In light of all the negative press Nikon has received recently with respect to the D600/D800, I thought I'd share some positive feedback with respect to Nikon Switzerland.
During the past 3 months I have requested the following repairs:
- non-functioning MH-25 charger - replaced "free of charge" under warranty within 3 days (pun intended, sorry...)
- D800 metering and general check (including sensor cleaning that I expected to pay). Returned within 10 days - no charge.
- 300 2.8 VR2 - broken tripod ring, replaced at my cost (expected). I was told that it would take 2-3 weeks to get the part and complete the repair. The repair was completed on time.
For nos. 2 & 3 I received an login code to track each repair/service on nikonrepair.net - which was accurate and updated via SMS text message for important stages of the repair process (reception of goods, estimate of repair, estimate approved, repair completed, etc).
Generally speaking, email to their service team is answered within a few hours on working days, which I think is extremely fast.
An anecdote related to point no. 3 – At the start of shooting the Diamond League Track meet in Lausanne last month I noticed that the tripod ring on the 300 2.8 had a significant crack in it. I was accredited for the event and NPS Swiss had a booth in the press tent. These guys were fantastic… I wasn't NPS at the time, yet they still offered me my choice of a tele for the day (300 / 400 / 500 / 600 or 200-400). I chose the 300 since my tripod foot is RRS and I had planned the evening with my lens and monopod (RRS head) … plus I didn't want to lug around anything heavier. They did the foot swap for me and gave me the loaner for the evening - they definitely saved my evening of shooting, at least partially.
Attached is a pic of the what was included with my repaired 300 when it arrived. Perks of living in the land of chocolate! [photo of a chocolate bar was attached] (tb)