About DAG camera

[alanalan]

Hello,
I sent camera to DAG for repair, last email was early Dec. 2009, Don received it, but it's been 2-1/2 month, did not get reply of my emails, I tried call, but line is always sounds busy. I guess he must be busy or sth.
Have anyone get contact with him recently? just wondering if that is normal, I will keep waiting for a little longer.

Thank you

 

[splitimageview]

It's normal. He's always swamped.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Yes, it can sometimes take many months. No need to worry.

 

[__hh]

I have recently had correspondences with Don regarding spare parts. I have found that he has been very responsive to my email enquiries (e.g. replies within minutes of my email).

 

[Shac]

Try phoning him - he usually answers

 

[fbf]

well, xmas is bad timing to send anything for repair. I called him a while back and he said he was swamped by the orders from xmas (alone).

 

[wjlapier]

Reminded me to call about my lens he's had since...

He's incredibly swamped right now he said. What I need done requires a large chunk of his time and he's having a difficulty finding that amount of time.

 

[alanalan]

Thanks everyone, I will keep waiting.
I did tried call him, but all got busy line, maybe bad luck. And during another repair early last year, he was very responsive to my emails. but this time totally not, so was a little confused.

Thanks again.

 

[cmdrzed]

Don't worry. He will work his magic in due time.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I have sent items to him and then forget about them for, say, 4 months at a time. He usually gets back to you after you e-mail him courteously, inquiring about your order.

If you have done it already and he hasn't replied... just wait, he'll eventually do it.

I believe his work is worth the wait.

 

[Platinum RF]

He usually does not response about inquery how is the status of repair, but inquery about parts or repair has not send. Repair can take up to 9 months, as my case of M3. If you need it fast send to Essex, they are fast and did good job on my IIIf. I sent two M6/3, they send back to me and said caemra work fine they can not make them beeter, only charge shipping fee.

 

[oldoc]

Don is great, very deliberate in his explanations (and, so I assume, in his other work, and his product is superb. He has answered any time I have called. Try in the morning about 9 local time, or 3:30-4.

 

[wgerrard]

Let me be a bit of a devil's advocate here and ask why it takes so long to get a Leica serviced.

Are people like DAG and Sherry that much busier than people like John Hermanson? Is a Leica that much more difficult and time consuming to clean, lubricate and adjust? Do they have hundreds of items in their queues?

I can send an Oly to CamTech, pay the "rush" fee and have it back within one or two weeks.

Are Leica owners more fetishistic about their cameras, sending them in for work whether they need it or not?

Are Leica repairs delayed because parts are becoming difficult to find?

Should a repair person be expected to take the initiative to tell the customer that repairs will take longer than promised?

 

[splitimageview]

Yes to all, except the 2nd to last.

I sent a Pen to John Hermanson, he promised 4-6 weeks, but he's busier than expected, too. He isn't close to that turnaround.

Quality is hard to find.

 

[lic4]

I just got an email from DAG yesterday. Yes he takes a long time, but he also does a lot of quality cross checking on everything he fixes. I've never had to send anything back to him to re-do, which I've had to do with other repairmen or women.

 

[zleica]

He has been always answering his phone. Try to call him.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

In some cases, like a light leak, and unless you send him prints or slides, Don has to test the camera to see where the problem appears. That means, he loads it with film, takes it out, takes some snapshots, get them developed, examines the negatives or prints and then sits down to work.

If, in addition to this camera, he has a few more in waiting... it's going to take him some time. I guess he may have an assistant to pack, classify, inventory and ship stuff back, or else, it's a one-man's band, which is, in turn, pretty heavy work.

Then, I only send him stuff I wouldn't ship to Sherry, whose work is quick, especially when it comes to routine stuff (like CLAs and adjustments). She won't take the time to do other fancy things like Don does, because she likes to keep her pace.

 

[payasam]

Don spoke of having an assistant.

 

[Harry Lime]

Pretty normal. Over the years Don has sometimes had my cameras for 2-4 months...
He will also take a short vacation here and there and then obviously can't answer emails.

A while back I heard that he was training a relative or someone else to help in the shop, but I can't verify this to be true. I hope it is true, because he certainly could use the help and all that knowledge should be passed along. I think Sherry K at Golden Touch is doing a similar thing.