Life's too short...

To this day stories like yours about Swaro CS and how I was treated blows my mind...

I can't believe how they treated you either Greg. I'd be pissed about that as well.

Ultravid's weren't available in the 90's, being released in 2003. BA's and BN's were. But the point is taken.

If you knew about the new warranty policy, and that the 3200.com in question was covered, then the point of the original post escapes me. Considering how many Leica products I plan NOT to buy, I will spend zero time brushing up on their warranty.

I think the point of the OP was to warn others. Personally, I appreciate that.

You're right Brad, I stand corrected.

Buy new merchandise , ya broke digk

Guidefitter is an approved Leica vendor (and all Leica products they sell ship direct from Leica), ask me how I know…….. My 3200.coms came from there and had focus issues out of the box. Leica was easy to deal with, emailed me a prepaid label and had a new pair in my hand in 3 weeks tops. Weird that they are giving you the run around.

Thanks for the info Mallard. I knew that Guidefitter was Leica approved, but didn't realize they actually direct shipped for Guidefitter. That makes the responses from Leica CS even more baffling. I told them they were NIB through the original buyer to me, then they started waffling. If the ladies there would have actually done what Hamilton did, trace the serial #, they would have instantly known I stated the facts correctly, as they're the one's that shipped it! They know it's new, never registered, and I haven't gotten the first phone call from any of them at Leica CS.

Smokepole, yes, that was my intention anyway, just an FYI as much as anything else. I'm not saying to buy or not buy Leica stuff, just to know what you could possibly be getting into. Still seems to me it's a hit and miss proposition. Obviously this was lost on poor ol' LJB.

Yep, missed the part where your acquaintance is an authorized Leica dealer. My bad.

Leica treated me well on a 10 or 12 year old set of binoculars that were dropped and had a lens loose inside one barrel. Took them a couple of months to get parts but they keep me informed and the only cost to me was shipping one way.

Personally, I think Leica should step up and repair/replace the unit on their dime. They know they have a DOA problem, and should own it.

"I told them they were NIB through the original buyer to me . . ." However, it does not sound to me like the rangefinder is NIB, but rather, an unopened box was purchased second hand. (if I am understanding the purchase history correctly). Leica can't control what happens to the unit after the original purchase, and so is reluctant to warranty the unit.

I bought a used pair of 8.5x42 EL Swarovski binos on ebay. A few years later, a new pup chewed up the rubber exterior. I sent them into Swaro telling them the binos were bought used, and the puppy chewing them was my fault, but to please fix them and send me the bill. Swaro repaired and did a complete refurbishment at no charge. Swaro gained a customer for life for that. Leica shouldn't be so short sighted, especially at the prices they charge.

JMHO

All this is good to know. My Leica 1000-r rangefinder, Trinovid binos, and Visus riflescope have been without issues, but since I bought them from Doug, I fear not.

I have both Swaro and Leica products and have had to deal with both companies in the past for service issues. Swarovski far exceeded Leica from a CS standpoint. Leica took too long to reply, was seemingly sterile to deal with, and seemed to have more nick nack fees. That was probably 5 years ago on Leica and recently as last year on Swaro. Has Leica really upped their game since or is it just talk?

I’m going to buy RF binos and Swarovski is the leader in the clubhouse simply due to their outstanding follow up with me. For what I need, the binos are similar so it comes down to the better company to deal with when their is an issue.

My 10x50 and current range finders are both Leica and they are great so this not Leica hate. Swar has just been great to deal with on other bino and scope issues.

I will stick with Swarovski, not even close based on my experiences.

Just my $.02

Leica customer service sucked before Jennine took over and totally turned their CS dept around and 3 years ago. She is amazing and has put together an excellent team.

For tech support (which is not customer service) Hamilton is off the charts great.

Will any company respond instantaneously to a customer service issue, probably not. Is 1 day a long time to wait for a reply? It is if you're expecting an instant reply.

Not making excuses for anyone or anything.....These are unusual times. More people out than ever before and more folks working remotely than ever before. Not Leica, but one other major company is only shipping on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the past year. It's an inconvenience but it is what it is. Less people hands on doing the work of more than 1 person.

Leica's new warranty is a huge uptick to what it was. Covers pretty much everything for longer periods of time. If you buy a new product that's an initial defect the authorized dealer should have no issue swapping it out for you. If it is not a new from dealer product than it's a customer service warranty issue, not a dealer services exchange issue. Someone buying any brand new from an authorized dealer can always go back to that authorized dealer (especially on an initial defect). Every product built can have issues, chit happens. We do our best to assist everyone who buys from us as well as any forum member who has a product from a brand we represent. New initial defect product from an authorized dealer that dealer works with dealer services, not customer service. This is not a warranty issue. If you have something that is not a new item from a dealer then it's a customer service warranty issue and is handled a different way.

I was told the difference years ago between a recession and a depression.... A recession is when your friend or neighbor losses his job, a depression is when I lose mine. There's a difference between dealer service issues and customer service issues and that difference is who at the brand handles it and how. As a dealer we will always step up for you but you need to reach out to us so we can assist you. I get it, when it happens to you it's infuriating and when it is happening to someone else it's not as horrible.

As I opened with, just my $.02

In my case, the only lady who ever bothered to actually give me a call was one named Stacey, apparently one of the managers. She apparently was prodded to actually call me because Hamilton got on the phone with the big boss of Leica Sport Optics. She even made the ridiculous statement in an email (eventually) that "since they were not purchased from an authorized dealer they may have to come in for a repair". I guess she never thought to look at the serial # I provided, which proved they were bought from an authorized dealer, and Leica Sport Optics actually dropped shipped the item to my acquaintance in the first place not long before this issue arose. That's not exactly doing your homework, or any homework, or anything actually to try and help out a customer with a NIB and never registered $3000 unit that's worthless.

Brenda never called me, nor did Jennine. I don't fee that "doing the work of "3 or 4 people" is any kind of excuse for not making a 2 minute phone call. Doug is a great communicator, unfortunately Leica dealer services, customer service, etc is not, at least in my case(s). Had it not been for Hamilton, I'm quite sure I'd still be hearing crickets.

J Raider:
I recently had 5***** customer service with Leica. Sometimes how you approach the problem (read attitude) determines your outcome. Recently you commented how bad you were treated by Zeiss with a warranty issue also. Do we see a pattern?

I've never had a warranty issue with Zeiss, ever. My buddy did in getting his spotter repaired, which took 8 months IIRC. That's all there is to that. I"ve had superb service with Swaro, Meopta, and Vortex.

Moral to story, your ability to "see a pattern" sucks.

I just love my 8x32 Ultra HD binos, and my 62mm APO spotter, but Leica service has me buying Swarovski now.
I never needed to return a set to Leica, but the potential to be jacked around is something I avoid.

Leica did one better than that for me when my pup chewed on a crf 100 they sent me a new 1600 free of charge- couldn’t be better.

I’ve been reading your posts for quite some time, not only here but on Texas Hunting Forum. I’ve never even remotely had the sense you are overly critical or overly demanding when it comes to firearms and optics. The “pattern” statement was ridiculous.

I only had one customer service experience with Leica and it was with a camera, not a scope. I had a vacation coming up and they bent over backwards to make sure I had the camera back before I got on the plane. I do not know if it is a shared service department with sport optics or not.

ILya

I appreciate that, and that is my intent whether an experience is good, bad, indifferent, etc. They are in Leica's hands now, so we'll see what they say and how they handle it. Hopefully I can put a thumbs up on this experience after all. One thing I can say is that I have several key people with Leica that I will gladly share with people to help them out any way possible.

For those remotely interested........Leica has had my Geovid's for a week now, as they sent me a receipt of acceptance. I sent an email just to get an update, and the Mgr of customer care responded. This is the same lady that said they were bought 2nd hand (technically true), but admitted they were still "new" but couldn't be considered "new", but would "rush this service along". I guess she said that because she knows this is in fact still a DOA unit. Her response today is "hopefully" we can start repairing them by end of next week". So much for "rushing along" my service. I already had to help my buddy on his NM oryx hunt with my 2 yr old Sig 2200 BDX, which worked flawlessly in spite of it being tossed around, hauled in a UTV, day pack, bino chest pack, etc.

Wow, really?

Yeah, poor ol' Bob is a one trick pony....a troll with nothing to offer.

Anyway, I got a message from Leica CS today, and they have supposedly fixed a badly misaligned laser, tested it extensively, and it will be on the way back to me by this afternoon. IME with several different "manufacturers", from a start to finish standpoint of about 2 1/2 weeks turnaround I'll put that in exemplary/outstanding ranking, since they actually serviced the unit and didn't replace it. I'd guess it's highly likely that getting Hamilton involved greatly sped up the process, or if not, in spite of a technicality within Leica of calling it a "new" unit (it was new though), maybe Leica realized that "new" units should actually work they fixed it promptly. I'm not sure, but I'm betting on Hamilton's involvement.

Nevertheless, it's headed back to me. If anyone needs the names of people with Leica involved in my situation shoot me a PM.

Can confirm this 100%! I have a scope that's only a few years old that had a tiny spot of I don't know what inside it that worked its way into a visible spot on the glass and stuck there. I reached out to Leica through Facebook and was lucky enough (based on what I'm seeing here) to have STARTED the warranty inquiry through Hamilton. Got an RMA request set up, I received a return label and sent it off no problem! It did take them about three months to get the scope back to me, but I wasn't in a rush so that wasn't an issue.

JG company cultures are not changed overnight, sounds like things worked out for you.

They did work out, and am well pleased with the result, but the process needed some prodding. It's all good.

I’m glad you finally got some satisfaction and resolution from Leica, JG.

Thanks Jordan, me as well. I'm looking forward to using them chasing muleys and whitetails, starting next week. Should be fun, and I should really get to know the unit well.

Update (FWIW):
Started my mule deer hunting, so got a chance to really wring out the newly repaired/new unit. This Geovid 3200's won't range past 400 yds or so, even on white/silver metal structures, tank batteries, etc even after Leica claimed they tested them extensively before sending them back to me, claiming the laser was "badly out of alignment". Maybe this is considered a rant, but I'm amazed at how a unit this costly is wildly outclassed by a Sig 2200 BDX.

You probably lost some folks at” tank batteries”. LOL

That is disappointing JG. Now that you're in for a penny, in for a pound, are going to contact your guy at Leica and give it another try?

Right on lynntelk! alpine, yes I did contact him. It appears they're going to send a prepaid shipping label so at least I won't have to spend $$ sending them back but it sure sucks that (1) they can't make a $3000+ rangefinder that actually works, and (2) they obviously don't know how to fix them and test them correctly before they proclaim they're good as new and send them back to you. Since they were new in the first place they should have simply replaced them in the first place and be done with it, but I guess the German's made them attempt to fix instead.

I don't know if it's true now, but in the past Leica's repair facility was very limited and more times than not the item had to make the trip across the pond. I'm assuming Leica has increased their ability to repair optics sold in North America along with their newfound emphasis on warranty and CS.

It appears that Leica, for whatever reason, determined that these were in fact faulty, which they should have done in the first place. Anyway, they have sent me a brand new replacement unit, to replace this basically brand new unit. Hopefully this one lives up to the hype. Once again, Hamilton is a must have contact if you own a Leica anything.

Not sure if I'll use them, sell them, or what at this point.

JGR, it’s amazing to me with hunting forums, bad news travels fast. Some companies are sure slow to learn this.
Customer service people need to be a special breed. Willing and Abel to deal with All kinds.
Swaro must have learned this years ago. Always had good service.
Leica needs to take notice. Hasbeen

JG, What a shïtshow. I'm anxious to know if the replacements are any good. None of what's been posted in this thread is good, save Hamilton, and I'm a Leica user (Ultravid HD+ and Geovid 30000HDB).

I'll definitely give 'em a whirl and see if they're any better. I surely can't go 0-2 with these, surely. I really hope they do, as the ergos grew on me, and the optics are fantastic, form and function fantastic, etc. I really want to like these things.

Received the new 3200's today.......I've got to be the most snakebit Leica customer of all time.

Good God, sorry to see that!

Hopefully they've got another in stock they can send. If not, not sure how long the wait will be to get another one. Dangtheluck!

JG when you get them back , sell them immediately? I would say the 3rd time would be enough for me.

God damn uncle Johnny…

Looks like the plane landed on them. Hope Leica had insurance on them.

Good Luck and hope they replace them soon.

And mule deer season starts for real here Wednesday........Anybody got a Vortex Fury for sale?????
This has turned into a complete cluster......

Unfugginbelieveable.


What an absolute shïtshow.

No kidding! At least this time it wasn’t their fault.

Yeah, but a little more bubble wrap would have maybe cushioned the blow a little better. Looked like they bought one 1/4" thick role at Dollar Tree and called it good. If I charged a premium for whatever product I'm selling, I'd be ashamed of myself the way this went down. I also get the redasss in that you can't talk to a single living person except for Hamilton, and he's not even in the CS business, but in fact he's there most valuable asset. If I were Leica, instead of making a customer wait and "see if we have one in stock to send you" I'd be trying to work through one of their retailers to send it out immediately, and have Leica reimburse the retailer. Doesn't seem that hard to me. If I have to wait until they get product from Germany it could literally be months. If Leica offered me my money back right now I'd take it and run.

I totally understand now why people put up with adequate glass and superior customer service like Vortex for a product like this, and that's a shame.

Just heard back from a lady at Leica customer service via email....of course they can't pick up the freaking phone and make a phone call......said they "have placed an order" for a new unit and "hope to have them maybe by mid week", then they have to get them to me. Guess I'll be back to using a reliable (so far) chicom Sig BDX 2200 and slum my 8x42 SLC's when these two mule deer hunters come to camp Wednesday, both having paid $5500 each to be here.

You can bet your assss the next time I read or hear anything about Leica's "great, improved, etc" customer service I'll copy and paste this for the world to see. Screw it, I'm ranting, frustrated, and borderline pissed off about it.

I've had good luck with an older Leica rangefinder.

However, based on their CS, alone, I will never buy another Leica product.

Damn JG, you and I have been bitten by the same bad luck bug.

Johnny - Hard to believe that you have this bad luck which is compounded by a lackadaisical attitude. Thankfully I have not. I normally have the all the bad luck…
I just now remembered a an early LRF that when I was trying to replace the 9v battery destroyed the connector. I bandaged it up for the season and afterwards sent it in. Few weeks later got a new unit back….

I would offer to loan you my Vortex Fury HD 5000s, but I won't be in Junction until Saturday and I don't fancy driving much further West than that since I am coming from Austin. I am impressed with the Vortex LRF Binos. Obviously not alpha glass, but I have been able to see before legal shooting light and after legal shooting light well enough to count antlers against brush. That is good enough for me.

Very kind of you Dan, thanks a bunch for even considering that. I'm seriously considering selling these replacements as soon as I get them, but being in the middle of hunting I'm not sure. I may try them out. Good hunting to you.

Doug is world class...he stepped in to help me years ago with a Leica customer service issue by getting me in touch with a contact at Leica that did care about their product and image.

JG, I tend to agree with you about using them for all the time and frustration you have in this glass. I did the same with the replacement scope they eventually sent me and love the scope even though I lost a few hundred in the end. If after the season you ain't satisfied with the glass sale them then.

Leica customer service is still lacking....when I called them about a simple part for a range finder it was obvious from the start they have a "Could care less....don't have time to screw with you attitude".

First told me to check with Bass Pro or Sportsmans Warehouse....a couple of phone calls later after explaining Bass Pro nor Sportsmand doesn't sell Leica parts 2 days later they took my order....after another phone call and a couple more days I finally received an email acknowledging my order.

$37.00 plus shipping for a simple $2 neck strap
....Wouldn't surprise me none if they started charging you by the minute to talk to you.

Has to come from Germany hope they don't charge me an import fee....I really have my doubts of ever getting the part.

My experience was way different. I used their website email to initiate a request. Got a next day response telling me to send it in. Which I did.

Few days later, got a "We received your product" return email. Two days later got a "We are replacing your unit with a new one." email.

Next got an email with tracking info and received rangefinder about 3 days later. Whole process was less than two weeks.

Sorry others are having issues, but my experience was flawless.

The replacement unit is an outstanding performer. I'm assuming this is the level of performance Leica was shooting for in the first place. The ballistic app/interface is miserable though....won't connect. It gives reliable ranges though.

I just bought Swarovski EL RF binos.


As mentioned in previous posts on this thread, I have Leica and Swarovski optics. Due to past experiences with both companies customer service departments AND this thread as an example, I chose the Swarovski over the Leica. They were more expensive but I’m expecting it will be made up for in the quality department. Both are priced at high end, alpha products but the Swarovski customer service experience trumped Leica as a deciding factor for the price point. I hope Leica takes it to heart, they must step up their game, period.

They suck….I had a thread years ago about it. That is all

TAG

Over the years Leica's CS has tended to be hit or miss. The North American facility has only had the ability to make minor repairs, and a limited parts inventory. If the item is in stock the transaction seems to be easy, but more times than not if parts have to make the trip from Germany or repairs have to make the round trip across the pond via the Mayflower--that's where it seems to become complicated......

Your experience with Leica CS matches mine as I waited almost 2 months for an item sold as being “in stock”. The CS communication and difficulty is really hard to see in such a long tenured optics company.

That said I have owned 4 generations if hd-b’s and all of mine have been flawless and ranged further then advertised and did so very quickly.