Re: [Leica] Lieca QC--a joke?

["Jim Laurel" <JimLaurel@earthlink.net>]

Martin,
I wrote the message that seemed to kick off this most recent rash of QC
threads.  While I agree that some people get a little carried away in those
discussions, the fact remains that for some reason a fair amount of
defective M6s seem to be making thier way to dealer shelves.  I was really
surprised to see all the comments about misaligned RFs on new bodies!

I don't think that demanding precision from a high-end product such as the
Leica is unreasonable.  It's true that paying a high price for a product
doesn't make one immune from manufacturing defects, or shipping damage.  But
as a legendary producer of fine equipment that touts quality of design and
construction above all else (and charges for it), Leica should hold itself
to a higher standard than the mass producers.

The unfortunate truth is that Leica no longer has the wherewithal to support
the majority of working professionals.  The customer base is increasingly
made up of wealthy amateurs, who have little tolerance for the kind of
initial quality problems and glacial repair times we're seeing.

A few posters commented that the reason for the long repair turn around
times is the limited number of people on staff to do the work.  Know what?
Not the customer's problem.  Six to 9 months is just too long for a lens to
be in the shop, period.  Either they need to improve QC or deal with the
defective/misaligned products quickly.  You shouldn't have to write letters
to the CEO of a company just to get a new product serviced under warranty in
a reasonable timeframe.

- --Jim Laurel

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Howard" <howard.390@osu.edu>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2000 3:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Lieca QC--a joke?


> Summicron1@aol.com jotted down the following:
>
> > And just how does this have anything to do with the quality of the lens?
> > Really, did I miss something here?
>
> I wrote the initial "Leica QC" message to the LUG as a comment of the
other
> Leica QC threads that kept on popping up.  I'm was getting pretty sick of
> the simple-minded, counter-factual reasoning that goes on in these Leica
QC
> threads, so I wrote this as a humorous take on the whole situation.  I'm
> still convinced that Leica owners, by and large, spend waaaay too much
time
> fussing over their equipment instead of just dealing with any problems
> (which anything manufactured has) and taking pictures.
>
> I mean, it's no more unreasonable to think that spending an absurd amount
of
> money on a camera/lens is going to make you immune to manufacturing/
> packaging/shipping/or any other kind of failure, than it is to
> assume that spending the same absurd amount of money on a camera/lens is
> going to make you a brilliant photographer.
>
> My apologies to Vick Ko: while the initial joke was made funnier by the
fact
> that he rose to the bait, I feel that I may have inadvertantly made him
look
> bad publicly.  That was never my intention to anyone.
>
> M.
>
> --
> Martin Howard                     | eVolving      eMergent     eThereal
> Visiting Scholar, CSEL, OSU       | eNthusiasm    eVanescent   ePhemeral
> email: howard.390@osu.edu         | eFficacious   eMbryolic    ePochal
> www: http://mvhoward.i.am/        +---------------------------------------
>
>