zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Omega in Switzerland responded the next day regarding my service issue and assured me they would have the problems corrected. She had the service manager of Omega USA contact me ASAP. They sent me a box with a FEDEX label in order to send the watch back.

The service manager called me to discuss the problems with the watch and guess what? I will never buy another Omega after talking with him. He told me he didn't really see anything wrong with my watch and stated handling marks are to be expected when you send a watch in for repair. I kept my cool and tried to explain to him that the main reason for having this $1800 watch was for the aesthetic qualities that it had. I told him the case and band are worth more than the movement to which he responded the movement is worth around $800 …….exactly! Trust me when I tell you this watch was probably the most perfect item I have ever purchased. Not a flaw could I find and my eye is super critical. His response to that was none of the brand new ones are perfect and only defects that can be seen from 18 inches and beyond would be addressed. As far as screwing up the opening holes he said the backs are put on so tight that this is to be expected as well. He said the holes looked elongated but to me they looked as if a sharp edged tool cut into the side. I guess the customer is always wrong.

Now for the rub mark that was put on the band: His response was there are other marks on the band and the whole band would have to be re-finished. I pointed out 2 marks in particular that I had put on myself but that's fine with me because I put them there, not some repair person. At this point he asked me if the watch was to be worn or sit in a drawer ……. Can you believe that? I guess his thought on scratches was they’d get them anyway so big deal if they occur when the watch is being serviced. The tool marks on the bezel was another issue. He couldn't see the perpendicular marks left on the original horizontal satin finish. We went back and fourth then he agreed to seeing them.

At this point I felt like I was getting the 3rd degree from this guy and flat out told him I just want the watch back in the same condition I sent it in before the bezel spring repair. He said they would replace the bezel (I thought he couldn’t see any marks and if they are that insignificant why couldn’t they just finish it?) and replace the case back. I guess nothing will be done about the rub mark on the band (after all, as was hinted at by this manager the band already had a few scratches and maybe I put the rub mark on it).

I haven’t received the watch back as of yet and I’ll post when I do.

Of course, my contact in Switzerland will be emailed when I receive the watch back. See below for the original email response from Switzerland.

jc

Dear Mr C,

We are very sorry for the inconvenience that you have been caused with your Omega Seamaster James Bond watch. It is always a matter of great concern to us when we hear of anyone dissatisfied with our products or World Service Organisation.
Although we understand your disappointment in the present state of affairs, you will surely understand that it is somewhat difficult to judge from this end what could have gone wrong in this particular matter.

In order to investigate your complaint, we are immediately contacting our Service Center in the U.S.A. :

The Swatch Group (US) Inc.
SG Customer Service
1817 William Penn Way
Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone: +717.394.7252
Fax: +717.399.2211
E-mail: sgcst@swatchgroup.com

Mr Joseph C. Sabol, Manager-Support Services, will contact you shortly with a view to settling the matter to your entire satisfaction. Please be assured that at Omega every effort is made to guarantee the quality and reliability of all our products, as well as first-class after-sales services, worldwide.

We are convinced that after the intervention of our representatives you will be wearing your Omega Seamaster watch with much pleasure for many years to come.

With kind regards,

OMEGA Ltd
Maria Mastrodonato
Customer Service
Phone: +41 32 343 9561
Fax: +41 32 343 9855
Website: www.omega.ch
-----Message d'origine-----
De : JC [mailto:hobbitfang@hotmail.com]
Publié à : dimanche, 9. novembre 2003 20:13
Publié dans : After Sales
Conversation : Bad Omega USA customer service HELP
Objet : Bad Omega USA customer service HELP

: After 5 months, the bezel on me Seamaster Bond
: Auto went bad (would turn clockwise). I
: called Omega in PA and they suggested I send
: the watch to Womble Watch Works in GA (I
: live in JAX FL). I figured taking the bezel
: off and repairing the defective spring would
: be an easy "no brainer" so I sent
: it off. To my surprise, the watch came back
: in the following condition: +Various rub
: marks on the band
: +Tool marks on the outside of the bezel
: +Dings on the watch case itself
: +The watch was placed in a blow up bag for
: return shipping and the back of the watch
: rubbed the band. They took no effort to
: prevent this.
: +The back of the watch had been removed and the
: removal holes dinged and scratched in the
: center (how can a round tool cause sharp
: dents to the outside of these holes? My
: guess is they didn’t use the appropriate
: tool to remove the back. Also, the little
: paint blob indicating a factory seal was
: only partially removed…could some of it be
: in my watch right now?)

: I called Omega PA and explained the situation
: and was told they could do nothing about it
: and I’d have to send the watch back to
: Womble. In short, the customer service rep
: was totally unhelpful and at times became
: down right rude. I asked her if the back had
: to be removed for a bezel change and she
: didn’t know. Again, she became rude when I
: asked her to find out from a repair person
: if this is the case. After her (not me mind
: you) chat with the repair tech she said it
: didn’t need to be removed. I then told her I
: wanted to send the watch to Omega PA as I
: didn’t trust Womble. She told me they might
: not honor the warranty if I send it to them!
: At this point I was starting to get heated
: up and told her I’d contact Womble with the
: situation they created with my watch.

: I called Womble and inquired as to why the
: watch back was removed and they told me it
: was standard procedure in order to get
: caliber and reference numbers for ordering
: parts. Anyone who knows anything about Omega
: watches should know they come with credit
: cards that have all that info printed on
: them. A simple phone call to me is all it
: would have taken to get this info. She told
: me to send the watch back to them and they’d
: make good on the repair. I requested a call
: tag (why should I have to spend another $18
: to ship this watch back to them) and she
: said she had to clear it with her manager.
: This was a few days ago and I haven’t heard
: from them since.

: I called Omega back. Got the same rude rep and
: explained my total lack of trust with Womble
: (do I think they changed the seal and
: pressure tested the watch?…..huh, NO!). I
: told her I wanted the name of someone else
: in the Omega organization in which to
: discuss this situation and was told in an
: exasperated tone to send the watch back to
: Omega Pa. Didn’t get the name of a contact
: and no effort was made for them to pay for
: the shipping.

: Obviously, I’m not too happy with Omega and
: their customer service. I don’t want a
: "repaired and refinished" watch
: when 5 months ago it was a brand new one.
: I’m going to contact Omega in Switzerland
: before I do anything more with this watch.
: From day one, I was committed to having any
: service requiring the opening of the watch
: to be done in Switzerland because I don’t
: trust the service here in the US due to past
: experiences with other Omegas of mine. Omega
: and Womble were informed of this before I
: sent the watch in for repair.

: Can anyone offer any advice on a contact within
: Omega that I can contact? Am I asking to
: much to have this new watch replaced with a
: brand new one?

: Thanks, John