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20 December 2010, 08:51 AM | #121 | |
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20 December 2010, 08:52 AM | #122 | |
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20 December 2010, 08:54 AM | #123 | |
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We've managed to avoid the snow luckily, but Scotland, Wales and daaahn Saaaath have been hit pretty hard. And yes, I've been enjoying your tweets, they're top notch |
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20 December 2010, 08:59 AM | #124 | |
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20 December 2010, 09:01 AM | #125 | |
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Top thread btw Chris mate....
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Onwards & Upwards Rodders...... Onwards & Upwards. Life is not about how fast you can run or how high you can climb........... It's about how well you can bounce!! TRF HALL OF FAME JANUARY 2010 |
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20 December 2010, 09:05 AM | #126 |
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20 December 2010, 09:06 AM | #127 |
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20 December 2010, 09:10 AM | #128 | |
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Thank you so much for giving this forum an opportunity to ask some questions only an "insider" can answer. |
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20 December 2010, 09:20 AM | #129 |
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There's a perception that Omega is a step down from Rolex, whilst Breitling is seen as more on a par. It's not something I necessarily agree with, I think Omega is a great brand, and really pushing boundaries with the new cal. 8500. There does seem to be a different market looking at Omega, though, despite Omega's very conspicuous attempts to directly challenge Rolex (think Aqua Terra vs Datejust, Planet Ocean LM vs. Sub-C, PloProf vs. Deep Sea) - I'm not sure if people are ready for Omega to be on the same level as Rolex. Most purchases for Omega will be below £3000, which is under the entry level prices for Rolexes.
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20 December 2010, 10:12 AM | #130 |
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Christ, great thread. Thanks again. Just caught up on the prior few pages.
Since you're still not yet fed up with us..... I'm sure you've seen the numerous TRF threads posted along the lines of "I walked into AD in shorts and flip-flops and couldn't get the time of day. Stupid AD." My question is, does there tend to be a sizing up of customers based on what they're wearing or what watch they might have on their wrist? |
20 December 2010, 10:20 AM | #131 |
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20 December 2010, 10:25 AM | #132 |
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Sir, a couple more questions please if you would:
- how many people come back and complain that their new Rolex is either running too fast or too slow for their liking? Does this occur often? - how many people point out that the Rolex coronet on the winding crown does not align perfectly like the ones in the Rolex advertisements, web sites and tv commercials? How do you respond to this criticism? |
20 December 2010, 11:36 AM | #133 |
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Me and my wife went to an AD 3 weeks ago. My wife is very much interested in the DJ 26mm, floral face, with diamond bezel. However, we were told that the floral is not available in pink color. The rhodium floral face is cool but not to the liking of my wife. Any news if the DJ 26mm will come out with the pink floral face? BTW, you save us a lot of time with our questions here. 2 thumbs up thread!!!
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20 December 2010, 12:35 PM | #134 |
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This thread could easily be the thread of the year
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20 December 2010, 12:52 PM | #135 |
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VERY NICE THREAD. Thank you!
I have a couple of questions that relate to how you "size up" customers entering the shop, particularly when you can see their watch easily (I guess better in summer months when people are wearing short sleeves).
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20 December 2010, 04:40 PM | #136 | |
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I absolutely would love it if Rolex would make a saphire caseback an official option. Being a purist, I like things as they come. Don't really like to modify things much if anything at all. This is, however, just me... as I know many other folks buy after market casebacks and get them installed. I just wish Rolex would do this themselves and sell units this way. Thank you for all your answers. I'm just lurking and reading.
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20 December 2010, 05:16 PM | #137 |
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20 December 2010, 09:03 PM | #138 | |
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To sum up: I dunno how a nice watch influences someone at an AD, but in my case the influence must have been quite bad Or maybe they just didn't like me, so they thought they wouldn't want to sell me anything. |
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20 December 2010, 09:19 PM | #139 |
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Fiery, a similar experience happened to me in Frankfurt. I stopped to take a look at the Explorer II and took off my Casio Pathfinder. I put my Pathfinder on the demo tray and studied the Rolex in my hand. She had, from the beginning, given me a look. Maybe because I had stubble and a weary traveler look, plus had a Casio?
Regardless, she took a look at the Casio on the tray and said: "We don't take these in trade-in." She said this so matter of factly that although I courteously smiled, she kept her poker face on. Not a nice experience.
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20 December 2010, 10:26 PM | #140 |
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20 December 2010, 10:58 PM | #141 |
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Does this mean I have to answer people's Rolex prayers now?
Anyway, time for round 3 of questions! |
20 December 2010, 11:20 PM | #142 | |
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1) He was just a timewaster or 2) He was trying to nick something expensive, and realised we weren't just going to get anything out for him People like that set off alarm bells in my head, I've never seen anyone jump from a pre-owned watch to the most expensive watch in the shop and be serious about it. In any case, I was just glad to have him uff the premeses, and we let security know he'd been acting suspiciously. Turned out he was trying the same tactics with other jewellers in the shopping centre, so I think my gut instinct was right As for the watches people wear, again, I don't judge. Someone could be wearing a Timex or a Patek Phillippe, and I'd give them exactly the same high level of service. I treat anyone trying on a watch as a potential customer, and the last thing I'd want to do would be to come across as snobby or rude. |
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20 December 2010, 11:30 PM | #143 | |
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I'll often ask a customer complaining of poor timekeeping if they've manually wound their watch recently: quite often, the poor timekeeping (mysteriously losing 3 hours, for example) is just a case of the watch not being wound enough. I'll give it a full wind for them, and recommend they give the watch 40 turns of the crown once a month, ensuring that it remains in its peak power band for more often. Of course, sometimes there are serious issues: if it's under warranty, we'll send it down to Rolex UK to get it sorted, if not, we'll recommend a service and leave it for the customer to make a decision. If there's anything more serious than something a routine service can't solve, then Rolex will send us back an estimate, and then the customer can decide whether to proceed or to have it returned undone. More often than not, timekeeping issues are caused by poor maintenance or lack of winding, but there's always a way to solve such problems. If a customer is adamant there's still an issue, then we'll even go to the extent of having staff wear the watch and keep an eye on the timekeeping - again, a lot of it is down to customers simply not wearing the watch enough As for the winding crowns, I can't recall ever being asked about the alignment of the crown. I think it's a unique phenomenon found on the internet more than anything. If I was asked about it, I would simply say as long as the crown is screwing down properly and remaining watertight, then it's doing its job properly |
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20 December 2010, 11:32 PM | #144 | |
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20 December 2010, 11:57 PM | #145 | |
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I answered your first question a couple of posts ago, I wouldn't let someone wearing a particular watch premeditate my approach or demeanour. However, what a nice watch will do is get me excited, and I'll ask them about it. It's a good icebreaker, and I think it shows that I know a bit about watches - hopefully, it instils a bit of trust in what I'm saying, and helps reduce the level of formality. It stops me from just being a man in a suit trying to take someone's money. I've never taken someone's watch off their wrist before - I'd find it an invasion of their privacy, it's not something I'd personally like if I was in the same situation. Saying that, I have asked to try on someone's Panerai before, but that was a one time thing! I do like to make a point of complimenting a customer's watch if it is one I do particularly admire - again, just making things a little friendlier. I suppose it's the same if someone came in with the latest Rolex sports watches - I'll comment on how much I think the changes have improved the models, and compliment their good taste. As for strategy, if they don't know what they're looking for, it does help narrow down my suggestions for them - if they solely own sports watches, I might suggest a Datejust, or something a bit different, like a two-tone model for example. I don't follow a set of rules for watch suggestions, I've just got to try and pick up the vibes coming from the customer, and take it from there. Sometimes it works really well straight away, sometimes it takes a little longer - all part of the fun of selling watches. Hope this answers your questions |
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21 December 2010, 01:00 AM | #146 |
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Wonderful thread. Thanks!
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21 December 2010, 02:06 AM | #147 |
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Great post and great discussion. This makes lurking the forums worth it. Chris, thank you for sharing your insight and experience. It stuns me each time I go into an AD how ignorant the sales people are of their product. I wish all sales people learned from the forums, which as Chris points out, because Rolex does not do a good job of keeping their sales force informed.
Great discussion and it could not have landed on a better place than TRF! -Sheldon
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21 December 2010, 02:31 AM | #148 |
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Chris,
Wonderful thread! I've been travelling and have been following this thread via cell phone. Now I am back online on a lap top to go through all the great posts once again. Well done! Thanks! Best, A |
21 December 2010, 02:36 AM | #149 |
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I have nothing to ask, but I just wanted to say thank you to Chris for this great opportunity. This is the best thread I've read in a very long time. I think it should be a sticky. There's just so much great information. Sincerely, thanks. Hopefully someday, we can sit down and have a pint or two while talking about watches. Take care, have a great Christmas and New Year and again, thanks
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21 December 2010, 03:35 AM | #150 |
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Thankyou all for the kind words, it's nice to know I had the right kind of idea I've just seen the "read" counter, 2800 views in 3 days! Incredible! Please keep the questions coming, I'm really enjoying answering them
Just going back to the question about the wall clocks, I had the chance to speak with my boss - apparently Rolex will provide them for an AD, as long as they have somewhere to put it. Apparently the management of the shopping centre I work at weren't keen on us having one of the clocks, which is a shame really. Still, another factoid confirmed |
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