Rollei Service

[David K]

Anyone have any experience with them that they'd care to share. I sent them an email before shipping a lens in for repair, they answered immediately... likewise to a follow up question. Now I can't seem to get a response to my emails. If anyone has a specific contact there I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

They are good, fast and expensive. They usually send the item back out either the day after they receive it, or a day later. Their repair fees are pretty high, but in my experience they are quick and thorough. Their address and number is here: http://www.repairstatus.net/r00018/
The man who does most of the service is named Onick. He is from the former Soviet Union somewhere, but I don't think he is Russian...Just give them a call and they should help you.

 

[David K]

Thanks Stuart, but I was asking about Rollei service in Germany. I sent my lens to Onick and Carmen (his boss) decided they didn't want to handle the repair and I should send it to Germany. Cost me $100 bucks in shipping to find this out

 

[Stuart Richardson]

They can't send it for you? What lens is it, and what is wrong with it?

 

[David K]

They didn't want to get in the middle of it. This is the 55mm PCS that was damaged in transit from Hong Kong. It's probably just one of the spring adjustment knobs and some cosmetic damage to the lens barrel but I thought it would be prudent to make sure none of the lens elements shifted internally. According to the USPS website they attempted delivery on July 8th and I'm not getting an answer to my emails asking Rollei for a status report. I'll probably try calling them tomorrow but it would be nice to ask for someone by name.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Well, this is a long shot, but if you really can't find anyone, the medium format digital guy at Fotocare (sorry, I can't find his card) told me that he knew one of the Heidecke family I think...either a Heidecke or a Franke! He might be able to tell you who to ask for. But who did you send it to? Because there are a few Rollei's at this point -- Franke and Heidecke would be the people to send it to. There is a Rollei, but they only deal with compact cameras.

The other person who would probably know is Erik de Goederen. He is a Dutch photographer who knows more about the Rollei system than anyone else I have ever met. His website is here: http://www.scanhancer.com/
I am sure he would be happy to help you. He is Erik de G on photo.net.

 

[FromJapan]

They didn't want to get in the middle of it.

This is pretty strange behaviour for a professional camera manufacturer. It's not like Canon or Nikon with millions of cameras and issues with grey imports. They could have sent it on to the right person/department at Rollei with a note to say what the problem appeared to be and billed you for the shipping. Or at least given you a proper name/department/address to ship to.

Cheers,
Kumar

 

[David K]

Sent here:
Franke & Heidecke GmbH
Feinmechanik und Optik
Salzdahlumer Str. 196
38126 Braunschweig
Telefon (0531) 68 00 318

Hans Hartje was the fellow who responded to my first two inquiries. Maybe they're on vacation ?

 

[ddk]

Sent here:
Franke & Heidecke GmbH
Feinmechanik und Optik
Salzdahlumer Str. 196
38126 Braunschweig
Telefon (0531) 68 00 318

Hans Hartje was the fellow who responded to my first two inquiries. Maybe they're on vacation ?

You might be getting them during their holidays, many European firms close from mid July to nearly end of August.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Hmm. He is listed as one of the CEO's on their website, so it seems like you got their attention! This time of year is tough in Europe...everyone takes tons of time off.

 

[FromJapan]

Do Europeans lock up the whole company for summer?? Also look at the German Post Office site if they have any informaion. In my experience the USPS site doesn't get updated as quickly as Japan Post, so I too have faced this problem. Or they might be holding it. If you speak German, you might ask the specific post office directly.

Cheers,
Kumar

 

[ddk]

Do Europeans lock up the whole company for summer?? Also look at the German Post Office site if they have any informaion. In my experience the USPS site doesn't get updated as quickly as Japan Post, so I too have faced this problem. Or they might be holding it. If you speak German, you might ask the specific post office directly.

Cheers,
Kumar

I don't know about Rollei but yes, many do close completely for the summer holidays.

 

[David K]

Thanks to all for the responses. I have no real concerns about dealing with this extremely reputable company. It's likely I've caught them at a slow time and as always, I'm anxious to get it fixed and back to me in a New York second...

 

[yaya]

David,

Reiner Schoenrock is heading the service dept. at F&H and is always vey attentive and helpful.

[email protected]
T: +49-171-6800293

Same address as Hans Hartje's

Good luck

Yair

 

[Theo]

I don't know about Rollei but yes, many do close completely for the summer holidays.

Yes it is true: over here in Europe the majority work about 10.5 months a year and the rest is paid vacations, free afternoons etc...

This is caused by the fact that many European businesses pay ridiculous taxes for their employees, so the fashion over here is reward over-hours with free days; because extra hours are taxed at more than 70% in many cases. So often enough, this means people are not at their desks full time, (out when you call, in the next day when you can't reach them because of your own schedule) or they save the free days up and then take extended vacations.

Add to that the special holidays in winter and spring and you have even more gaps in the schedule! I have lived in Europe more than 35 years now, owned a few small companies here, and I still don't understand how anything gets done and how companies in Europe are even able to make profits

Vacations just stared the 15th July. So you will need to be patient.
Also F&H are a small company- in my personal experience basically friendly and fast in general, but occasionally they might need some repeated telephone contact if something is complicated or requires further clarification. Good luck with your repair in any case!
Ciao,
Theo

 

[David K]

Yair, thanks for Reiner's contact information... I will drop him a line or phone him. Theo, I appreciate your response, it pretty much confirms what I suspect is the case. It's not that I mind waiting a bit longer, I'd just feel better knowing they actually have my lens in the repair department as opposed to it sitting in the post office over there.

 

[David K]

Finally got a response from F&H this morning thanks to some help from my friends at Sinar and they do have my lens in the repair department.

Yair, I did not get a response to my email to Rainer but someone did answer the phone at the number you provided. Unfortunately, I speak no German and he spoke no English

I don't know if the manufacturers read these forums but here's a suggestion. Sinar, and I'm sure many others, have an automated email system that responds on behalf of someone who is on vacation or otherwise out of the office and unavailable to respond. Obviously the automated response does not provide any information (other than when that person is expected back) but it does let you know that your email has not been ignored. This can't be a major thing to implement and every business should have it.

One more thing that might be of interest to those who ship items abroad. Despite the fact that my lens has been delivered, the USPS website DOES NOT reflect that fact. Something to keep in mind when selecting a carrier.