Leica New Jersey - Repair Department

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 6, 2016

I purchased a Leitz V35 enlarger from an APUG member in 2010 or 2011. It was not working properly, but I told the person who sold it to me I would have it fixed and not to worry about it.

I finally had it send in to Leica New Jersey. In May. I still don't have even an estimate for how much it's going to be. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see my enlarger again.
They said it would be six weeks to have it looked at. It's now been 20 weeks, and they're not answering my emails. Very frustrating experience.

What experiences do others have with them?

Thanks,

- Thomas

mike c · Oct 6, 2016

Does not seem like a very good company too make you sit for 20 weeks and not even communicate, Leitz must be going down hill to start treating their costumers badly.

Kevin Caulfield · Oct 7, 2016

Thomas, if I were you, I would get on the blower to them. 201 9950051

guangong · Oct 7, 2016

Having some familiarity with Leica, NJ I imagine that anyone familiar with your enlarger has been retired from the company for many moons. I would suggest calling Sherry or another Leica specialist for either service or recommendation. Leica today is not the Leitz of yesteryear...they are marketing to a market segment that will pay more for a Panasonic or Fuji rebadged with a red dot...and there are enough of that kind of people to be very profitable. Ferrari and Roll Royce (made in Germany, assembled in England) make a lot of money selling $400,000 cars.

mike c · Oct 7, 2016

APUGuser19 said:
OK. Here's how it works. You sent an IBM Selectric era Leitz enlarger back to the manufacturer with a complaint and enclosed no money to get their attention. And their attention was obviously not gained. Following up with emails, which no-doubt are blocked as spam and never seen. And now you want your enlarger back. I suppose I would too. This might very well be a job for an IBM Selectric, a piece of paper, envelope, and stamp. And then hope your letter does not get mixed in with the Redplum junk mail peddling Chinese-made goods and thrown out also. Apparently their attention has not been gained. Check your spambox. Between todays' spam filters and ghosting, I'm surprised if anything legitimate gets through any more, by either mailing method.

You have another point of view that I did not consider Apug19, I will will take back what I had said about them. Should have thought the situation out more.

removed account4 · Oct 7, 2016

thomas
call on the phone and try to talk to someone,
... try a couple of times, if no one is there, or calls back &c
get a name, any name of someone who works there
send a registered letter return receipt requested so somebody has
to sign for it. maybe they are waiting on a part, or the one mechanic who
was working on it had a stroke or died and ... IDK 20 years ago,
a colleague once mailed a graflex repair man his baby 2x3 ( or was it 3x4 ) to put a 4x5 back on it.
the repair guy had it for a while and then fell ill ( stroke ).. stuff happens.

good luck !
john

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 7, 2016

They sounded very confident of being able to repair my enlarger before I sent it in, and had a nicely laid out process for how it was going to take place.

They even confirmed that they received my enlarger (with an email, upon my request) after about 10 weeks. They said they'd get back to me within two weeks with an estimate. That was 10 weeks ago.

I will call them next to find out how it's going. I was just curious if anybody else had worked with them or had experience with them regarding repair work.

There is nobody else that will repair my enlarger. Leica will not release any service manuals, and all of the well known Leica camera repair people I've been in touch with, will touch the enlarger.

So I'm stuck with Leica NJ. Such a shame.

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 7, 2016

APUGuser19 said:
OK. Here's how it works. You sent an IBM Selectric era Leitz enlarger back to the manufacturer with a complaint and enclosed no money to get their attention. And their attention was obviously not gained. Following up with emails, which no-doubt are blocked as spam and never seen. And now you want your enlarger back. I suppose I would too. This might very well be a job for an IBM Selectric, a piece of paper, envelope, and stamp. And then hope your letter does not get mixed in with the Redplum junk mail peddling Chinese-made goods and thrown out also. Apparently their attention has not been gained. Check your spambox. Between todays' spam filters and ghosting, I'm surprised if anything legitimate gets through any more, by either mailing method.

I simply followed their process:
1. They do not ask for money upfront.
2. They ask that you send equipment to them, and they get back to you with a quote.
3. The person I spoke to seemed perfectly confident they can repair the enlarger.
4. There are no emails from them in my spam box.

Up until the point that I wanted information from them is when the positive attitude stopped. I was obviously able to communicate with them prior to sending the enlarger in.
I don't have a complaint yet. I just want to know how much it will be to fix my enlarger, so that I can send them a check, have it fixed, and start using it again. That was their promise to me, but they are not upholding their end of the deal. It's super frustrating.

benjiboy · Oct 7, 2016

If you still fail to get a satisfactory answer from them Thomas I would write a registered letter to them informing them that if they don't give you a quotation and a turnround time for the work within seven working days You will contact their head office in Germany detailing your complaints how many times you have contacted them by phone and email without quoting you a price for the work, and ask them to take the matter up with them on your behalf.

Saganich · Oct 7, 2016

Likely the person you talked to didn't know the difference between an enlarger and a reducer...but have no trouble being confident about it.

naeroscatu · Oct 7, 2016

Thomas, above suggestions are valid. Build up a case by keeping track of how many times you called or wrote to them. Next go to a VIP at the headquarters in Germany with a complaint with all your back-ups. I'm sure someone will move his behind. I did the same with Nikon, it took 2 years for them to replace a defective camera but they did it at no cost (other than my time...). Good luck

guangong · Oct 7, 2016

Leica USA is the head office. Essentially the are the us distributors for Leica cameras and binoculars. Other firms owning the Leica name manufacture other Leica branded stuff and use othe distributors. Of course, enough complaints about a distributor to the manufacturer may produce a strong communication asking them to be more attentive. However, frankly speaking, you are no longer the customer base that they need to satisfy.

baachitraka · Oct 7, 2016

You may get a nice Focomat Ic/Valoy II as a backup. I know how frustrating it is not to have a machine that is capable of doing a great job...

David Lyga · Oct 9, 2016

Am I permitted to say that this scenario is utterly ridiculous and incredulous and very bad for the masterful image of Leitz? For a company of this stature to literally ignore a reasonable and legal obligation is cutting, at the least. When Leica removed their passport program a few years back I knew that the integrity of the company was at least being put to scrutiny. What else can I say other that I do not think that I would have had Bertilsson's patience, foolish or wise as it was. - David Lyga

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152637

Patrick Robert James · Oct 9, 2016

I can't offer any advice Thomas, but I am curious what the problem was with the enlarger.

guangong · Oct 9, 2016

David, it's been many decades since Leitz has had anything to do with Leica cameras or enlargers. The brand name went from Wild to Hermes (the famous $10,000 Leica covered with peeling Hermes leather) and on to other investors.Now owned by somebody at least interested in cameras, but as I noted above,intended primarily for the carriage trade elite.The good side is that much of the older stuff was built to last and much of it is very serviceable and affordable

John Koehrer · Oct 9, 2016

Patrick Robert James said:
I can't offer any advice Thomas, but I am curious what the problem was with the enlarger.

+1

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 10, 2016

@Patrick Robert James & @John Koehrer - The height adjustment of the enlarger head is extremely stiff. Once the release knob is released, you can barely move the arm up and down. I'm a 6'6" fairly powerful guy, but I had to hold down the base board to lift the arm, or I would simply lift the whole enlarger up.

Since Leica refuses to release repair & maintenance manuals for these fairly ancient enlargers, Leica New Jersey is the only place in the US you can send it to have it repaired.

I sent an email to the mother ship in Germany, and customer care there are now trying to help me get it resolved. They're being very nice about it.
I told them this may be a good business opportunity for them, to improve the NJ repair operations, especially if they force people to send their equipment there if it needs repair (like my enlarger).
I also told them that I really appreciate having a place to send the enlarger, just that it probably shouldn't take five+ months to get an estimate for repair.

We'll see what comes of it; I want to give this nice CC rep a chance to resolve it. If nothing comes of this I'll start calling them.

Thanks for the advice, folks! I appreciate it.

benjiboy · Oct 10, 2016

Thomas Bertilsson said:
I purchased a Leitz V35 enlarger from an APUG member in 2010 or 2011. It was not working properly, but I told the person who sold it to me I would have it fixed and not to worry about it.

I finally had it send in to Leica New Jersey. In May. I still don't have even an estimate for how much it's going to be. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see my enlarger again.
They said it would be six weeks to have it looked at. It's now been 20 weeks, and they're not answering my emails. Very frustrating experience.

What experiences do others have with them?

Thanks,

- Thomas

You sound like a nice guy Thomas, too nice , the first mistake you made was with the person you bought the enlarger from telling him to "not worry about it", is what's known in boxing parlance as "leading with you're chin".

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 10, 2016

benjiboy said:
You sound like a nice guy Thomas, too nice , the first mistake you made was with the person you bought the enlarger from telling him to "not worry about it", is what's known in boxing parlance as "leading with you're chin".

I really thought it was going to be a simple thing to fix. No idea how screwed up Leica would be in fixing the thing. Live and learn.
Once this has been fixed, I'll be a very happy person.

Marcelo Paniagua · Oct 21, 2016

Thomas Bertilsson said:
I simply followed their process:
...
3. The person I spoke to seemed perfectly confident they can repair the enlarger.
...
.

Any idea about this guy name? Probably should be best trying to contact this guy directly to see if he can give you any info about the whereabouts of your equipment.

Marcelo

Ektagraphic · Oct 21, 2016

Did you ever hear back from anyone?

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 21, 2016

Ektagraphic said:
Did you ever hear back from anyone?

Nope. I'm too busy to do anything about it too. I just put in a 90 hour week with work and school, so there isn't energy to be mad at someone. One of these days I'll have to pick up the phone and call.

John Koehrer · Oct 22, 2016

If it were mine(!) but it's NOT! I'd be whipping out the hammer and pry bar about now.

But anyway, The parts are large and hard to lose. As I understand you, you squeeze and lift the locking lever
to get the results you describe.

The clamping action is a bit like disc brakes and I'd look for the "pad" to be sure it's moving away from the disc.
When you squeeze the lever it releases it's grip. I can't imagine how it would be so tight as to lift the enlarger as you say though.

See if the focusing assembly with the lens moves freely. The entire AF is a simple cam and follower.
Thinking(?) about it, if someone has adjusted the AF it's very possible they've run a cam to it's extreme
point and it's against a stop.

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 22, 2016

John Koehrer said:
If it were mine(!) but it's NOT! I'd be whipping out the hammer and pry bar about now.

But anyway, The parts are large and hard to lose. As I understand you, you squeeze and lift the locking lever
to get the results you describe.

The clamping action is a bit like disc brakes and I'd look for the "pad" to be sure it's moving away from the disc.
When you squeeze the lever it releases it's grip. I can't imagine how it would be so tight as to lift the enlarger as you say though.

See if the focusing assembly with the lens moves freely. The entire AF is a simple cam and follower.
Thinking(?) about it, if someone has adjusted the AF it's very possible they've run a cam to it's extreme
point and it's against a stop.

Well, I'd be doing more damage than good trying to repair it. So I sent it in. Believe it or not, I saved for years to make sure I had enough photo money to send it in to be fixed. And now this. It's upsetting to say the least, but... I. just. don't. have. the. energy. to. be. mad. Or, to even think about repairs.

Leica New Jersey - Repair Department

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