[Rturbett]

Adams electronics- excellent serviced on arrival, determined it had to go to Precision. Mentally prepared me for the current nightmare.

Precision -Awful- Camera had to be sent there for factory parts. Parts for my K1 have been on order for 5 weeks. "we hope they show up soon" was there only response . Surprising, as in this day and age, we have computers that can tell us when parts are scheduled to ship, or how long they will be until they are manufactured.

New Leaf- the warranty service- has been good, and was trying to find out more info. I was asked to call the manager back after two days so that he could find out if there was any info on the parts, but when I called back, the person - not the same, as that manger was away- gave me a hard time about calling them, as they are not a parts supplier or manufacturer- even though they had the notes in front of them from two days ago. The first manager even hinted at finding another resolution if they couldn't get an answer on when the parts were arriving to precision.

On the verge of giving up on Pentax- sorry- being brand loyal has become impossible. True, I like to use my imagination when I take photos, but it has gone a little too far when they ask me to imagine that I have a camera in my hands.

This camera has been very well taken care of, but started having an electrical issue where the shutter triggered 3 times, (not in HDR mode) Adams confirmed it was a circuit board problem 8000 on the shutter count.

Rob

[KiloHotelphoto]

You can't fault Precision if Ricoh/Pentax can't supply the parts. It would've been nice if they could give you a eta of parts but again maybe it's Ricoh/Pentax not providing them with the info.

It is ridicules that parts have been on order for 5 weeks on a current body, imagine what it will be like when they discontinue the K1 line. Imagine if you were a professional and need to get repairs and had to wait this long, you would have to invest in a third body to have a back up for your back up, I don't think Pentax offers loaners like other brands do for extended repair waits.

[monochrome]

You can't fault Precision if Ricoh/Pentax can't supply the parts. It would've been nice if they could give you a eta of parts but again maybe it's Ricoh/Pentax not providing them with the info.

It is ridicules that parts have been on order for 5 weeks on a current body, imagine what it will be like when they discontinue the K1 line. Imagine if you were a professional and need to get repairs and had to wait this long, you would have to invest in a third body to have a back up for your back up, I don't think Pentax offers loaners like other brands do for extended repair waits.

It isn't necessarily Ricoh’s fault. Maybe Precision only stocks the most commonly used parts and won’t order a box of the part needed for this camera repair until there are enough camera repairs in the que to use a whole box of parts.

Just because Precision lays it off on Ricoh doesn’t make it so.

[KiloHotelphoto]

Well if Ricoh only sells parts by the box that's a problem.

[monochrome]

Well if Ricoh only sells parts by the box that's a problem.

We’ve been over this 100 times. It isn’t a problem, it is a known fact. Ricoh Imaging US is a shell that uses a internet-only sales model and contracts out virtually all of its services, including the Webstore. There isn’t enough sales volume in the US to support employees, real estate, inventory and self-delivered services. They don’t really stock anything here except enough cameras and lenses to satisfy pre-sold deals and demand spikes like Black Friday.

If you want RICOH to stock parts in quantity in North America and have a more immediate service supplier you can pay 20% more for the cameras and lenses. It is part of the essential compromise of using Pentax.

You know what to do if you don’t like the deal.

[KiloHotelphoto]

You don't have to stock parts in N. America, you can ship them in from Japan. The OP has been waiting five weeks, it doesn't take that long to send stuff from Japan to the US. This is Ricoh/Pentax not providing the parts.

[monochrome]

You don't have to stock parts in N. America, you can ship them in from Japan. The OP has been waiting five weeks, it doesn't take that long to send stuff from Japan to the US. This is Ricoh/Pentax not providing the parts.

For all we know that part is backordered by a supplier to Pentax. Really - for what reason would Pentax willfully withhold parts?

Neither you nor I knows for a fact what it is happening. Making sweeping general statements from the anonymous safety of your BarcoLounger is just Pentax-bashing with no foundation in fact.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 05-25-2019 at 09:33 AM.

[normhead]

Well, as someone who has waited quite few times for parts from Pentax, I have a DA*200 as a back-up to my 60-250, I have a K-3 as a back-up to my k-1 (and vice versa). Whatever happens, I have a plan. That's called being prepared. I don't think any camera system can guarantee you a working camera unless you buy one of their pro support plans. Cameras fail, lenses fail, plan for it.

This is Ricoh/Pentax not providing the parts

.

In a timely manner. Like everyone else these days they want to have the minimum amount of employees possible. That means a backlog.

[thazooo]

We’ve been over this 100 times. It isn’t a problem, it is a known fact. Ricoh Imaging US is a shell that uses a internet-only sales model and contracts out virtually all of its services, including the Webstore. There isn’t enough sales volume in the US to support employees, real estate, inventory and self-delivered services. They don’t really stock anything here except enough cameras and lenses to satisfy pre-sold deals and demand spikes like Black Friday.

If you want RICOH to stock parts in quantity in North America and have a more immediate service supplier you can pay 20% more for the cameras and lenses. It is part of the essential compromise of using Pentax.

You know what to do if you don’t like the deal.

Ehhhh, close to true statements. Especially the last sentence. Probably why my M4/3 is growing and Pentax is dwindling. They should probably shut down USA all together and let us ship cameras back to Japan for service. What they have now isn't a smart business model.

[DeadJohn]

It isn't necessarily Ricoh’s fault. Maybe Precision only stocks the most commonly used parts and won’t order a box of the part needed for this camera repair until there are enough camera repairs in the que to use a whole box of parts.

Just because Precision lays it off on Ricoh doesn’t make it so.

All repair problems are Ricoh's responsibility IMO. Ricoh locked USA users into Precision and doesn't let us go elsewhere for parts and warranty work.

[monochrome]

Ehhhh, close to true statements. Especially the last sentence. Probably why my M4/3 is growing and Pentax is dwindling. They should probably shut down USA all together and let us ship cameras back to Japan for service. What they have now isn't a smart business model.

That is an unprovable inference, if it is even true (which neither you nor I can ever know).

Actually under the circumstances Pentax is using quite a smart business model. They could just depart the US altogether the way Fiat did in the 80’s. But - those of us who know and want (most of) the products in the Pentax catalog can get them Next-Day-Air. Those of us who need service can get (most) of our service needs met fairly quickly by Precision. It’s the fringe issues the business model can’t handle - some specific 645 lenses aren’t offered here. Parts for less likely failures aren’t stocked by Precision and lens repairs that require a special tool or skill are only done in Japan because they don’t keep a copy of the tool at Precision, nor do they train Precision techs in the infrequent repairs.

They’ll cover the tall part of the experience curve. It’s the outliers that are problematic.

[monochrome]

All repair problems are Ricoh's responsibility IMO. Ricoh locked USA users into Precision and doesn't let us go elsewhere for parts and warranty work.

Wrong again.

As a condition of providing comprehensive repair service, by contract, Precision doesn’t allow us to go elsewhere for parts or service. If you want a more liberal (and costly to Ricoh) service arrangement you and I can pay more for the cameras and lenses in the US. Ricoh doesn’t ‘pay’ for anything. The buyers do.

[Rturbett]

Thanks for letting me vent-

The root problem is not getting information that should be readily available. If Ricoh stocked complete inventory in Japan, there is no reason why it could not be delivered anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost- and certainly in the US- in less than a week.

I understand that a complex piece of equipment can have a problem- but not being able to service it in a timely manner is infuriating. Not providing information to Precision, and Precision refusing to share information with me directly, has made this a real mess.

I did ask Adorama (where I got the K1 from) a month into this if they would give me a discount on a K-70. They told me to pound salt. They missed an opportunity to gain a customer for life.

So glad this is just a hobby for me- but as a hobby, it is supposed to be relaxing. It is now anything but that.

Rob

[monochrome]

Thanks for letting me vent-

The root problem is not getting information that should be readily available. If Ricoh stocked complete inventory in Japan, there is no reason why it could not be delivered anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost- and certainly in the US- in less than a week.

I understand that a complex piece of equipment can have a problem- but not being able to service it in a timely manner is infuriating. Not providing information to Precision, and Precision refusing to share information with me directly, has made this a real mess.

I did ask Adorama (where I got the K1 from) a month into this if they would give me a discount on a K-70. They told me to pound salt. They missed an opportunity to gain a customer for life.

So glad this is just a hobby for me- but a a hobby, it is supposed to be relaxing. It is now anything but that.

Rob

All you know for certain is that Precision says Ricoh isn’t shipping the part. Precision might be holding off ordering the part until they have more repairs in the que that need that part. Ricoh might be waiting to receive a batch of that part from a trade supplier. There is just no earthly reason for Ricoh not to ship a part it has in stock. Nor is it reasonable to expect Ricoh to keep a supply of every single part in their catalog in ready stock. You can’t even get that guarantee on a Honda Accord, much less from a small camera company.

Precision has been known forever to be less than forthcoming with information and virtually unreachable by telephone. IIRC Nikon uses Precision and Precision is a regular topic of complaint on Nikon discussion Forums.

[Rturbett]

It is unreasonable for anyone to expect Precision to stock every part for every camera they service. (and likely impossible) It is not unreasonable to expect Ricoh to stock and manage a supply of nearly every component for their products.

It is completely unacceptable to not get an answer on when that part is expected to be available. Just tell me the tracking number and i can watch it, or get an estimate from the supplier when it will be delivered. I cant believe Precision would hold off on ordering waiting for a bulk order- if so, for the savings of a few dollars in shipping, they are alienating their customers...

Very curious to see what New Leaf does.. stay tuned