I went into Omega to change the strap on one of my constellations. I wanted to move a 7077 bracelet from one to another and didn't have my tool handy as I was in the office. The lady there told me they would not do this as the 7077 was not an Omega bracelet. She tried very hard to convince me Omega never made expansion bracelets even in the past and they could not take off the band for me because it was not genuine. After some back and forth the technician did agree to change the band for me, but they were quite rude about the whole thing and even when I left they were convinced the band was not real. Anyone ever experience something like that before?
I'm fortunate, I guess. One of the salesmen at my OB is a real student of Omega and is pretty well versed on vintage Omegas (I think he reads AJTT at bedtime). I know that's something he would have caught.
Only experience like that I had was taking my BoR to Omega in Dubai Mall to have a couple of links removed Their technicians took one look at it and said they would have to send to Bienne
The guys at my omega LOVE to see older omega's. They almost lost it to see my 50's Connie and one guy used it to teach the others about the "pie pan" and how the new globemaster comes from an older style.
Only trust the watchmaker with the white coat )) , I allways go with my vintage watches to them and got what I need without any problem even ont complicate cases
I didn't bother, I just left. I don't plan to bring them any of my watches again but it is a shame as it is directly across the street from my office.
The only time I ever set foot in an Omega Boutique I had a few pieces with me because I was traveling, one was brought in to assess a repair. The employees were--- I'm trying to find the word... gobsmacked... yes absolutely delighted seeing 1950's pieces in excellent condition, and it seemed as if the only really quality vintage Omega they had ever seen were in AJTT (which was laying within reach on one of the main showcases. They treated me very well and all three sales people huddled around handling the watches. The watchmaker was well informed and educated about vintage references and again, extremely nice. They spent some time showing me the current offerings knowing full well that I wouldn't be buying anything. This was at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.
This type of thing happens so often, in so many service venues, that when I get really annoyed, I use the line from "Cider House Rules." When I know they're either giving me a load of shit, or don't have the foggiest notion what they're talking about, I look them dead in the eye and say, "What is your business?" They will be puzzled, and then I repeat:"what is your business?" Then I turn around and leave.
My only experience with an O.B. was OK. The only acknowledgement of the vintage watch I was wearing came from the onsite technician who noticed I was wearing a Constellation F300hz. He thought it was fantastic although he was not very familiar with all the details of tuning fork movements. He made mention to the other associates who looked upon the watch with the curiosity of science students that had just seen an unknown species of frog. I think that Omega expects associates to know sales, not history. If I am right, they are not utilizing a valuable sales tool. I was there to buy AJTT their history text book.
I have to say the Omega staff were great and handled my dogleg Connie with a great deal of reverence and with exclamations of "wow an original Constellation!" Which was quite gratifying since I was surrounded by £hundreds of thousands of new Omegas (So that's when I felt 'obliged to try on the then new 18k pink Globemaster)
Would not have expected that from any store at the beverly center but i haven't been there in ten years