Comments:
VERY disappointed with Lange boutique client service...
I'm an owner of several Lange pieces in current collection, more in the past. Always loved their services. And of course the watches.
I have a small wrist, so I always pickup a short strap with my watches (German straps seem extremely long). So last week I went to the Lange boutique in Hong Kong to purchase a short strap for my Dato (previous gen). I don't wear it that often, but stared to lately but the buckle/long strap combo was just not comfortable. They had a paired blue/grey short strap in contrasting stitches and an all black in short. They didn't have a short black with contrasting stitches in stock, which was what I was hoping for. The all blacked looked pretty good, so I took that strap and the staff installed it on the watch & buckle.
After looking at the watch for one day I just didn't like the all black look... I think the black with white stitches is the right fit for Dato. Perhaps I was used to looking at the original strap and other pictures... So I left the watch sitting for rest of the week to see if the all black would grow on me. By Friday I realized it wouldn't. So I went back to the boutique to ask for an exchange.
Now... I understand that I accepted the all black short strap when I purchased it. And in HK, most places don't accept exchanges. When a strap is placed on a deployment buckle and worn on the wrist, even for one day, the strap will crease some. But this is a Lange after all... what's the cost of a strap compared to the cost of the watch? And the cost of the strap compared to the cost of a happy customer... Guess what I was told... I was told that they cannot accept an exchange because it is now used.
This is a Lange boutique! One of a handful in the world! The original manufacture. You guys know the Dato... and with all my other Langes you can imagine how much I've invested in Lange. I've also bought many additional short straps from Lange... They've sent me countless catalogs and invited me to extravagant dinners in various cities... but they won't let me exchange a strap in less than a week!?!?!? What is the cost of a strap compared to a watch?! What is the margin on a strap that sells for $400 USD? Yes, sure, policy says they don't have to exchange it because I put it on the watch and wrist already... but what about customer service? They tell me if they did this for me then other might too. What is the chance of that? How many time would I ask for an exchange on the strap and how many others will use that as an opportunity!? Was that a joke?!
The staff are all very nice and courteous of course. The problem I think is that client service in many Asian locations are simply not flexible. I can understand that the policy is written a certain way, I know lawyers. But customer service is not a rigid set of rules. How are the staff trained? "Make sure the clients are happy... but follow the rules and policies!"
I'm just so surprised... shocked is more like it. It didn't even occur to me they might say no. Now I'm left with a really bad taste in my mouth from a brand that's simply amazing in terms of its watches. I'm going to send an email to the company. But don't want to just leave a feedback on the web form. Does anyone know of a direct email address or someone directly in client services? Please PM is you do.
Love to hear your thought and experience on something like this... Am I simply wrong in thinking I can get an exchange? Is this the case for other brands and other places? Sorry for the long email and thanks for reading. I just got back and wrote this right away... I'm just so darn shocked still!
Mr. Shocked.
Let me get this straight.
You expect them to hand you a new strap for one that has been used for a week?
You mentioned that they have invited you to many events and dinners etc. and that in itself is exemplary public relations and customer service. You have been treated as a VIP!
As for service in the boutique, they set standards that others wouldn't even come close to emulating IMO.
I agree with their principle, it's not a matter of the cost for 1 strap. They will gladly give you one or two if you have purchased watches from them directly or even a deployant for a higher end piece I believe.
Don't take this badly but you are expecting too much and I don't think any retailer is able to do the sort of exchange you are demanding. Something worn can never go back on the shelves again.
The best solution for you is to sell this like new strap and get yourself another one.
cheers
fernando
Actually I do...
Yes, actually I do just expect them to hand me a new one.
They invited me to events and dinners, they've spent hundreds if not more $ to get my business. I bought a strap that they installed on my watch, which sat on my dresser for a week, not worn (they don't care of the difference I guess). So if they're willing to spend this much $ to get business and retain business they wouldn't exchange something that wasn't perfect for a client?
Have you gone to a nice restaurant? Have you ever ordered a dish based on menu and didn't like the taste? Did they charge you because you took a bite? Have you ordered a nice bottle of wine and felt it was tainted? Or again, simply because the taste wasn't good? Taste it all subjective. Will a top service restaurant argue with a client because the restaurant thinks the wine wasn't tainted or that it did taste good? Restaurants (good ones) do this for many reasons, but two main reasons are: 1) clear and simple customer satisfaction 2) because the margin on this stuff like strap (and wine) is so damn high that it simply does not matter.
So yes, I do expect them to just take it back. I'm asking them to exchange something I just got for something that makes me feel more special when I wear this wonderful piece for horological art.
I'm truly sorry to throw a post like this to upset everyone's weekend. But I (we all) need to expect more from a manufacture like Lange. This is not some mass produced items sold on quantity. This is an item and brand that I want to feel good about and service is a part of that.
Let me give you an example... I took my wife's Ulysse for it's first service a year ago. Struck up a great conversation with the watch master. At the end, the watchmaker said "I'll just service your watch for free. It's a wonderful piece and I like to see it stay that way". I was blown away... In gratitude, I bought a new strap for my wife (different color) simply because I was so thankful. Seems like the opposite here.
So yes, again, I do expect that. And you should too.
Cast-off's
So you would expect the next customer walking into the Lange store to accept a strap that was used? Would you accept someone else's used strap? If the answer is no then you can see Lange is not at fault. Personally I think they did the right thing.
I am glad you are a recipient of Lange hospitality, and I pray that this will not sour
Lange has been good to you, and you to Lange...don't let a small thing like a strap spoil the relationship. We are n this hobby to enjoy ourselves, not to give ourselves grief.
Sometimes things like this happens. Chillax mate, not worth the grief.
Best, Horo
I like your perspective
Horo,
Thank you for that wonderful perspective! Yes, we enjoy the hobby and the brand so no need to be sour. I think it will blow by. This is what the phycologist ordered I guess.. to vent? Haha.
You must be a care free man (or woman)... and I admire that. Will try to be more like you.
Thank you.
Hugh
thats good..sometimes the insignificant things piss us off most
best,
still heterosexual male, Horo
I agree with Fernando, if you had purchased
a few pieces directly from them, why did you receive such treatment? Or perhaps you didn't buy your Lange from the same boutique? You should explain that to them. I'm very sure they don't treat VIP that way, it doesn't sound right.
Mech.
well..
Mech,
As I said to Robin, I'm not some super VIP. Just a person who has a few piece of Lange in his small collection and love the brand. And it really should not matter where I bought it. If the boutique are run as a retail shop, then the purpose is wrong. I'm not talking about a retail location, I'm talking about the actual Lange boutique here.
Perhaps my expectations are too high... but I'm sticking to it! 
All the best and good rest of weekend.
Hugh
I don't you need to be a super VIP of Lange to
be entitled to a decent treatment. Obviously you're not getting any and that's troubling coming from the brand. There must be something amiss here? Did you buy all your Lange pieces from new from Lange? If so, there's no reason your owner registration is missed. We're just puzzled.
I don't get super VIP treatment from my AD too, just a basic, respectable one which I'm contented. So I would expect a higher level of service from the boutique.
Mech.
It's imperative where you bought your Lange watches
"And it really should not matter where I bought it"
I totally disagree with the above. It's imperative, let me stress EXTREMELY impertative, in this situation.
Since you wrote the above, I am assuming that you did not buy your Langes from this particular Lange Boutique. And just because you are a customer of the BRAND, you are NOT a customer of the BOUTIQUE.
Customer service, in my opinion, goes to where you purchase your watches. So if you did buy your Langes from this Boutique, I would expect them to show you good customer service and offer you a free strap because you ARE a customer of the store.
You cannot expect good customer service from any establishment where you have not established a relationship with them. If you haven't bought anything from a store, do you really expect to them to bend over heels for you? Absolutely not.
If I'm a customer of Ferrari and bought 100 Ferrari's from other authorized dealers and secondary dealers and also through auctions but I didn't buy any car or anything else from Store A - and then I go into Store A and tell him "Hey, I was here last week and bought these rimms from you but I changed my mind. I know these rimms are used but I want those other rimms right there instead." What do you think Store A will tell you?
My 2 cents,
Anthony
+1
"And it really should not matter where I bought it"
I totally disagree with the above. It's imperative, let me stress EXTREMELY impertative, in this situation.
I 100% agree with this post. The fact of the matter is that a boutique is probably the most expensive option to purchase a watch--i'd imagine an authorized dealer would be more willing to discount. That being said, what you get for spending that extra cash presumably is better service, i.e. getting a free strap thrown in in the correct size (my view of the original issue. i don't see any place accepting it for an exchange) or the first look on a limited exchange piece. Maybe an invite to some of the marketing stuff that lange does (which to my knowledge is generally set up by the retailer vs. the manufacturer itself).
If you had purchased from the boutique, i would have been surprised that they wouldn't throw in that strap (if not both) for free. But for just owning a lange...with all due respect i think your expectations might have been a bit excessive. I'm speaking as a US customer and I'm fairly certain that would hold here as well as asia or wherever else.
Try calling or writing to someone senior in Lange HK?
Hi mate
Why don't you contact someone senior in Lange HK to discuss this instead of writing to the website email or Lange HK.
As you are a VIP, you probably have some relations or contacts with various Lange HK senior managers before and they may be able to help you in some way?
Generally in Asia, we have many rules as our service staff may not be so empowered. .. but in asia, we also work well thru relationships
Good luck and I sincerely hope this does not affect your passion for Lange still. I only started with Lange very recently (just got to know them better few months back and just got a Dato this week) and so far it has been a great journey with the brand!
Cheers
Robin
Why don't you contact someone senior in Lange HK to discuss this instead of writing to the website email or Lange HK.
As you are a VIP, you probably have some relations or contacts with various Lange HK senior managers before and they may be able to help you in some way?
Generally in Asia, we have many rules as our service staff may not be so empowered. .. but in asia, we also work well thru relationships
Good luck and I sincerely hope this does not affect your passion for Lange still. I only started with Lange very recently (just got to know them better few months back and just got a Dato this week) and so far it has been a great journey with the brand!
Cheers
Robin
Thank you
Robin,
Congrats on your new Dato. Saw the posting and pictures. That's wonderful!
Thanks for your suggestion. I will do that. Just wanted to see what the crew here thinks about my case. While I'm going to stick to my opinion, I do like to get a general feel if I'm just simply asking too much of a company, which I clearly do not.
I'm not a VIP. And I don't know major high up Lange guys other than the folks I met while at these events. That's what I really loved about Lange. You don't have a to be super special collector with 90% of all pieces they provide. For Lange you just have to love the brand and watch. I know friends who do not even have a Lange and get invited to events. Which is precisely the reason why I don't understand why they wouldn't do this for someone who is a customer.
And what someone said about where I bought my Langes, whether they were from this boutique or not. This is not an Omega with tens of thousands stores. Where does it matter where I bought it? Retail, boutique, second hand... it's a Lange. This is a boutique, an extension of the company itself.
Sorry, sorry... I'm going on and on... this has really affected me. Not the watch, I still love it. I agree it's probably just people there not understanding...
Wear your Dato in good health.
Hugh
I have read all comments here and found myself swinging on view...
.....to start with, I sided with Learner. It is one thing for a policy to be in place, but when it comes to a well-established high-end customer, then maybe it is right to go the extra mile.
But then, reading Fernando made me think. Lange have gone the extra mile by their hospitality etc. So maybe it is too much to expect a used strap to be taken back and simply replaced. After all, you may find the next strap is equally wrong after a week and would you then expect them to replace that too?
But then I came back to my own experiences here. I also have a small wrist and getting the strap correct is sometimes tricky. On two occasions I have purchased from Patek when I have had a problem with the strap. On both occasions I returned a used strap (well, it had been on my wrist for under a week - but still "used"). On both occasions, Patek were way more concerned about making sure I was totally happy with the watch than they were about the return of the strap. Absolutely, I was not charged extra for the replacement strap. And I received a follow-up call after the replacement was fitted to make sure I was totally happy with the replaced strap. Wow....that was service. But actually, when you are paying the sort of money being asked for a Patek, isn't that type of service a part of what you are paying for? isn't the Rolls Royce service something that needs to be applied to going very much the extra mile for a great customer?
I had a similar experience at JLC...except in this instance I received a similar response as Learner. It was in connection with the purchase of a new model and the salesman was giving no ground at all. He would have been prepared to lose the sale in fact.
I think I would look at this in the following way...when a top end manufacturer (like Patek...but also like Lange) has a top-end customer who is not happy, sometimes (often usually) it pays for the manufacturer to take the long view and by doing so they establish a tremendous customer loyalty as going that extra mile on customer service pays long-term dividends.
I am with you Learner....I think for a manufacturer like Lange, re-defining the extra-mile needs flexibility.
Thank you for your support...
Really, thank you.
This is about as many posts I made ever... clearly bothering me, but it shouldn't be as Horo said.
Hard to call this strap "used" as it was on my wrist for about 5 hours then sat on the dresser the next 5 days while I looked at it every day to see if the black on black was right. I'm clearly anal.
Going to sleep now...
Hugh
Event invitations? Dinners? On the flipside...
...you've bought more than a few Langes, what is a $400 strap to you?
Now perhaps you see why that line of reasoning is not sound, when used against either the manufacture or the owner.
All the best, and hopefully these unpleasant feelings will not impact the enjoyment of your beautiful watch.
This is a lot of worry about a strap
My opinion is that you need to take responsibility yourself, rather than expecting Lange to take return of a used strap. You say you have a lot of experience with Lange watches, and also had the opportunity to inspect and consider this strap before you bought it. Once you wore it, it was yours IMHO. If you feel later you made a mistake, this hardly creates the opportunity for public complaining, especially with your extensive background.
Can you refer us to any posts you started praising Lange for all their past hospitality, or is there just this one of complaint after you made a mistake in regard to your strap?
I would suggest keep this one, and also get the one you now want more. A little variety will be nice in the long run, and frankly the Dato looks great on a variety of straps, black, gray or others. Enjoy that wonderful watch.
some good memories
Yes, I've posted about my great experiences and some Lange pieces that I really liked.
Everyone will say watch collecting is about passion. What I see in the store might not be the same a few days later. I'm not totally unreasonable you know. I'm referring to a strap that sat on the watch for less than a week. Some say I should not worry about $400 when I've spent so much on watches, but that is simply not the point. Interacting with Lange should not be "buyer beware..."
This will blow over... I think... and I'll be back to happy moments and memories.
Thank you
A better approach?
I would agree that a returned watch strap cannot be put back on the shelves as new or offered to another customer. While it would be technically correct therefore for Lange boutique to decline a exchange deal, the better pleasant alternative would be for them to throw a juicy nice new one at a jaw dropping discount of say 50%. That way you could enjoy the black one and kind of use it as a daily beater and then swap the new one when it is time!
This way it could be a win-win...
regds
chintu
Well put, my friend
I've regretted a few purchases myself! But at the end of the day, we have to take responsibility for our mistakes, no matter how trivial...
Best,
Gary G
2 things.
1/ You are a client of the Boutique, where you bought one or several watches from them, then they could / should have done something for you.
2/ You are NOT a client of their Boutique, and I can understand why they don't won't to change your used / worn strap.
I can also understand that you will not do any business with them, either!
Best,
Nicolas
You will hear a lot of justifications but, they are wrong.
... I think that something is often missing in sales people : Flair!
This message has been edited by Fricks on 2013-04-27 10:19:59
They don't seem to feel a situation. Bottom line, they made you extremely frustrated and angry, for what, for the principle, for some rules? For nothing!
Didn't occur to them that having you leave with such frustration is like loosing a customer. If i were you, its not that i wouldn't buy a Lange anymore, i might even sell most of them.
If they had offered you the strap in the 1st place maybe, but you paid for it. They made such a margin on it, that even if they throw it in the garbage, and give you another one, they are still winning.
I tell you a story that happened to me in Patek Salon in Paris, i had a long 2h conversation with a sales man there, very interesting conversation about movements, history, horology, special pieces, etc....Conversation was so good that some other staff were coming to listen our chat. Some even seemed to learn some things too.
At the end, i wanted to buy a new strap for my 5270G, he didn't charge me for it, i felt as he was thanking me for the great conversation we had. As he had appreciated talking to another passionate watch lover. It was the 1st time i ever stepped in that boutique. I never bought anything from them... But since that gesture and the perfect overall service and welcome, i bought 3 watches from them later down the road... even if i found from other sources a little cheaper. Buying such a great watches, is a ceremony in a way... No room for cheap behavior.
That story says it all.
Over a strap
you would not buy from Lange, and even sell your watches??
It seems quite easy to forget the quality of these watches, and this company after one changes his mind about a strap. This thread goes to an even higher level of absurdity. Let's see who can top that...... Quite a contest is underway, and if we can have some more frustrations emphasized with capital letters, and even longer posts, it would add just the right emphasis--after all we are talking about an unsightly black watch strap on a Datograph. How could Lange refuse to help this poor gentleman?
over a strap...
... sounds extreme, but if i was this gentleman, i simply cannot go out from the boutique just like that, as if nothing happened, and swallow my frustration.
Now you are right, i might not sell them if i really love them, you need to be in the situation to really judge. But its enough to be disgusted from the brand. Clearly i would write to the CEO, and call him... If i'm faced to a wall all the way, then the hell with that brand. If i cannot get a simple matter such as a strap, what would happen if it was a more serious matter.
More than that, i just can't deal with rigid attitude that doesn't take anything into consideration other than "rules".
When you own a precious watch and you get such treatment, and they tell you its policy, then i don't want to have anything to do with you anymore.
Reminds me that very often, 2nd market grey dealers offer much more flexibility and better service than some official dealers.
actually you are right... it really depends of situation.
... its not so much the price of the strap, 400$ is not the end of the world. Its just a strap. What would make me climb to the walls, its the insistance and rigid attitude of the sales person. Having a wall telling you about rules and policy and hiding behind it. Maybe if it was a nice polite lady or a young guy that just started and applying rules to the letter, i might even argue for more than a minute.
But if the guy on the other side of the counter was the kind that wakes up the devil inside me, than its a different matter.
Let us not forget
that no matter how you feel about this particular incident, we can all probably write about an experience of exceptional hospitality from Lange. This is hardly a company where rigid rules are a problem in terms of their customer relations. I can't think of a watch company I would rather deal with, even if 10 more guys pop up complaining about their black straps.
This does not measure up to embarrassing posts with zero horological value, letters to the CEO, selling watches, or questioning this brand's level of customer service. Watches are about more than "what have you done for me lately" in regard to a strap. The good news is that if this customer gets really mad and decides to sell his Dato, I think there will be plenty of interested buyers. And he can always buy one back after the next time Lange offers to pay for his dinner, unless of course the steak was overdone.
deal breaker...
... if you cannot manage to have a steak well done, how are you going to make watches!
Anyway, you got a point, maybe same story, in London, Dubai or Paris, the staff would have reacted differently. It might not be about lange, its more about the wrong staff IMO. Still shouldn't happen which ever the company, whatever the reason
"Buying such a great watches, is a ceremony in a way... No room for cheap behavior."
I like that.
Oliver
Oliver