Reply With QuoteIf you had bought it from them and had already established some sought of relationship with them, then maybe - otherwise, then no.Originally Posted by Piemuncher22
Well this is the 4th AD I’ve been into in the search for the new Pepsi GMT. This time I was told that the “register of interest” was closed thy had no idea when it would be open again.
But sitting down and thinking about it, that isn’t what’s actually upsetting me. It’s more the fact that each and every shop I’ve been into seems to contain the exact same shop clones who look at me like I’m something the dog dragged in and snigger when I enquire about the new Pepsi.
I’m not sure if it’s just me being a little sensitive but I’m getting more and more fed up with the same reaction time after time.
Now this is a serious question; last week when I visited 2 separate ADs I was wearing my Seiko Monster and today my Jaeger LeCoultre dirty dozen.....
Does anyone think I’d get a different reaction if I went in with a Rolex on my wrist??
The experience at a Rolex AD is pretty much the polar opposite from that of an Omega Boutique. I have been to a couple of those for bracelet adjustments and servicing and I’ve always been made to feel most welcome (sit down, nice chat about watches, try on what you like, offered a drink etc) even though I had made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t interested in buying.
I’m getting close to sacking it all off and buying a Speedmaster.....
And a Seamaster instead!
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If you had bought it from them and had already established some sought of relationship with them, then maybe - otherwise, then no.
I have had similar experiences to yourself....Personally I think their is a lot of psychology going on with salespeople in this instance.Usually the salesperson is chasing a sale,you walk in,look at the watch,politely chat and then say you'll think about it and leave.This must have an effect on these people.Now imagine the situation when they have the upper hand - you definitely want the watch! You will do anything to get this watch! All of a sudden they have the upper hand and it tends to bring out the worst in this person as you have said.Rise above it.
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What you have to remember is the AD doesn’t have the watch to sell you - they get maybe 2 or 3 a year and have maybe 2 or 3 hundred people wanting it. Actually probably more than that. I was in an AD for an hour and a half a few months ago and they had two calls for a Daytona and one for a Pepsi I’m that time. The phone calls and enquiries are endless.
Maybe write to Raymond Rolex, Head of Supply, Geneva, Switzerland and ask him to up the AD supply.
And yet you've now visited your fourth?!
You've thicker skin than me, for sure..........!
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
Scenario 1,
You walk into Rolex AD with £8k to spend on the watch of your dreams, in this case a Pepsi GMT. The shop staff know they cannot supply said watch so have little interest in fawning all over you, offering drinks etc as there is no way on this earth they will be getting your hard earned £8k. End of of story.
Scenario 2,
You walk into Omega AD with £8k to spend on the watch of you dreams, in this case a Speedmaster and a Seamaster. The shop staff know they can supply both watches, in fact both are in stock sir, Let the fawning and drinks supply commence as its in their interest to get you to part with your £8k. After all if you leave without buying from them, you will probably buy from elsewhere. You have a nice experience, a glass of Prosecco and leave with 2 lovely watches. End of story.
My point being is you cannot buy a Pepsi GMT at retail, you know it and they know it. You can however buy any Omega you want, whenever you want, from whoever you want.
Omega need your business, Rolex don’t.
I’ve got a fantastic relationship with a well known high street AD that values relationships and is petrified of selling to customers who will immediately sell on for a profit. Unfortunately, you want one of the hardest to find watches in the world. The AD has got many customers who have bought from them previously that they would love to be able to furnish with the same watch but have to allocate each watch that comes in on a basis of who they think should get the watch first. A new customer with no previous purchasing history is unfortunately just not going to get a look in on the desirable models. Saying that, you may get lucky along the line with a hulk, batman, skydweller but a Daytona or Pepsi I think you have no chance.
I think people are perhaps missing the point of the original message.They have accepted how difficult it is to get such a watch.His "problem" is the behaviour of the rolex AD staff and the way they have treated him.I have also had these people "snigger" at me.Politeness costs nothing.
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The local Rolex shop gets an average of four requests a day for steel Daytonas. That's about 1000 requests a year.
They get three or four Daytonas during that year. No wonder they get fed-up.
That's about the size of it!
This
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With this added
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Yeah, brave effort but you honestly should have known better! There is a special place in Hull for Rolex AD staff, in their Top Man suits.
Buy something else. Don’t dignify the charade it’s all become.
As an aside, I’m so uncool that the Rolex AD in Ipswich didn’t call me back when I enquired about the availability of a lady date-just for my Mrs... I was wearing a Submariner (albeit a crappy faded old one) as well.
I think the OP is suggesting the staff are up their own ar$e$ and that's what's getting his goat up, rightly so too.
This.
I do of course understand the supply and demand problem. It’s the general level of snobbery that I can’t stand.
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That's fair comment although, as others have said, there is probably a degree of exasperation amongst AD staff. They live in hope of shifting the two SS Milgauss models that have been in the window for months and are constantly having to deal with people they have never seen before asking for the impossible.
We've no idea what Piemuncher22's approach was - and that might have had some bearing on the response. Not saying it should, just that it might.
Everything I read on here points to that being how Rolex want to develop the brand. The great unwashed like me are not their target market.
Your money is as good as anyone else’s.
Apologies to anyone who happens to be from Yorkshire, but you are right. Either that, or the most apt auto correct I’ve ever come across!
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I beg to differ. I’m no one special yet my AD treats me like a VIP. It’s one of the reasons I’m happy to spend my money there. Maybe all you guys moaning could buy an explorer or date just etc like I’ve had to over the years and show an interest over and above a Daytona or Pepsi or any other watch you could flip for a profit.
They've suffered enough without having that wished upon them, the good folk of Hull. Why not send them to Rotherham or Luton?
I said Rolex rather than individual ADs. (And I strongly suspect there is a difference between the big chains and independents.) I have a chat with my local AD now and again but I'm realistic about who they will choose when they have a rare model to allocate.
I think they "admire" me for having paid them full list for an SD4000 when no-one else wanted them! That proved I was in it for the watch, not the profit!
Last edited by David_D; 18th November 2018 at 18:20.
The old ones are the best, IMO. Fortunately for me, the fat lugs on the new Rolexes put me off them, and I've never wanted a Daytona.
Go used?
Firstly, I don’t want a Datejust or an Explorer. I have had both. The Datejust is to small for me, and the Explorer has no date function.
Secondly, what makes you think I (or anyone else for that matter) would want to flip for a profit?
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They're not laughing at you for being you, they're laughing at endlessness of people thinking they've a hope of buying one.
If you were to picture a totally different situation, in a setting without all the BS of watch retail, but which still involved someone asking with the same kind of unrealistic naive hope, laughter would be still be present. Try phoning a plumber at 7pm on a Friday in February when there's just been half a foot of snow.
If they don’t like it perhaps they shouldn’t be in a customer service role. Or maybe don’t sell Rolex if they’re fed up.
I hadn’t considered that!! You are correct of course, and a great comparison.
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At the moment, it's becoming a national sport. You may want to wear one, if you could get hold of one, but plenty others are happy to get the watch home, stickered up and unsized, and onto eBay in the hope of turning their £7,000 into £14,000.
I've even seen people listing DJs at a premium to list!
Sadly, that is what stopping people like you, who want watches to wear and enjoy, from getting hold of them.
Last edited by David_D; 18th November 2018 at 18:38.
It's just a watch, they're not selling Unicorn tears or something else magical & rare. If the people selling them new treat you like dirt & as if they are doing you a favour, either buy a second hand one from somebody pleasant who will treat you decently, or buy a new watch of a different brand from people who will treat you properly.
I'm glad I bought the new Rolex's I used to have years ago, as I'd never get one now, I couldn't put up with all the AD crap !
Key word. I said you “could”. Why on earth do you think an AD would sell you a watch that you “could” flip for double your money with no previous buying history. All the customers that have bought the watches you don’t want from them building a relationship will obviously come before you. Seems reasonable to me. Continuing with the plumbing example above, plumber gets called by 2 different customers. One he has done work for before and one is a brand new customer. He can only attend to one. Who does he go to?
Oh and seeing that you’ve had both a date just and an explorer, did you buy them from any of the ADs you want the Pepsi from?
In my experience the average salesman wouldn’t recognise a JLC.
Once again, you are utterly missing the point.
I shall repeat for a second time for those that can’t read, just don’t understand plain don’t get it or just don’t want to get it.
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Snobbery would imply the AD wouldn’t sell to you out of looking down on you. Fobbing you off the minute you ask for a Pepsi is just saving you and them time. Do you expect them to have the patience of a saint? They are asked all day everyday for what you want. They simply can’t sell you the product because they don’t have it. If your a salesman you want to sell. They want to sell. They physically can’t. Stop taking things personally. There’s only two ways to get the watch you want. Pay a premium or build a relationship with an AD. And for what it’s worth, I think you’d be surprised to know that the AD I use which is a high street chain, are actually very very knowledgable and helpful.
It’s OK, I won’t bother trying to explain again.
Night night.
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OP I don’t think they are laughing at you, I think it’s laughing with you. They know that they will receive so few per year that it is pointless to keep a “list”.
The plumber analogy was spot on.
We’ve only your side of the story here, but I’m wondering how you actually come across to them. Actually I’m not even wondering!
I get what the OP is saying (I think).
All the points about supply and demand, target market, etc, etc are absolutely correct.
However, the behaviour of some AD staff is quite simply condescending and rude. I believe that is what OP is referring to. Whether the watch was available is irrelevant - we must all have been there. Sometimes you are treated like an idiot for asking, and that is what I believe OP - and certainly I - take exception to. Its just not necessary.
So what if you get 1000s of enquiries a year? Is that an excuse to be short and rude with a prospective customer? Also to use previous example, you may well have £8k to spend on Pepsi, be told it's not available and then decide to buy something else. Any good salesperson would see this as an opportunity. 'Sorry sir, we don't have that and I'm afraid waiting list is closed. It's been a very successful model and you are looking at years before obtaining one! However we do have this lovely xxx in stock, would you like to try it on? I think it would look great with your wrist size'.
I'm with the OP, in some cases the staff are getting it very wrong. Rolex may not care as they have licence to print money, but I would be willing to bet they could be up-selling an awful lot more of their entry-level pieces if they could remove the stick from their collective uncomfortable place.
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You are, of course, viewing this as a WIS which is logical.
But there must be people out there that decide what they would like to buy based on looking through the manufacturers website.
Deciding that they really want a Rolex having swallowed all of the marketing hype on F1 or Tennis etc. They then decide on the GMT Pepsi as it looks fabulous etc. So the first time they step into their local Dealer eagerly hoping to buy this expensive trinket they get sniggered at by the Salesman cos it’s the tenth request that morning for the same watch.
Put yourself in the customers shoes now. How would you feel? Still as enthusiastic about Rolex?
Badly trained sales staff that lack professionalism need to understand how their attitude can have a negative effect on the brands they sell
These types of experience are likely to have a knock on effect on Rolex. It’s still my go to brand, but when even I can’t get hold of the models I want to collect, then there is something wrong with the sales model.
My overall collection used to be about 60% Rolex, 25% Omega and the rest a mix of different brands - today I own more Omega watches than any other brand - which although in the scheme of things probably makes very little difference to Rolex, when multiplied by many others then it’s certainly benefitting their competition!
Last edited by Omegamanic; 19th November 2018 at 01:09.
It's just a matter of time...
I reckon it is the worst time ever buying a brand new SS rolex, why not try some other brands instead?
Equally it might be nice to treat the staff in the shop as a human being to. You would be surprised at the terrible attitude that some customers adopt with sales staff.
I do feel for the Sales staff too. They probably have to deal with at least 20-30 phone calls about pepsi/daytona and another 20-30 walkins every day asking about the same thing. I would probably be fed up too. Having said that it would be refreshing if there was another approach.
I am fairly lucky with my AD. Sure they’d love more stock but ultimately they get to choose who they sell to.
Worth noting that if salespeople are on commission then they might be up against other staff if a tasty piece come in.
Appreciate this seems crazy, and for some a point of principle they won’t swallow, but you can make yourself a more attractive buyer.
I'm not in a position to comment as I wasn't there and we have no evidence of whatever exchange took place between the OP and the dealer(s). He does refer to the AD staff as "clones" which, if reflected in his attitude to them, may well have elicited a negative response.
Would seem the more sensible option
Maybe staff selling Rolex have a jumped up opinion of themselves as Rolex, in the grand scheme of things, aren’t that expensive.
It’s a shop, you’re a potential customer so deserve to be treated with respect. That’s it - whether you’re popping into a newsagent to buy a paper or a Rolex ‘shop’ (I can’t bear all this AD no sense) to buy a Rolex, you should be treated with respect. Honestly, I don’t know why people pander to the marketing machine. Just buy something else. I remember when the old Pepsi gmt jubilee was in every window unloved and unsold. It’s all just hype.
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I guess this largely depends on which AD he visited. I can well imagine that this describes a number of the Sales staff at one of the chains that sell Rolex very well. I seem to recall Haywood referred to them as “failed Curry’s PC World sales people”
This describes two people that I have encountered at one of the High Street chains selling Rolex on occasions several months apart. But in their location Rolex is probably the most expensive brand they sell.
The AD that I deal with, who are an independent btw, the sales staff are great. Professional, polite and humorous. It probably helps that they both “get it” and do like their watches too.
Yes.
It seems to be the way these days. I even got the laughing and “two year wait” from a woman when asking about a Pelagos! (Of which there were 3 in the window). I just bought one elsewhere.
I think to some extent they’re playing these tactics with Tudor too now, it seems to create a fuss.
My advice would be to go to another brand. I guess it’s easy for me to say though as I really don’t get the fascination towards new ceramic Rolex models.
Maybe it’s also the type of people wanting these new models too, instagram and YouTube ‘celebrities’ (with “collecting my new rolex” videos) and the wanna be’s that probably stream into the Rolex AD’s asking for the latest ‘Rollie’ probably drive them nuts too.
Please don't take it personally...every sale person in your AD would love to sell you a steel sports Rolex or Patek Nautilus straight from their window display. Unfortunately, circumstances are just totally reversed, these watches are not available, and the salesperson probably has the same conversation with aspiring purchasers forty times a week. And it won't make a jot of difference if you're wearing a diamond-festooned platinum Day-Date and sharp suit or an MWC and workmans overalls...
MW
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