Lee Filters - Am I Missing A Trick?

[gjfreeman]

Back in June I decided to buy some filters for the first time. After trawling the net and some mags I decided to buy some Lee ND grads.

I started to shop around for the best prices, but soon found that no one had them in stock. Typically I was quoted somewhere around 8 - 12 weeks; and some retailers didn't know when they'd get any. So, I picked one offering 8-10 weeks delivery and waited.

Now, 11 weeks later (22nd Septmber) I contacted the retailer - only to be told that "At the moment Lee are still quoting 10-12 weeks from the date of order. We have had them on order since April so Lee tell me that they should be with us in the next few weeks but cannot give us an exact date".

I wrote to Lee (via their website) and asked whether mine would be available soon. They replied:
"I am very sorry to confirm that there is an 18 week lead time on the resin items, usually I would say to get your name down on a list to be assured of supply.
We are currently despatching orders which came to us in April so I am sorry its unlikely that you will receive your order in time."

Now, I'm not sure whether:
a) Lee doesn't keep its retailers informed - retailers quote 10-12 weeks, Lee say 18, or
b) the retailers are misquoting in order get an order - I'm not a conspiraxcy theorist, so I don't think it's this one!

But in either event I find Lee's approach so out out touch with the 20th century "customer first" ethos:
* 18 weeks (!) to delivery a commodity product "... on all resin items" (i.e. their filter range!)
* "usually i would say get your name down on a list" - how arrogant can you get?

Or, perhaps, is Lee having production quality problems?; is its business suffering?; is it a company on crisis?

What do you think?
Gary

[Victor Hoffmann]

I have (had) the same problem.
I'm going to Hawaii the 12 of October and really wan't some ND/ND Grads for seascape photography....
So instead of going all in on Lee, I'm buying a Lee Foundation Kit (In stock at teamworkphoto.co.uk, or at least they say so...), a Hitech 0.6 ND, and a Hitech 0.6 ND soft grad.

I really hope that it will arrive before the 10th! (I live in Denmark)

-Victor Hoffmann

[JodieTyley]

That's crazy! I've heard Lee filters are very good, and I sincerely hope they are after you've waited soo long for them, but Cokin filters do the job and can be ordered efficiently from Amazon or Jessops for any future filter buyers...

[Chris Humphreys]

That seems crazy in today's consumer led world. If it's any use, I have a set of Cokin P filters which I'm very happy with.

[Seosaimhin]

I've asked the guys at Lee to respond to this for you - they're lovely chaps and should hopefully reply soon!

Josie

[gjfreeman]

Thanks Josie,

I hope they reply soon - I go on holiday next Wednesday (29th) for a once in a lifetime vacation . It's why I ordered the filters in the first place .

Gary

[Seosaimhin]

Hi Gary,

Just to let you know I've just had this response from Graham at LEE filters. Unfortunately it seems there is nothong that can be done to speed up your order, however he offers a full and frank explanation of the reasons behind the delay here:

"LEE filters have seen an unprecedented, and unexpected (remember how digital was going to remove the need for filters?) demand for their products in the past year. With the increase coming so suddenly, it had to take us time to react.
All LEE resin filters are made by hand, and it is a very skilled job. Increasing the production of resin filters can only be done by employing and training new people, this takes time and not everyone can do it. Since January we have increased the output of filters by 40% per week, but the demand in outstripping this increase considerably.

We are not a multinational, we have 10 skilled girls working in a small lab making filters by hand, we are part of a bigger group of companies who are then owned by a bank, so we do not always get permission to spend money to increase the output of a small cottage industry making camera filters for a relatively small profit each year. Money rules the world these days, and the bottom line is everything.

We will sell every filter we can make, so we are certainly not in crisis, but we do have a problem which we are trying to overcome. What we cannot do, to be fair to everybody, is act on individual complaints about lead times. We strictly work on the oldest orders in the queue, to ensure that the customer who ordered earliest gets their filters first - there is no other way to behave that is fair to all. I am sure that everybody who has ordered our products wants them for a reason, and it is not for us to judge who's need is greater and move orders up and down the queue.

The long-term outlook is good - we are changing some of our manufacturing processes and expanding working areas and hope to be able to up capacity considerably within the next six months to one year."

I hope this explains what's happening and reassures you that LEE is not in any 'trouble' financially or otherwise... I'm sorry, it doesn't look like they can do anything else right away.

I hope you still manage to have a fantastic trip!

[gjfreeman]

Thanks Josie - I really appreciate your efforts. The rest of this post is for prospective customers of Lee Filters.

While I understand all that has been said in Lee's response, it doesn't explain:

1) Why their retailers are quoting smaller lead times than Lee themselves are, and why one recently wrote to me and described Lee's lead times as "terrible"

2) Why they sent me such a patronising response - see my earlier post

3) Why their patronising attitude continues with phrases such as "we have 10 skilled girls" - or perhaps they are fresh out of school and had some training?

4) Why they took so long to send in this "stock answer". Oh, I know, they were at Photokina promoting more things that they can't produce in a reasonable time!

By the way, I now personally produce the best filters in the world bar none. Place an order with me and you can have them by 1st April 2035!!

Not that Lee will care. They'll remain in the 1990s.

I've now purchased a competitor's product.

Gary

[Victor Hoffmann]

I just got my Lee holder and Hitech filters and I'm relly pleased with them!
What did you end up buying Gary?

-Victor

[gjfreeman]

Victor, I'm genuinely very pleased for you, and I look forward to seeing some of your Hawaiian images on flickr.

I waited as long as possible, but when time became too tight, I bought the Cokin "P" ND grads. They seem fine, and I'll have a better idea of their performance when I get back from my vacation and process the images.

There are some who will say "ahh they're good but not as good as Lee"; to which I'll reply "ahh but you'll celebrate one birthday and possibly two between ordering a Lee filter and actually receiving it". Are Cokin as good (or better) than Lee? I'll never know. Life's too short. I've no intention of planning my life so far ahead just to meet the whims of a supplier of commodities.

I'm now going to draw a line under the whole thing and move on. I'll never know whether their filters are any good and - do you know what? - I'll never care. To me they are they are a company that lives in a previous century, and they're a company that feels that we ought to feel grateful for their existence - a bit like Rolls Royce before they were rescued by BMW? Perhaps someday they'll be dragged into the 20th century - but don't hold your breath while waiting.

Gary

[Victor Hoffmann]

Nice to hear you found a solution. I'm looking forward to see some shots and hear what you think about Cokin!
I can't believe that a company like Lee only have 10 girls working?!

Victor

[Keitht]

I can't believe that a company like Lee only have 10 girls working?!

Victor

Try reading their response again. They don't say they only have 10 girls working, they say they have 10 working on resin filters because it is a highly skilled job and all hand done. They are training more but that takes time. Would you rather they took people on, provided minimum training, and then supplied c**p filters? I'm damn sure there would be even more complaints if they took that approach.
What they do seem to have been guilty of is poor customer service in respect of warning about long lead times and that really isn't acceptable.
I don't use their kit as I can't afford it so don't interpret this as support from a dedicated Lee user.

[Grant Stringer]

Sorry to hear about the problem with Lee.
Cokin filters have already been mentioned but how about Kood? I have used their filters and been happy with the results. Also at a reasonable price!

[bradychris1]

Hey dude can someone please let me know, Is it available in Spain ?