I got a call from a guy today, who was asking about a repair he had done (not by me) to his watch which he has had for about ten years. He asks my opinion on quality watches. I find out he’s not happy with his watch because the “face” has deteriorated. So, what does he mean by “face”? The dial? No! The crystal? No! Turns out it is the bezel which has become damaged. He tells me he’s “careful” with his watches, and the fact this “damage” that has occurred is somehow a reflection on the “quality” of the watch! Turns out, his watch is an Omega Speedmaster! He has a major beef with the shop that worked on it, owing to the cost of the repair, and the fact that he didn’t like the result of the repair someone attempted to do to his bezel. I asked him how the cost of servicing the watch, and the fact that he damaged the bezel was a reflection on the “quality” of the watch! Name the brand of chronograph that wouldn’t be costly to service, and that wouldn’t show the effects of careless wear! Some people! Needless to say, he won’t be bringing the watch to me!

 

There is a reason I do not service watches for others. People only listen to what they already want to hear. They have a fantasy about what repair entails. and do not want to hear otherwise.

Too much liability. So many use magical thinking and expect miracles. And to do such things without physical tools. I get this with the pipe organs too. I am now having to study the National Electric Code Subsection 650. The person I was consulting for sold the company then had a stroke. The new owner has to deal with the changes in the regulations. It becomes all about "blame the messenger."

I forget what company sold "quality." Perhaps I should create a company that sells "Satisfaction." There was a Dr Who episode where they sold "Bliss" and everyone died from "ignorance." So probably not a good idea to sell the latter. It is deadly.

Wonder why governments now sell "Protection?" I thought that was a family business.

PS: I'll send "Thoughts and prayers, that the watch bezel will heal itself."

 

All I need to do is read “Next Door” daily to see that people are idiots and anyone in a service business must be a glutton for punishment.

 

Everything in life boiles down to expectations. It is clear that this guy has high expectations that can not be met.

 

Try police work. Everyone tells you how to do your job because they see double homicides solved on TV, in one hour! And that includes commercials! Now if they watch Kojak, well, that’s different…

 

Police get the triple whammy. Absolutely necessary but totally underappreciated, blamed for what the bad guys do even though you can't control what bad people do, and then second-guessed when things don't go to people's expectations. I've worked with plenty of police officers because of theft (and other things) in retail. They're people like anyone else.

People's expectations are wild. I dealt with it in management development as well- I don't know how many times I had an employee come up to me and say "I want to be promoted" and I'd say "ok, you need to work on X, Y, and Z" and then have them come back a week later and say "am I ready yet?" and I would have to say "you didn't work on X, Y, and Z; you decided to work on J and K instead. That's great, but you need to work on X, Y, and Z." And how many times that resulted in a blank, shocked what do you mean not working on the right things doesn't get me a promotion? sort of look.

 

Building trades can be tough, also, particularly people who have zero experience using their hands. People want natural products like wood and stone but expect machine like tolerances. Sorry, but doctors and lawyers were often the pickiest, often inventing reasons to withhold final payments.

 

As every day of my working existence is involved in a service environment I’m inclined to the view expressed above about managing clients’ expectations. That is, getting them to acknowledge the reality of where their instrument is at and what its capabilities are, particularly those with 100yo-plus instruments. I’ve taken to using the parable of the guy who enjoys taking his 1922 Model T for leisurely Sunday drives on 25 degree Autumn days but on Monday morning gets into the Benz or the Camry for the daily commute to work.

As that story is based on a real life experience I’m able to relate it with sincerity. Most people get it.

However, I do quite a lot of insurance work, inspecting and writing reports on incident affected instruments. As has always been the case some people react poorly to valuations but recently there’s been an increase in disputes over my use of the word ‘neglected’, which personally I think is a valid description of a piano that hasn’t been tuned for 30 or more years. Having one such discussion now where the son of the insured fired a few bullets (that’s entirely metaphorical for any US readers) in my direction but things have gone silent the past few days when I asked “how would you describe a piano that is more than a semitone flat and has 40+ sticking keys through lack of use?” He can hardly claim the 2cm of floor water that may possibly cause some corrosion in the castors, is responsible for that!

So, back to managing expectations…..