[qblade]

Chill pills would be in order...

[Uluru]

..
you may believe it but that does not make it to be true. I personally am worse off as has already been explained to you. Are you a marketing shill for Pentax...honestly I am beginning to wonder with some of the replies like yours here...something smells rotten in Denmark! The platitudes you are offering are very disingenuous.

Well, I was curious why so many threads around start with a picture of an individual standing on a cliff, with clenched fist pointed towards the sky, and a strong curse on the lips, "Damn you Pentax! If my wishes / request / pain / sorrow / etc. is not remedied now, I'm off to do something ....". Say,

1. write about it all over the internet: on Facebook, Twitter, G+, forums, contact all bloggers, ...
2. burn a village,
3. cook someone's rabbit,
4. change religion,
5. change allegiance,
6. change mount,
7. change camera manufacturer
8. change lens supplier,
9. change battery supplier
10. [................................ ]. <– state your revenge here

Just too many threads. Aren't we tired of it, people?

[Steve.Ledger]

Dnftt

[MD Optofonik]

So, how many shares do you own then?

I don't.

My point is that companies are beholden to shareholders first and foremost. Every opportunity to make money for shareholders must be maximized in this era of automated high frequency trading. As long as sufficient dividends are being paid out then nothing else matters. if customers are not happy about making parts unavailable outside of authorized channels or discontinuation of non-subscription software in the case of Adobe it matters not as long as profits continue to be generated for shareholders. As many complaints as it seems some customer bases make it doesn't seem to stop sales. Consumers, by their very nature, consume. Most of the time it's rather indiscriminately. However, if shareholders complain, then, you'll see real action.

---

Last edited by MD Optofonik; 05-09-2014 at 01:27 AM.

[BrettC]

Dnftt

DNRTI...oops

---------- Post added 05-09-14 at 05:12 AM ----------

Well, I was curious why so many threads around start with a picture of an individual standing on a cliff, with clenched fist pointed towards the sky, and a strong curse on the lips, "Damn you Pentax! If my wishes / request / pain / sorrow / etc. is not remedied now, I'm off to do something ....". Say,

1. write about it all over the internet: on Facebook, Twitter, G+, forums, contact all bloggers, ...
2. burn a village,
3. cook someone's rabbit,
4. change religion,
5. change allegiance,
6. change mount,
7. change camera manufacturer
8. change lens supplier,
9. change battery supplier
10. Begin with discussion of topic on appropriate internet forum then move to other social media as appropriate and time allows]. <– state your revenge here

Just too many threads. Aren't we tired of it, people?

There you go.

[monochrome]

Every opportunity to make money for shareholders must be maximized in this era of automated high frequency trading

Well THERE's a straw man. How about we throw some cats in and start a fire. Let's make Pentax a Co-Op - let's all get our $100 units together and buy it from Ricoh. I nominate you as President.

As Steve.Ledger pointed out above, Pentax has actually improved the availability of retail parts by arranging for at least two Dealers to stock them. I think that's a very Customer-Focused action.

What's the problem?

[monochrome]

Ahh yes! But they have the money and resources to sell you a camera in this country! Not much different in far too many corporations nowadays....after all it is ALL about the money and little else.
Funny thing though, those that take that approach soon learn that their customers go elsewhere......JC Penney......they went for the money and most likely won't be around another year. Home Depot was only weeks away from bankruptcy when they fired their CEO and installed a new one that thought customer service was a MUST...and if you look at the current HDepot stock, you will see he was right.

If you can't provide good service to your customers you don't deserve to stay in business.......and probably won't ! I haven't seen any indication that Ricoh has much concern for their customers......if you have, let's hear it?

Regards!

When was the last time as a retail customer you bought an auto part directly from Ford - at wholesale price?

Regarding my defense of Ricoh, read my 10,000 posts on the subject over the last three years.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 05-09-2014 at 08:07 AM.

[GlassJunkie]

Ricoh Pentax made the right decision. Who would want to buy a used Pentax product that the untrained had "walked around in". Since this is the US, even screwdriver tips are not the same leading to burred screws.... I have NOT worked with a better group than parts & Service at Pentax USA....

[amoringello]

Ricoh Pentax made the right decision. Who would want to buy a used Pentax product that the untrained had "walked around in". Since this is the US, even screwdriver tips are not the same leading to burred screws.... I have NOT worked with a better group than parts & Service at Pentax USA....

Sadly, CHRIS is the only US service center for Pentax in the US.

I have two copies of the DA*16-50 (one from when they first came out and one from only a couple of years or so ago). Both have the same issue of the zoom ring locking up. One has been "repaired" four times. The other "repaired" three. One "repair" lasted a a couple of days, the rest usually just beyond repair warranty (90 days?) if I was lucky.
I've had my AF360fgz flash "repaired" for the same issue six times. Still not right but I cant spend any more money on shipping ans insurance to send in again.
I had my DA* 50-135 sent in for damage repair. In about three months the seals literally popped out of the body and it had to go back for another repair.
I've had my K7 sent in twice for same repair since it initially came back not repaired.
I've had my K5 sent in for sensor replacement (after about two years -- sensor stain issue was not too bad, but finally got annoying)... regardless, it came back with damaged weather seals and the K5 became a sponge under light drizzle.

With every repair, the item sits on the shelf with part *backordered* for three, four, even eight or ten weeks.
That is in addition to the near two week turnaround just for shipping and stocking plus the cost of shipping and insurance.

I would **GLADLY** risk buying an item from someone who was able to self-repair their equipment.
I certainly could not have worse luck than I've had with the authorized and trained service department.

[monochrome]

Sadly, CHRIS is the only US service center for Pentax in the US.

1. The contract Service company is C.R.I.S.
2. You are quite correct to have complained about the cameras and lenses you bought udner Hoya, and the policies and service you received under Hoya - and even for a few months under Ricoh. You are entitled to continue to cite your past experiences every time enyone else has a gripe about anything - your experiences were real and you unfortunately had virtually every single bad experience often brought up here.

Then again, since Pentax is no longer servicing retail parts, maybe C.R.I.S. will have a USA Dealer parts inventory to order from and their service will get better - do you think?

I sincerely believe your historical experience with those products and service issues would not happen today and will not happen in the future.

[amoringello]

Then again, since Pentax is no longer servicing retail parts, maybe C.R.I.S. will have a USA Dealer parts inventory to order from and their service will get better - do you think?

I sincerely believe your historical experience with those products and service issues would not happen today and will not happen in the future.

First, thanks for correctly spelling CRIS (dunno why I added the H).

If changes have indeed occurred, I would like to think so. I cannot in my heart believe CRIS is intentionally inept. Its just that their track record has been so truly dismal over a number of years.

So, did Ricoh dump everything and everyone related to Pentax, or just buy the assets?
I am not sure just a change in parent company would change service concerns unless Ricoh came in and "cleaned house" as well as added parts distribution centers in the US. If the have... squeee!

I guess it gives me hope, but I'm not convinced yet.

Maybe I will send one item in and see how it goes. :-(
I have a few items that need repair (one being my 16-50 which needs to go in again for the same issue and has been sitting because I refused to throw more money at CRIS).
It would be nice to believe that quality work will be done and without weeks or months of backorder delays.

[Rupert]

f you can't provide good service to your customers you don't deserve to stay in business.......and probably won't! I haven't seen any indication that Ricoh has much concern for their customers......if you have, let's hear it?

Well, fanboys, I'm still waiting...let's hear it?
*Maybe you can report that Pentax has finally, after years of being silent, offered to repair or replace failed SDM lenses with lenses that actually work as specified?

*Maybe you can report that in an effort for open and transparent communication with their customers, they have officially acknowledged the mirror flapping on the K3 and are working to correct it? I said "official" ...not little Johnny saying someone he knew, heard that someone he knew, heard it from Ricoh.

*Maybe you can report that their original statements when they bought out Hoya of expanding the Pentax brand in retail shops across America is finally coming to reality? Currently, there are market areas in America with as many a 6 million people that couldn't find a Pentax in a retail store if their life depended on it.

* Maybe you can report that one of Ricoh's first actions, which was to raise prices on their lenses, is being acknowledged as a mistake and they are correcting it?

Look, I think Pentax makes great cameras, I love my K5, it has been fantastic. It has been a good value and a workhorse for me with little or no complaint. However, I did not buy it for the great service of Pentax...because it doesn't exist. If you think it does, that's wonderful.......fantasies are fun, but they are not real. Maybe you feel a need to defend "your brand" to the death and think that someone over in Japan appreciates you for it. They don't, they don't even know you exist and wouldn't care if they did. That is reality. You can still love your Pentax (I do!) but being ridiculously defensive make you look stupid in light of the facts. If you have other facts ...well, let's hear them?


Monochrome......I'll read your 10,000 posts after you read my 12,000+ posts. You won't find me as any rabid Pentax basher, it's just not there, but it does irritate when fanboys try to spin reality, and it happens all to often when there is a problem. Pentax is not some "god" of a company, deserving our worship like little sheep, it is a business and we should expect it to perform accordingly, not excuse their failures.
Regards!

[Eyewanders]

I have a *very* recent experience with C.R.I.S., and though the jury is still out in some regard, the process (so-far spanning 3 weeks) is far from positive. I'm not going to get into specifics quite yet simply because it is hopefully still being worked out. We'll see.

[Kunzite]

[...] fanboys [...]you look stupid [...] fanboys [...] worship [...] little sheep [...]

I see you're in for a civilized discussion

I live on a different continent so I don't care much about how things are in the U.S. - but I remember people reporting that Pentax is getting back in some stores there. Any improvement can only be gradual, there's no "fix everything in one step"; so we'll be able to find reasons for complaining for a long time.
Denying those gradual improvement is not a constructive approach IMO.

[monochrome]

So, did Ricoh dump everything and everyone related to Pentax, or just buy the assets?
I am not sure just a change in parent company would change service concerns unless Ricoh came in and "cleaned house" as well as added parts distribution centers in the US. If the have... squeee!

Actually, HOYA dumped everyone and replaced them with contract companies. That was Ned Bunnel's 'Big Box' Distributor strategy - no real Pentax anything, just outside contractors and the internet. When they closed Golden Colorado and moved to Denver they only took 50 people.