what would you have done ?

[tattooedfagin]

ok, so i've just returned from my local AD....took my Sub date with me to have it sent away for service...i'd left the paperwork etc at home in the safe as i assumed i'd be provided with a receipt showing model & serial numbers etc to identify it as my watch.....the assistant started writing my details down on a plain old piece of paper when i asked if they'd be making note of my serial # on the receipt, oh yes she said & made note of the bracelet numbers.....5 mins later & still no sign of the bracelet being removed i asked again, explaining that any receipt needs confirmation of my serial # so as to identify it as mine. was told they didn't remove the bracelet, only taking numbers off the bracelet, which she seemed to believe were the full ID numbers

i found myself having to explain to them where the serial # was & why i found in necessary for it to be on the receipt, i took my watch back & said not to worry, i'd take it to St James Sq instead....

would you have left it, was i just being paranoid ?

[andypandy]

Chad , you did exactly the right thing !

[SEK John]

I wouldn't have left it.....but I also wouldn't want an unskilled salesperson trying to remove a bracelet and trashing the lugs and who knows what else.

[Rscmaine]

Wow...

Was she writing the bracelet numbers in crayon?

That is remarkable. You did the right thing.

[Kokyuryoku]

OMG! This is just unbelievable.

Originally Posted by andypandy

Chad , you did exactly the right thing !

100%

Originally Posted by SEK John

I wouldn't have left it.....but I also wouldn't want an unskilled salesperson trying to remove a bracelet and trashing the lugs and who knows what else.

Too right

Originally Posted by Rscmaine

Wow...

Was she writing the bracelet numbers in crayon?

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by sek john

i wouldn't have left it.....but i also wouldn't want an unskilled salesperson trying to remove a bracelet and trashing the lugs and who knows what else.

x2 !

[2th Dr]

Originally Posted by SEK John

I wouldn't have left it.....but I also wouldn't want an unskilled salesperson trying to remove a bracelet and trashing the lugs and who knows what else.

Completely agree!

[Puffy]

I would have kicked the door in running out of the shop

[jets]

Originally Posted by Puffy

I would have kicked the door in running out of the shop

I'd be right behind you racing to the car. Holy crap man had I left my watch there I would have had night-terrors.

[Apatheticviews]

She wasn't even going to kiss you before she put it in...

Yes, you did the right thing. Like a college girl in DC at night, you got out of there before you got...

[tattooedfagin]

the manageress (?) i assume, even questioned the location of the serial number, claiming that whilst all newer watches have the serial # on the rehaut the older serial numbers are inside, behind the case & not in-between the lugs. amazing how these people manage to be employed & allowed to promote the name !!!!

[landroverking]

Right on!

[Dan Pierce]

You did the right thing. Rolex, St James will treat you and your Rolex right. They sure did for me.
dP

[goalc]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

You did the right thing. Rolex, St James will treat you and your Rolex right. They sure did for me.
dP

Same here - I have had nothing but excellent, courteous service at St James Square. When I collected my Daytona last week after having the face changed, I received a letter telling me it was ready, a phone call to check I had received the letter, and then a follow up phone call afterwards to check I was happy

If you can get there easily, I wouldnt even consider going to an AD now and would just head straight there ....

[robsteve]

Chad:

I don't think any of them will take the bracelet off to get a serial number. I have had a few serviced at the AD here and you just get a receipt for the watch. The serial number only really matters if it gets stolen and as you said, you have that at home.

For example, the receipt would say Submariner with bracelet. If it got stolen I suspect you would have to deal with replacement value at that point and most likely just get a new Submariner from them or Rolex, depending on where it got lost. It is only on very rare and valuable watches that you might want to get lots of details on it before sending it off and also make sure it is insured under your own household insurance.

Robert

[padi56]

Originally Posted by robsteve

Chad:

I don't think any of them will take the bracelet off to get a serial number. I have had a few serviced at the AD here and you just get a receipt for the watch. The serial number only really matters if it gets stolen and as you said, you have that at home.

For example, the receipt would say Submariner with bracelet. If it got stolen I suspect you would have to deal with replacement value at that point and most likely just get a new Submariner from them or Rolex, depending on where it got lost. It is only on very rare and valuable watches that you might want to get lots of details on it before sending it off and also make sure it is insured under your own household insurance.

Robert

X2 And when watch is sent to RSC its packed securely with all the details of owner etc, and fully insured once you have your receipt from AD.When they service watch, all details like serial, what parts used cost etc, will be on the service papers when returned with watch.

[tattooedfagin]

Originally Posted by robsteve

Chad:

I don't think any of them will take the bracelet off to get a serial number. I have had a few serviced at the AD here and you just get a receipt for the watch. The serial number only really matters if it gets stolen and as you said, you have that at home.

For example, the receipt would say Submariner with bracelet. If it got stolen I suspect you would have to deal with replacement value at that point and most likely just get a new Submariner from them or Rolex, depending on where it got lost. It is only on very rare and valuable watches that you might want to get lots of details on it before sending it off and also make sure it is insured under your own household insurance.

Robert

whilst a new replacement might be nice i'd still prefer knowing that my watch, which i know to be 100% genuine could be identified against others.....worse case scenario, lets say someone else drops off a sub date the same day, if the AD takes no serial numbers & they get mixed up, how are they to tell the difference when they don't have all the details, worse still what if the other sub is a snide ? for a £305 service charge i'm expecting a certain level of professionalism ALL along the line & even more so from the public face of Rolex on the high street......

[Colnago]

I have to say, it's never even entered my head....my own ex-AD is part of the Goldsmiths group in the UK, they are brilliant even though they no longer have the AD status and I know they really appreciate my custom.....dare I say I trust them implicitly.....

[DerekS]

ouch. You made the right choice. To me, at least in my area, a good AD is impossible to find. The last place I'd trust with my watch is the AD I bought it from

[bewithabob]

well if you cant trust an AD, who can you trust? IF you bought your watch from them, why wouldn't you trust them?

That you are better educated about your Rolex than a sales person who primarily deals with new watches is not surprising. Even if you had brought in your paperwork, showing a serial number, who is to say that that paperwork necessarily applies to that particular Rolex. After all, if you had several ROLEX and brought in the wrong paperwork, then what? Still I think you did the right thing to require that the serial number be recorded on your receipt with the AD. If they didnt have a jeweler on the premises at that particular moment, then I would ask to make an appointment with them for when they do.

Typically, when you take your watch to an AD or the RSC, they take it behind the counter to have their jeweler remove the bracelet. They don't do this in front of you at the sales counter. At some point, you have to trust them to record the numbers accurately. And if you want to verify what they record with your own eyes, so be it. I certainly wouldn't want an untrained sales person or technician removing the bracelet. Better that an experienced technician do this on their bench, under good light, etc.

When your watch is returned fully assembled from RSC, you can't see the serial number. Do you demand that the AD remove the bracelet again to prove to you that the watch is one and the same with the service paperwork? They will still take it behind the counter to reassemble it. All I am saying is, IMHO, I think at some point you have to trust your AD. After alll, they are not a pawn shop.

[frank gama]

Originally Posted by bewithabob

well if you cant trust an AD, who can you trust? IF you bought your watch from them, why wouldn't you trust them?

That you are better educated about your Rolex than a sales person who primarily deals with new watches is not surprising. Even if you had brought in your paperwork, showing a serial number, who is to say that that paperwork necessarily applies to that particular Rolex. After all, if you had several ROLEX and brought in the wrong paperwork, then what? Still I think you did the right thing to require that the serial number be recorded on your receipt with the AD. If they didnt have a jeweler on the premises at that particular moment, then I would ask to make an appointment with them for when they do.

Typically, when you take your watch to an AD or the RSC, they take it behind the counter to have their jeweler remove the bracelet. They don't do this in front of you at the sales counter. At some point, you have to trust them to record the numbers accurately. And if you want to verify what they record with your own eyes, so be it. I certainly wouldn't want an untrained sales person or technician removing the bracelet. Better that an experienced technician do this on their bench, under good light, etc.

When your watch is returned fully assembled from RSC, you can't see the serial number. Do you demand that the AD remove the bracelet again to prove to you that the watch is one and the same with the service paperwork? They will still take it behind the counter to reassemble it. All I am saying is, IMHO, I think at some point you have to trust your AD. After alll, they are not a pawn shop.

X2

[mborner]

Originally Posted by bewithabob

When your watch is returned fully assembled from RSC, you can't see the serial number. Do you demand that the AD remove the bracelet again to prove to you that the watch is one and the same with the service paperwork? They will still take it behind the counter to reassemble it. All I am saying is, IMHO, I think at some point you have to trust your AD. After alll, they are not a pawn shop.

Exactly! When I took my Sub to Mayors to have them ship it off, I trusted them with my watch. I felt a little uncomfortable at first but I could clearly see the first class operation there. I felt better. I don't think my serial # was recorded at the store but it was recorded on the warranty card when I got the watch back. I confirmed it with my original certificate of authenticity. Everything worked out great. No worries.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by bewithabob

well if you cant trust an AD, who can you trust? IF you bought your watch from them, why wouldn't you trust them?

When your watch is returned fully assembled from RSC, you can't see the serial number. Do you demand that the AD remove the bracelet again to prove to you that the watch is one and the same with the service paperwork? They will still take it behind the counter to reassemble it. All I am saying is, IMHO, I think at some point you have to trust your AD. After alll, they are not a pawn shop.

Precisely and even when you bought a watch new pre serial on the rehaut how many would take bracelet off to check serial matched paperwork if you bought from AD.And without taking the bracelet off are you 100% sure that the AD has not mixed watches paperwork up,and you you have correct paperwork for your watch, trust, it works both ways.

[tattooedfagin]

Originally Posted by bewithabob

When your watch is returned fully assembled from RSC, you can't see the serial number. Do you demand that the AD remove the bracelet again to prove to you that the watch is one and the same with the service paperwork? They will still take it behind the counter to reassemble it. All I am saying is, IMHO, I think at some point you have to trust your AD. After alll, they are not a pawn shop.

it's not so much a trust issue but to be given an AD badge is a pretty special thing (IMO) & along with it must come a level of expertize from the staff to include a reasonable knowledge of this brand we all love.....the RSC here in the UK print off a proper receipt containing the customers full details, watch model & serial # plus any other items left (paperwork, links etc).....i'd expect an authorised agent to provide a similar receipt at the very least..........i don't expect a trained AD member of staff to confuse the bracelet # with the serial #.

[chris russell]

then there are probably lots of other areas where it has problems. It's better to go to a company that at least can demonstrate it knows what it's doing on the basic stuff than to have the possibility of your watch being damaged through mishandling, or subjected to long delays because of poor paperwork. Inevitably, an incompetent company is a nightmare to deal with when things go wrong as well, trying to shift blame and refusing responsibility. You don't want to go there, believe that.

[Traveler]

I think you did the right thing. My AD actually knows Rolex and would not be so shoddy .

[sakuraba]

I don't blame you for walking out, Chad. Despite what robsteve and padi said, I would still walk out if my watch details were not taken.

Thank God I can just walk into my RSC and hand over the watch without having to go through an AD.

[MitchSteel]

Ya, you did the right thing, take it to a professional that knows what they're doing.Makes me woder how she got the job at the AD.

[hennabav]

That doesn't seem professional at all!! You did the right thing...now...somebody needs to be fired. It screws up the reputation of the brand.

[PeteNYC13]

While I think that this could have been handled better from the AD salesperson, tact is a difficult thing to teach...
But, keep in mind that this is their "job" they do it all day and I am sure they usually know what they are doing. To you and me, it may be the most expensive single item we own outside of a house (or a car, but technically, the bank owns most of it). Anyway, my point is, you expected her to treat it like a one of a kind, handle with kid gloves item and she simply treated it like - dare I say, a watch! lol. When you drop your car off for service, do they write the VIN# down or do they just write "blue 2009 Tarus"?!. I cringe everytime one of the techs doesn't idle the engine for 30 seconds and exceeds 4,000 RPM in first gear, they treat it nicely but they treat it like a car.

A while back, I was in an AD looking at used Rolexes, they pulled out an envelope with lots of little envelopes in them, in each envelope, with a rubber band and a thin sheet of bubble wrap was each Rolex with a hand written paper with the make and model number. Watching the AD just "pour" them out was shocking to me... then I thought that he must do this ten times a day, to them it was "inventory" not delicate flowers to be handled like human organs! lol. At home, my Rolexes would never be mis-treated like that. :-)

Bottom line, if you were not comfortable with leaving the Rolex with her, you did the right thing. I do think that sometimes we all need to take a step back and realize, it's a watch - pretty expensive but still a watch.

I have told the story a few time about my first Sub, the AD tossed the bezel protector in the trash and when I asked her to get me a new one she was shocked- coming on TRF proves that I am not insane! :-) She thought I was, but almost 9 years later and I still have that bezel protector. I have no idea why or when I will need it but I know I enjoy having it. We are all just a bit crazy, which makes TRF so fun for me.

-Pete