Swarovski customer service

[BuzzH]

I know that leupold is the sponsor of OYOA, but I thought I'd report on an incident that I had with my less than 2 year old slc's.

For the record, I have several leupold scopes, a spotting scope, and 2 sets of Leupold binoculars, all of which are top notch.

I was deer hunting in Montana and on the 3rd day of hunting I discovered that my slc's had fogged on one side. I wasnt too happy, but luckily I could BARELY get cell service from one spot where I was hunting. I called my wife at home and she looked up the number for swarovski.

I called at about 9:30 am from MT to Rhode Island and explained the situation. The first person I talked to said to send them in and it would take 3-4 weeks for repairs. I explained that I was in the middle of a hunt and had no binoculars. I was patched through to a supervisor.

I explained the situation and the supervisor apologized for the failure and immediately asked where she should send a loaner pair. She said they probably couldnt get a set of slc's as a loaner...but asked if the EL's would be OK. I didnt care, I just wanted some binoculars. So, I had her look up an address for a hotel in Broadus and she said they'd next day air another set of glasses. Sure enough by 5 pm the next day I had the loaner set of EL's.

I got back to town after the season and sent mine in for repairs and they told me to keep the loaners until I got mine back from the repair shop.

I know that swarovski glass isnt cheap, but the customer service in this case is well worth the investment, IMO.

I also shared the story, because very seldom do you hear much positive on these forums in regard to products and customer service. Typically, people only share the horror stories.

 

[mrmedora]

Like you said, nice to hear good customer service stories now and again, regardless of manufacturer. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mdhunter]

Thats a great story Buzz. I hope I dont need the custmer service department from Swarvoski with my stuff, but its nice to know what to expect.

 

[Sytes]

Good stuff Buzz. That is some service when they ship overnight a set of nocs to a hotel in BFE without anything in return... Glad they treat the 96% of valued customers as true customers and not visa versa ~ treat the 96% valued customers as they would the 4% of theives, etc...
Impressive! Did they have records verifying some registered warranty info or something?
They sure cost a hell of a lot! Least there is excellent value in the service offered.

 

[BuzzH]

Sytes, all I did was give them the serial number on mine, I did fill out the warranty when I first got them.

I also found it pretty trusting for them to just ship another pair before mine were sent in...

 

[Bambistew]

Can't beat that for service.

I'm wondering what Leupold is going to do when I send in a discontinued spotting scope and bino's for repair... I think they quit making both of them about 7-8 years ago.

 

[BuzzH]

Bambistew,

I'm about 90% sure they'll fix them. I sent in a discontinued pair of binocs a few years ago, they came back in like-new condition. I was shocked.

 

[Goldtip]

Good to know about the Swaro customer service, thanks for the story. I have been thinking about investing in a pair for several years, this info will make it a little easier to justify.

Also nice to know about the dc'ed Leupy's of yours that Leupy repaired, have a pair of Bino's that I need fixed that was dc'ed 8-9 years ago as well, been wondering if I should send them in or what they would do. Thanks for both the stories.

 

[elk_hunter]

Yes, very cool story - thanks for sharing! Being an owner of Swaro and Leupy products, glad to hear they take care of us.

 

[Moosie]

So I need my Old Swarov's fixed. When I looked online I thought they said to take them to the local shop and have them send it in. I was gonig to drop them off at Sportsman's or Cabela's. Should I call Sworo directly then ? I keep putting it off but since hunting season slowed down I figured I'd send them in.......

 

[BuzzH]

I called them directly...

 

[jeffpg]

I got my Swarovski 10 x 42 EL's from a fellow hunter. They were very gently used, in NIB condition, and we sent the warranty transfer in. The bino sees serious use now, and I have had zero problems, but this post has reminded me to follow up on the warranty transfer as Swarovski has never responded to my letter requesting the transfer.

I love the Swarovski products and don't mind spending the money for such quality, especially when they choose to treat the customer so well.

Oh yeah, I am a dedicated Leupold guy as well.

 

[noharleyyet]

I bought a pair of SLC's with a fogged tube cheap. No idea who the original owner was but the guy I got them from was convinced they were ruined. I called Swaro & told them the same. They said send em in. They repaired the compromised tube, checked everything out, and cleaned them. Came back to me looking new and working perfectly. Paid the shipping and was glad to do it. Top notch service.

 

[upper deck]

Great story Buzz. Im sure that level of service doesnt happen every day but I'd sure like to think if mine went down on a hunt they would help out.

 

[IdahoBugler]

Buzz,

That's great stuff right there. I have a question for you. How did you like the EL's compared to your SLC's. Worth the price difference? I'm thinking of a new pair of glass and handing my slc's down to my wife or boy. I may even keep the 10X's and by a pair of 15X's. To many dang decisions.

 

[BuzzH]

IB,

There is no difference in the quality of the glass, none. From there I think its just personal opinion on wanting the EL's vs. SLC's.

My decision on the SLC's was that they were a little more compact and I liked how they fit my hands. Once you make the decision to spend that kind of money, another couple hundred isnt a reason not to get what you like/want.

The EL's are definately lighter, but not much.

I dont think theres a bad decision to made there...I could use either one the rest of my life and never really have a legitmate reason to complain.

Upper deck,

I wouldnt be so sure...I think that keeping customers is pretty important in todays economy. There are a lot of options for binoculars out there, its a competitive market. I also think it makes a difference how you approach the situation. I wanted to say, "I cant believe I spent this kind of money on these things and they broke". Instead, I asked how the weather was, how the binocular business was, and chit-chatted a bit before I started talking about my broken binoculars...