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Does any body out there know of someone that repairs binoculars? I am fuming right now. I bought a really nice pair of older Japanese Bausch and Lomb high end (Discoverer) binoculars. These were 7x24 compact, armored and waterproof binocs. Perfectly clear; diopter adjustment and center focus working perfectly. The only problem was the eyecups were distorted and when I called Bushnell they said to send them in for an estimate. The sent me the estimate of $145 to repair so i said just return them. Well they arrived today and apparently they disassembled them. They are now completly out of collimation, the diopter adjustment is whack and I'm sure the nitrogen purge is gone. They list the repairs needed as eye cups, collimation, clean and purge. They also tore the eye cups off completely!
If any one knows of a reputable place to get repairs I'd appreciate it. Sending them back to Bushnell is a last resort.

That sounds like they began work before they offered you the estimate... I would have been all over them to fix what they screwed up. I think a very pointed phone discussion with a supervisor in customer service department will get that much done... and since you'll have to send them in again, you might negotiate a discount on the original repair.

Good luck!

flechero wrote:That sounds like they began work before they offered you the estimate... I would have been all over them to fix what they screwed up. I think a very pointed phone discussion with a supervisor in customer service department will get that much done... and since you'll have to send them in again, you might negotiate a discount on the original repair.

Good luck!

george wrote:Optics are pretty big in the marine industry. Since Galveston is a large port, there maybe a local place that would give you better service. Sorry, i don't know of any, just thinking. My uncle had a place there that repaired the optics on his sextant.

flechero, george, Thanks to you both. I called Bushnell and I'm waiting for a call back from a supervisor. I forgot to mention in my post that they shipped the binocs back loose in a box with no packing other than 6, yes, 6 peanuts in the box. If they had been repaired they very well could have been damaged in shipping. The inspection list revealed the bad eye cups and that the collimation was off. I've been around optics and have two brothers in the photography business. One ran Skylark Camera in Houston for 25 years. Besides that my hunting buddy was a camera/optics rep for 40 years including rep for B&L/Bushnell. They looked through the binocs and if the collimation was off it would take an instrument to detect it. The customer service rep listed a litany of repairs the lab said needed to be made which she said indicated they arrived that way. Not true. I'll see what Jacob, the supervisor has to say. I found a place in Oklahoma I may try. There is an outfit called Land and Sea locally that I haven't called yet.

Got a call this morning from Jacob, repair supervisor at Bushnell. I gave him the details and he sent me a mailing label so he can personally examine the binocs. I'll update as I receive status from him.

I received a call Monday on my way to Fischer to await the birth of our sixth grand child and first grandson. The fellow that called, named Chris, was filling in for Jacob who was on vacation. He wanted to make sure he had the details and then said he'd get back to me after discussing with the Repair Manager. I received and email that they were making all necessary repairs and that the charge would be $40 for parts, including shipping. I'm very satisfied with the resolution and since I never expected to get repairs for free I'm happy to pay for them. I am waiting for them to arrive.

Glad to hear of their willingness to correct their customer service problem.

Glad they are taking care of you!

Jumping Frog wrote:Glad to hear of their willingness to correct their customer service problem.

flechero wrote:Glad they are taking care of you!

It's what I would have expected from B&L/Bushnell. Glad I followed the advice you all gave and called them. I usually don't stop at the first obstacle, but I was really frustrated and a little angry when the customer service rep told me the report was stone cold done deal.

Edit: Benn out of town a couple of days. Binocs were here when I got home and they look great. Gotta get busy writing a letter to commend the two guys from repair that took care of me.

Barbarians at the gate!

ELB wrote:Barbarians at the gate!

I’m assuming you reported the barbarian’s post, but will do so myself just to make sure.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

ELB wrote:Barbarians at the gate!

I’m assuming you reported the barbarian’s post, but will do so myself just to make sure.

Yes I did, but I was not the first.

The funny thing is I missed this thread when it went up years ago, but found it an interesting read.

ELB wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

ELB wrote:Barbarians at the gate!

I’m assuming you reported the barbarian’s post, but will do so myself just to make sure.

Yes I did, but I was not the first.

Carlson must be taking a big ol’ nap.

Hope they take care of your problem. Due to past warranty issues with Bushnell and their horrific customer service I refuse to do business with them. Your situation is different since it’s an older B&L.

mrvmax wrote:Hope they take care of your problem. Due to past warranty issues with Bushnell and their horrific customer service I refuse to do business with them. Your situation is different since it’s an older B&L.

Please look at the date on the posts before blindly replying. This topic is from 2013.

Keith B wrote:

mrvmax wrote:Hope they take care of your problem. Due to past warranty issues with Bushnell and their horrific customer service I refuse to do business with them. Your situation is different since it’s an older B&L.

Please look at the date on the posts before blindly replying. This topic is from 2013.

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

Sorry, Keith I couldn't resist