Flooded Submariner

[MasterDiver]

I purchased my Submariner over 20 years ago, and have never had a problem with it. I am a Master SCUBA Diver and have worn this watch on over 600 recreational dives. Late last year, I noticed it has started to run slowly and decided to have the watch serviced for the first time. It had never been opened for over 20 years. I carried the watch to Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers, 2701 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223, to be serviced by their certified Rolex watch repairman, Bobby, in January, 2012. He informed me that he had serviced the watch and replaced some parts, including the crystal, and I paid over $750 for this first-ever service. I was told I had a two-year warranty.

Last month, I went SCUBA diving for the first time since the watch had been serviced. On my very first dive, the watch flooded at a maximum depth of 60 feet. The crown was tight, as I checked it prior to the dive as I do all of my other equipment. On returning from the trip, I returned the watch to Bobby and he did a leak test and told me he couldn’t find a leak. After a week, he called me and told me he had dried out the watch and it would cost me over $1000 in parts to repair the watch, but I would not be charged labor. He also told me that he would not warranty this DIVE WATCH against leaking the next time I went diving. I told him that I needed a guarantee that the watch was waterproof, since it was a DIVE WATCH. He confessed that if it leaked again, I would be required to do the same thing and pay the same money to have it fixed.

I called Rolex Customer Service in NY and TX, and they both told me to ship the watch to the Service Center to be restored to factory standards, and that the store that serviced the watch should pay for shipping and repair of the watch, including parts and labor. I have shipped it back to the Rolex Service Center in TX and am waiting on the estimate. The store refused to pay for parts and only their labor was no charge.

Has anyone ever had this happen? What did Rolex do?

[mjclark32]

Welcome, I don't have any experience with this but did bobby say if he pressure tested it after servicing?

[Elementa]

I would send it to Rik at Time Care Inc. He's very good and well respected on the forum.

[dysondiver]

nope , sounds like a rolex job ,,, i can see the row already .. but it will all depend on wether or not it was tested for water resistance , or not ,,, if your lucky they will have the test listed on their bill.
welcome to the forumss , not a good start but hello anyways.

[Z-Sub]

Contact Better Business Bureau and small claims court maybe needed. Good luck and I wish it's resolved amicably.

[superdog]

Yikes. I think unlikely they will pay for anything.

They just lost a customer, but I doubt they care that much.

That's too bad. But I suggest you just pay rolex and suck it up.

Sucky advice, but I don't think you have a lot of options

[Armyguy03]

Originally Posted by Z-Sub

Contact Better Business Bureau and small claims court maybe needed. Good luck and I wish it's resolved amicably.

This!

Also recommend Riki from Time Care. I recently got a Sub back from Service, and included is a pressure test slip (I dont know how to read it, but its there).

[Stuxnet]

What you just described is incompetence at its very worst. The RSC in New York has always been excellent. Bobby should be taken to a depth of 60 feet so he can learn something and that AD should be shut down.

[Frosty]

Welcome to TRF Hope things get better from here.

[Thatguy]

Sorry to hear. Hopefully Rolex will make it right. Not related to the damage, but did you pressure test it in the years prior to the service?

[Andad]

Welcome to the Forum MD.

I think that you will get some satisfaction from Rolex.
If Bobby is a certified Rolex technician and you have the two year warranty then Rolex would have to stand behind him and make this good IMO.

[TimeToGo]

Welcome to the Forum!

Very sorry to hear this.

I doubt the repair shop will pay the RSC for what should have been done in the first place. The BBB sounds like a great start.

I hope for the best for you in getting this resolved.

[kilyung]

Doesn't sound like Bobby properly checked for water resistance ergo they should pay for RSC to fix it under their warranty policy.

[financeman]

Welcome to the forum. Hate to hear this has happened to you. Most likely you will end up eating the service at RSC but your watch will be back to brand new specs and you will be able to use it again as it was intended.

[TakesALickin]

I have to say that the AD's response is unacceptable, and that they should be made to honor their warranty. However I'd also add that you can avoid this kind of headache in the future by buying a cheap Casio, Citizen or Seiko to dive in (this is what I do). Leave your expensive Rolex at home. Why subject it to risk?

[GradyPhilpott]

I'd find out what RSC has to say about the issue, including what to do about "Bobby."

He's a representative of Rolex and benefits from that association. If he's out there screwing up Rolex watches and the Rolex reputation, I would think that Rolex would not be particularly happy about that.

It would seem to me that Bobby has a lot more at stake than just a single unsatisfied customer.

If the RSC can't get Bobby to do the right thing, then the BBB and small claims court would be my next move.

I try to be philosophical about a lot of disappointments in life, but this is an issue that I would probably seek a pound of flesh.

[withthesword]

at this point i would start going on a fact-checking mission.

1. get in writing what EXACTLY is done during any level of service. as in what they do for what kind of watch when it goes in for service, and if there are different service levels.
2. get in writing what EXACTLY your watch would have had done to it. eg: complete overhaul, lubrication, regulation, pressure testing, replaced parts etc.
3. get a complete service report and receipt of this service. photocopies, anything. it stands to reason the watchmaker keeps detailed records of what watches he services, what tasks he performs, and what parts are replaced.

and most importantly,

4. study the warranty agreement (if they didn't give you a copy, you should get one poste haste.) find out what EXACTLY is covered under warranty and what isn't.

that you have to fork over another grand for damage to a watch due to their incompetence is reprehensible at best. not would i boycott that particular shop and their watchmaker, i would pay for a half page spread in a newspaper or magazine describing the experience. i'm furious for you right now.

good luck working things out!

Cofion Cynnes,

Matte

[dba]

Not to add insult to injury and slag the South, as I love it there; but your first clue that this wasn't going to end well was when the Rolex tech was named "Bobby."

[jrbar-on]

Sorry to hear about your watch. Barton-Clay should be responsible for all additional charges since they did the original repair and advertise that they have a certified Rolex watch repairman.

If they give you a hard time I would email the owner/manager a link to your thread and advise him as to how much business he can loose due to bad publicity and "word of mouth" comments.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Cheers,

Jonathan.

[honeybear]

Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers isn't a Rolex AD, but since their watchmaker is Rolex certified, they probably have a Rolex parts account, so Rolex should still be able to exert some leverage on your behalf. I hope it works out.

[DoxaDavid]

Originally Posted by TakesALickin

I have to say that the AD's response is unacceptable, and that they should be made to honor their warranty. However I'd also add that you can avoid this kind of headache in the future by buying a cheap Casio, Citizen or Seiko to dive in (this is what I do). Leave your expensive Rolex at home. Why subject it to risk?

That is absurd Jeff.

The man bought a DIVE watch to use and if it was properly serviced, there is no risk to it flooding at any depth it may be used at.

The headache is all the technicians fault for shoddy work, not the OP's for using his watch for what it was built for. I have expensive dive watches (Doxa, Rolex, Omega, AP etc) to name a few and though I don't dive often, I know they will perform as intended and I like to dive with them, as I would guess the OP does as well.

I would have the RSC fix my watch then go after the AD to reimburse me, willingly or forced to with a judgment by court. BBB is all fine and good but meaningless to many nor do they have any teeth to force a business to do anything.

Good luck!

[Thatguy]

Originally Posted by TakesALickin

I have to say that the AD's response is unacceptable, and that they should be made to honor their warranty. However I'd also add that you can avoid this kind of headache in the future by buying a cheap Casio, Citizen or Seiko to dive in (this is what I do). Leave your expensive Rolex at home. Why subject it to risk?

I disagree. I personally bought mine to wear and it should hold up for it's intended use.

[handsfull]

Originally Posted by directioneng

If Bobby is a certified Rolex technician and you have the two year warranty then Rolex would have to stand behind him and make this good IMO.

Originally Posted by kilyung

Doesn't sound like Bobby properly checked for water resistance ergo they should pay for RSC to fix it under their warranty policy.

+2

I wouldn't give them the additional 1K for his mistake.....it was covered under warranty and it failed. Simple. I would tell Rolex of "Bobby's" error and have them sort it.

[Brenngun]

Originally Posted by honeybear

Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers isn't a Rolex AD, but since their watchmaker is Rolex certified, they probably have a Rolex parts account, so Rolex should still be able to exert some leverage on your behalf. I hope it works out.

Oh ....... Oh, Well good luck with this one. I've not had this happen before because I've always insisted on getting a copy of both the dry & wet pressure test print outs for future reference.

[Rags]

So sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hope it all works out for you.

[TakesALickin]

Originally Posted by DoxaDavid

That is absurd Jeff.

The man bought a DIVE watch to use and if it was properly serviced, there is no risk to it flooding at any depth it may be used at.

Originally Posted by Thatguy

I disagree. I personally bought mine to wear and it should hold up for it's intended use.

You're both entitled to your opinion. I'm the kinda guy who parks his car wayyyyy out at the edge of the parking lot, where there are no other cars around. Why? Because sh!t happens. If you're willing to live with the consequences, sure - tempt fate. But once the unexpected and unhappy event occurs, remember - you could have taken steps to prevent that headache.

But you didn't.

As for your assertions that the watch should hold up for its intended use, remember - it's no longer legal to mark these watches "waterproof", because everyone (except you guys, apparently) recognizes that there is no such thing as "waterproof". The watches are "water resistant", and courts of law have held that manufactures must mark them as such because there is a chance that their water resistance will fail.

[greekbum]

Originally Posted by MasterDiver

Last month, I went SCUBA diving for the first time since the watch had been serviced. On my very first dive, the watch flooded at a maximum depth of 60 feet. The crown was tight, as I checked it prior to the dive as I do all of my other equipment. On returning from the trip, I returned the watch to Bobby and he did a leak test and told me he couldn’t find a leak. After a week, he called me and told me he had dried out the watch and it would cost me over $1000 in parts to repair the watch, but I would not be charged labor. He also told me that he would not warranty this DIVE WATCH against leaking the next time I went diving. I told him that I needed a guarantee that the watch was waterproof, since it was a DIVE WATCH. He confessed that if it leaked again, I would be required to do the same thing and pay the same money to have it fixed.

I called Rolex Customer Service in NY and TX, and they both told me to ship the watch to the Service Center to be restored to factory standards, and that the store that serviced the watch should pay for shipping and repair of the watch, including parts and labor. I have shipped it back to the Rolex Service Center in TX and am waiting on the estimate. The store refused to pay for parts and only their labor was no charge.

Has anyone ever had this happen? What did Rolex do?

I am sorry to hear about your watch and your experience. Not that it will get you your watch fixed but did you verify the watch maker is a cw21 or that he has a rolex parts account? Get the watchmakers full name and go to the awci website and check it out.

[Thatguy]

Takesalicken,
If you check the current brochure for the sub it says waterproof. They must not have gotten the memo that it is illegal to label as such.

[TakesALickin]

Originally Posted by Thatguy

Takesalicken,
If you check the brochure for the sub it says waterproof.

You are correct. But I stand by my position. Anyone that thinks there's anything man made that is water proof has obviously never spent much time around water. Water is insidious. It will eventually get in.

If you understand the risks and still want to dive with your $5000 watch when a $100 Seiko will do just as nicely, that's your prerogative. And if the watch fails, you have every right to pursue whatever remedies the manufacture's warranty provides. I'm just saying you need to acknowledge that that headache may materialize for you, and you need to accept that you could have avoided it, and you have to accept that you chose to dive with your $5000 watch. Nobody made you do that.

Here's an analogy that may make my position a little easier to understand:

There are two vehicles sitting out in my driveway - a fairly new Cadillac SRX and a 15 year old Dodge Dakota pick up truck. Let's say I wanted to take one of those vehicles out into the woods behind my house and chop down a tree and cut it up into firewood. Which vehicle would it make more sense to take? They're both designed to go off road, and both are designed to haul heavy loads. Clearly, most people would take the Dodge before they'd take the Cadillac. Sure, you might get the Cadillac in and out of the woods without scraping it up too much, and you might get the firewood in and out of it without trashing the interior. But the odds are against it. And you understand that when you take a vehicle into the woods to cut firewood. That's why you take the old, cheap pickup.

Same goes for a dive watch. Both the Seiko and the Rolex can perform the function you want them to perform (honestly, with modern dive computers they're just a back up anyway). And both the Seiko and the Rolex can fail. But if the Seiko fails, you chuck it in the trash, and you're out $150 tops, no arguing with a watchmaker or an AD or RSC. Just go buy a new one. And your $5000 Rolex is still nice and new (or at least nice and dry). Who wouldn't do that?

[SUBversive]

Call a local lawyer. Maybe someone on here can make a referral.