Dropped a Rolleiflex on concrete at a shop in Portland

I was cleaning a 1950s Rolleiflex for a customer last Tuesday when it slipped out of my hand and hit the floor. The taking lens took the hit and the front element cracked right down the middle. I had to tell the owner right then and there, and he wasn't happy about the $450 repair quote I gave him. Ended up finding a replacement lens from a parts camera on eBay for $120 and swapped it myself after work. The whole ordeal cost me two days and a chunk of trust with that client. Has anyone else had a camera fall during a repair and how did you handle the customer fallout?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.wade1mo ago

You said you had to "tell the owner right then and there" like that was some badge of honor, but honestly you should've absorbed the cost without even mentioning it. That $450 quote was steep and you knew it, so making the customer pay for your mistake was the real trust-killer here. Finding a $120 eBay lens after the fact just proves you could've fixed it quietly and kept the relationship intact if you'd handled it like a pro instead of passing the buck.

haydenburns1mo ago

Oh man, that's a rough one. I dropped a Pentax Spotmatic once and spent the next hour trying to figure out which part of the carpet to sweep my dignity under.