Have you hugged your AD today?

[skyblue12]

Yes l have actually.

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[Mr.Rolex1]

I prefer grey but if hugs and drinks is what it takes...

[Calatrava r]

We should all be polite to everyone.

[Macnavara]

Originally Posted by BlueHeron

I stopped by a local AD recently and heard terrible stories about salespeople getting yelled at on a daily basis by customers (or prospective customers) who are outraged that they haven’t gotten their requested watch yet despite stopping in, being a long-time customer, etc.

The quote was “we are afraid to answer the phone at this point.”

Now that is some pain in one’s daily job, a true horror show, and we must ask: have you hugged your AD today?

PS: I need to post an Incoming thread..

The last time i saw my ad she gave me a kiss....on a personal level I like them a lot irrespective of wether or not they can get me something hot

[El Cascarrabias]

Of course! HERE

[Locust]

Gave my AD a nice bottle of wine today.

[BlueHeron]

Originally Posted by Locust

Gave my AD a nice bottle of wine today.

That's really something, I assume it was for a purchase you made and not buttering up for future..?

[Robtayham]

Originally Posted by BlueHeron

The quote was “we are afraid to answer the phone at this point.”

Really? Learn some customer service skills and answer that phone. Whether the salesperson is in fear or not, that salesperson sounds pretty dramatic and very unprofessional. That’s not what you tell your customers.

[SBC1986]

I don't feel badly for them. Waiting list systems are unclear and often just plain dishonest a lot of the time. Most (not all) ADs tell you you are on a list when there is no real list. A piece comes in and they give to who has given to them lately. Or they sell it gray themselves for over MSRP.

Rolex and Patek should move to strictly online sales and have a system where one can dream to own certain watches. Buy others, slowly move up on a huge list. Almost like airline status maybe. They should keep boutiques where you can walk in and try on examples of every watch.

AP should do the opposite. The fact that AP is cutting their ADs (many of which were actually good people) and going to boutiques who treat customers poorly is lunacy. AP boutique system is also a mess because they operate each one like a small shop-- you can buy 5 APs in New York and they will treat you like trash in Los Angeles. You can have a collection of 10 vintage APs and to AP you are nothing because you didn't buy it from that specific boutique. It is almost funny if it wasn't such terrible business.

[Mlioon]

I hugged mine today! Text my ad to see if they had a GMT on jubilee that I could try on, since I was on the list; the told me yes. I went was 2 min away so went straight there, they had a BLRO, I tried it on and they said if you want it, it’s yours. I was so shocked I was shaking when giving my credit card. Here it is!

[Dante221]

Hugged...or strangled?

Dante

[Seekydmk]

When the watch I ordered comes in, that’s already paid for, I’ll thank him for doing the bare minimum by just placing the order, not following up on the request I made to buy a DJ for my wife and never speak to him or anyone there again.

I stopped into a different AD yesterday and had a very nice chat with the owner of the store and will be ordering from them for the next piece.

[Mlioon]

I didn’t prepay, was on the “list” for 3 weeks

[Seekydmk]

I’ve been waiting 6 months so far

[tyler1980]

ill hug anyone... where is your AD?

[bonovox]

[Etschell]

Boo hoo. Grow up. This is a sales job it is high pressure.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by Etschell

Boo hoo. Grow up. This is a sales job it is high pressure.

you sound like you might need a hug

[BlueHeron]

Good points about the so-called "lists". My wife as a birthday gift put me on a list in 2016 at a local AD for the white SS Daytona. I dropped in every few months and checked in my status, ultimately hearing toward the end of 2018 that I was "right there....looks like you're next...". Then in January I stopped by and they told me, awkwardly "....What list?..."

For real.

But I didn't get angry, I didn't berate them, I just stood there in cognitive dissonance at such behavior.

I later heard that Rolex put out the word to ADs that lists are verboten and started to realize that for the most part the ADs are at the mercy of the mother ship and have been set up to disappoint the vast majority of their customers on a daily basis.

Judging from the lack of SS Daytonas in the wild, I believe them when they say they each get about 3 per year, and I don't blame the salespeople for the bind they are in. It's not their manufacturing, it's not their inventory management. They are essentially powerless, and also they are human beings worthy of mutual respect.

Meanwhile it is also true that the three-per-year that come in end up going to customers on a purely emotional basis -- owner or salesman feels warmly towards a person and BANG, divine favor rains down for him. This is certainly capricious and yet I still don't blame the ADs for their seemingly impulsive allocations.

I've read this forum with great interest in the last six months, and all the stories do in fact paint a picture with a definite pattern: friendliness is rewarded, and multiple recent purchases are rewarded and LISTS ARE B.S.

There are no lists.

Accepting this set me free....

Lifting people up a bit with a friendly smile also sets me free, no matter whether it results in me "getting the call". It is its own reward.

[draperfish]

Originally Posted by Mlioon

I hugged mine today! Text my ad to see if they had a GMT on jubilee that I could try on, since I was on the list; the told me yes. I went was 2 min away so went straight there, they had a BLRO, I tried it on and they said if you want it, it’s yours. I was so shocked I was shaking when giving my credit card. Here it is!

I'm so jealous! Congratulations that's beautiful.

[brucethemanlee]

I hug the women and firm handshake for the men = 2 x Daytona 116500


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[Tenebris Equum]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Any customer that needs to be bowed down to can waltz right back out of the premises as fast as they waltzed in.

'Crazy times' that the stereotype of 'retail staff being peasants only fit to serve the omnipotent customer' are being eroded? Good times, and about time.

I agree I over shot my point and I also never said or implied that any sales associates are peasants. My point clearly is that what Rolex is doing to the market is very much taking away good old customer service from purchasing luxury items. Call me traditionalist but I'm not the type of customer who will butter up a sales rep or AD to get any SS model.

It is just not the way I do business, it might be the norm for some members here, but my guess is that it's a generational thing.

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