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AD Watchmaker polished my watch against my express wishes—how to resolve?

Evitzee
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Four pages in to this saga and not a picture of the refinished watch; was it expertly done, poorly done, something else? This forum puts a lot of importance on seeing pics, yet no one has said a peep about no images provided. I know the OP is upset because the nicks and bumps on his beater (his word) were erased but a couple of pics of the watch would add some context to the discussion. I don't see how getting a new case would have been the path forward IF the case was excellently touched up to a point where it is indistinguishable from a new case. Perhaps that is the basis for Oris saying they aren't going to get further involved.

OP says he's not ready to give up....to me that's a lawyer talking. At this point what is the OP looking for? A sincere apology from Oris, a new system that they have to follow in the future, a new watch, the service fee refunded, money for 'emotional pain and suffering', something else? At some point you have to ask yourself if it's worth going forward with more action. It's a beater watch, not a Philippe Dufour hand made watch. There is a difference.
 
cvalue13
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Evitzee Evitzee
yet no one has said a peep about no images provided

😗😉

cvalue13 cvalue13
Setting aside that a new case would be antithetical to any sentimental motivation, is it the case that this repair/polish was so poor that it changed the nature of the case aesthetic? If so, I do not think that has been mentioned by you - and it would help to see photos of the poor polish work that you feel can only be resolved by case replacement despite sentimentality costs.
 
Omega D
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Archer Archer
Very frustrating end to that one...they squandered an opportunity here to show they are customer focused.
It is strange how they insist on a polish at every service. They are dismissing the customers wishes. Agreed they wasted an opportunity to elevate the brand.
 
kippyk
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I used to work for a Swiss company for many years. Here is my speculation about what transpired:

There is no one more arrogant that an upper level Swiss manager. I suspect the internal groups at Oris have their own heirarchy and power clashes. In this case, I suspect it is service vs. sales. Service has a well-defined internal procedure of restoring watches. They are by definition correct and you are wrong. They are experts, and the customers are savages. If they admit that they should not polish watches if the customer requests it, then they are admitting that their procedure is not perfect. "That is not possible" I have often heard.

I suspect that sales came to the customer's defense because he wants to keep the customer happy for future business. Service says "then you provide the new case out of your budget" and then the sales manager says "that will affect my pie chart at the next weekly meeting". The Service Manager than says "My group is backlogged with work and I am hitting my bonus, so I do not care if it affects your sales in the future". And then they both call it a day because tomorrow is another bi-weekly bank holiday and they both want to watch soccer.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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jaspers jaspers
...it is standard practice to laser-polish out all nicks and dents because of warranty on the service...

If this is their policy, then it makes no sense at all.

How does polishing a case (or not) impact upon a warranty?

Unless they have written a policy which states that any watch returned to them for service will be restored to "as new condition"... which is frankly stupid.
 
Archer
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kippyk kippyk
I used to work for a Swiss company for many years. Here is my speculation about what transpired:

There is no one more arrogant that an upper level Swiss manager. I suspect the internal groups at Oris have their own heirarchy and power clashes. In this case, I suspect it is service vs. sales. Service has a well-defined internal procedure of restoring watches. They are by definition correct and you are wrong. They are experts, and the customers are savages. If they admit that they should not polish watches if the customer requests it, then they are admitting that their procedure is not perfect. "That is not possible" I have often heard.

I suspect that sales came to the customer's defense because he wants to keep the customer happy for future business. Service says "then you provide the new case out of your budget" and then the sales manager says "that will affect my pie chart at the next weekly meeting". The Service Manager than says "My group is backlogged with work and I am hitting my bonus, so I do not care if it affects your sales in the future". And then they both call it a day because tomorrow is another bi-weekly bank holiday and they both want to watch soccer.

Possibly the most cynical (and accurate) thing I've ever read on this forum. 😀
 
Archer
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tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
If this is their policy, then it makes no sense at all.

I guess I'm not 100% sure what "laser polish" means. Polishing with lasers? Not heard of that one, so I can only assume this is laser welding, and then polishing. Very unusual for any brand to do this on every watch that comes in, at least in my experience.
 
Transitus
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I totally sympathise with the OP who obviously cares a great deal about this issue. All I can say is that if it were me, what has transpired, including the lack of accountability in customer services would sour my relationship with the watch to the point that I would not want it around. Perhaps that's extreme - but that's what you get when passions are high.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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Archer Archer
I guess I'm not 100% sure what "laser polish" means. Polishing with lasers? Not heard of that one, so I can only assume this is laser welding, and then polishing. Very unusual for any brand to do this on every watch that comes in, at least in my experience.

I'm with you Al - I'm leaping to the same guess (what else could they mean? the mind boggles!), but it doesn't make sense. Why do the extra work if a) the customer doesn't expect it, b) hasn't asked for it, and in this case c) has specifically said they don't want it?

Unless they have technicians with five thumbs on each hand doing the disassembly, and the watches are treated to roughly that laser welding is needed afterwards? But this too would be bonkers.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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Transitus Transitus
I totally sympathise with the OP who obviously cares a great deal about this issue. All I can say is that if it were me, what has transpired, including the lack of accountability in customer services would sour my relationship with the watch to the point that I would not want it around. Perhaps that's extreme - but that's what you get when passions are high.

Poor relations with Oris (Switzerland and UK) led to me raffling off my first Oris Movember watch for charity... which has ultimately turned into a good thing for a Movember with nearly £50k raised over the last few years, but has put me off Oris for life - even if someone I really like is leading marketing for their US operation.
 
Waltesefalcon
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The one thing I've taken away from this thread is that Oris is like Omega, Rolex, and pretty much any other large Swiss firms. They don't care about customer service, at least not we consider customer service to be. The vast majority of their customers would rather have a brand new looking watch come back than the one that retains the nicks from childern, or looks like the same one their grandpa wore daily for fifty years. These firms don't make money off of sentimentality; so, for the most part, they refuse to cater to it.
 
Evitzee
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@cvalue13, I missed your prior peep about seeing some pictures. Like you I just don't see how asking for a new case compensates for Oris refinishing the original case against the OPs wishes unless the refinishing was done poorly, which has not been mentioned. The request just seems counterproductive. Some pictures would put some clarity in what we are talking about.
 
Jantar
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Evitzee Evitzee
@cvalue13, I missed your prior peep about seeing some pictures. Like you I just don't see how asking for a new case compensates for Oris refinishing the original case against the OPs wishes unless the refinishing was done poorly, which has not been mentioned. The request just seems counterproductive. Some pictures would put some clarity in what we are talking about.

It seems punitive.
 
perks713
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To me, it seems reasonable for the OP to say…. You altered my case against my wishes, I’d like a new unaltered case.

I also think it’s reasonable for Oris to say no. I would have expected Oris to offer an alternative option though. “No that’s way too much” and no proposed alternatives seems like the wrong approach.

I’ve only ever looked at Oris watches from private sellers so Oris wasn’t likely to get my money anyway… This kind of thing makes it even more unlikely that I buy one new from an AD.
 
jaspers
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Ok, too much to respond to here. My main points:
- what the Oris rep told me is that they “laser polish” (their words) any nicks/dents out of the case to prevent having to issue warranty when the customer drops/damages the watch when still under warranty. They can point to new signs of damage on the case and then refuse to issue warranty on the service.
- pics attached. The crown side of the case has not been polished, you can see sharp edges and bevels there. Not so much on the opposite, polished, side of the case, with more rounded edges. The difference between both sides of the case is quite visible.
- I appreciate how considerate many of you are. I don’t think I have to defend/justify what a acceptable outcome for me would be in these circumstances. As @Archer alluded to, I’d much rather have a factory-finished new case that would allow for new memories to be created, than one somewhat crudely re-finished side of a case to look at. I really don’t see why anyone would want to debate me here. This is the resolution that works for me.

E70D7EC9-B05D-4B18-B700-850837035556.jpeg 1C94705E-BEDF-4F69-885A-8D51FB660A3C.jpeg
Edited:
 
kkt
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Waltesefalcon Waltesefalcon
The one thing I've taken away from this thread is that Oris is like Omega, Rolex, and pretty much any other large Swiss firms. They don't care about customer service, at least not we consider customer service to be. The vast majority of their customers would rather have a brand new looking watch come back than the one that retains the nicks from childern, or looks like the same one their grandpa wore daily for fifty years. These firms don't make money off of sentimentality; so, for the most part, they refuse to cater to it.

Isn't there a bit of sentimentality in having mechanical watches at all?
 
cvalue13
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jaspers jaspers
what the Oris rep told me is that they “laser polish” (their words) any nicks/dents out of the case to prevent having to issue warranty when the customer drops/damages the watch when still under warranty. They can point to new signs of damage on the case and then refuse to issue warranty on the service.

This is an interesting take by ORIS, and one I’ll need to sleep on.
 
Waltesefalcon
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kkt kkt
Isn't there a bit of sentimentality in having mechanical watches at all?

I think that there is a perception that mechanical watches are higher quality than quartz watches. People are willing to shell out a lot of money for something they perceive as being top shelf. Look at Rolex's business model, it completely revolves around catering to people seeking prestige through the perception of quality and exclusivity.

These same people want to be perceived as successful, which means shiny new watches, not tatty looking things with dings and patina on the dial. Hence the reason why so many of us on OF will never use an AD for servicing or watches. What we treasure, the companies (and the general public) abhors.
 
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