Montblanc Services Up In Price.

[chunya]

I took a 146 into a local MB authorised dealer today, to be sent off for a replacement piston, and they were very apologetic when telling me that the basic service has now gone up from £60 to £80. A 33% increase, but I suppose still good value ...I think

[yamaha_no_46]

£80 for a basic service is a good amount of money, especially with the exhange rate of £ to Lira, my country's currency. However, if you like the pen, it is OK, there is a price to pay to use a luxury pen serviced by the authorized service center. Good luck, I hope it returns in its best condition!

[CS388]

Thanks for the information. I guess price increases are inevitable in all (or most) walks of life.

 

Yes, it's still good value for money - but 33% is a hefty increase?

 

Enjoy.

[luckduck369]

Is there a similar price increase in the US? I have two pens to pick up next week back from service. Will I be hit by the new price or the original quote?

[chunya]

Is there a similar price increase in the US? I have two pens to pick up next week back from service. Will I be hit by the new price or the original quote?

It still is a reasonable price, for what they do... Not sure if the increases are global...but I think you should be OK,they will only charge you the quoted price ... therefore the old price ...as opposed to if they'd given an estimate.

[MBFan]

I thought £60 was ok, but at £80 I would think twice, personally. That could be, what, a decent Parker 51, Eversharp Skyline, a custom nib grind. The list is finite, but extremely long.

[Paul80]

They put the price up at the end of last year, I took a 147 in for repair in December and was told it was £80 then.

 

They will do quite a bit of work for that money though, it is said they will replace everything except the nib for that charge, so putting it in contex if you have a 149 with a cracked barrel and cap because you trod on it, £80 is a bit of a bargain isn't it.

 

Paul

Edited April 12, 2014 by Paul80

[chunya]

They put the price up at the end of last year, I took a 147 in for repair in December and was told it was £80 then.

 

They will do quite a bit of work for that money though, it is said they will replace everything except the nib for that charge, so putting it in contex if you have a 149 with a cracked barrel and cap because you trod on it, £80 is a bit of a bargain isn't it.

 

Paul

If you paid £80 in December then I did quite well when I had a 149 piston change in February as I was only charged £60.As you say,for what the service could include it is still not bad. If you have a broken piston,then all you have is a very expensive dip pen

[chunya]

....or eyedropper!

[dmvara]

33% increase?? That is rather outlandish in my opinion. The same holds true for how the price of their pens seems to go up every so often. Hmm

[KBeezie]

Thanks for the information. I guess price increases are inevitable in all (or most) walks of life.

 

Yes, it's still good value for money - but 33% is a hefty increase?

 

Enjoy.

 

Would I get 33% more cleaning and adjustment?

[MBFan]

I paid £60 a couple of months ago myself. Could it be that the increase is at the discretion of the boutique?

[KBeezie]

At least it doesn't cost anything outside of shipping to get an estimate (compared to some places).

 

Dear Karl Blessing,

Thank you for your inquiry and for visiting our website. It would be our

pleasure to assist you with servicing your writing instrument.

You can bring your writing instrument to any of our Boutiques for repair

and servicing. Please visit our Boutique Locator at www.Montblanc.com for

the location nearest you.

If there is not a Boutique close to you, we recommend that you package

your entire piece securely in a box or bubble type envelope. Please

include a brief cover letter stating the problem, your address and a

daytime telephone number, email address and send via UPS or Fed Ex insured

to: (Please do not send your piece in the original box)

Our Service Center in the United States:

MBNA

15100 Trinity Blvd

Suite 300

Fort Worth, TX 76155

Montblanc writing instruments are under a 24 month warranty from date of

purchase or receipt as a gift, against manufacturer’s defects.

Manufacturer’s defects do not include lost parts, damage resulting from

everyday use, or if the product has been dropped or banged against a hard

surface.

Once we receive your package a Certified Service Technician will examine

your piece. Should any charges be incurred, an estimate letter will be

sent for your approval prior to any work being completed. Once you receive

you estimate letter you may call our Customer Service Department to

provide payment over the phone. Once we receive your approval, the

turnaround time is approximately 2-3 weeks. Should you decide for reason

not to proceed with your repair we would send it back unrepaired at no

further charge to you.

I hope this information is of assistance to you. Should further questions

arise, please feel free to e-mail myself, or contact our Customer Service

Department at 800-995-4810 and a Customer Service Representative will be

happy assist you.

Sincerely,

Patricia Hilman

MONTBLANC North America

Customer Service

 

 

Though I'm a little fuzzy on the 'further' part, implying there is something prior.

 

and I don't see a Boutique locator on their site. (their website is useless, the flash portions don't work on either Chrome or IE, the search function for store locator is non-responsive)

 

Edit: Oddly it works on my mac via safari, just not windows (chrome, ff, IE).

Edit #2... well sorta, the layout is correct, the search just ain't functioning.

Edited April 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[chunya]

At least it doesn't cost anything outside of shipping to get an estimate (compared to some places).

 

 

Though I'm a little fuzzy on the 'further' part, implying there is something prior.

 

and I don't see a Boutique locator on their site. (their website is useless, the flash portions don't work on either Chrome or IE, the search function for store locator is non-responsive)

 

Edit: Oddly it works on my mac via safari, just not windows (chrome, ff, IE).

Edit #2... well sorta, the layout is correct, the search just ain't functioning.

By 'further charge' I am pretty sure that they mean they will return the pen and they meet the postage cost. If you had posted it to them in the first instance then you would have incurred that initial cost. If I take a pen (even an old one) into an authorised dealer here in the UK they send it to MB via UPS (I think) and it is returned to them for me to collect, and I don't pay a penny postage.

[KBeezie]

By 'further charge' I am pretty sure that they mean they will return the pen and they meet the postage cost. If you had posted it to them in the first instance then you would have incurred that initial cost. If I take a pen (even an old one) into an authorised dealer here in the UK they send it to MB via UPS (I think) and it is returned to them for me to collect, and I don't pay a penny postage.

 

Ahh ok, that makes sense initial charge being the postage.

[chunya]

The pen arrived back last week and they only charged £75, so an increase of only 25% rather than 30%. (every penny counts)

But after reading that thread on Warranties not always being filled in when pens are bought new, I've just realised that when pens come back from MB (for me via a local jewellers), there is never any accompanying paperwork to say when the repair/service was done and what was done. Is this the norm?

[EclecticCollector]

Is there a similar price increase in the US? I have two pens to pick up next week back from service. Will I be hit by the new price or the original quote?

Yes, in the US the price increase took effect on May 1, from $75 to $102. I took a pen in to have some worn parts replaced on April 30 to get the old price.

[EclecticCollector]

I've just realised that when pens come back from MB (for me via a local jewellers), there is never any accompanying paperwork to say when the repair/service was done and what was done. Is this the norm?

I've had three pens sent for repair over the years (one by an authorized dealer, two by a boutique) and they've all come back with a repair receipt stating simply "misc parts" and a 12 month warranty. The original repair request filled by the dealer/boutique did list the issues, but I was not allowed to keep or copy it.

[Paul80]

In addition to my post above, I have had two pens go back to Montblanc this year, both through a UK Boutique.

 

The first came back in January it was a 147 that needed a new barrel and cost £80 and the paperwork said it had a level 2 service

 

The second came back last week, it was a 149 that had a new barrel nib section, nib collar and cap top and cost £53 and the paperwork said it had a level 1 service.

 

A piston repair should come under level 1 and cost £53 but it look like there is no rime or reason behind how they decide what to charge, it looks like its a roll the dice situation

 

On a good note they do seem to go down the Service |Repair and refresh route, meaning they will replace anything they find worn or damaged for no extra so things that you did not expect can get replaced for new parts without any extra cost, scuffed caps and barrels being the most common thing, they do like to return your pen looking like new, most of the time. So sometimes their charges are not that bad, I was well pleased with what they did extra on my 149

 

Paul

Edited May 25, 2014 by Paul80

[Chrissy]

Their pricing seems to sound like it's variable.

 

I don't mind sending my pens to my favourite Mb boutique by RM Special Delivery. It's cheaper than a drive into London