Just a quick note to laud the exceptional service I recently received from Engelbert and the other professionals at the Montreal Swatch Group (Omega) Service Center. I had previously made the mistake of taking my numerous watches to a non-authorized service shop (SWS) where I had had reasonable results in the past (at the time I actually didn't know about the authorized service center...I'm a stickler when it comes to proper service & maintenance!). However, my latest Seamaster service left the crown partially stripped and the watch losing approx 5 mins (no typo!) a week. The watchmaker denied anything was wrong with the crown or, if it was, "it's the way it was when you brought it in"...nice. Long story short Omega instantly recognized the crown defect, and did a full overhaul & polishing on the 15 year old watch for a very reasonable price. It has now been restored to as-new condition and they are now doing a maintenance service on my Torino 2006 Olympic Speedmaster as well.

Just prior to the Seamaster service I brought my 1st generation early-2000's Tissot T-Touch to the authorized service center for a battery change and was told they could no longer do battery changes on these watches due to design evolution. I was kind of stunned... do I just throw the watch in the garbage? No! They have a replacement watch program where for $300 they will take your old watch in trade and give you a brand new T-Touch II (your choice steel or titanium). So, I originally paid CHF800 (CAD $750) for the watch in approx 2001 and for a small upcharge of $300 they give me a brand new superior model worth approx $1200, 17 years later. Stunned again, but in a good way

THAT is Customer Service. Needless to say they will be doing all future service on my numerous Swatch Group products.

 

Great to know that you received exceptional customer service

 

Great to hear your watch was taken care of!

 

What would you have done if that watch was sentimental, such as having worn it at your wedding or during the birth ion a child and it was that child's birth year watch?

I think it's great service in terms of upgrading to new for a small price uncharge if that's what you want, but not so great when they turn a $750 watch into a paperweight if you actually don't want to part with it.

 

I could have kept the old Tissot...it's not like they repossessed it! In my case I preferred getting a brand new and superior watch for not much $

 

As long as you actually sat down and thought about it, in the end you know which decision would have made you happier but do consider how you would have felt a few years down the road if you think back... If there is any chance of regret... It was a mistake!

 

I know you could’ve kept it, but they certainly made it harder to keep a potentially sentimental watch for many years to come, when they don’t plan on servicing those watches anymore and refuse to replace the battery. 17 years is not that old to refuse a battery change.

I guess I’m just opposed to the mentality of a watch manufacturer that would render a potentially sentimental watch obsolete so soon. While we know that OMEGA can’t repair or service some movements anymore, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them refusing to do a battery change on even a 40-year-old Omega quartz.

I’m curious, if someone sends in and OMEGA F300, will Omega change the battery on that or would they refuse because if they damage the movement it can’t be replaced? If the movement is a fragile movement like that one, then maybe I could understand the Swatch service center not wanting to take the risk. But they could’ve said “we’ll try to change the battery but it’s fragile and if we break the movement you’ll have to pay $300 to replace the watch.” And have you sign a release.

I’m happy that you’re happy, but it bothers me that some of my inexpensive watches are sentimental to me and that a manufacture might refuse the same thing to me.

 

I will admit to finding it curious they would not do a simple battery replacement. Who care about technology advancement -- I just want my watch to run again (more of a reason to have a local watchmaker, or even a little bit of DIY ability).

 

Couple of things - the original T-Touch models are fraught with reliability problems - in the past these have been hot topics of conversation in watchmaker circles. Many times the watch works fine right up until the battery dies, and when you swap the battery all hell breaks loose. Since watch repair is a game of tag, I'm not going to be "it" by being the one who last touched it before it blew up (metaphorically speaking - they don't actually explode, at least that I've heard of) so I refuse to work on them personally, and Swatch is taking the same approach.

Tissot release the T-Touch II and Expert and those solved a lot of the problems of the original model. From a business standpoint it makes perfect sense for them to stop replacing batteries in a product that is so unreliable, because it will simply lead to more ill will with customers who come back with the watch not working right. Better to potentially piss off a very small percentage of people who might assign some sentimental value to this watch, then to have the ongoing complaints from those watches that have problems over and over again.

This is the application of Swatch group policy in action - they can't be assured of the watch getting through the warranty period after a service. I would caution though that the extreme nature of the solution as a result of that policy is specific to this watch, and doesn't apply to other watches that are even much older. As you can see for many people having a newer and better watch is not a problem.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks for the update Al, I appreciate it.