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Omega Boutiques unnecessary customer experience hostility

Archer
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Toishome Toishome
I buy my spring bars here. I am assuming they are the house brand. I buy the better ones.

https://perrinwatchparts.com/

The best bars that Perrin sells are not as good as Omega bars...



Below you will see the Swiss made Horotec bars that Perrin sells, along with an Omega equivalent bar. The Omega bars are far better quality.
 
R
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I will have to try this as well LOL! I have 2 Omega Boutiques here in Miami and the oficial Swatch repair center as well.
I do not have any extra bands now BUT I will see if I can pass by maybe this weekend and ask for some lol!!! My watch was purchase Grey Market SO!!! if they check the SN I might get a huge NOOOOO jajajajaja
 
rainking
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I've only ever bothered going into a few different OBs partially for this reason. In my experience--and I know it doesn't apply to everyone who works at an OB--the people I've encountered who work there are generally morons. Or at least wholly uneducated/uninformed about many different things. I've never really had anyone be rude to me, per se, but god some of these people are clueless. I've actually gotten into arguments with a couple of them over stupid facts about their own watches, like whether they ever made a particular model in titanium (they did), and whether or not a water resistance number actually means that number (it does). If someone in one of these stores was actually rude or condescending to me, I'd probably just laugh and tell them to F off, literally. Like having a job selling watches entitles you to snobby arrogance? Give me a break LOL
 
Evitzee
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You guys sure go through a lot of springbars! I must be living dangerously, I'm not continuously swapping out bars. Or are you just shooting them into the air with insufficient springbar tool training?

I've had nothing but positive experiences in the dozen or so boutiques I've visited in the US and abroad. Always very polite and pretty well informed by the normal watch retailer standards. The only service work I needed from them was to fit a new strap and deployant clasp to my CK2998 in January, no problems whatsoever from the San Antonio boutique. In fact they didn't have the 16mm clasp in stock so they just took it off one of their watches in the showcase, the usual jive you would have gotten from most places would have been, 'sorry, we'll have to order it for you'. But maybe all of these places are insufficiently woke in the art of springbar attitude to satisfy Omega collectors.
Edited:
 
cristos71
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YY77 YY77
Local AD is selling them at 10€ per springbar.

😲

I think I need to get myself into the repro Omega springbar market, it sounds like there's a pretty good margin to be made! 😗
 
PhilF
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Interesting that people purportedly trained to sell luxury watches don't understand that good service creates repeat customers, it's not like they're selling something made of unobtanium. The last visit I had at my AD, I asked for a spare pair, the GAVE me a pair......and a spare. Oh yes, and a thank you too. A happy customer is generally more apt to spend more money, simple concept, not universally understood. My new Seamaster 300 comes next week.
 
CJpickup57
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89-0 89-0
I go to the NYC OB, they have given them to me for free and also charged me (I think $4/ea?). But I've never been refused.

That’s what I pay from my local AD.
 
Rasputin
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Or just reuse the same spring bars between strap changes and save yourself the OB drama. Maybe I’m oversimplifying a complicated process?
 
tritto
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I've had no issues buying spring bars in Australia. I live in a state that has no OB or ADs. I sent an email to the OB in Sydney and they were happy to sell me two pairs of 2208s and two pairs of 2207s. They charged $1.70AUD per bar. The postage cost was a bit silly so I asked a work colleague who would be nearby the following week to pick them up. Smooth as silk.
They were also happy to quote on a 1998/849 bracelet and end links.
 
kilofinal
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The problem is that you didn't ask for the limited edition spring bars....
 
R
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Question,

I know this might sound stupid to some BUT, I purchased an Omega NATO on their website, I did not like it and I returned it but I think without really knowing, I left the NATO Spring Bar on the watch and returned the one that originally came with my watch!.

My watch is the Speed master Racing with Rubber Strap 19 mm, is it safe to keep it like that or should I call Omega and explain the situation?

Thank you!
 
watchos
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R ranger052
Question,

I know this might sound stupid to some BUT, I purchased an Omega NATO on their website, I did not like it and I returned it but I think without really knowing, I left the NATO Spring Bar on the watch and returned the one that originally came with my watch!.

My watch is the Speed master Racing with Rubber Strap 19 mm, is it safe to keep it like that or should I call Omega and explain the situation?

Thank you!

• 068st2208 for 21mm Bracelets / 20mm Straps

• 068st2207 for 20mm Bracelets / 19mm Straps

They don’t seem to marked so I don’t know how to tell them apart.
 
R
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watchos watchos
• 068st2208 for 21mm Bracelets / 20mm Straps

• 068st2207 for 20mm Bracelets / 19mm Straps

They don’t seem to marked so I don’t know how to tell them apart.


I think after all I will have to visit the Omega Boutique and explain the whole thing and pray they give me the correct Spring Bar.
 
watchos
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R ranger052
I think after all I will have to visit the Omega Boutique and explain the whole thing and pray they give me the correct Spring Bar.
🍿
 
W
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Recently I’ve been visiting my local OB for information and to see a few pieces I’m interested in. Each time they were informative and educational. They held a pretty rare piece for me for quite a long time with zero pressure. Offered to answer any questions and changed the battery in my wife’s Seamaster no charge.

I fully know some other stores might have ‘mall staff’ but I can’t say anything bad about my local OB. Okay, well, the price could be comparable to an AD. But that’s another topic.
 
dinexus
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I had a strange experience at the NYC Boutique recently, where I went in to get a new strap & clasp for my Speedmaster, and the watchmaker insisted he couldn't sell me anything that wasn't original to the watch. After convincing him that the OEM rubber strap didn't fit me, he produced a few 21mm examples from the back and a matching clasp, but said he couldn't fit either of them to the watch. Bit more friendly conversation later, he relented and fit a nylon DSOTM strap & clasp to my watch, and I left happy. Was pretty different from the super welcoming experiences I've had in the past at Boutiques (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Munich), where staff bend over backwards to make sure I have the straps and parts I need for my watches. Signs of a new policy maybe?
 
Archer
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dinexus dinexus
I had a strange experience at the NYC Boutique recently, where I went in to get a new strap & clasp for my Speedmaster, and the watchmaker insisted he couldn't sell me anything that wasn't original to the watch. After convincing him that the OEM rubber strap didn't fit me, he produced a few 21mm examples from the back and a matching clasp, but said he couldn't fit either of them to the watch. Bit more friendly conversation later, he relented and fit a nylon DSOTM strap & clasp to my watch, and I left happy. Was pretty different from the super welcoming experiences I've had in the past at Boutiques (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Munich), where staff bend over backwards to make sure I have the straps and parts I need for my watches. Signs of a new policy maybe?

Not a new policy...been that way for some time. From the Omega Customer Care Policy:

"OMEGA can only guarantee the hold of the bracelet/strap which is foreseen for a model. Therefore, the fitting of a bracelet/strap which is not intended for a watch should not be carried out within the official OMEGA network."

If you insist, they will sell you one, but are not supposed to not fit it to the watch. They will also tell you that they will have no liability for any damage coming from fitting a strap or bracelet that isn't meant for a specific watch.
 
3nicewatches
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dinexus dinexus
I had a strange experience at the NYC Boutique recently, where I went in to get a new strap & clasp for my Speedmaster, and the watchmaker insisted he couldn't sell me anything that wasn't original to the watch. After convincing him that the OEM rubber strap didn't fit me, he produced a few 21mm examples from the back and a matching clasp, but said he couldn't fit either of them to the watch. Bit more friendly conversation later, he relented and fit a nylon DSOTM strap & clasp to my watch, and I left happy. Was pretty different from the super welcoming experiences I've had in the past at Boutiques (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Munich), where staff bend over backwards to make sure I have the straps and parts I need for my watches. Signs of a new policy maybe?
I was considering replacing the cordura strap on my original DSOTM with the leather strap from the Sedna Black version and I had an email exchange about this with someone at the Brookfield Place NYC OB (I'm guessing you were at the other one on 5th Ave because of the onsite watchmaker). Anyway, they said they would order the replacement strap for me and would fit it onto my watch in the boutique. Granted they are very similar watches, but still the leather version is not technically intended for the original DSOTM - although maybe Omega are OK with it since the cases of the two watches are the exact same size and shape?

All irrelevant in the end - I have fallen in love with the cordura strap and I think it's the perfect counter-match for the original DSOTM with its shiny dial and bezel.

EDIT: I'm wearing it today so what the hell - here's a gratuitous pic that in no way helps the purpose of this thread
IMG_0849.JPG
Edited:
 
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