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Steiner Binoculars - Customer Service

To:
Subject: Steiner Binoculars - Customer Service
From: Colin R <>
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:27:50 +1000
Hi All

I was keen to share my experiences with you regarding Steiner Binoculars
- some of you I am sure own or may be considering owning a pair.

(This is not an advertisement nor have I any personal interest in
Stenier Optik, apart from owing a pair of their Skyhawk bins.)

Last July the focusing wheel on my 2.5 year old Skyhawk 10 x 42
binoculars ceased to function. This was almost certainly due to a double
soaking we both received on a Mooloolaba pelagic earlier in the year. I
had thought all was OK, however, the mechanicsm shut down and the
binoculars were unuseable. 
I contacted Steiner in Germany via email and they promptly advised me to
send the binoculars to their agent in Victoria and that they would take
care of everything, i.e. send them to Germany for repair. This I
proceeded to do and, approximately 10 days later, received a phone call
from the agent who advised me they would be repaired under warranty  -
but it would take up to 3 months.
This I felt was acceptable, considering the damage and distance and so
patiently waited through the Winter and Spring relying on a smaller pair
of bins in the meantime.

In mid November - four months later - having heard nothing more, I
contacted the agent in Victoria.
Their advice? The binoculars were still in Victoria! They had not been
forwarded to Germany as promised. They might be able to get them out
'this year'.
Their suggestion? Email Steiner myself and tell them what had happened.

You're probably thinking what I was thinking - What The......?
Anyway, I did and, following a couple of interchanges and a few weeks
delay, rec'd, just in time for Christmas, a brand new pair of Skyhawk
Pro 10 x 42s.

Steiner were very apologetic and appeared quite embarassed by their
agent's behaviour. I guess it's easy to say 'well, they should have
replaced them of course', however, it was not their direct
responsibility, they didn't even know about it until November - it was a
complete failure on the part of the agent.
I was impressed with their professionalism and their approach to
delivering the kind of customer service I would have expected in the
first place.

It is nice to know that when it hits the fan there are companies out
there who will support genuine customer issues and respond accordingly.
And my (obvious) final advice? If you do encounter a problem with your
Steiner's - don't send them to the agent, send them straight to Germany
yourself!

Cheers
-- 
  Colin Reid
  
So many birds, so little time......

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - The professional email service

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