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I was sure about one thing Posted By: georges zaslavsky Date: 5/4/06 12:59 GMT
In Response To: Is it just me or is NJ picking up where Lancaster… (Chicagoland Chuck Maddox)
Hi Everyone
When a bad story rehappens (after Lancaster now New Jersey)you have to ask yourself if Omega USA has only uncompetent n00bs working for them. I have asked many times in the past, and I am going to echo myself again now: What the hell is going on at Omega?!?!?
Having been in customer support for nearly a decade and a half, much of this isn't particularly difficult to figure out and implement...
In the absense of other factors, the customer is always right unless proven otherwise... at least if you seek to retain that customer for their next purchase.
This is the 21st century... A phone call or a fax or email isn't going to bankrupt the company... If you have a question about how a repair/restoration should be done, fire off an email note to your supervisor or the customer seeking their input... etc.
I can't say that Omega France is good too. I on the other hand, can't say that the Dearborn Michigan authorized facility is that much better... I've sent six items to them, and at least two or three of them needed a return trip to get the job done properly. The LaGrange Illinois facility on the other hand, while I have not sent them any Omega work, I did drop off a Tissot T-12 Chronograph and a Porsche Design Orfina 5100 for some work and that work was done competently and quickly (took about a week). Fortunately for me, they are easy driving distance for me.
I was pretty sure that New Jersey would be the second Lancaster. It also makes you think twice before giving your watch to restore or service to a big company. If Omega New Jersey watchmakers can't service a basic modified eta 2892-a2 or an eta 7750 there is no reason to trust them. From what I've read about the new facility, most of the dissatisfaction with the service hasn't been so much with the work that's been done, but the utter lack of attention to detail and quality control when a "repaired/restored" product is returned to the customer. Well, I guess the broken promises on timeframe don't help any either.
Rattling rotors, misaligned hands, specks of dust and other crud left on dials and undersides of crystals points to a lack of attention to detail and ineffective quality control... This unfortunate inattention to detail/quality control has not seemed to be limited to repair of customer watches, but all has been reported of new watches on dealer shelves the past couple of years.
I would rather go with an independant with many experience, less troubles and at least I am sure of the result. Typically I do too... But then again, I'm more frequently seeking service on vintage watches, not new/current/recent production watches.
You can also have bad surprise with Bienne and the way Bienne restored some watches makes you think twice. Luminova dial and hands on a vintage tells you a lot about these so called restorations. Which is why it remains very important to spell out what your expectations of repair/restoration of a timepiece when you submit it for work. Omega has a proclivity for restoring watches to "as new" condition unless they are told otherwise. Perhaps they assume that this is what most customer's want. Collectors, on the other hand, typically seek to have their existing watches to be serviced to as good of condition as possible without destroying the originality and collectability of their timepieces. NOS correct original parts are fine, Modern equivlents are not desired unless there is no other option and even then only after owner notification and careful consideration.
Restoration means putting the hands and the dial into their initial state and not changing them. Whenever possible, yes. and typically greater expense towards reconditioning an original part is preferred to replacement with a new component.
just my opinion (to take with two grains of salt) Nothing wrong with these opinions, Georges... Some of your other opinions I don't see eye-to-eye with you, but I suppose that's to be expected...
regards
georges Cheers and good hunting!
-- Chuck |
