Lets Discuss Service - Who is worst - Who is Best

[chronolunar]

I am curious as to other peoples service experiences with their watches.

Rolex services their watches well but they are incredibly expensive and I had an experience with them where I felt they took advantage of my inexperience which left a sour taste in my mouth. I am kind of disgusted with them and to the point that I doubt I would ever want another Rolex. I would describe Rolex service as legal dishonesty.

Casio service is so awful that I have all but refused to buy any more of them. Honestly, I do not buy Casio's anymore unless it is so cheap that I consider it to be a disposable watch. I do not consider any Casio to be a viable usable timepiece beyond a battery change or two. And if I cannot afford to throw it in the trash a month after I bought it then it is a waste of money to me. Sure, sometimes you can buy a Casio cheaper than a watchmaker charges to change a battery. And sometimes, I want a watch that can take some beating without any worry of the consequences of a breakage event. But hey ho, I just dont like Casio. I have bought nice Casios in the past and their service department seems to treat all their service events as if a replacement F91W would be enough to complete a $90 service fee and make you happy. Its disgusting really. I just look for other watch brands to buy if I can. I wont turn down a massive deal if I see one but I scroll past any recommendation of Casios on the buyer forums. Not even worth a click to see. A Wal-Mart $2 clearance rack Casio might tempt me but usually I just steer clear. To me Casio service is nothing beyond an initiated sales call for a full price replacement.

Oddly enough, I have had good success with Stauer watches. They are slow but they are very customer service focused and customer oriented. Other than speed of service I cannot say that I have ever regretted returning a watch to them for replacement, repair, or service. I have an Ocean Crawler that needs help but have been too busy to send it in but Ocean Crawler seems willing to work with me and take care of my watch. Ocean Crawler seems to care. These guys live at different levels of respectability in the watch community but both seem to respect the customer.

Formex kind of seems in between. They get the job done but are rude enough about the help they give you that I probably will not buy from them again. I mean yeah they take care of the problem but at the end of the day I felt like I would rather have supported a different watch company. After they got their sale, they just dont seem to care about their watch anymore and do as little as possible to keep me happy.

But this is just me. What experiences have the other Mots had with companies that service watches. Im sure that many have different experiences and opinions. Once I saw a review about a collectors experience with Squale and it concerned me enough that I made up my mind to not ever buy one. And I havent. Who would you rather avoid ? Who would you recommend ?

Id like to hear other peoples stories.

[Dub Rubb]

Very interesting subject. I am curious to hear people's experiences as well. Being relatively new to watches, I haven't needed any service yet. As for my Seikos, I will just swap movements myself when needed, but am dreading the day my Omegas need service.

The only thing I am sure about is that I will NEVER use jomashops 3rd party warranty. Too many horror stories.

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[gormless]

I had a really positive experience with Nodus.

My Retrospect's hands were not aligned (hour hand was not exactly at the hour when the minute hand was at 12). Sent the watch to them (Cullen and Wesley, I believe), and asked if they would be able to waive shipping off the bracelet I was eyeing for the watch by sending it back with my watch. Cullen then asked if I would want a bracelet they had lightly used for photos, and that he would fit it on my watch when he sent it back, completely gratis. Amazing.

I've been holding back telling this story in case others expect the same of the team. It was a really nice gesture of them.

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[The Sultan of SoWhat]

"legal dishonesty"

Wonderful choice of words!