I am slightly in chock and very very angry....
Just called Nikon Sweden to check the approximate cost to change the front elements of the lenses 85G/1,4 and 300G/2.8....
Back in 2010 or there about I made a similar call to a service facility called "Lasses" in Stockholm that were also authorized by Nikon to service their products. My 300G was new at the time, and I just wanted to find out the cost if I accidentally were to scratch the front element, I just wanted to know how careful I needed to be in harsh environment perhaps by the shore with lots of sand grains in the wind etc.
Don´t remember what approximate cost "Lasse" told me, but I remember it wasn´t really that expensive considering the cost of the lens, or for that matter, the theoretical cost of a high performance UV-filter big enough to fit that lens, if there had been one on the market. So, just use the lens even in really bad weather and be happy, I told myself.
As I am now planning some new photography in potentiella "sandy" environments I was thinking, better check up on those prices again... How careful do I need to be.... So I called Nikon Sweden this time as "Lasses" has retired.
They tell me that I have to send the lenses to Nikon to get a cost estimate.
So I try to explain that my lenses are fine, it´s just "risk assessment" on my part as I am planning some "dirty" work, and I stress over and over again that I just want an approximate price, not any formal offer, just the typical cost for such repair, changing the front element and nothing more.
We can´t give you a price without inspecting the lenses first, you have to send the gear to Nikon, they tell me.
So again I say - and now I am starting to get pissed off, to put it mildly - speaking really slow, that IT WILL NOT HELP YOU TO INSPECT THE LENSES SINCE THEY ARE FINE and that it´s just an approximate cost I need etc...
So then I am told that only the service personal could give such an estimate. Ahhh, I think, maybe the person I was talking to just had a hard time understanding my accent, or something, so I ask if perhaps I could speak to the appropriate service personal instead.
She puts me on hold to go and ask someone about the issue, and when she returs she says:
You have to send the gear to Nikon, we cannot give you an estimate over the phone.
The person I speak to says she understands my problem, but they cannot give me any kind of estimate of the cost for changing a front element until I actually need to change the element... their is nothing more she can do...
Well, with a deep red face, probably, voice slightly trembling with anger, I say something like it´s good to know I should not buy any more stuff from Nikon, and as I turn the phone off I hear her say "have I good day"....
AAAAAARG
After a few minutes, trying to cool down, I started wondering about the "the other company". Are they also stupid? Do they all behave like this? You know the one that starts with a "C".
So I check the internet for the closest C..... Service facility, seems to be in Gothenburg, and it takes about 3 - 4 minutes to learn that:
There is a fixed price for changing the front element of the C....... 85/1,2L - 2200 SEK (thats about 260 USD).
The fixed price for the latest C........ 300/2.8 is 4500 SEK (540 USD).
Prices are fixed if I accept them directly, otherwise I can also choose to send the lenses in for a cost estimate, a good alternative if there also is other damage to the lens.
Rapid respons, and fair prices, I think.
OK, writing about this has cooled me down a little, but frankly, it is really reasonable to keep a fairly standard type of service as some kind av secret? It means that Nikon can charge me anything they like to fix a potential scratch on my 300. Do they know the meaning av "customer support"?
I have been thinking of getting a fixed wide angle lens for some time, perhaps the 24/1,4, or the 14-24, however this phone call has put me off completely, especially regarding the 14-24 it would be good to know the cost for changing that huge front element...
/Johan
