In the past month I had a leupold spotting scope that needed some warranty work and then a pair of Vortex binoculars that also needed to be sent in. Here is an outline of the service I received from both companies. Certainly this is just one experience, but I thought it was worth posting, since this is about a close as I can get to a back to back comparison. With both companies I sent all my contact details in the box with an explanation of my concerns. I don't believe either company "owe's me anything for free", so I alway note I can pay for anything beyond warranty work.
Leupold (Sent in a Gold Ring 12-40x60 scope to have the eyepiece fixed after it took a tumble on my tripod)
- Called Leupold to tell them what happened and see what form if anything was needed to send the item in. The tech on the phone was very helpful and walked me through the simple process; at closing he said "If you have damaged the eye piece, you should anticipate they will simply send you a new spotter".
- A few days later I called back, the scope was showing some other signs of wear and I wanted to see if I could pay Leupold to clean up the outside scope body (Mainly the plastic piece on the front of the scope with the leupold logo was broken and I wanted to get a new one). The tech said that they would contact me after they received the scope and would tell me what was under warranty and what it would cost to fix anything else. Again, In closing he said something to the affect "if the eye piece is damaged, I bet you will just get a new scope so don't worry about your old one"
- A few days later I get notice from Fedex that the scope arrived at Leupold. A few days go by and I never get any feedback from leupold. I call back and ask if there is any update on the scope. The tech tells me it must not be logged into their system, but once it is I will receive either a phone call or an email letting me know they are working on it. A few more days pass with no contact, so I call back again. This time the tech tells me they are working on the scope and I should see the scope in 2-3 weeks. The tech confirms that they have all my contact info in their system.
- A couple days pass by and a get a box delivered to my office. I open up the box and there is my scope with a new eyepiece incorrectly installed and none of the cosmetics issues have been addressed. I call Leupold and tell them what I have discovered, they are very polite and immediately send me an email with a free shipping label to send the scope back in. I ask the tech to put a note on my file to have them please call me, I would like to pay to have the scope exterior cleaned up.
- I send the scope back in, never receive any communication from Leupold, and then receive the scope back about a week later. This time the eyepiece is correctly installed and the scope appears to be good. Again, no attempt was made to clean up the exterior nor was I ever offered a chance to pay for that service.
- The next day I take the scope to the range to do some shooting. The chromatic aberration of the scope is extremely bad. I can barely make out my bullet holes at 100 yds because the target has a huge purple halo around it. I called Leupold again to ask what might be up, they offer a few suggestions but tell me to send it back and they will take care of it. Then I hear the famous words again - "If the scope has issues, I bet we will just send you a new one"
- As I type this, I am waiting to see what happens. Yesterday I got an email confirmation from fedex that they have the scope.... still no communication from Leupold. I did however just receive a small package from Leupold today that contains the little plastic piece I had asked to be repaired, so someone at Leupold is listening!
- Every time Leupold shipped back my scope it was nicely packaged, I got a letter explaining the services they performed and I also got a survey card to tell me how they did. I am waiting to send the survey back in until I get the scope back working.
Vortex (I sent in a pair of Razor HD 10c42 bino's to have the collimation checked, I believed I knock them out last year elk hunting)
- I filled out the form online and printed out the information. Send the bino's off to Vortex and within a few days I had an email from Fedex confirming delivery, plus I got a email from Vortex letting me know they got my bino's and to expect a 3-4 week turnaround.
- about a week later I got a box in the mail from Vortex with my old bino's. My bino's were nicely packaged and I had a list of what service they performed. They cleaned them up and checked the alignment and focus to make sure it was all within tolerance. Bino's seem to be working better.
Leupold (Sent in a Gold Ring 12-40x60 scope to have the eyepiece fixed after it took a tumble on my tripod)
- Called Leupold to tell them what happened and see what form if anything was needed to send the item in. The tech on the phone was very helpful and walked me through the simple process; at closing he said "If you have damaged the eye piece, you should anticipate they will simply send you a new spotter".
- A few days later I called back, the scope was showing some other signs of wear and I wanted to see if I could pay Leupold to clean up the outside scope body (Mainly the plastic piece on the front of the scope with the leupold logo was broken and I wanted to get a new one). The tech said that they would contact me after they received the scope and would tell me what was under warranty and what it would cost to fix anything else. Again, In closing he said something to the affect "if the eye piece is damaged, I bet you will just get a new scope so don't worry about your old one"
- A few days later I get notice from Fedex that the scope arrived at Leupold. A few days go by and I never get any feedback from leupold. I call back and ask if there is any update on the scope. The tech tells me it must not be logged into their system, but once it is I will receive either a phone call or an email letting me know they are working on it. A few more days pass with no contact, so I call back again. This time the tech tells me they are working on the scope and I should see the scope in 2-3 weeks. The tech confirms that they have all my contact info in their system.
- A couple days pass by and a get a box delivered to my office. I open up the box and there is my scope with a new eyepiece incorrectly installed and none of the cosmetics issues have been addressed. I call Leupold and tell them what I have discovered, they are very polite and immediately send me an email with a free shipping label to send the scope back in. I ask the tech to put a note on my file to have them please call me, I would like to pay to have the scope exterior cleaned up.
- I send the scope back in, never receive any communication from Leupold, and then receive the scope back about a week later. This time the eyepiece is correctly installed and the scope appears to be good. Again, no attempt was made to clean up the exterior nor was I ever offered a chance to pay for that service.
- The next day I take the scope to the range to do some shooting. The chromatic aberration of the scope is extremely bad. I can barely make out my bullet holes at 100 yds because the target has a huge purple halo around it. I called Leupold again to ask what might be up, they offer a few suggestions but tell me to send it back and they will take care of it. Then I hear the famous words again - "If the scope has issues, I bet we will just send you a new one"
- As I type this, I am waiting to see what happens. Yesterday I got an email confirmation from fedex that they have the scope.... still no communication from Leupold. I did however just receive a small package from Leupold today that contains the little plastic piece I had asked to be repaired, so someone at Leupold is listening!
- Every time Leupold shipped back my scope it was nicely packaged, I got a letter explaining the services they performed and I also got a survey card to tell me how they did. I am waiting to send the survey back in until I get the scope back working.
Vortex (I sent in a pair of Razor HD 10c42 bino's to have the collimation checked, I believed I knock them out last year elk hunting)
- I filled out the form online and printed out the information. Send the bino's off to Vortex and within a few days I had an email from Fedex confirming delivery, plus I got a email from Vortex letting me know they got my bino's and to expect a 3-4 week turnaround.
- about a week later I got a box in the mail from Vortex with my old bino's. My bino's were nicely packaged and I had a list of what service they performed. They cleaned them up and checked the alignment and focus to make sure it was all within tolerance. Bino's seem to be working better.
