mrsnak
4814
Dealing with eccentric watchmakers
While I'm of the school that thinks anyone who is a serious watchmaker has to be eccentric, have a dilemma and would like some advice on the best way to handle this.
I found a great local watchmaker that Dr. No and I have been going to for a while now. He used to be fairly prompt with services, but now certain ones that one would think should be relatively quick, now take ages.
Gave him a couple watches last year, and several right at the beginning of this year. These were not high end pieces, but nice, relatively common watches that parts exist for without too much effort. Two were on the verge of being finished in April. Now, all I get are excuses.
It started with an overseas trip in February, then "I'm just now getting caught up from the trip" in the ensuing months. Now it's waiting for a jewel for the UG that's taken 3 months after he broke a replacement back then. Excuse now is that another local watchmaker died and he had to take over the work. "I'm just now starting to get caught up", was what I heard a month ago. I ask about the UG, but don't even say anything about the others.
Ironically, I see him on occasion for adjustments and work that he can do while I wait. We get along well and always spend at least a hour or so when I drop by talking about watches & clocks. Carefully avoid any confrontation about the watches of mine he has, and he always has a steady stream of customers that seem to be picking up quickly turned over repairs when I'm there. He also repaired a couple very rare clocks for me in short time.
At this point, I'm almost ready to just find another UG and let him do whatever he needs to do, since the guy is so good that I don't want to irritate him. Don't think he's being malicious, but on the other hand, he's hard to read. I once had a watchmaker keep an heirloom pocketwatch of mine for 6 years until I finally just took it back. I had it repaired by another in 2 weeks...
I seriously can see this going in the same direction.
Any thoughts?
Dealing with eccentric watchmakers
While I'm of the school that thinks anyone who is a serious watchmaker has to be eccentric, have a dilemma and would like some advice on the best way to handle this. I found a great local watchmaker that Dr. No and I have been going to for a while now. He...
Unlike us, they don't stay young forever.
I think (and have been told by watchmakers) that watchmakers slow down as they age. Sometimes it's more than slowing down: the quality as well as the quantity of their work may suffer. Sometimes they seem to quit paying attention, which is not unreasonabl...
I agree with mkvc about why it takes so long
to have a watch serviced. But I am fortunate to have found a very good watch guy nearby who has worked on most of my watches, which are mostly chronographs. He is very busy all the time. One day last year, I went to have him service my Omega Speedo, and t...
I think he is behaving like that because....
he can. Everything,eve your patience,has a limit. Put your foot down,after all he is not a brain surgeon.You ve been kind,generous and respectful..watchmaker or butcher,sometimes some people take advantage of that...... Mo
That's been my feeling for a while...
... But want to at least end the relationship in a positive way if he is unable to give me the respect I have shown him. Hate to burn bridges if I don\'t have to.
What I've learned
from my not so wast experience is i) mechanical watches gained much much interest among general population in last 5 years (from where I come from) so my watchmaker is flooded with repairs and services hence more time to do something for us old customers ...
Thanks for the thoughts
Right there with you. The bigger problem with this guy is that he also teaches and lectures. He is also in his late 50s or so... Not an old coot by any stretch.
Mine is not eccentric but ...
Since there is a demand ramp up and he and his small team are very good the turnaround time is increasing dramatically, even for small jobs. Another point to consider is the fact that we are friends and he knows that I always trade patience for quality. A...
Quick update ...
" Tomorrow ". This word, in watchmaking lingo, means " next week ". Cheers, Nilo
I'm calling my guy tomorrow...
...and if I don\'t get something definitive, I may cut my losses and pull everything, but I do know he at least had one on mine fully apart. Hate to take it back in that shape.
I feel for you MrSnak...
having just waited nine months for a cleaning and a new crystal for a simple 17 jewel movement. When I dropped off the watch, the store owner/repairer told me six weeks. Because the shop is 2-1/2 hours driving from my home, I could not bug him constantly,...
+1 on Moc
But in addition you say that when you see the repair guy you always spend at least an hour talking to him about watches and clocks. Is the penny starting to drop? The guy is telling you that he is starting to catch up, implication being that he is behind,...
He appears to be working on watches when I come in...
...and my watches are never there, always "at his house". We usually only talk while he performs work on a watch, but he does tend to be chatty, and any lengthy discussion will always be from his end.
Common complaints, sadly
As I have a full shop of tools and parts, and trained for a few years, I do most of my own work and a few jobs for others. I can say with considerable embarrassment that I have had a couple customer watches for a year, and one clock. I don't intentionally...
Thanks mike
Probably going to be my plan of attack, as diplomatically as I can muster.
Well, this is eye-opening
I thought I was suffering alone but I see that service delays are common....unless we are all using the same watchmaker!
It's either 35 minutes or ...
Thanks Doc, So it's either 35 min or 12 h 35 min to disassemble the Bulova. ;-) Looking forward to the cleaning, lubrication and reassembly photos. But I guess that sourcing damaged parts and/or manufacturing replacements is a real bottleneck when it come...
The only bottleneck on mine...
..is really replacing a jewel. The watch was in fine shape, save a cleaning, aside from that. He broke one putting it in but ordered a couple backups. The only task he said he had to do was to do slight milling for an easier fit.
Maybe it takes this long because....
clean Load the baskets Clean Dry Reassemble Clean the balance wheel Oiling cap jewels Assemble and oil balance And the real reason watchmakers take so long eeny, meany, miny, moe..... ...
Even the most revered, put on god like pedestal watchmakers
"who can do no wrong" do this either as a matter of course or more than once in awhile. The only one in my humble experience who has never done this to me (though he was at the mercy of some critical component supply problems, but he did what any good bus...
By the way
My best friend had a platinum travel time which went back to Patek for a five year service, nothing wrong with the watch, and it took 6 months to return and a massive bill!
At this point, I'd happily take a 6 month turnaround...
Remember, we're not talking about obscure parts, but just refitting a jewel.
I'm going to go out on a limb . . .
. . . to venture that a good portion of the cause for seemingly interminable delays can be laid to the time and effort involved in searching for parts. To make a long story short, it's taken over a year to get a handle on the technical issue with my IWC c...
We've both talked about this...
...and I know you would rather avoid making waves with any of your situations, but I'm not waiting for a part from Germany, just the time for him to put in a jewel (that he already has). He doesn't return emails, and almost never has returned a phone call...
my experience..
From the information you've given me I would be a little concerned, especially as the watches are 'at home'... Where I live there are suprisingly lots of people offering watch repairs. Having used a couple of the most highly recommended ones I will certai...
half the problem could be the hour spent chatting
If he sees 5 or 6 people pop in for a simple adjustment and they all spend an hour chatting like you do that effectively writes off most of his working day. He could of course be overwhelmed with work. I think you need to ask him, in your normal polite ma...
SayGoodbye
Whatever this guys excuse, As you're the cash paying customer, and are treating him nicely, respectfully and fairly, he needs to realize he does owe you good service in return for your patronage. If he keeps ill-treating you, there's no option but to move...