My advice- - find yourself a Swarovski so you can quit worrying about customer service.
This really isn’t helpful and doesn’t reflect reality. But since this kind of SW worship is often posted here on Rokslide its is easy to understand why FNGs begin parroting this theme. Scopes/binos/spotters are all fairly complex devices with some very fragile elements and moving parts that must maintain precise alignment to operate as designed. Some also add electronics that make matters even more complex. Depending on how many, how often, and the environments one uses them in, something will eventually fail. Yes, even Swarovski.
Personally, I’ve had mixed results on repair requests submitted to the Big 3. To sum up my CS experience over the decades:
Zeiss - Overall, very good. Had riflescopes that shifted zero - repaired without issue or cost and once fixed, stayed fixed. Had an ancient Diavari Bino with a worn out main hinge. The warranty was long-expired, yet the fixed it and rebuilt the glass at no cost. Only downside was they had to send it to Germany and it took a while.
Swarovski - Extremely good or extremely bad. I bought a new/old-stock SLC binocular that obviously had an issue with the focuser. Sent to SW and they found it had a damaged hinge which was causing misalignment and binding. Under warranty, so they repaired at no cost. My mistake was honestly filling out the CS survey after the repair - the repair was fine, but communication was terrible and my inquiries were left unanswered. Was forcefully harassed by the CS manager as he did not agree and even suggested that I was “lucky” to have gotten service. Also had a SW Riflescope that failed from the very start - started by internal fogging first day at the range, then continued shifting zero. Gave me the 3rd degree and suggested it had been damaged. They fixed it, but made me pay for the repair. After repair, began shifting zero again. Gave up on it until I was having a custom rifle built and builder with a professional relationship with SW offered to send it in for repair as part of the build. They did, and it finally got fixed. But, I’m not alone in issues with SW CS and items sent in staying fixed. Just do a thorough search of the LR shooting section and SW scopes.
Leica - years ago = horrible; today = excellent. Currently, they have the most comprehensive warranty for new optics bought in the USA. That said, had my worst CS experience ever on a Trinovid that was send in during the late 1990s. Focuser broke and took a whole year to get it back. The repair was fine, but CS acted like they were doing me a favor through the entire process. However, the company has since rededicated itself to CS. Had an old CRF rangefinder that had seen a lot of miles of rough road and was long out of warranty. It finally failed and was not working at all. Sent it in and they replaced it very quickly and free of charge.
All of the above said. Rangefinders are a bit of different ballgame for optics companies, as they can repair optics completely in-house. Leica has been doing RFs the longest and I really like their CRFs. But most of the electronics are manufactured by 3rd parties. So, there is limited opportunity for electronics repair, therefore the warranties on that portion of the device is shorter. I’ve certainly seen more of them replaced than repaired. So, yes there is a bigger risk in buying a used rangefinding device than a binocular. IME Leica is no less likely to stand behind their RF product than Zeiss or Swarovski.
