An incredible Leica story

That's pretty impressive, but maybe it's the heat in Australia right now, but am I reading this correctly? Did he actually get a free replacement M9-P, Monochrom and Noctilux from Leica?
 
Nothing to be impressed.
Leica is responsible for guys cameras and lens lost and they have cover the damage.
The sad is that it took so long.
 
How is Leica responsible? UPS was. They picked it up (it was in their system) and never delivered at the destination. It was in their possession when it got lost, so, UPS is responsible.

As the blogger wasn't the sender nor the recipient (that was Leica apparently as they send him the paperwork) he never got reimbursed, but Leica was and with that money they got him new cameras and lens. Still good service imho.

At first I was "worried" that Leica just gave him new stuff, but then I realized UPS probably (partly) paid Leica USA.
 
I won't use UPS in this area (Phila) they have been beyond horrible and rude to boot. USPS has been the best followed by a distant second FedX. Agree its UPS here and Leica did not have to step up.... try that with Canon and see what happens.
 
Leica has ordered for UPS and requested customer to use it.
From customer point of view he is dealing with Leica only.
Why should customer be bothered if UPS lost it?
 
At one point, as I was reading the story, I was about to suggest to the OP to become a writer.
 
ray*j*gun said:
I won't use UPS in this area (Phila) they have been beyond horrible and rude to boot. USPS has been the best followed by a distant second FedX. Agree its UPS here and Leica did not have to step up.... try that with Canon and see what happens.
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My experience with UPS is that they suck.
They leave packages on the front step, out in the open in the rain, right below the sign on my door that says "Please put packages in the breezway".

USPS priority mail has worked extremely well for me, coming and going.
 
The whole problem with the story is the use of UPS.
I have found that the US Postal system priority mail is actually the best choice.
 
bravo! whatever the particulars, i was thrilled that the gear was replaced. classy move Leica.

UPS is a pariah up here in Canada. numerous class action law suits against them and few people i know would use them. curious how they manage to stay in business.

anyhow, classy move leica!
 
Leica like most companies probably carry their own insurance policy on shipments rather than use the carriers over priced insurance. In that case Leica was responsible. I know many companies self insure in that way.
 
Vobluda said:
Leica has ordered for UPS and requested customer to use it.
From customer point of view he is dealing with Leica only.
Why should customer be bothered if UPS lost it?[/quot

I agree HOWEVER I do not believe that would automatically elicit the response made by Leica......ESP getting a replacement camera set up the way the OP's was....don't belittle the extra effort Leica made just because they offered that free shipping. Also the customer could very easily been handed off to UPS for a claim..... try that some time if you want to cry.
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This is a marketing lesson (a long read, I agree).

For the price of those cameras and lens (seems like a lot to an individual, but not for Leica as a company), they get free adoring publication.

Credits where credits are due, Leica seems to have the good combination of passionate and smart.
 
jsrockit said:
It's funny, but I never have an issue with UPS... the USPS is a lot worse for me.
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I've had no problems with USPS in the past several years at least. Both UPS and FedEx have provided their share of "entertainment" ... although rare compared to the number of packages going and coming, it has happened. Nobody's perfect. ;-)

I don't know how 'incredible' this Leica story is. However, it's good that the tale ended on a positive note, and regardless of whether Leica gave him new equipment out of their own pocker or were compensated for it by their insurance and/or UPS, it's good to see that they got involved on his behalf in an expedient fashion and corrected the situation.

Losing $20,000+ worth of camera gear due to a shipping error would certainly ruin my day, and recovering it through litigation and such would extend the ruin to weeks or months...

G
 
x-ray said:
Leica like most companies probably carry their own insurance policy on shipments rather than use the carriers over priced insurance. In that case Leica was responsible. I know many companies self insure in that way.
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A luxury brand would certainly be self-insured or use supplementary insurance in order to protect their reputation. It's even possible Leica's contract with UPS includes full insurance.

I would never ship times as expensive as a "M9-P, Monochrom and Noctilux" without full insurance coverage.

At any rate the however Leica happened to cover the loss, they certainly acted in both their and the customers best interests.
 
Hmm.

Am I wrong to think that he should have been compensated much earlier, and without him having to write a letter?

As for USPS/UPS/Fedex, after thousands of shipments over the past few years, I have found they are all extremely efficient. Lost packages are extremely rare with any of them.

The difference is the level of customer service/support one receives when there is a problem.

Fedex gets an A in this regard; UPS, a B-, and USPS an F.
 
UPS was definitely at fault, and Leica could recover money from them since they were the shipper and the receiver. I have found, when shipping cameras, UPS and FedEx will fight you tooth and nail if they lose your package, and it's nearly impossible to collect from them, even if you paid them for insurance on the package. They will pay off their corporate shippers (which maybe Leica is one of), but they won't pay off individuals. So I will no longer ship with UPS or FedEx. I have had great luck with USPS and have used them for years, and whenever there is a claim, they make good on it.

I think it's cool he got a new set of cameras and a lens, and I didn't know Carmen had retired from Leica NJ, I was told she left and went to work somewhere else. She was always very good to deal with and was a great ambassador for Leica.
 
ray*j*gun said:
I won't use UPS in this area (Phila) they have been beyond horrible and rude to boot. USPS has been the best followed by a distant second FedX. Agree its UPS here and Leica did not have to step up.... try that with Canon and see what happens.
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UPS in St. Louis has not ben rude, nor have they damaged anything of mine, but I seldom use them for a different reason. They won't insure anything unless they pack it--and they charge a lot for doing that. USPS will insure a shipment that I have packed. The strange part about it is that UPS won't insure anything I bring in already packed, even though I have packed it in the manufacturer's original carton!

I agree Fedex is better than UPS. And Fedex and USPS both deliver on Saturday, which UPS does not.
 
splitimageview said:
The difference is the level of customer service/support one receives when there is a problem.

Fedex gets an A in this regard; UPS, a B-, and USPS an F.
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I have to jump in here and say the exact opposite. I've shipped/been shipped thousands of packages in the last few years, and FedEx doesn't even deserve an F. No one cares to read what would be an essay about my problems with FedEx, but they are absolutely terrible, while USPS is fantastic. UPS is just okay, but they do damage more than their fair share of packages.

I did make FedEx pay up a large ($$$$) insurance claim after threatening litigation, due to a custom camera they destroyed in shipping.
 
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