Perks at Boutique and general etiquette

Tim1477 · Jul 19, 2022

I recently visited my local Omega boutique to see the speedmaster professional. I had a good rapport with the sales gentleman helping me out. When I asked him if there is any difference between buying in store vs online (as I planned on shipping out of state) he told me he would include the extra band (the nylon/leather combo). We took the time to try that one on and sized it appropriately. I thanked him for his time and told him I’d return within a few days to make a purchase as I wanted to sleep on a big purchase for a couple nights.
I returned 2 days later and met with a different salesmen (after explaining the help I got from the first visit). When I mentioned the prior offer of the additional band for buying in store, the new person told me I would have to pay the $250 for the clasp to make the band functional. Now, it’s possible the previous rep was going to have a “gotcha” moment at the end with purchase, but after trying it on and no mention of the extra fee I would have been very surprised.
Am I okay to feel upset about this, or is this standard? Should I have known the band and clasp were separate? I have to return to the store to pick up the band when it is delivered (it wasn’t in stock when I bought the watch) and I don’t know if I should express my disappointment on how this was handled to the manager. Truthfully I felt a little dupped and was left with a bad feeling despite buying a watch I was very excited about. What are your thoughts?

tldr; I thought the band and clasp would be included as a perk for buying a new speedmaster professional but when I went to actually buy it i was informed it would actually be $250.

Evitzee · Jul 19, 2022

Traditionally the strap 'bonus' includes the Omega deployant clasp because you can't use the strap without the buckle. I'd take it up with the manager ASAP just to clarify the situation, I'd be surprised if the manager would expect you to have to pay for the buckle. But you never know, perhaps Omega is tightening down on the perks.

I bought a Speedmaster from the Geneva boutique in 2017 and it was clear from the start that the strap of my choice and buckle were free of charge. But each boutique can adjust their freebies.

Tim1477 · Jul 19, 2022

The second person I talked to that told me it would be $250 told me he was a manager which is why I didn’t initially push back harder on it, but I was taken by surprise and in hindsight I wish I had pushed back initially. Why would the initial salesmen offer the strap, not say anything, but then at the end surprise me with an extra $250 charge? I feel like it was really poor customer service to have that arrangement and then change that offer when I returned to buy the watch, but I just wanted to bounce this idea off other people maybe more experienced with this process to make sure I’m not out of line.

Evitzee · Jul 19, 2022

T Tim1477
The second person I talked to that told me it would be $250 told me he was a manager which is why I didn’t initially push back harder on it, but I was taken by surprise and in hindsight I wish I had pushed back initially. Why would the initial salesmen offer the strap, not say anything, but then at the end surprise me with an extra $250 charge? I feel like it was really poor customer service to have that arrangement and then change that offer when I returned to buy the watch, but I just wanted to bounce this idea off other people maybe more experienced with this process to make sure I’m not out of line.

Agree it is poor customer service to offer a bonus item to induce and complete the sale which actually requires another $250 expenditure by the customer. You are not out of line to question this.

bmpennington · Jul 19, 2022

T Tim1477
I recently visited my local Omega boutique to see the speedmaster professional. I had a good rapport with the sales gentleman helping me out. When I asked him if there is any difference between buying in store vs online (as I planned on shipping out of state) he told me he would include the extra band (the nylon/leather combo). We took the time to try that one on and sized it appropriately. I thanked him for his time and told him I’d return within a few days to make a purchase as I wanted to sleep on a big purchase for a couple nights.
I returned 2 days later and met with a different salesmen (after explaining the help I got from the first visit). When I mentioned the prior offer of the additional band for buying in store, the new person told me I would have to pay the $250 for the clasp to make the band functional. Now, it’s possible the previous rep was going to have a “gotcha” moment at the end with purchase, but after trying it on and no mention of the extra fee I would have been very surprised.
Am I okay to feel upset about this, or is this standard? Should I have known the band and clasp were separate? I have to return to the store to pick up the band when it is delivered (it wasn’t in stock when I bought the watch) and I don’t know if I should express my disappointment on how this was handled to the manager. Truthfully I felt a little dupped and was left with a bad feeling despite buying a watch I was very excited about. What are your thoughts?

tldr; I thought the band and clasp would be included as a perk for buying a new speedmaster professional but when I went to actually buy it i was informed it would actually be $250.

The biggest issue is with over paying for the watch by paying full MSRP.

Braindrain · Jul 19, 2022

Way, way, way back, early in Uni when I was working P/T at an electronics retailer (long gone now), I'd often give freebies to complete the deal. While not out of line , they were perhaps more generous than management would have liked.

There was more than one customer who came back , didnt see me, and got a worse deal from the manager.

Perks at Boutique and general etiquette

Tim1477

Evitzee

Tim1477

Evitzee

bmpennington

Braindrain

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