The two criteria I would deem relevant are 1/ are they recommended by people you trust and do they work with many like minded collectors 2/ whether he’s responsive to requests such as « do not polish ». Another critical factoe is how transparent they are with what needs to be done, willing to give you an early estimate of how much work needs to be done on your watch based on an initial inspection.
Also if he’s willing to inspect watches and not necessarily push you to service them (that depends on the watch of course), you know he’s not out to fleece you and that’s a very good step toward building trust.
Some well known watchmakers take a long time - and that’s a matter of personal choice if you can put up with it.
As for shop orderliness, mine has a shop which looks like a bazaar, as a matter of fact he even lost a gasket of mine somewhere in there- but he’s still such a terrific guy I forgave him.
You need to be able to trust he didn’t cut corners in doing what you’re paying him for.
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