zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: The horrible thing is that John's AD's status
: was revoked....
: But I can still go down the road to a Sam's
: Club or Costco and buy a grey market watch.
: What kind of message is Omega really sending?
: Lets get rid of the good ADs and let the Grey
: Market watches still tarnish the brand...
: Omega is worrying about stopping the wrong
: group of people from selling their watches.

You know, one of the biggest reasons I'm so angry is that I feel that Omega betrayed my trust. I built up a relationship with my AD that benefitted both myself and others. If I ever had a question, they were only a phone call or an e-mail away. Likewise, when I would receive an e-mail from someone and I needed my AD to get me an answer, I could always do so. Believe me, this happened countless times over the past 3 years.

Our relationship benefitted everyone, including Omega (yes, that's right, OMEGA). Customers were happy because my AD sold them watches at a great price and provided them with great service. My AD was happy because he was making money selling watches. Omega was happy because my AD was buying watches from them by the caseload. Then, all of a sudden, Omega became focused on image rather than their loyal customers and retailers.

The way I see it, people have two options:

1) Walk into one of those high end mall/chain stores that carry all of the "exclusive" brands. You speak to a salesperson who thinks a co-axial escapement has something to do with a prison break, pay full retail or get a menial discount, and walk out thinking "I just had the privilege of enjoying an upscale buying experience."

2) Walk into an AD like mine. Try on as many watches as you want and have all of your questions answered by people who know and love watches. Get a great discount, and walk away thinking, "Those are the kind of people I want to give my business to."

I think the saddest thing of all is that I received an e-mail from my AD telling me how much he will miss talking to all of the people I referred to him. He mentioned how much he enjoyed talking to so many people who were as passionate about watches as he is. Most of the people who walked in off the street weren't WIS's like us, so he loved the technical conversations. He used to comment to me quite frequently that "You always refer such nice people to us." It was a win-win situation for both dealer and customer.

This is going to take some time for me to get over. The way I feel right now, if my AD decides to acquire another brand to replace Omega, I will be very tempted to leave Omega behind.