gnashing of teeth at... uhm teething issues and deplorable QC
Ok so u just bought the latest n greatest complication from company X who has trumpeted its new technical marvel developed by their in-house crack team of experts or a wunderkind genius n u bring it home wif much joy n a much lighter wallet (horological wizardy does not come cheap) and then...
After the initial tsunami of dissapointment has passed, with the repeated exclamation 'why the fudge does my $X0k (or worse $x00k) watch not work rite, when a g-shock can do the same for $x0?!!?' u simmer down, put down the hammer that u had picked up ready to destroy said crap product n think of a better way forward :) [of course no hammers were involved, who'd be daft enough to strike a watch they've put soo much moolah into rite? :)]
U send it back to the AD u bought it from who expresses shock n horror at the problem (even though they've seen a lot of clients with similar problems wif the same brand/watch calibre before, a fact that they didn't look to share when they were selling you the watch) and they assure u they will get it sorted asap. But the watch has to go back to Switzerland of course n that will take some time (noting customs clearance for the AD, lots of other watches being serviced and those that are ahead in the queue, and there are some who can jump the queue but you aren't important enuff for them to flex their muscle for it etc)
U wait a few weeks, which turn into a few months... U wonder how it could be that u forked over so much for a watch that is spending so much time out of your hands when u could hv bought watches A, B & C instead which your mates have n have proven to be reliable timekeepers so far.
But u finally get the watch back n you are happy again. It was a watch u fell in love with, enough to fork out a fair amount of change for. Aesthetics, romanticism, concept, coolness ahhhh... fallen for it hook line and sinker... or lock, stock and two smoking barrels ;)
be it new innovative timekeepers or qc issues, be it a small boutique firm, independent or a big haute horlogerie name, one would hope they get their acts right before selling their pricey watches to us.
(2) get your QC up to scratch so that no (or a very very very small infinitesimal number of) watches leave your manufactures/factories not as right as they should be
(3) place greater weight on prioritisation of the repair of watches based on how 'young' they are from date of purchase, meaning the younger they are the faster they should be addressed.
(4) get more or train more staff dedicated to fixing and servicing stuff. This is worth investing in..
(5) do more testing on new calibres to ensure reliability before releasing any watch with them in it for sale (yes testing and not posing in the advertisements, if you please)
(6) let people know how u r going to ensure long term servicing... this one is tough though...
- don't believe everything the watch company people tell u eg. Highest level of QC, tested minimum x hours(or to get clarity check if its the movement tested on its own or the cased watch or both that goes through controls test), chronometer grade... yada yada yada
- smaller houses hv less time n resources but the problem is true for both small and big houses... some questions though between small and big are...