My experience regarding Bushnell binoculars was not a happy one. A few
years ago I purchased a pair of Bushnell Elite from a birding shop in
Melbourne. However there was something wrong with the focusing mechanism
and so I returned them for repair.
Several weeks later they were returned unrepaired. When I contacted the
shop I was told by a staff member that she had "looked" through the binos
and hadn't seen anything wrong, and so sent them back. Not knowing what
else to do I returned them asking that they be looked at by the relevant
agent.
Weeks later and well into my guiding season the binoculars still hadn't come
back. So I rang again only to be informed that a Tasco sales rep had just
had a look at my binos and concluded there really was something wrong with
them and they were to be repaired. I asked that postage and insurance be
refunded and was told in no uncertain terms that I had Buckleys.
Now I'm not particularly hard on binoculars, and these were relatively
expensive. But given my experience with the shop I didn't bother to
complain when within months of purchase bits began to fall off the
binoculars - a real shock considering the price of the binoculars. However,
I did warn my clients and friends not to purchase this particular brand of
binocular nor the shop. I believe that the shop is not in business any
more.
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
1/7 Songlark Street,
Bakewell, NT 0832
043 8650 835
On 27/12/12 10:01 PM, "John McGowan" <> wrote:
> My experience was, fortunately for me, quite the opposite Carl.
> One of the brackets that anchors the strap ends on my Bushnells broke and
> could only be repaired professionally. I took them back to Adelaide Optics in
> Adelaide where I had bought them and the shop dealt with Bushnell themselves.
> All I paid was the postage to/from Sydney and I had them back inside a
> couple of weeks. I bought both my bins and Kowa 'scope from them, but have
> no commercial interest.
> John McVictor Harbor
>
>> From:
>> Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:02:21 +1100
>> To:
>> CC:
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Steiner Binoculars - Customer Service
>>
>> Colin,
>>
>> Your experience is very much a reflection on the quality of service by
>> Steiner's Australian agents. Did the agents give any reason why they had not
>> forwarded the bins to Steiner in Germany?
>>
>> We are generally not well served by the agents for the majority of
>> distributors of optical gear in Australia. I use Pentax bins and 'scope. I
>> have never needed their service, as I have only damaged my bins and 'scope in
>> such a way as to make them irreparable. I have used them for camera repairs
>> where they worked wonders, but the results did not come cheaply. In the USA,
>> the agents for Pentax provide a repair or replace service costing USD19.95,
>> postage included, for all of their sports optics products. Quite a
>> difference.
>>
>> Returning goods to manufacturers o/s is rapidly becoming uneconomic, due to
>> Australia Post's increasing postage rates. I recently bought two books from
>> Book Depository in the UK, postage free. The books received a fair amount of
>> cosmetic damage. For me to return the books to the UK it would have cost me
>> $153.00. The books cost me $87.00. There is certainly a tyranny of distance
>> imposed on us in Australia
>>
>>
>>
>> On 27/12/2012, at 14:27, Colin R <> wrote:
>>
>>> 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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