Nwilliams,
Photography is exactly where my personal experience with Nikon has come from, and I have heard many more horror stories from those who have had to use Nikon's service for their rifle scopes.
Here is an example of my experience with Nikon's service.
Paid $4,000 for a digital body. Had to send it into repair within the first year for a defect, took nearly a month to get it returned to me. Within a few more months, the camera crapped out again. Sent it in, with a check for $700 (now out of warranty), and it took another month to get back to me. Came back broken, same issue. Sent it back in again. Took another month.
Guess what?
Yup, came back to me broken again. Sent it in a third time after testing it, and this time they sent me a new camera as a replacement. Ofcourse, it wasn't actually new, it was refurbished. :banghead:
Oh, and some of the parts on that one were installed upside down. And it started to have issues within a few months.
Any company can make mistakes, Leupold screwed up when I sent a lens in for some custom work. Difference is that Leupold took care of everything, including shipping, and fixed the issue in a week.
Nikon took multiple months to fix my gear, and then replaced it with another piece of screwed up gear.
I.G.B.