[kernos]

I'm glad it worked out. Hopefully everyone will benefit from your effort.

[Rupert]

I contacted my credit card and they told me I have a legitimate claim and I can file a chargeback. The only issue is that I can't use their online form and need to call the claim in because the original date of purchase was more than 90 days ago. In any case, they can and will help. This would be the fastest way for me to get a refund so I can purchase a new camera and get to shooting photos. I'm reluctant to go this route as I'm afraid it will take the money from the retailer and not impact Ricoh at all. I will wait a few days before going this route.

Repair service is generally ridiculous from what I read most often. I use Discovercard for most large purchases or those where I am concerned about warranties. They are fast and sure to remedy your problem, large or small. I've used them several times from tools to auto repairs. I do not have any sympathy for the retailer, part of their responsibility is to assure that the products they sell are covered with legitimate warranties executed in a timely manner.

Last Fall I had a problem with a set of gas logs bought from Home Depot. I had contacted the Mfg several times, all documented (Documentation is important!) and got nothing but the run around. One call to Discover and the parts came two days later via FedX.

No one wants to hurt Ricoh/Pentax, but we buy their products and help them. they should at least care enough to help us too.
The reason their unacceptable service is unacceptable....is that for too long, we have accepted it.

BTW- Parts from Europe or Japan can be here in as little as 24 hours. Sailing ships and the Pony Express are so yesterday! Why are we still buying that story???

Regards!

[stevebrot]

TW- Parts from Europe or Japan can be here in as little as 24 hours. Sailing ships and the Pony Express are so yesterday! Why are we still buying that story???

Have you priced overseas next day delivery lately? That might provide an answer . That being said, the long times for parts reflects wholesale supply chain dynamics as much as anything. Even for new sales inventory, dealers often have to wait several weeks if stock of a camera or lens is exhausted. In short, partial palettes don't ship and when they do, they go via container ship. The assumption that there are warehouses in Denver or in Enfield stacked full of replacement bodies and repair parts is a little humorous considering that any ROI is limited to avoiding negative publicity and/or lawsuit. Any inventory would be maintained according to actuarial rules at best and rule of eye (if shelf empty - order six) at worst. All those thoughts aside, I refuse to speculate why Ricoh decided on a replacement with 2nd-day delivery for the OP ($$$), but am glad that a quick solution was found.


Steve

[jatrax]

BTW- Parts from Europe or Japan can be here in as little as 24 hours. Sailing ships and the Pony Express are so yesterday! Why are we still buying that story???

That theory assume the parts exist. If I understood the original post it was about the k-30/k-50 aperture problem. So considering the age of the camera it is possible that stocks of parts for this particular issue may have been exhausted. So you need to add construction time to the shipping.

And shipping is not likely to be air-freight in any case. It's going in a container with as much other stuff as it takes to fill the container. And then it has to go to the docks, get loaded when the ship arrives, cross the ocean, go through customs, get unloaded, the container goes to the warehouse and is unpacked and sorted. Only then do the parts get shipped, UPS perhaps, to the service facility.

I have had customers waiting weeks for things that I know are sitting in a ship in the harbor. But unless they can get customs approval and a dock slot they are going to sit there.

[Rupert]

I still say as long as there are enough that will accept poor service, it will continue. Why shouldn't it? This is a business, and if costs can be controlled by slow and poor service, it will be. Ricoh is a company I do business with...it's not my brother or sister where I am obliged to stand for poor practices or make excuses.
Paying that air freight a few dozen times would certainly convince them that it is cheaper to stock parts in America. Having retailers scream that they were charged back by a credit card company for a defective camera would also send a strong message. When you have a vacation or big shoot planned in a month and your Pentax takes a dive and you are told to expect 2-3 months for parts and repair you may begin to see the light.

Regards!

[sergysergy]

I had missed feeling with CRIS. I sent a Sigma for cleaning and it came back dirtier than before. Then they did a good job with it and cleaning my cameras.
I do not know about Precision. I just sent my K-3 for a CLA to them...we will see how long it takes

And it is already back. They recalibrated the focusing mechanism and cleaned the whole body. Focusing is definitely faster (I am being objective).
After a quick inspection I am happy with what they did. I will post new observations if any...

[stevebrot]

And it is already back. They recalibrated the focusing mechanism and cleaned the whole body. Focusing is definitely faster (I am being objective).
After a quick inspection I am happy with what they did. I will post new observations if any...

1 week turn around...not bad...


Steve

[jatrax]

1 week turn around...not bad...

Very good actually. If they can do that on a regular basis all complaints will disappear........

[glee46]

I mailed my K3ll on May 5th. I got it back today. Less that 2 weeks from my door to theirs and back. Nice cleaned, and all to make it in tip top shape. Except for the problem that I sent it in for in the 1st place. The HMDI does not work. I have 2 new HDMI cables that work great on my new K-1 so it looks like they never even looked at it. So, I know it's going back, I'm just trying to get some info on if they pay for the trip back to CT from California, & who knows how long it will now take to fix it.

Any advice?

[Rupert]

I mailed my K3ll on May 5th. I got it back today. Less that 2 weeks from my door to theirs and back. Nice cleaned, and all to make it in tip top shape. Except for the problem that I sent it in for in the 1st place. The HMDI does not work. I have 2 new HDMI cables that work great on my new K-1 so it looks like they never even looked at it. So, I know it's going back, I'm just trying to get some info on if they pay for the trip back to CT from California, & who knows how long it will now take to fix it.

Any advice?

Hope the technician learns how to read your problem between now and the time he gets it again. Most places do offer free reading/writing courses.

How could they miss that? OTOH...things do happen, even to the best of us...like the mechanic that failed to install the lug nuts on my Jeep wheel that came off on a busy highway.....so your problem could have been worse.

Regards & Good luck!

[mee]

Very good actually. If they can do that on a regular basis all complaints will disappear........

I wonder if the rumor was correct that their current contract ends in June... would explain the sudden 'turnaround' of support.. esp with lenses.. If they are trying to woo Pentax to stick with them..

[jatrax]

I wonder if the rumor was correct that their current contract ends in June... would explain the sudden 'turnaround' of support.. esp with lenses.. If they are trying to woo Pentax to stick with them..

Or maybe they finally got through their backlog / trained up enough technicians to keep up. My 16-85 is still in the wind though.

[mee]

Or maybe they finally got through their backlog / trained up enough technicians to keep up. My 16-85 is still in the wind though.

Doubtful. They supposedly escalated my 16-50 to their lead Pentax tech in their 'pro' department and even they couldn't adjust infinity focus..

I think their 'give a care' is suddenly working.. for whatever reason(s).

[glee46]

I made 3 calls to them today. The 1st, (Nice lady) said they would email me a UPS Packing slip & I should get it within a hour. Called back 4 hrs later, (Guy sounded like he was in the can) and told me there was nothing on the computer about it. He said I would get a email with an hour. I called back 10 mins before they closed. Lady told me all they had was a note with my email address on it and nothing else. She sent me an email within 5 mins.

Anyway, I'm not going to lose sleep over this. It will get here fixed sooner or later. Until then, I have my new K-1 to play with along with a K-1000 & ME Super that Eric is working on.