Parts ordering problem

Designosophy · 03-28-2014, 09:48 AM

Late last summer, the mode dial fell off of my K-01. I contacted Pentax, and they said that I had to send the camera in for warranty repair. I said I didn't want to send it in, and they said I could buy the part myself. I took forever to get around to it, since the camera is still usable, but last week I contacted the parts department. I was told that I can't order parts from Ricoh/Pentax anymore. I had to order them through their repair and parts reseller - CRIS. They also very kindly gave me the part number and contact at CRIS. So I called the parts line at CRIS. They emailed me today and said that they can't sell me parts. I have to get parts directly from Pentax/Ricoh.

Does anyone know who I can contact for this stupid part? And once I get it, what's the best way to make sure it never falls off again?

Thank you!

**jatrax** · 03-28-2014, 10:20 AM

Contact Pentax again and tell them what CRIS said. I suspect this is a recent change as the Pentax parts department used to sell parts. Maybe CRIS is still operating on the old rules and not everyone got the word. Call Pentax and tell them their reseller is refusing to sell you parts and ask if they can help expedite things by calling CRIS and clearing it for you.

Designosophy · 03-28-2014, 10:28 AM

Originally posted by jatrax

Contact Pentax again and tell them what CRIS said. I suspect this is a recent change as the Pentax parts department used to sell parts. Maybe CRIS is still operating on the old rules and not everyone got the word. Call Pentax and tell them their reseller is refusing to sell you parts and ask if they can help expedite things by calling CRIS and clearing it for you.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've forwarded both messages to each party, so hopefully they will get the communication going.

EvanBand · 03-28-2014, 06:01 PM

Please post back, if you're able to get somewhere with buying the parts. I'm getting the same run around, between CRIS and Pentax. I get the feeling that they would rather repair than sell the parts.

Designosophy · 03-29-2014, 04:23 PM

Will do. I should have ordered the part sooner.

wildlifephotog · 03-29-2014, 05:31 PM

Wildernest Logistics Solutions, Inc.
PENTAX Division
3500 N. Windsor Dr. Suite-400
Aurora, CO 80011
Ph. (720)988-2653
Fax (303)799-9213
Lynn Badillo
EMAIL: lynn.badillo@wildernestlogistics.com

This is the one and only parts person for Pentax parts. She is a very busy lady. Keep trying to reach her by phone. She has to receive, stock and pull the parts. So she may be away from the phone a lot.

Designosophy · 03-29-2014, 05:57 PM

She's the one who told me I had to contact CRIS!

Originally posted by wildlifephotog

Wildernest Logistics Solutions, Inc.
PENTAX Division
3500 N. Windsor Dr. Suite-400
Aurora, CO 80011
Ph. (720)988-2653
Fax (303)799-9213
Lynn Badillo
EMAIL: lynn.badillo@wildernestlogistics.com

This is the one and only parts person for Pentax parts. She is a very busy lady. Keep trying to reach her by phone. She has to receive, stock and pull the parts. So she may be away from the phone a lot.

wildlifephotog · 03-29-2014, 06:05 PM

That's a first for me.
Maybe they have went totally in a new direction with their parts division.
Guess I won't be doing any more repairs.

---------- Post added 03-29-14 at 09:13 PM ----------

And on another note.

I've never been able to buy a part from CRIS. The last time I was able to talk to a person, they were rude and very non helpful. They want the repair money to replace the part for you. They are listed as a Pentax repair depot, not a parts supplier.

Designosophy · 03-31-2014, 10:25 AM

Well, I heard back from Lynn after telling her what CRIS said. Her response was that I need to order from a dealer. Unfortunately, the only dealer in my area doesn't sell parts. I asked. So, for right now, I'm SOL.

This ridiculous situation is causing me to seriously reconsider my commitment to the Pentax system. If I were a full-time photographer, there's no way I could work with this level of service.

lukulele · 03-31-2014, 11:32 AM

This almost deserves a New Camera News write up if the outcome for you wasn't so predictable. An opportunity for Ricoh good PR or more of the bureaucratic "Brazil" like ineptness Terry Gilliam loves to point out.

**monochrome** · 03-31-2014, 12:04 PM

I think the Dealer intermediary requirement may have been in place for a while. I ordered a tripod foot for the K>Q adapter from Lynn at cost - but that door closed and the part then showed up on the Webstore at 100% markup.

You could try a Special Order at the Pentax Webstore, which is in reality a separate Dealer (SureSource LLC) dba Pentax Webstore.

Designosophy · 03-31-2014, 05:35 PM

Monochrome, do you have any idea how to go about doing this? I can't find anything on the webstore.

By the way, I also tweeted @pentaxian on Twitter. Got no response.

Originally posted by monochrome

I think the Dealer intermediary requirement may have been in place for a while. I ordered a tripod foot for the K>Q adapter from Lynn at cost - but that door closed and the part then showed up on the Webstore at 100% markup.

You could try a Special Order at the Pentax Webstore, which is in reality a separate Dealer (SureSource LLC) dba Pentax Webstore.

Designosophy · 04-02-2014, 08:29 AM

Update:

@pentaxian got back to me and told me to call the parts department. I called the number provided. Nobody picked up the line and the mailbox was full. I hit zero for the operator and was taken back to the main message. There was an option to leave a message in the "generic" mailbox, so I did so. I was also given the option to send the message to another mailbox. So I chose a number of people at random from the directory and forwarded my message there as well.

Today I got a call back from someone named Joe in the products department. We had a pleasant discussion in which he explained to me that Ricoh does not sell parts directly to customers because customers don't know how to repair cameras. I told him that makes sense, of course, but this part just slides on and is held in place with a dot of glue. He said that is not accurate. It's more complex and requires disassembly of the body. He said I needed to send the camera in to a licensed repair depot for repairs. Rather than arguing about this, I explained that I'm not going to send the camera in for this simple part. It's now outside of warranty, and shipping both ways plus repair cost is price prohibitive on an item of this price. In many cases, the minimum repair bill is $60 to $100. So I could spend over $100 just to have a tiny, exterior part replaced. It just does not make sense.

I recognize that this employee was not a customer service person and couldn't directly help me, but I very much appreciate him calling me. Even so, I'm out of luck and pretty discouraged.

I'm going to try @pantaxian again. They told me to let me know what the result is. If all else fails, I might try to cobble together a replacement dial out of pieces of plastic or rubber I find at the hardware store.

richardwong · 05-28-2014, 06:36 PM

Originally posted by Designosophy

Update:

@pentaxian got back to me and told me to call the parts department. I called the number provided. Nobody picked up the line and the mailbox was full. I hit zero for the operator and was taken back to the main message. There was an option to leave a message in the "generic" mailbox, so I did so. I was also given the option to send the message to another mailbox. So I chose a number of people at random from the directory and forwarded my message there as well.

Today I got a call back from someone named Joe in the products department. We had a pleasant discussion in which he explained to me that Ricoh does not sell parts directly to customers because customers don't know how to repair cameras. I told him that makes sense, of course, but this part just slides on and is held in place with a dot of glue. He said that is not accurate. It's more complex and requires disassembly of the body. He said I needed to send the camera in to a licensed repair depot for repairs. Rather than arguing about this, I explained that I'm not going to send the camera in for this simple part. It's now outside of warranty, and shipping both ways plus repair cost is price prohibitive on an item of this price. In many cases, the minimum repair bill is $60 to $100. So I could spend over $100 just to have a tiny, exterior part replaced. It just does not make sense.

I recognize that this employee was not a customer service person and couldn't directly help me, but I very much appreciate him calling me. Even so, I'm out of luck and pretty discouraged.

I'm going to try @pantaxian again. They told me to let me know what the result is. If all else fails, I might try to cobble together a replacement dial out of pieces of plastic or rubber I find at the hardware store.

Designosophy - please let me us know how you make out. I just lost my dial, argh, after crazy glueing it down the first time it fell off.

Thanks

Designosophy · 05-29-2014, 05:39 AM

I thought I posted this, but I guess it was in a different thread. I was able to get a dial by contacting an authorized Pentax repair person. I'll PM you the info. When the dial arrived, it was attached to the plastic disc & stem, which is what the old mode dial had detached from. So I used a hair dryer to heat up the new mode dial until the disc/stem could be removed. Then I used contact cement to attach the new mode dial.

03-28-2014, 09:48 AM	#1
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137	Parts ordering problem Late last summer, the mode dial fell off of my K-01. I contacted Pentax, and they said that I had to send the camera in for warranty repair. I said I didn't want to send it in, and they said I could buy the part myself. I took forever to get around to it, since the camera is still usable, but last week I contacted the parts department. I was told that I can't order parts from Ricoh/Pentax anymore. I had to order them through their repair and parts reseller - CRIS. They also very kindly gave me the part number and contact at CRIS. So I called the parts line at CRIS. They emailed me today and said that they can't sell me parts. I have to get parts directly from Pentax/Ricoh. Does anyone know who I can contact for this stupid part? And once I get it, what's the best way to make sure it never falls off again? Thank you!

03-31-2014, 05:35 PM	#12
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	Monochrome, do you have any idea how to go about doing this? I can't find anything on the webstore. By the way, I also tweeted @pentaxian on Twitter. Got no response. Originally posted by monochrome I think the Dealer intermediary requirement may have been in place for a while. I ordered a tripod foot for the K>Q adapter from Lynn at cost - but that door closed and the part then showed up on the Webstore at 100% markup. You could try a Special Order at the Pentax Webstore, which is in reality a separate Dealer (SureSource LLC) dba Pentax Webstore. Last edited by Designosophy; 03-31-2014 at 05:37 PM. Reason: Additional information.

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03-28-2014, 10:20 AM	#2
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Contact Pentax again and tell them what CRIS said. I suspect this is a recent change as the Pentax parts department used to sell parts. Maybe CRIS is still operating on the old rules and not everyone got the word. Call Pentax and tell them their reseller is refusing to sell you parts and ask if they can help expedite things by calling CRIS and clearing it for you.

03-28-2014, 10:28 AM	#3
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	Originally posted by jatrax Contact Pentax again and tell them what CRIS said. I suspect this is a recent change as the Pentax parts department used to sell parts. Maybe CRIS is still operating on the old rules and not everyone got the word. Call Pentax and tell them their reseller is refusing to sell you parts and ask if they can help expedite things by calling CRIS and clearing it for you. Thanks for the suggestion. I've forwarded both messages to each party, so hopefully they will get the communication going.

03-28-2014, 06:01 PM	#4
EvanBand New Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 15	Please post back, if you're able to get somewhere with buying the parts. I'm getting the same run around, between CRIS and Pentax. I get the feeling that they would rather repair than sell the parts.

03-29-2014, 04:23 PM	#5
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	Will do. I should have ordered the part sooner.

03-29-2014, 05:31 PM	#6
wildlifephotog Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: USA Posts: 924	Wildernest Logistics Solutions, Inc. PENTAX Division 3500 N. Windsor Dr. Suite-400 Aurora, CO 80011 Ph. (720)988-2653 Fax (303)799-9213 Lynn Badillo EMAIL: lynn.badillo@wildernestlogistics.com This is the one and only parts person for Pentax parts. She is a very busy lady. Keep trying to reach her by phone. She has to receive, stock and pull the parts. So she may be away from the phone a lot.

03-29-2014, 05:57 PM	#7
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	She's the one who told me I had to contact CRIS! Originally posted by wildlifephotog Wildernest Logistics Solutions, Inc. PENTAX Division 3500 N. Windsor Dr. Suite-400 Aurora, CO 80011 Ph. (720)988-2653 Fax (303)799-9213 Lynn Badillo EMAIL: lynn.badillo@wildernestlogistics.com This is the one and only parts person for Pentax parts. She is a very busy lady. Keep trying to reach her by phone. She has to receive, stock and pull the parts. So she may be away from the phone a lot.

03-29-2014, 06:05 PM	#8
wildlifephotog Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: USA Posts: 924	That's a first for me. Maybe they have went totally in a new direction with their parts division. Guess I won't be doing any more repairs. ---------- Post added 03-29-14 at 09:13 PM ---------- And on another note. I've never been able to buy a part from CRIS. The last time I was able to talk to a person, they were rude and very non helpful. They want the repair money to replace the part for you. They are listed as a Pentax repair depot, not a parts supplier.

03-31-2014, 10:25 AM	#9
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	Well, I heard back from Lynn after telling her what CRIS said. Her response was that I need to order from a dealer. Unfortunately, the only dealer in my area doesn't sell parts. I asked. So, for right now, I'm SOL. This ridiculous situation is causing me to seriously reconsider my commitment to the Pentax system. If I were a full-time photographer, there's no way I could work with this level of service.

03-31-2014, 11:32 AM	#10
lukulele Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Blue Ridge Escarpment, North Carolina, US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,850	This almost deserves a New Camera News write up if the outcome for you wasn't so predictable. An opportunity for Ricoh good PR or more of the bureaucratic "Brazil" like ineptness Terry Gilliam loves to point out.

03-31-2014, 12:04 PM	#11
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	I think the Dealer intermediary requirement may have been in place for a while. I ordered a tripod foot for the K>Q adapter from Lynn at cost - but that door closed and the part then showed up on the Webstore at 100% markup. You could try a Special Order at the Pentax Webstore, which is in reality a separate Dealer (SureSource LLC) dba Pentax Webstore.

04-02-2014, 08:29 AM	#13
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	Update: @pentaxian got back to me and told me to call the parts department. I called the number provided. Nobody picked up the line and the mailbox was full. I hit zero for the operator and was taken back to the main message. There was an option to leave a message in the "generic" mailbox, so I did so. I was also given the option to send the message to another mailbox. So I chose a number of people at random from the directory and forwarded my message there as well. Today I got a call back from someone named Joe in the products department. We had a pleasant discussion in which he explained to me that Ricoh does not sell parts directly to customers because customers don't know how to repair cameras. I told him that makes sense, of course, but this part just slides on and is held in place with a dot of glue. He said that is not accurate. It's more complex and requires disassembly of the body. He said I needed to send the camera in to a licensed repair depot for repairs. Rather than arguing about this, I explained that I'm not going to send the camera in for this simple part. It's now outside of warranty, and shipping both ways plus repair cost is price prohibitive on an item of this price. In many cases, the minimum repair bill is $60 to $100. So I could spend over $100 just to have a tiny, exterior part replaced. It just does not make sense. I recognize that this employee was not a customer service person and couldn't directly help me, but I very much appreciate him calling me. Even so, I'm out of luck and pretty discouraged. I'm going to try @pantaxian again. They told me to let me know what the result is. If all else fails, I might try to cobble together a replacement dial out of pieces of plastic or rubber I find at the hardware store.

05-28-2014, 06:36 PM	#14
richardwong Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Vancouver, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 671	Originally posted by Designosophy Update: @pentaxian got back to me and told me to call the parts department. I called the number provided. Nobody picked up the line and the mailbox was full. I hit zero for the operator and was taken back to the main message. There was an option to leave a message in the "generic" mailbox, so I did so. I was also given the option to send the message to another mailbox. So I chose a number of people at random from the directory and forwarded my message there as well. Today I got a call back from someone named Joe in the products department. We had a pleasant discussion in which he explained to me that Ricoh does not sell parts directly to customers because customers don't know how to repair cameras. I told him that makes sense, of course, but this part just slides on and is held in place with a dot of glue. He said that is not accurate. It's more complex and requires disassembly of the body. He said I needed to send the camera in to a licensed repair depot for repairs. Rather than arguing about this, I explained that I'm not going to send the camera in for this simple part. It's now outside of warranty, and shipping both ways plus repair cost is price prohibitive on an item of this price. In many cases, the minimum repair bill is $60 to $100. So I could spend over $100 just to have a tiny, exterior part replaced. It just does not make sense. I recognize that this employee was not a customer service person and couldn't directly help me, but I very much appreciate him calling me. Even so, I'm out of luck and pretty discouraged. I'm going to try @pantaxian again. They told me to let me know what the result is. If all else fails, I might try to cobble together a replacement dial out of pieces of plastic or rubber I find at the hardware store. Designosophy - please let me us know how you make out. I just lost my dial, argh, after crazy glueing it down the first time it fell off. Thanks

05-29-2014, 05:39 AM	#15
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137 Original Poster	I thought I posted this, but I guess it was in a different thread. I was able to get a dial by contacting an authorized Pentax repair person. I'll PM you the info. When the dial arrived, it was attached to the plastic disc & stem, which is what the old mode dial had detached from. So I used a hair dryer to heat up the new mode dial until the disc/stem could be removed. Then I used contact cement to attach the new mode dial.