Breguet

To start, I am not a watch enthusiast, and am not an expert. I usually do not post on forums unless I am thrilled or angry. This is an angry post.

Pros: The only watchmaker to make a solid gold band that can pass for understated, IMO.

Cons: break often, take way too long to be fixed, expensive to fix, terrible after sales

I bought my mother this manual wind watch, and it wasn't cheap. While I was doing the buying, the sales people could not have been more helpful, letting me come in time and again to look at it over and over again. I had limitless amounts of tea and cookies offered to me, and eventually I bought it. Only after buy the thing did my friend inform me that Breguets are renowned for breaking. While it was under warranty, it was cleaned and serviced twice, so it was maintained more often than the recommended.

Recently I took it in again to be serviced as it had become heavily magnetised again, and had some serious signs of wear on the chain (gold, so understandable). There were a few areas on the clasp that had become sharp, and the entire bezel etc needed replacing.Therefore I understand that there was a considerable amount of work to be done. Now, when I say recently, I mean over 6 months ago.

My mother now lives in California, and she was told that the wait for her watch to be repaired could take a long time if she sent it from a branch in the states, and that if she were in Switzerland, it would not take quite so long. SO: I took the watch in to the Rue du Rhone branch in Geneva, and was told it would take a month or two. I was sceptical about that timeframe but assumed that it could not possibly take over SIX months to service a relatively simple watch mechanism that only had to be demagnetised; all other repairs were aesthetic. I informed then that it needed to be done by mid October in time for a trip to the states. They assured me with a condescending smile that 'of course it will be ready by then'.

I got the same condescending smile when I asked that they specifically write in the repair request that they fix the sharp part on the clasp, and they said that if it indeed truly was sharp, the initial review would have picked it up. At that point I thought it was just one bad apple. How wrong I was.

Surprise surprise, every time that I check in, they promise it will be done 2-3 weeks later. This is all done with a smile and an offer of tea, coffee, cookies; anything to shut you up about how long it is taking.

I do not want to become the pushy customer who starts making a scene (although I am usually the only non employee in the store whenever I drop in. So far I have been nice, and it has gotten me nowhere.

If at the start they admit that you will be without your watch for half a year, or more, then I would not be quite so disgusted with the wait time. But to keep on pretending that something is being done about it is infuriating. There are obviously no notes being added to the file each time I call or visit, the various sales people spout random dates 'Ah, yes, I see here it is scheduled for delivery the X of August/September/October/November/December'. And when I quote back to them the various dates they have given me in the past, they draw blank or confused faces and say that 'no no, that must have been a mistake'.

Now, I fully recognize it is most likely not a problem with the sales staff, but with either a shortage of the horlogers in the ateliers or poor management or logistics; but it is not an excuse. Not for the price you pay for the service. The sales staff know this, and should be more honest with their clients.

I think anyone dealing with Breguet should kick up a fuss the second they turn in the watch for repairs, otherwise they will be a year older before they get it back.

Rant over.

I visited the Breguet store in Mayfair last year, I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed with a warm smile by a confident and beautiful lady who seemed to be passionate about the brand she was representing. My family and I are the owners of several Breguet timepieces, and our timepieces have have given us years of enjoyment.

Why are we all too eager to complain when we receive a bad customer service and hardly acknowledge a good customer service, even when it exceeds expectations?