I’m linking today to what’s called a long read. But this one isn’t just for photographers. Everyone should read this. America should read this. American businesses should read this. This is the way it’s done. This is the way we are supposed to do things here in America.
Gibson. Fender. Cadillac. Are you listening? I think some of you may be starting to.
I just bought a guitar amplifier from a boutique maker named Michael Swart. It’s the Swart Space Tone Tremelo model. I’ve heard, but don’t hold my words to be legally binding, that Michael Swart will fix any of his amplifiers that come back to him, no matter if they’ve been resold. Is this perfectly true in all cases? I don’t know. But the story is out there because this is what people who have experience with him are saying. He doesn’t give a fuck who owns the amp now! It’s got his name on it, it’s broke, it’s in front of him, he’s fixing it.
Booyah! (R.I.P. Stuart Scott) That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Leica. Leica is the mother of all boutique brands. That Leica would react to a situation like this — with the expense of the items involved — is breathtaking. Booyah on you, Leica! This is the kind of story that makes me proud to be a human being. Proud that we all evolved from the primordial soup together. It doesn’t happen all that often but here it is.
How I lost my Leica equipment and what happened next – Witold Riedel
The following story has some parts that might feel a bit strange to some, and yet will feel completely familiar to others. I guess that’s how stories go. When reading it, some will dislike me for some of the facts, while others will be able to relate and feel that what happened was not exactly easy. The story is true. And it has something to do with my cameras; with my M Leicas.
via Witold Riedel › Notes › How I lost my Leica equipment and what happened next..
50'Lux 
Interesting story.
Stunning. As someone said in the comments to the original article… it almost brought tears to my eyes. I was right there. Anyway… thank you for commenting.
Quite a tale. It’s good to see Leica taking a positive part in resolving the mess. I’ve sadly had similar experiences with UPS (although never with anything quite as valuable as all that, thankfully!) that didn’t work out quite the same.
It’s scary, Godfrey. But Leica really was heroic. What an example they set.
I’ve heard of other Leica users losing the same amount of gear or more, and never receiving that response — not even from their insurance company. I guess it’s all in being the proverbial squeaky wheel…
Well… that’s an extraordinary response. Replacing $20K plus worth of gear. But Leica set the shipping process for their customer… I guess that was the thinking and the case made by the photographer… if they had indeed told me how to ship or dictated the shipping and return procedure… then I would have argued this was on them and maybe that’s what this person did. Thanks for commenting!
That’s a valid point, though I wouldn’t have trusted to have the box picked up. I would have used the same shipping service, but I would have dropped it by their shipping location so I would have had a receipt in hand from the transaction.