Today I had some time while in Newport Beach, so decided to stop by Bob's Watch (my first time) to see what they had on offer. As I approached their door around 4pm, I saw a sign saying, they were appointment only, but if there was time, you can enter and be seen. So, I opened the door and spoke to the receptionist who said they had time to serve me. She explained the process, which was for me to sit at one of their desks with one of their iPads and choose watches I'd like to see. Once I had an idea, I was to write down their inventory number and they would bring them to me, but only two at a time, which was understandable.
So, I wrote down the first three watches on a sticky, which she took while I was writing down more watches (seven in total). I left the rest of the stickies there while I waited for the first two watches - the others I was going to look at were the WG Sub 126619, the white Daytona 116500, the Sub Date 126610LV, and Milgauss 1019 from 1968.
A sales rep came out with a 1963 Submariner 5513 (
https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-su...tage-5513.html) and 1966 GMT 1675 Pepsi (
https://www.bobswatches.com/vintage-...5-pepsi.html); she reminded me that they closed at 5pm. The submariner's bezel would not turn, she said someone would have to look into that. The GMT was on what appeared to be the original rivet bracelet, which was too small to fit on my wrist and the wind seemed to be crisp, but not as smooth as I would like to feel in a Rolex. So, I thanked her and said I would like to see the next two I selected. It was around 4:15pm at that time.
She said, "No, that's not how it works. There are only two watches per appointment, so you will have to make another appointment and come back to see any more watches."
I left, but wasn't happy ... I mean why not show me more watches? So I called the story as I drove away. The same sales rep answered. I was up front with her and told her I wasn't happy about being asked to make another appointment and drive an hour back to see more. They weren't busy, so why not just show me the others. She said it was policy, so I asked to speak to the manager. She said the manager was in a meeting, but she would pass him and note and promised he would call me back before they closed. I asked the name of the manager, she said he was George (I think). I received no call.
My question for everyone ==> have you done business with Bob's and if so, how was your experience? Also, if you owned a watch shop, would you want you sales persons when it's slow to tell people to make another appointment and come back? It's SOOOOOO hard to acquire a customer (to get them in your shop), why would you chase them out where there was no reason? I think it's bad business, but want your feedback.