Where is DAG?

[jfujita]

Has anybody communicated with Don recently? I still havent heard back from him in 2 weeks regarding repairs that he received almost 2 months ago.

[Harry Lime]

He may be on vacation. This seems to happen about once a year.

[mr_phillip]

I was talking to him last week. Didn't mention any vacation.

[Rayt]

He is very busy and doesn't always answer e-mails. If you call him he will pick up if he is in.

[Hacker]

Originally Posted by ErikFive

He should hire an assistant that answers his phone for two or three hours every weekday.

I got an email from Don today: "Yes, I received your Canon 0.95/50mm lens 2 days ago & my secretary wrote your lens up today so it's ready to get repaired, hopefully in a week's time or so".

It was delivered on 29 May according to the tracking number.

[Flinor]

I just got my RD-1 and a Nikon 50 1.4 LTM back today after abouy three months. It took a couple of emails befor he responded. but when he did he shipped quickly.

[digitalintrigue]

He's had some of my stuff since mid-March, and promised to get it to me by today, prior to my vacation. It did not arrive...and he's not answering emails, best to call him.

[Athos6]

I got my stuff today, an M2 he's had for about ~3 months. I felt bad because I sent him a curt email right before he finished the work. Works great, and he even patched a tiny piece of vulcanite without being asked.

[kipkeston]

He had my 6 until I informed him I wanted to walk (graduate) with it. He got it back promptly after that. He's DAG so what're you going to do ya know

[gdi]

He just emailed me yesterday stating that he had completed a repair for me - I sent the money and he got back to me last night saying he will ship it out today. He had it a little over three weeks - not bad from my perspective.

[anoldsock]

Honestly, I don't see why people keep going to Don...sure he does a great job, but he off sets his skills with poor communications and long turn around times. this shouldn't be acceptable. Imagine getting an oil change or a tune up on your car that takes 6 months. Sure he's busy, but at some point you gotta cut the excuses. Maybe I'm cynical....

[awilder]

My understanding from Don is that he's been swamped for the last few years. The added work from a continuous flood of lenses for back focus adjustments due to the M8 has made a bad situation even worse. Sometimes it helps to call ahead if the job is a priority. The other option is to try Sherry Krauter. Her turnaround is a few weeks instead of a few months.

[digitalintrigue]

I'm pretty patient, but what I don't understand is on May 14 (right at the two month mark) he said he had looked at it, and expected it to be done by the next day.

I then emailed him a couple of times (no reply) and then called him, and he promised to get it back to me by yesterday. He also apologized for not replying to previous emails (unprompted.)

Since then, two more emails have gone unreplied.

[mrb]

He's around. How do I know this? Because two weeks ago he signed for a registered letter I sent to him, demanding the return of my M5 he's been holding for the last five months.

[sockeyed]

Don has had my M6 for 5 weeks. Communication with him has been good, but he did state the turnaround time would be 3-4 weeks before I sent in my camera. He must be swamped.

I sent my body to him to have the 75mm and 135mm framelines masked. Neither Youxin Ye nor Sherry Krauter were interested or able to make this modification. Don also did great work for me in the past.

I wish his turnaround times were as quick as Brian Sweeney's!

[Dogman]

Sometimes he's slow because parts have to be ordered (from Leica) and sometimes they get backordered.

[bob338]

i ordered an m3 advance lever from him a week or two ago. i called yesterday to see where it was and was told it would be shipped today. i'm holding my breath...

[bob338]

Originally Posted by Dogman

Sometimes he's slow because parts have to be ordered (from Leica) and sometimes they get backordered.

one of the local shops i frequent sent leica a lens to have the tab replaced and it took months because of backordered parts.

[awilder]

Sometimes it helps to tell him if of a reasonable a date certain you need the camera and he can put it on a fast track. I've heard that works but you must be emphatic on your request. My last repair took over 3 months because I didn't press too hard for completion and the type of repair was tedious to do.

[Vickko]

I had an email communications with Don over the last 2 days, and a part that I bought arrived yesterday, after 1 week.

All appears normal with Don - essentially he is swamped with work.

Vick

[Shac]

I spoke with Don yesterday - he's super busy as you probably all know. Heck no wonder, we keep referring everyone to him (or Sherry)

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by Hacker

"Yes, I received your Canon 0.95/50mm lens 2 days ago & my secretary wrote your lens up today

If his communications are in this state with a secretary, firing him/her would be a good start!

[bobkonos]

He has two of my cameras and he responded to my email last week. Which is nice because how can he get any work done if he takes the time to respond to all of these emails?!?

[TJV]

I'm sick of waiting for my lens. He's had it since the start on January and has had appalling communication. Two months ago he emailed me, after four curt emails from me, to say it would take a week to complete the job. Since then he's ignored my emails and not followed through on his word. If you're that bad with emails, you shouldn't have an email address. Also, considering he initially quoted a three week turn around, I think he also needs a calender.

[digitalintrigue]

DAG needs help. He appears to be overwhelmed.

To follow up on my previous post, he didn't answer the last few emails, after promising to deliver by Wed. the 4th. I called him on the 5th, and it was like he had completely forgotten his promise.

I suggest if you choose to send stuff to DAG:

(a) Don't attempt to communicate via email
(b) Give him specific deadlines, and have him make a commitment to that deadline (or not.)
(c) Be prepared for him to miss the deadline.