Patek Philippe

Ivanclai is right....

Having said that, PP cannot be responsible for an AD for their actions as ADs do not
belong to them.....

PP is responsible for their company and boutiques......

If an AD is not fulfilling their responsibilities then you should inform PP......

Personally, if I would get uncomfortable with a manufacturer or an AD I would simply
not give them my money..... But this is me.....

As far as customs is concerned, that should be the responsibility of the buyer or the AD......

I hope that you find a solution, but at the end of the day, unless there are some more new facts
I fail to see what more advice that we can give you...
What does our moderator think?

Cheers This message has been edited by PinkPanther on 2010-08-24 23:32:05

Hi,

You wrote: "The logic where people claim Patek is free to sell me the watch, make money in India and then sit absolved, washing its hands of the case citing excuses like unique local reasons and problems is wrong logic. Patek Philippe is ultimately responsible, and is most certainly to be blamed. They, as a responsible company need to wake up, smell the coffee, get their act together with their AD, customs or whoever, and sort out the problem quickly to see that their clients in India do not have to continue to put up with this kind of nonsense any longer. Inaction and lack of any concrete actions on their part over a prolonged duration are what do bring blame to lie with them"

I'm sorry but I disagree with most of that paragraph.

First nobody wrote such logic except you.

Then Patek Philippe should receive the watch, not send it. So if there's a problem to send the watch, that's mainly the sender's problem, either you or the AD.

Finally, until you can explain us what the custom problem precisely is, I'd rather prefer you to keep this problem for yourself because you don't offer us a chance to give a fair opinion. Patek Philippe is not going to answer here. If you have a problem with them, ask them directly. if you want an answer from us please don't ask if you don't have all the information for us to make our opinion.

Cheers

Dje

No message body

You should lodge a formal complaint to the President of PP, state your problem and give your constructive suggestion and solution to the problem.  You may want to give PP a chance to improve their after sale service.

Have you heard of VC stationed a watchmaker in China?

Regards

Ling

The watch is vintage.  It is not under warranty.  While PP does service all its vintage pieces, this watch is not under warranty.  Therefore it is the owner's responsibility to get the watch to PP for service.  If PP will not accept the watch through its AD in India then too bad.

Stop whining about problems in third world countries that can't ship a piece of jewelry safely and want to ban blackberry phones because the manufacturer won't let the government read private messages.

Patek's service leaves a lot to be desired!

I've done many a projects for Indian clients, private and government.  Many things in India are very frustrating....you have of course only mentioned this one problem.  And I might say, you of all people know how rediculas things can be in India,  so you can't blame a company for inconsistant and frustrating governmental rules.

Let's face it ....PP can import watches and send out watches that are under warrenty and from what I read any watch under 20 years of age....or something like that.  Why not older?  That's the question that you have and I am sure PP has as well...with customs or whoever won't let you.

Your real issue with PP is:   Did you, PP, really try to resolve this problem?.  (you know ...give it the old boy scout try).  If they indeed tried but couldn't bend the customs (for whatever reason)...what do you expect that PP should do?  I know...you saying find a solution for the customer without breaking the law.  That's were your AD works with customers, on behalf of PP to find solutions.  Why isn't the AD finding solutions....because they think it is a PP problem.  Why are you not finding solutions...because you think it a PP problem....everybody thinks its somebody elses problem.

The real answer is get your customs to change their laws.....until then you could ask Patek to educate their valued Indian customers that because of some customs law PP can not do this..or can not do that...for vintage watches.

In a way your doing your part right now in educating the public....PP should do the same with a customer beware sign in the store or something on their website.... because unless __ll freezes over it will be a long time before an Indian customs rule is changed for the sake of a small Swiss company.

If enough customers feel cheated by PP not fulfilling their 'complete' customer obligations....then ask them to leave India.  However, I think everyone would rather have them there and that all parties pick up an axe and get to that pile of wood and start chopping away at the problem.

We all thank you for this warning, along with future Indian watch enthusiasts that search this site for information.

Good luck.

I've laid out the facts as best as I could, and thank this forum for providing me this opportunity.
I do hope this informs future Patek buyers in India of what to expect 20 years after they buy their PP watches (which are so well made, they will last 200 yrs when properly looked after). I hope Patek does show some responsibility and puts in an honest effort to change the service situation Indian customers are facing. I have written to the company over the last two years voicing these concerns, as well as spoken to and met the AD in India (as well as in other countries) putting across these views. But, the fact is I am yet to receive any proper response, and I am still required and expected to travel outside the country each time I need to have my watch tended to.
I remain amused with people that feel its my responsibility to find out, present or resolve the customs (or whatever) problems that prevent Patek from providing proper service in India. I would have understood this point of view were Patek not officially present and selling watches in India, or in the event that Patek did not have an authorized service agent in India (which they do). The truth of the matter is Patek needs to first acknowledge there is a problem, then step in to macro manage their problem without putting their customers through unfair hardship, and provide a solution that allows owners to receive good service in India.
Yes, India has Draconian rules and corruption is rampant, but addressing such a crucial issue is not totally impossible, as is proven by a similar company like Omega facing no service issues within this same country.
I, along with many Indians do love and admire what Patek makes and gives us, and sincerely hope they find a way to bring their service and spare parts backup here properly, because I do wish to keep my PP watches for many more years, and I do wish to purchase and own more Pateks as well.

Gentlemen,

having read this thread, I thought it might be heplful to remind us all of the Discussion Board Code of Conduct.
Nothing is to be said against a brisk discussion, but I sometimes (really just sometimes) felt liveliness was turning into personal affronts.

Quotation from the code of Conduct:

"Range of topics: Please keep the topic somewhat related to the brand or stated topic of the specific forum. Discussions about company heritage, tradition, philosophy, and policies are also apropos.
Have fun. There are no dumb questions, just questions that haven't found an answer yet.
Tone: Please keep the tone of the posts courteous and respectful. Think of this as a virtual cocktail or dinner party - don't write anything that you wouldn't say to someone in person. The anonymity of the internet is NOT an acceptable excuse for boorish or rude behaviour."

Kind regards to all participants,

anaesdoc

This message has been edited by anaesdoc on 2010-08-25 09:25:06

I had the distinct feeling going by some comments made that the discussion was starting to go the wrong way. Which would be a shame.