zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: My Omega US service nightmare is finally over.
: (See my post 3/30/2001)

: Morals to the story: First, the U.S. Service
: Center dropped the ball, and I would be
: hesitant to use them again for anything
: other than essential warranty service.

Top notch after sales care is always a mayor factor when deciding to buy any particular brand. Years/decades down the road, it assures your timepiece will look and function like the day you bought it and retain its value. This area could DEFINITELY be improved.

Offering official Omega owned and operated WALK IN centers in mayor cities (ie NYC, LA etc), would indeed be a great start. The Lancaster PA center handles ALL of the Swatch group brands, which tends to complicate things, specially dealing with them via mail and phone. It cuts their costs but....

All the other authorized service centers are not directly controlled by Omega, and there have been a couple horror stories reported. I personally know of a case in which a calendar wasn't fixed after several tries, just to get the watch back with fingerprints on the inside of the crystal and a hair between the dial and crystal. Unbelievable right? Well it did happen to a friend, in a US authorized repair facility. Also, some repair centers don't even know a thing about the 2500 caliber, "because it is TOO NEW", or can't repair a watch because it is "TOO OLD, takes too much time and there is not much money in it".

Ah... the beauty of taking your dear watch personally into a center that you know will do EVERYTHING right the first time, including refinishing it so it comes out like the day you bought it. Once again, those in charge please take note. Others have been doing this for quite a while, and it is certainly part of their unparalled success.

: Second, my experience emphasizes the
: benefits of buying from a reputable
: authorized dealer, as mine got me an
: excellent resolution. Third, both my dealer
: and the Omega rep went well beyond my
: requests and expectations to make up for the
: Service Center's mistakes.

Always a good idea. Generally speaking, you never know beforehand the quality of work done by those dealers who offer their own warranty. It is safe to assume that in most cases, you will get what you pay for. If you are purchasing a cheapo watch, with a big discount, then it might be OK to analize risk/benefits. For your expensive/precious timepieces, stick with the serious dealer who has a long history of quality service. (Not always easy to find, but they do exist and even give 25% + discounts).

With better after sales service, my collection of Omegas would indeed be growing, and more important, my early 1980's Seamaster would still be ticking!