Originally posted by blende8 With all the current hype, don't forget:
Pentax has just fired all employees of Pentax Switzerland and many in Hamburg, Germany.
Shame on you Pentax/Hoya!
What about the "Pentax family"? Where is it, today?
Boohooo! I protest!
To the bosses:
It is a terrible shame for those affected. I have been made redundant myself twice - sadly its a fact of business life in a recession. Blame bankers, not bosses. The bosses are being made redundant too.
There are a number of issues behind this but in terms of service I am also very sad. Pentax UK service was a shambles a couple of years ago, but the guys had pulled it around recently. The the firm thats taking over also do Nikon's non-pro work so they are OK, but I will miss personal service from down the road (I live near Slough) and they were a nice bunch.
I gather the root of the issue was cost: Firstly, the service capacity was out of balance with recent sales volumes, and secondly, most digital camera faults actually require replacement of electronic components, which can be done by almost anyone, not optical calibration which is highly specialised and requires training and very expensive gear. This is fine if you are handling enough units (you can hire lots of repair guys but only a few trained techs) but if you only doing a few a month, its relatively expensive because trained techs have to do simple repairs all the time and all the expensive test rigs are under-utilised. On the other hand, a firm that services hundreds of cameras a week (from all makes) can do it much cheaper. In theory anyway!
For issues with lenses and optics, its normally cheaper to ship a replacement unit because of labour costs, and this is what they will probably do for most warranty work. Thats been true in the electronics business for years - cameras are only now starting to get with the program.
I am susprised, and I think its a mistake, that at least one European centre was not retained for repair and service of older equipment (which cannot be replaced) and to handle professional level service (whenever the 645 comes out). Pentax still has spares for a lot of old gear. I suspect this WILL happen when Pentax decide to re-introduce pro service into Europe with the 645 but in the meantime it probably means a trip to Japan and a lot of money.
The good news is that some independent Pentax repair centres do exist. I know of one in the UK, staffed by ex-Pentax guys, and I suspect there may be others out there across Europe. The one in the UK is here...
www.asahiphoto.co.uk
They have spares for most Pentax film bodies and can calibrate and adjust all current cameras (apparently). I'm sure they will take enquiries from abroad.
They have my FA28 F2.8 for a cleanup at the moment. If they do a good job my 24-90 will be going in for a refurb next week (loose zoom ring).
Last edited by *isteve; 04-30-2009 at 10:01 AM.