Rolex Employees on TRF ?

[Rolex Richie]

I just wondered whether there are any active members of the forum who work for Rolex, or is it Rolex company policy that employees cannot get involved in such communications.

I think it would be brilliant if the forum had involvement from the Rolex HQ.

Any views from anyone ?

[Alex Ks]

Would be interested in the answer as well....

[MonBK]

Gian Riccardo Marini is a member here and goes by the name of.................

[themast]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Gian Riccardo Marini is a member here and goes by the name of.................

..... the buttondownshirtguy!

[kilyung]

I know one guy but he prefers to be anonymous.

[77T]

Most corporations have a blanket prohibition against employees making public statements as a representative of their employer. All public communication representing Rolex would come through an authorized Public Relations employee methinks...

As conservative as Rolex represents itself I would be surprised if they allowed employees to make public posts on an Internet Forum about Rolex matters.

Now they might secretly post here, or have anonymous blogs, but I'm doubtful a Rolex employee would openly opine.

Just my

[Jason71]

Originally Posted by 77T

Most corporations have a blanket prohibition against employees making public statements as a representative of their employer. All public communication representing Rolex would come through an authorized Public Relations employee methinks...

As conservative as Rolex represents itself I would be surprised if they allowed employees to make public posts on an Internet Forum about Rolex matters.

Now they might secretly post here, or have anonymous blogs, but I'm doubtful a Rolex employee would openly opine.

Just my

What a good word Paul

I will have to use that one on Words with Friends.

[FremStar]

Heh, heh, heh...

[erling]

I´m sure that they are lurkers here

[Sherwooddavid]

Originally Posted by erling

I´m sure that they are lurkers here

Agree !

[ChallengerSRT8]

Yes.

[Roller07]

If there are employees of Rolex SA here, I highly doubt they would openly acknowledge it. Can you imagine the number of PM's they would get every day from everyone.

[Darlinboy]

I might know somebody who knows somebody, but I'm going to maintain his (or her) anonymity because of the PM thing mentioned earlier, job security, and other confidential reasons.


Seriously though, I'd say odds are that there is a Rolex employee member in here somewhere.

[gt3pilot]

Probably some GAF Counsel attorneys(Rolex USA's law firm) that lurk on here. They spend a lot of time scanning Ebay and such.



-Scott B.

[Ravager135]

My game is over. I have known about the day/night GMT for months now and have been secretly laughing at all of you!

[Chewbacca]

they probably do but i would be surprised if rolex sa didn't also run 24/7 www exhaustive key word search algorithms.

anything negative --- alarm bells ring, then reviewed.

[mvmbles]

Well, there was "Sky Dweller" (or maybe it was "Sky-Dweller?") who was dropping clues that proved to be accurate before Basel 2012, so I'm certain there are a few out there.

I'm sure the amount of information that is allowed to be leaked is kept to a bare minimum.

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by Rolex Richie

I just wondered whether there are any active members of the forum who work for Rolex, or is it Rolex company policy that employees cannot get involved in such communications.

I don't know why there wouldn't be.

I rather doubt that anyone of them would be here in any official capacity.

[Hairdude1]

Originally Posted by erling

I´m sure that they are lurkers here

agreed

[jhamiltonwa]

Let's say there are, it's the questions that follow that interest me. In no particular order:

Are they here because they work in an area where an understanding of what people are saying about the brand and the range is useful to them in their work?

Do they report back to their colleagues on what they see and read here?

Do their colleagues/company pay attention?

Here's my hypothesis, they are here and interested, but what they read has no direct bearing on their work lives. Information on what we think does not make it as far as the committees where big issues are discussed such as the product line. With the greatest respect for devotees of their watches that I am sure they have, our views are not relevant. We are already in the tent, and we would tend to be a handbrake on trying something new to expand the customer base.

"Hey boss Ive been on TRF"
[eye roll] "Oh yeah? And?"
"They're not overly in love with the blue black GMT"
"Good"

They're probably all over the Omega boards.

[GradyPhilpott]

I would think that a lot of Rolex employees are like any other group of people.

Some are interested in their product and like to read and talk about the subject.

Some have Rolex up to their ears and do other things on their off time.

I'd never expect that any manufacturer would pay a lot of attention to what people on internet forums have to say about their products.

Frankly, there are much better and more scientific ways to measure public opinion.

There's nothing scientific about a convenience sample of watch enthusiasts who take polls on which watch they should wear to church next Sunday.

[Bangel]

Originally Posted by Ravager135

My game is over. I have known about the day/night GMT for months now and have been secretly laughing at all of you!

Shhh! They might be on to us!

[Puffy]

ask steve aka lolx for the web stats and see how many visits are coming from rolex.com

[Lumberjact]

Interesting discussion.

On one hand, it would seem like it might be remiss of any company to completely ignore a group of people who had a special interest in their products. Equally, and as was already mentioned, they are probably much more interested in cracking those people who are not already Rolex owners or aficionados.

I recall a business school analogy of how loyalty schemes work: you join, you spend, you get limited rewards; you join, you don't spend, you get special enticements to get you to spend again. People in the tent are always of lesser interest to companies than people who looked at the tent and stayed outside. Or, to put it another way, companies place greater value on those potential customers who got away, than those who fell into their trap!

Would love to hear from some professional marketeers on this.

[greekbum]

IMHO 100% yes

[Reu]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I would think that a lot of Rolex employees are like any other group of people.

Some are interested in their product and like to read and talk about the subject.

Some have Rolex up to their ears and do other things on their off time.

I'd never expect that any manufacturer would pay a lot of attention to what people on internet forums have to say about their products.

Frankly, there are much better and more scientific ways to measure public opinion.

There's nothing scientific about a convenience sample of watch enthusiasts who take polls on which watch they should wear to church next Sunday.

What a refreshingly normal, and in my opinion correct response!

TRF members form about 000.1% of the worlds population who buy in to Rolex.

[roadking40]

They are here for sure. Most enthusiast brands, Harley Davidson, Porsche, Mont Blanc, etc. all have social media staff that scan the web for opinions, comments, problems, etc. Most typically don't get involved in the discussions, but the unfiltered feedback about their product is really valuable.

[MonBK]

I know of a shark named Lee that's swimming these waters.

[Reu]

Originally Posted by roadking40

They are here for sure. Most enthusiast brands, Harley Davidson, Porsche, Mont Blanc, etc. all have social media staff that scan the web for opinions, comments, problems, etc. Most typically don't get involved in the discussions, but the unfiltered feedback about their product is really valuable.

Based on my own work here in the UK I agree completely that there will be, some, staff who will take a look at things to do with work outside of work. It will be more instinctively rather than job remit, however they would use credible and reputable sources.

TRF is reputable albiet a very very very tiny segment of a world-based audience. In terms of credible however - If you had to get some important analyticle information would you rely on a forum made up of some of the content that gets posted??

Watches on holiday on the beach, bathing in the shower, watches with food, do you think my watch will like getting wet, what watch should I wear to dinner etc etc...

When I see these posts I laugh at them and I get entertained, momentarily. In terms of corporate research they will look at this as testament to the sort of users on this website.

No offence to anyone as I enjoy this site as much as the next person (well, maybe not as much as some) but you get where I'm going with this...

[77T]

Originally Posted by Lumberjact

Interesting discussion.

On one hand, it would seem like it might be remiss of any company to completely ignore a group of people who had a special interest in their products. Equally, and as was already mentioned, they are probably much more interested in cracking those people who are not already Rolex owners or aficionados.

I recall a business school analogy of how loyalty schemes work: you join, you spend, you get limited rewards; you join, you don't spend, you get special enticements to get you to spend again. People in the tent are always of lesser interest to companies than people who looked at the tent and stayed outside. Or, to put it another way, companies place greater value on those potential customers who got away, than those who fell into their trap!

Would love to hear from some professional marketeers on this.

I can't speak to the biz schools in Europe, because customer loyalty program experiences vary in some cultures.

Here in US many studies have been done showing it costs 5x or more to acquire a new customer vs. retain an existing one. Often this is related to customers who buy on a regular basis - like commodities or staples - and ongoing business services.

In luxury goods, a loyalty program is less impactful since purchases are spaced out according to personal likes/dislikes and competing interests (e.g., do I buy a diamond ring or a Sky-Dweller for a birthday present?).

The "x-factor" here is that the costs associated with advertising and promotional expenses are often applied differentially to new customers. It is believable that they represent enormous expenses that exceed the costs of retaining existing customers. But there is one fatal flaw with this assumption: advertising and promotion are not simply about inducing first time purchases.

Much of advertising is about reinforcing brand imagery and maintaining awareness among current customers of the brand, too. While some firms promotionally “price to lose” to attract new customers, Rolex never offers such promotions. The MSRP is the MSRP - no manufacturer rebates, trade-ins etc. This is the domain of the AD.

An AD's discount may be affected by loyalty - but that is loyalty to the firm - not a brand. An Omega purchased, or a Rolex purchased, or a diamond ring purchased at an AD by a current customer may get a better discount than a new customer to keep their business over the long run.