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After 17 long weeks...

ninjamattic
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I spoke with the service center this morning, while they were very understanding of my situation, because I sent it in through my AD, they advised me I have to resolve the matter through them. While I am perfectly able to check on the status of the repair, I cannot initiate any actions to resolve the service issue as it was serviced under the AD's account. Soooooooo, wish me luck as I go try and wrangle this into not being another four month nightmare.
 
bardamu
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Send it back immediately. That's unacceptable 馃檨
 
ninjamattic
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Well here's a fun update. I took the watch out of the case this morning, hoping that somehow those scratches and dust particles had majicked away over night, only to find that the day window has stuck mid-change. At this point I'm furious. One or two things slipping past QC, ok, but three? I spoke to a watchmaker in the area that services a lot of high end pieces, and he was shocked that the New Jersey service center I sent it to had missed the dust, let alone the scratches. Mind boggled about the date window. The AD and I are going to have a very serious conversation within the hour.
 
3nicewatches
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ninjamattic ninjamattic
Well here's a fun update. I took the watch out of the case this morning, hoping that somehow those scratches and dust particles had majicked away over night, only to find that the day window has stuck mid-change. At this point I'm furious. One or two things slipping past QC, ok, but three? I spoke to a watchmaker in the area that services a lot of high end pieces, and he was shocked that the New Jersey service center I sent it to had missed the dust, let alone the scratches. Mind boggled about the date window. The AD and I are going to have a very serious conversation within the hour.
I read somewhere (possibly here) that the day sticking mid change is a common problem with the triple date. In fact, mine had been doing that for a while before service (curiously though, only on Tue to Wed and Wed to Thu changes). I used to tap the watch (I know, bad!) to make it complete the change. But since it was serviced last year it has no longer been sticking. I agree that it's another issue you should have them address.

But regarding New Jersey, I thought you said that it was a SoCal service center did the work?
 
ninjamattic
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I found out this morning I was wrong. When I called the general number they had been transferring me to NJ.
 
3nicewatches
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ninjamattic ninjamattic
I found out this morning I was wrong. When I called the general number they had been transferring me to NJ.
OK, got you. I wonder where mine went to...since I dropped it off at an NYC boutique I was assuming New Jersey - but it didn't take 17 weeks though. It ended up taking nine and a half weeks, which I was OK with given that those weeks included the Thanksgiving holiday. Anyway, good luck with your AD - I'd be very surprised if they don't look after you with this.
 
ninjamattic
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Ok, so I just left the AD. They got on the phone with the service center, who asked to speak to me. I explained what had happened, how long it took, and my frustration with the whole situation. The rep was extremely apologetic, saying repeatedly that on behalf of Omega they were embarrassed that so much had been missed in QC. He told me that they were going to go ahead and work with me directly, as they tracked the repair history and found the AD was the primary cause of the delays in service. As it was a rework, it was going to go directly to a service center in Seattle for expedited special treatment. They are sending me an overnight label to get it in the service center by tomorrow, and will be sending me my own login to their service portal to track progress. I have to say, I was so happy with that phone call, and the option to deal with the manufacturer directly, that the estimated four week maximum for the turnaround didn鈥檛 even make me mad. I really do feel like I made the right decision with my purchase.
 
3nicewatches
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Excellent, that's great news, and four weeks really is not too bad for taking care of this imo.
 
ninjamattic
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3nicewatches 3nicewatches
Excellent, that's great news, and four weeks really is not too bad for taking care of this imo.
I agree. I know the amount of craftsmanship involved in this sort of thing, so I understand that it takes time. I am grateful that they treated me like I actually mattered as a customer. That truly makes all the difference.
 
valkyrie_rider
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My blue triple date was running a bit slow (i.e. -11s/day), but with low beat error (0.0s) and good amplitude (282 degrees). I decided to have it serviced since I didn't know its history.

Went to an independent (and certified) watchmaker in Los Gatos (CA) in a Tuesday, showed the watch and asked him if he could service it.

He said: " _ Sure, no problem! Should be done in 2 weeks.".
Which I said: " _ Oh, man... I'm travelling next week. You think could be done earlier?".
The answer: " _ Call me next Monday and we will see".

Monday the watch was serviced and the watchmaker asked to have an extra day to further regulate it. Got the watch the following day (so 7 days for full service) and I'm a happy camper: main spring was replaced, the watch was cleaned, lubricated, regulated and is keeping great time ever since.

The date changes at mid-night as expected (see below photos of a timegrapher reading after/before service).

So my suggestion to anyone is: try to find a local certified watchmaker. He will get the job done faster and will provide proper care to your watch with the same or better prices than Omega Service center.
IMG_20181218_124623 (1).jpg IMG_20181206_190825.jpg
Edited:
 
ninjamattic
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Los Gatos is about an hour from me. I could easily have gone there. Since the issue was with the original service, I a) didn't want to pay to have it done AGAIN, and b) wanted to give Omega a chance to get it right. For future services, I'll likely find someone closer with an excellent reputation.
 
valkyrie_rider
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@ninjamattic completely agree! It is fair that you receive (i.e. service) what you paid for.

For next jobs, I would consider 'The Village Watchmaker' in Los Gatos. My recommendation is based on the fact that I have had 3 watches serviced/regulated by them and all 3 turned out great!
 
ninjamattic
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Fantastic! As a Bay Area native, I keep everything here that I can. I can drive anywhere in the Bay from end to end in about an hour and a half. Way better than shipping stuff.
 
ninjamattic
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Question for the group: Do you guys keep the parts they send back after service? Is there a reason to keep them safe or otherwise available? I'm looking at these old parts and thinking, "I bet I could do some stuff with that."
 
3nicewatches
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I鈥檝e kept mine so far, but to be honest I can鈥檛 give you any reason why I鈥檝e done that! Maybe having the original hands could be useful for collectors, at least of some models? But I鈥檓 really not the right person to comment.
 
fakinbacon
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valkyrie_rider valkyrie_rider
My blue triple date was running a bit slow (i.e. -11s/day), but with low beat error (0.0s) and good amplitude (282 degrees). I decided to have it serviced since I didn't know its history.

Went to an independent (and certified) watchmaker in Los Gatos (CA) in a Tuesday, showed the watch and asked him if he could service it.

Was it Sean at the Village Watchmaker? I live in Santa Cruz and he's the closest watchmaker to me. Really nice dude and was able to regulate my Speedmaster and Nomos Tangomat to within +1/2 seconds per day. I'm just slightly hesitant to consider him for a full service though since I'm not sure if he has an account to get OEM parts. Any idea if that's the case?
 
valkyrie_rider
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@fakinbacon Yep!

AFAICT, he can get the OEM parts for Omegas. Unsure about Nomos.

So far my Triple Date is behaving beautifully after the full service.
 
ninjamattic
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Well, after customer service told me a diagnostic would not be required, a diagnostic was required, and the promised faster than light turnaround doesn't appear to be so fast. Everything is finally in the system, and the estimated completion date for service is 3/7. I'm a bit frustrated, as my watch will now be in service the majority of my ownership, nearly seven months out of my possession. It would seem when they looked it over, they determined the case refinish that was done during the previous service was unsatisfactory, so in addition to repairing the damaged movement, and replacing the damaged hands, they are going to do that again as well. I will be a little bit of a squeaky wheel to hopefully move things along, but also work to maintain my understanding and appreciation of the level of craftsmanship required for this sort of thing. I gotta say... next service is 100% getting done by a reputable local.
 
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