How good is Zeiss' customer service? Let's find out.

[Rogue Ram]

Less than a year ago my "office" purchased several Zeiss Diafun 8X30 binoculars; we also purchased several Steiner Military/Marine 10X50s.

I have not been impressed with the set of Zeiss' I was issued...they are too difficult to focus, and I attributed this to the fact they don't have the Steiner's individual eyepieces.

Last weekend, a piece of cheap plastic covering the objective ends of the Zeiss' came off......way too easily. I could be wrong, but this leads me to believe these things are not nitrogen purged nor sealed to withstand much abuse. On top of that, they began rattling.......one of the lenses inside (my terminology may be wrong, forgive me) is loose and moving. The binocs weren't dropped nor abused.

I called Zeiss; they had me ship them to their Virginia facility for repair or replacement. I did that today, 8/1. We'll see what they do and how fast they do it. We'll also see if this accounts for the difficulty in focusing.

I will say that I own a pair of Steiners we can't normally get here in the US (12 years now) and they have been the most awesome pair of glasses I've used to date. The other Zeiss' in the office appear dirty on the inside, none of the Steiners have had issues except with the rubber eyecups coming off.

I'll post back the results...they said 2-3 day turnaround, with replacement being the usual result.

 

RR

[Redhawk1]

I have a pair of Zeiss Diafun 8X30 binoculars. They have been hunting with me all over for the past 2 years. They went to Alaska and performed will in the cold, rain and snow. I don't have a bit of problem with the focus. But I am sure they will take care of you with no problem.

[Dusty Miller]

I too would like to see how the high priced leader takes care of their customers.  Let us know.

[30-30man]

I hope it is better than Bushnells.  I have owned many different scopes and only had to return two of them.  One was a Simmons A-tec and the other a Bushnell.  The Simmons was replaced within two weeks.  The Bushnell....Well read my post.......Bushnell customer service is no service...They won't honor their warranties unless it is an Elite.

[moontroll]

I sent a Conquest in that I was having problems with,they sent me a brand new one took two weeks.

[Rogue Ram]

Its been a week, no confirmation its been delivered to them, no response. I'll give it till end of this week then call to see if they have it and what's up.  

Stay tuned.

 

RR

PS: Best friend and I both bought Conquests from Jon, so we are a little anxious here.  I have a hunch, which is, they'll just replace it. We'll see.

[Rogue Ram]

I thought this might happen. Replaced, not fixed, no questions asked. New pair came "new in the box".

Bad news: another pair in the office is doing the same thing.

Can't argue with the service. The quality might be another question. We'll see how they do with the next pair.

Just fyi

RR

 

[Redhawk1]

I think the quality of Zeiss is great and the service is great. Anything can happen to any product. That does not make it all bad. If they fixed or replace a defective item, I would say they stand behind there product.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

      I only have one question:-

Where were these Zeiss Binoulars made?

      I rather suspect that they are now German made but made elesewhere   I also seem to recall that Zeiss were now making some of their stuff in the US, is this true?

[Rogue Ram]

Good question! I'll see if I can find out. The box should tell me. I am sure I knew but just have forgotten.......I thought these were American made, but I'll check on Monday.

I personally own Steiner West German Army issue binocs. Our office has many pairs of the 10X50 military/marine (mine are nitrogen purged, the others aren't). At this stage of the game I definitelyprefer my Steiners......I am not even sure how you'd get a pair of Steiners apart. EDIT: one reason I prefer the Steiners are the individually adjustable eyepieces...these work way better for me.  The Zeiss' have like an end cap that can come off real easy, as mine did.  That and the fact another pair in the office has the lenses come loose inside makes me question the quality. Then again 2 of our Glocks ain't working right so maybe its something in the water!

Back at ya soon

RR

[Bigboar]

Took my son out to WY for a graduation present.  We were glassing a plateau some distance below us.  I think we were at ~9K ft. and the plateau was maybe ~7K ft..  While glassing I was picking out deer, bear and antelope out when my guide with his Zeiss's could not.  I did get to watch my son make a kneeling 350 yd shot on a nice 4 X 4 mule deer.  Great trip.

bigboar

[Redhawk1]

Took my son out to WY for a graduation present.  We were glassing a plateau some distance below us.  I think we were at ~9K ft. and the plateau was maybe ~7K ft..  While glassing I was picking out deer, bear and antelope out when my guide with his Zeiss's could not.  I did get to watch my son make a kneeling 350 yd shot on a nice 4 X 4 mule deer.  Great trip.

bigboar

Some stories are just not believable and this one is not.  :roll:

What were you using that was so superior to Zeiss?? I just have to know.  What Zeiss was he using? I have 2 pair of Zeiss bino's and both are extremely good optics and 2000 feet is not is not a great distance.  :?

[Grubbs]

Redhawk....you took the words right out of my mouth.

[Bigboar]

Took my son out to WY for a graduation present.  We were glassing a plateau some distance below us.  I think we were at ~9K ft. and the plateau was maybe ~7K ft..  While glassing I was picking out deer, bear and antelope out when my guide with his Zeiss's could not.  I did get to watch my son make a kneeling 350 yd shot on a nice 4 X 4 mule deer.  Great trip.

bigboar

Some stories are just not believable and this one is not.  :roll:

What were you using that was so superior to Zeiss?? I just have to know.  What Zeiss was he using? I have 2 pair of Zeiss bino's and both are extremely good optics and 2000 feet is not is not a great distance.  :?

Friend, I really don't know witch model he was using, but he agreed my Steiner 9 X 40's were superior to his in picking out game.  I think it may have been attributed to the coating's Steiner used on my bino's.  It made the brown coats stand out, it was like seeing everything in 3d.  So friend don't step in it.  Every thing stands as I described.

bigboar :evil:

Life member NRA
Life member NAHC
Life member INBPHC
GO-NH anual member

[Redhawk1]

Took my son out to WY for a graduation present.  We were glassing a plateau some distance below us.  I think we were at ~9K ft. and the plateau was maybe ~7K ft..  While glassing I was picking out deer, bear and antelope out when my guide with his Zeiss's could not.  I did get to watch my son make a kneeling 350 yd shot on a nice 4 X 4 mule deer.  Great trip.

bigboar

Some stories are just not believable and this one is not.  :roll:

What were you using that was so superior to Zeiss?? I just have to know.  What Zeiss was he using? I have 2 pair of Zeiss bino's and both are extremely good optics and 2000 feet is not is not a great distance.  :?

Friend, I really don't know witch model he was using, but he agreed my Steiner 9 X 40's were superior to his in picking out game.  I think it may have been attributed to the coating's Steiner used on my bino's.  It made the brown coats stand out, it was like seeing everything in 3d.  So friend don't step in it.  Every thing stands as I described.

bigboar :evil:

Life member NRA
Life member NAHC
Life member INBPHC
GO-NH anual member

Not to get you upset or anything, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

I would not put Steiner bino's in the same class as Zeiss. I have done extensive research and lots of looking through all brands of bino's and before I spent the money on my Zeiss Victory FL 8X42mm, I made sure I was getting the best quality for my money. Even my Zeiss Diafun 8X30mm were better than most of the bino's I looked at. I don't know how you can compare a pair of Big horn 9X40mm to any of Zeiss's optics. Most guides I know have some top of the line optics, it is there job to spot game.  
But if they work for you and you believe that they are better than Zeiss, more power to ya!   :-D

[Grubbs]

Redhawk, even though I am a huge Leica fan, I understand the FL's to be fantastic.  Did you look through the Ultravids and the FL's?  How do they compare?  Just curious.   I haven't personally looked through either.

[Redhawk1]

Redhawk, even though I am a huge Leica fan, I understand the FL's to be fantastic.  Did you look through the Ultravids and the FL's?  How do they compare?  Just curious.   I haven't personally looked through either.

I did indeed look through a pair of Leica Ultravids 8X42's. One of the guys that goes to the same taxidermist as I do, has a pair.  I think they are very very close in comparison. But we did notice, we had a little bigger field of view with the Zeiss. But I would not be dissatisfied with either, I just chose the Zeiss FL's because I have had great success with Zeiss bino's already.

[Ramrod]

I have those Zeiss Diafun 8X30 binoculars, and they have much better resolution than many 10x40s I have looked through. Nothing looks like it would fall off, unless maybe I threw them against a wall a few times. Yesterday I was out on my deck, glassing the woodline across the road, about 400 yards away. In between, just about half way, I could see my neighbor's bees flying back and forth to the hives, just as sharp and in focus as the woodline. I was quite impressed!