Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
08-21-2015, 04:27 PM   #16
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 11,913
QuoteOriginally posted by Not a Number Quote
Some of the other brands are using Precision too. So switching brands may not help you there.
+1. Out of the frying pan, into the fire, potentially.

08-21-2015, 07:39 PM   #17
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: New York
Posts: 4,833
I had to drive 2 hours to Precision to speak with someone (I was in the area for something else). I tried email and phone first and they never responded. Note that my experience was a year ago, but that almost got me to dump Ricoh.
08-21-2015, 07:56 PM   #18
Senior Member




Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 269
Where i live, the pentax service center don't even Repair flash and lenses anymore. They said the import charges are prohibitive, add the repair charges, and its probably better to buy a new unit. The camera bodies they accept, and send to the camera factory in cebu. It takes a lot of time ( 2-3 months), but the repair charges are ok (<$75), and the results are amazing.
08-21-2015, 08:11 PM   #19
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
bkpix's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Creswell, Oregon
Photos: Albums
Posts: 568
Another vote for KEH repair. Just shipped off my 21/3.2 Limited, on which the front element had begun to wobble. Lens was back in great shape in 13 days, door to door.

08-21-2015, 09:02 PM   #20
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Michigan
Posts: 478
QuoteOriginally posted by djam Quote
I refused to send it back to precision and ended up getting in touch with Joe Virgil who is the Pentax product specialist out of Denver Colorado. He sent me a new camera! More people need to voice their dissatisfaction to Pentax in order to get something done.
This is why I suggested to complain to Ricoh/Pentax rather than Precision.

My experience with Precision is beyond belief. The person repaired my lens apparently had much less knowledge to the lens than I did. Not only did they not fix it, they scratched it, lost parts, and worse yet, the lens won't focus. How? And this is an FA Ltd lens.
08-22-2015, 05:20 AM   #21
Veteran Member
dakight's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,216
I have had one occasion to deal with Precision and it was an altogether pleasant experience. All the horror stories notwithstanding, I cannot see how I could have had better service other than the camera not failing in the first place.
08-22-2015, 10:24 AM   #22
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Wingincamera's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pine Haven, Wyoming
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,176
I've had no experience with Precision, but the one time I used CRIS was a very good experience. I had a Sigma 24-70 2.8 macro lens with a cracked barrel that I sent in for repair, long out of warranty. The lens also had a slight front focusing problem from when new. Within a week I had the lens back, both the cracked barrel and front focusing problem fixed. I was sorry I hadn't sent the lens in years earlier for the focus problem. And the repair was less than $200 and came back looking brand new.

08-22-2015, 06:28 PM   #23
Veteran Member
ScooterMaxi Jim's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,520
Call me a mercenary, but I bought a "Refurbished" Sigma 12-24 FF lens at liquidation priced very cheaply knowing full well that the lens will be worth a lot more when the FF comes out (and when all the FF early adopters find out that nothing under 17mm in AF will work remotely well, and Pentax will require you to sell your first born for the privilege of accessing the somewhat wide zoom that won't be out for another two years)... In any event, the lens was hopelessly decentered (probably built in 2007 when the Sigma Japan QC was - umm, to put it very nicely, suspect), so my immediate reaction was to send it in rather than try to swap it (thank you, National Camera Exchange for that offer to exchange - given that it was an "All Sales Final" deal).

I wanted the repair because Sigma has a much better reputation when actually fixing a lens rather than initial QC. Keep in mind, I was told that the lens almost certainly was "new stock" sold off as Refurbished (lens was discontinued in 2011), so no actual refurb had been done. Well, first thing I noticed is that Sigma has three repair facilities - in NY (US HQ), GA, and AZ (CRIS). I'll bet that keeps CRIS pretty darn honest! This explains to me that Sigma USA has a little competitive skin in the game. So, no surprise that when I submitted the claim, Sigma USA responded very quickly based on the two images I sent them that they completely agree that the lens has a defect. We'll see, but I have a lot confidence in Sigma USA standing by the product. Not that I'm a huge fan of the Sigma product over the years (kept the 15-30 new for under a year, and the cheap used 28-70 AF tried for a few months - neither were remotely adequate lenses), but the commitment to improve product is very clear, as is the USA customer service.

I'm glad that product QC coming out of Pentax Japan (Philippines, Vietnam) has been very good over the years because my confidence in the USA side - based on the repair horror stories - is especially troubling. Perhaps Pentax USA can take a look at the Sigma USA operations and do some serious revamping.
08-22-2015, 07:14 PM   #24
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
OP should change this title. Pentax doesn't suck. Prescision Sucks.
08-23-2015, 01:02 AM   #25
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: New York
Posts: 4,833
QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
OP should change this title. Pentax doesn't suck. Prescision Sucks.
Bad service drags down the brand. In technical terms, our corporate overlords had a sucky selection process that picked a sucky service company, and it sucks that too many of us have to work around the suck.

We didn't pick Precision, Ricoh/Pentax forced it on us. Maybe Ricoh didn't do their homework vetting Precision, or maybe they knew what they were getting and moved forward anyway because Precision gave them a good price.
08-23-2015, 04:24 AM - 2 Likes   #26
Veteran Member
Tom S.'s Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: S.E. Michigan
Photos: Albums
Posts: 4,317
We will most likely never know why Ricoh picked Precision, but I can remember a host of complaints about CRIS, which may have been a contributing factor. At any rate, complaining here will do little good. Instead, take time to complain directly to Ricoh and for best effect, carbon copy the complaint to Precision. That is by far a better approach to solving the issue. Additionally, since KEH has a known reputation, suggest Ricoh consider either using them exclusively or adding them to a list of approved repair facilities.

Venting here about a bad experience may make one feel better, but it's not very effective in resolving the issue. Go to the people who can effect change instead.
08-23-2015, 05:26 AM   #27
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
Bad service drags down the brand. In technical terms, our corporate overlords had a sucky selection process that picked a sucky service company, and it sucks that too many of us have to work around the suck.

We didn't pick Precision, Ricoh/Pentax forced it on us. Maybe Ricoh didn't do their homework vetting Precision, or maybe they knew what they were getting and moved forward anyway because Precision gave them a good price.
My issue with the thread title is - search engines index thread titles. PF gets so many clicks ours ore often at or near the top of Search Results.
08-23-2015, 05:42 AM   #28
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Mikesul's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 7,576
QuoteOriginally posted by Tom S. Quote
We will most likely never know why Ricoh picked Precision, but I can remember a host of complaints about CRIS, which may have been a contributing factor. At any rate, complaining here will do little good. Instead, take time to complain directly to Ricoh and for best effect, carbon copy the complaint to Precision. That is by far a better approach to solving the issue. Additionally, since KEH has a known reputation, suggest Ricoh consider either using them exclusively or adding them to a list of approved repair facilities.

Venting here about a bad experience may make one feel better, but it's not very effective in resolving the issue. Go to the people who can effect change instead.
Complaints about CRIS were mainly about long waits and many of us know directly that it was usually that Pentax did not send the parts. I had to call Colorado to get a part shipped to CRIS which had been sitting in Colorado for several weeks. The camera was repaired within a week of my call to Pentax. The Pentax people acknowledged that it was their fault not CRIS. Certainly no company is perfect and CRIS probably messed up too on occasion but the complaints about Precision are of a very different sort. They do not do the repair properly or they mess up the item more and worst of all they just do not respond to emails and phone calls. My flash came back quickly and nicely packaged from Precision but they clearly had not done any testing because it had exactly the same problem I had described to them. They have not responded to my emails.

---------- Post added 08-23-15 at 05:44 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
My issue with the thread title is - search engines index thread titles. PF gets so many clicks ours ore often at or near the top of Search Results.
I agree. Posters need to be more careful about how they word their titles. Too often he thread titles look like Tabloid headlines.
08-23-2015, 09:02 AM   #29
Veteran Member
ScooterMaxi Jim's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,520
Ultimately, Pentax/Ricoh takes responsibility. Authorized service providers will perform to the expectations of the contractee. Pentax would have lost far fewer working professionals if the situation had been addressed over the years.
08-24-2015, 01:15 AM   #30
Forum Member




Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Bergen, Norway
Posts: 60
Two years ago I spent some weeks traveling in China. My K10d felt down from a table and the glass of the viewfinder broke. By Pentax' international webpages I found their service center in Shanghai. Not able to get contact by phone I went by taxi. The danish company told me that Pentax didn't renew their contract one year earlier! They replied positive when I asked them if its correct that Pentax' webpages have not been updated for the last 1-2 years. -Many others are coming here, all the time... They called the new service center and got confirmed that they had a new glass for my viewfinder.

I immediately went over to RICOH China Service Center in 1199 Fu Xing Zhong Road. Because this was my last day in Shanghai I asked them if it was possible for them to change the glass immediately. Unfortunately not. The service man was not in office. -Then I will try to do it by myself or get help from a camera shop in the southern China, I replied. -Let me just purchase the glass and bring it with me. Sorry, we are not allowed to sell you the glass as a sparepart! I protested. Sorry, but this is regulated by Ricoh China. They are not allowing us to sell spareparts directly to customers. We have to repair your camera. -Does that mean that I am not allowed to purchase the glass you have in your hand? Yes, we are sorry, they replied.

Unable to delay my departure I spent the last 10 days in a humid and hot Guangdong province. I was still able to use the camera but didn't like all the humidity that got into the viewfinder... Finally in Hong Kong a small second hand shop in CyberCity Center repaired my K10d in half an hour! From the same shop I purchased 1 more K10d (1100 HK$ ) and 4-5 pentax lenses.

I am sure that if you try to call RICOH China Service Center in Shanghai ( Asia | Service Contacts | Support | RICOH IMAGING ) then they will give the same reply; -We're not allowed to sell Pentax spareparts to you directly! -It's your problem that you are a owner of a Pentax camera! -We don't care about that!

All together, a very negative experience. I hope I will never more have to disturb a Ricoh Service Center!
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
advance, apples, camera, comparison, complaints, cris, dollars, dslr, emails, issue, k-5 ii, lens, lenses, link, money, oregon, pentax, photography, precision, repair, ricoh, search, service, shop, thread, titles, weeks
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Tamron USA repair service anger ChopperCharles Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 15 03-01-2014 08:58 PM
Free SDM Repair Service JohsonChou Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 16 08-25-2013 09:51 AM
Pentax Repair Service (%^&$*) Franc General Talk 4 02-07-2012 11:04 PM
Excellent Pentax Repair Service TaiChiTom Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 4 04-05-2011 09:16 PM
Pentax service and repair artifax1 Photographic Technique 2 09-29-2007 04:36 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:00 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top