Originally posted by lawjbm Hi all:
Just to follow-up. I contacted Pentax and the same gentleman who was quick to get me a K7 3 year warranty card, responded just as quickly. The lens will be covered in warranty. I sent it back yesterday.
The frustration is still there as this is a second failure, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew how quickly Pentax responded to my e-mail (less than 24 hours with confirmation of warranty coverage) and the action Pentax took.
So...I miss my lens, but am very happy with the customer service.
Gregg
Your experience w/ Pentax customer service this week is instructive. I have been communicating (or, to be precise, trying to communicate) w/ Pentax now for a week trying to get some assurances before I plunk down $2,000 on a camera and expensive lenses that they are aware of the recurring quality control problems with some of their lenses - specifically the DA* 16-50 - which I explicitly mentioned as one of the lenses I wish to buy.
Other than a cursory response -- to the effect of 'yes, there was an SDM problem early on due to a subcontractor, which was resolved, and there are no residual issues' (I am paraphrasing from memory, but this is the gist of it) -- I have heard nothing in response to several follow up email messages.
In these messages I essentially said 'yes, but, there are plenty of other issues; I cannot believe you are not aware of them'. Response from Pentax: silence.
Oh yes: in the sole response I received, the Pentax employee added, after indicating there are no residual issues b/c the SDM problem was fixed two years ago, that he personally has a DA* 16-50 which he uses nearly exclusively and of course it is problem free.
My own situation is I have saved up my shekels, done my research, and was all set to join the ranks of what I thought was deliriously happy Pentaxians by mid-June - - when I happened upon this wonderful community a week ago and began to learn about these nutty, nutty quality control problems and an essentially-unresponsive manufacturer that seems not to care about its loyal base. (Gregg, from what I read here, your positive experience with Pentax this week is the exception that proves the rule. I hope I'm wrong !)