Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leica Geovid Warranty ?

I just recently, September, picked up a pair of Geovid 10x42's.
First time out hunting with them and the diopter adjustment on the left eye just spins with no adjustment made. It will spin all the way around, appears as if the ring is not attached to anything on the inside.
Bought it from Cameraland, what is best plan for getting it repaired or replaced? Which is most likely to happen, repair or replace?

Will have to be used as is as hunting season is here and I like watching wildlife 10x closer.

You will proabably have to contact Leica and send it in to them.

I'd just call/email Doug at cameraland...he'll take care of you pronto.

call Leica. They will take care of this without any cost to you.

I would not call Leica. I would call Doug. If Leica treats the Geovids like they did my CRF 1200 rangefinder, you are SOL. Doug has some stroke with Leica. You don't.

I would call me too. Why do you think I stay awake 20 hours a day? I'm here for you. How can I provide the worlds finest customer service if you won't let me?

Will do, have always thought you guys were some of the best, hence the reason for buying in the first place.
Might be a day or three out as my schedule MST is rather crazy the next few days.
Have to use on a few more weekend hunts before I get them fixed or whatever, but would love to come back here and rave to the world about great customer service, I am sure it will be all I have heard and more.
Thanks

Contact Leica Customer Service and your problem will be taken care of at no charge... Leica has new people in charge of sport optics and they have also changed their customer service policies. My hunting buddy retuned a Geovid and it was repaired and returned at no charge and in less than a week.

Sharpsguy, how long ago did you return your CRF to Leica? Was it out of warranty? I talked to the Leica reps at the SLC Expo and they said real changes have been implemented concerning customer service. My buddies experience reflected that...
Ovis_Chaser

Leica needed to make a change, and start acting like they care about people who spend big bucks on their products. Swaro is the poster child for customer service, and my neighbor's recent dealings with Zeiss on his 85mm spotter proved them to be pretty good at it too The jury's still out on Leica according to many posters here, however.

My "warranty" experience with Leica was in April of 2007. They shafted me, pure and simple. There was a fairly lengthy thread here about the issue at the time.

Someone else may have had a good outcome with them, I most certainly did not. And no, my rangefinder was not out of warranty.

Hello sharpsguy, thanks for your reply. That sucks... Did you have to pay for a repair or did they not do anything to resolve your problem? Just wondering... I have been using a Leica binocular for over 20 years and a LRF 1200 for over five and had never had a problem. Customers with issues like yours must be why they have made a change in personnel and policies concerning customer service. It not good for business to have PO'ed customers. Ovis_Chaser

OC--I inadverdently misspoke in my previous post. It was not a CRF, but a LRF that I had the problem with.

Here's the deal. The unit was 10 months old, and was purchased online. Not from Doug, BTW. It fell from my kitchen table to a wood floor, and while it would turn on and give a reading, it was wildly inconsistent and inaccurate. Obviously not broken, but in need of recalibrating. This was nine days before I was to leave for a plains game safari on the Eastern Cape of RSA in April of 2007.

I immediately called Leica, and they said send it up and we'll look at it. I spent ninety-six bucks to Fed Ex it to NJ overnight, morning delivery. I called them four days later and they said that they had it, that it had arrived three days earlier, but their tech people hadn't looked at it yet, and that no, it wouldn't be ready in time for the safari, if in fact they could fix it.

I called and bought a new CRF for the safari, as the Leica IS a hell of a good rangefinder, and I had to have one.

When I returned from RSA, I called Leica and was told that because it had been dropped, there was no warranty. Period. I then asked if they would repair the LRF at my expense. I was told no, they would not repair it even if I paid for the repair. They WOULD, however, allow me $200 IN TRADE for the old unit toward a new CRF. That put me just over four hundred bucks in a second rangefinder that I didn't want, but I took the deal as a LRF that was wildly inaccurate was worthless to me. I gave the second unit to my PH as a partial tip on my safari in 2008.

Someone out there is using my recalibrated, refurbished rangefinder that Leica would not repair for me, even if I paid for the repair.

My take on the whole deal is that Leica rangefinders work, and work well. Just realize and accept that they have no warranty if you need service, and that from my perspective, Leica's idea of customer service falls into the category of customer abuse. Perhaps if I had bought the unit from Doug, he could have interceded on my behalf and they would have honored the warranty. Dealing customer direct with Leica has soured me on them for life.

Hello sharpsguy, thanks for laying out the facts on you LRF situation... That would leave a bad taste in anyone�s mouth. My buddy�s dealings with Leica Customer Service were exactly the opposite of yours. He got his Geovid back in time for his hunt and there was no charge.

When I asked the Leica guys at the SLC Hunters Expo about reports I had read about poor customer service they told me this - That the guy who had been the head of Sports Optics forever was no longer with Leica - and the new boss man was really making changes in how Leica handled customer service issues. A new person was in charge of Customer Service Department also... Sometimes change is a good thing.

I have had years of service from my Leica products with no issues what so ever... Sorry you had this unfortunate experience and I'd feel the same way if it happened to me. I'll bet if it happened now, the result would be different. Ovis_Chaser

OC--They needed a change, for sure and certain. I hope they have it straightened out, as the CRF 1200 is a great rangefinder. The problem is, Leica won't get another crack at me and my money. I'll probably go with Swaro when my CRF goes out.

My Geovids went to Leica in Jan of this yr for "Signal Fade", I was no longer to reliably range past 300yds or so. Leica's customer service dept said it would take 2wks to fix. I sent them Fed Ex ground and 1mo later (nearly to the day) I had a functional set of Geovids back in my posession. Figure nearly a week to get there, nearly a week to come back and 2wks in their place as they promised. I dealt with Leica customer service direct and they fixed my optics in the timeframe they quoted and it didn't cost me anything except the $$ to ship them there.

Update on my geovids,
Called Doug, he was great, didn't have another pair and offered to send them to Leica or I could myself. I sent them to Leica, they had them about 4 days before I got an estimate saying parts were backordered and I should have my binos back around 2/25/10.
I called and left a message asking if that was normal to be without my expensive stuff for 1/4 of the first year of ownership.
Got a call back/message saying they wanted to ship me a pair of demos right away.
I called to inquire about demos being in great shape as mine were only 3 months old, Sarah said I probably wouldn't be happy.
I mentioned buying from Doug at Cameraland (as suggested by Neil at CL) and the shift of the conversation changed. She did some looking and inquiring and said she would like to replace mine with a new pair, however they were out of the older style geovids and only had the new HD ones coming in.
The new HD ones were also backordered, but as soon as they got a pair, they would ship them to me.
That is great customer service, exceeding the customer's expectations is a goal for all to strive for, Leica has succeeded with direct influence from the relationship Doug has built with them.
Thanks a bunch to all involved, should be mid-January, but a new pair sounds like a great deal.

Update today, need to change title to "Leica CS Rocks"
Got an email today that said:

Dear Jon,
I have a unit available-it was a overstock return from a store-never been opened or used. Please provide shipping address and we will get this right out to you. Thanks!
Yes, it is the new version. I will ship out tomorrow and it will go 2 day.

---
Best regards
Vicki Valenti


Someone must have been taking notes from Doug at Cameraland or Patrick at Kifaru.
Good work Leica, I appreciate it.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I"m a leica user too, but it's too bad you have to name drop (Doug's the man, thankfully) to get Leica's attention. I think that's a pathetic way to treat customers who spend that kind of cash on glass. Contrast that way of thinking with my neighbor and his Zeiss spotter. Turns out Zeiss sent him a loaner 85t FL to use until his is fixed at no charge. He didn't have to beg, threaten, or name drop. I feel Leica still doesn't get it. That's too bad because they have a great product.

JG, my buddy didn't have name drop or beg to have his Geos repaired quickly... He had the same expereince, good customer service from Leica. Ovis_Chaser

I don't think that mentioning Doug hurt my case, but don't think it was the cause of great service. I think Sarah would have come up with a viable solution no matter who I was or whose name I dropped, she was interested in CS, nothing more. I can think of a few other companies that would have not even mentioned that I might not be happy with the demos, Sarah knew enough about mine and the possible replacements to say I wouldn't be happy and we should come up with something else.
I greatly appreciate her help and Leica standing behind what they make.