Reply With QuoteMy watch box is currently 10 pieces and I will consider a non AD if the AD cannot source various items (eg ones to mark an anniversary/event but I am in no rush with those items)
I have visited a few Rolex AD’s locally (West Midlands) and am more than aware of the rationing of various stainless steel professional models (who isn’t!) and understand the rationale of AD’s wanting to offer timepieces to their preferential customers, but I am a little peeved at the vetting that takes place. In one store things I was asked ranged from cars, types of school my children went to, even my income, seniority of role I work in.
I can afford the watches and most importantly I have no need to flip them as I want to pass them down to my children. I know I can get them going to non AD but I want to have a spending history so I can eventually get my grail watches.
What do you look for in an AD I know I’m naive to think they will get my watches with little wait, but at the same time I want to return again and again so I can get my watch collection where I want it to be. I wholly accept that this is on based on current supply situation probably 10 years... basically what does it take to be a preferential customer without buying every blingy watch in stock
My watch box is currently 10 pieces and I will consider a non AD if the AD cannot source various items (eg ones to mark an anniversary/event but I am in no rush with those items)
That store sounds like a bag of d*cks.
I like an AD who doesn't bat an eyelid if I come wandering in with jeans and a hoodie.
The only real way of becoming a known quantity customer is visiting regularly.. doesnt have to be to buy "blingy" watches.
Any Jeweller who allows anyone wearing a hoodie over their head in his/her shop is plain stupid.
I know my AD personally and he knows that I never sell watches and this means that he trusts me not to flip for a quick buck.
I also accept that he has to look after better customers than me.
If I wanted a particular model, he would do his best within reason to get me it.
I went wearing shoes and a suit (no tie but it was a weekend!) I can visit maybe at least on a monthly basis but don’t want to be a wasted effort. I’m considering focusing on the AD’s which have at least three other showrooms as I for some reason think they are less likely to pull the shutters down than a single store!Originally Posted by verv
The large chain of AD’s I worry about the turnover of staff as well as poor product knowledge.
If anybody has specific stores that they recommend with a 50 mile radius of Coventry, please PM me. I may consider travelling further up to 100 miles if they readily stock unicorns
I’d have some fun with a shop like that. Tell them you don’t have a car as you live on a private island, your kids were home educated by Professor Stephen Hawking until his recent sad demise and you retired once you sold all your Bitcoin a couple of years ago.
On the subject of plain stupid: Thank you for your valued input, man who cant differentiate between wearing a hoodie and wearing a hood over ones head.
I like that
I doubt I will return...if I do I won’t ask for a tea again which was horrid!
An AD employee said he requests that customers wear their watches once in a while to the store to demonstrate they still own them. Yes of course, I will certainly do that with pleasure as I am always completely free.
It may be stupid to you but it's not stupid to any Jeweller who has suffered a raid in the past.
This. I pop into my AD once every month or two for a brew and to talk watches
I guess you would turn this guy away then Mick. As a watch dealer you might regret that.
Tell them that you have to have fresh leaf Assam tea made with Fiji Water, otherwise not to bother.I like that
I doubt I will return...if I do I won’t ask for a tea again which was horrid!
alfat
If you think the subject of a thug hurting a jewellers staff in the event of a robbery is funny then fine.
I know getting one over is the fun part of a discussion but let's just agree to differ on this one.
High risk! Woman in a hoodie alert! Drop the shutters!
DANGER DANGER DANGER.
(Also, following sensible Micks advice I should probably leave work immediately)
I usually just look in the window at ones i cant afford.
Rolex have not made Unicorns since the 1920s they went the same way as Lipton, Marconi, Rolco, OWC, RWC and Oyster, although Oyster, Like Tudor, have attained some sort of immortality.If anybody has specific stores that they recommend with a 50 mile radius of Coventry, please PM me. I may consider travelling further up to 100 miles if they readily stock unicorns
The idea of being vetted by the tradesman is a thread in itself in the Bullingdon!
Mick, I think the point being made, was that you can wear a hoodie without actually having the hood up.
'Hoodie and jeans' I took to be a non-literal example of casual (i.e. not smart) clothing. Substitute for sweatshirt and jeans if that helps :-)))))
Mick, my point was, the guy in the picture isn’t a thug, even though he is wearing a hoodie with the hood over his head. In fact he is a well known buyer of expensive watches. If you look closely he is wearing one of them.
I’m sure no jeweller would want to let someone threatening into their shop.
If I can ever think of something funny to say about shop staff getting hurt then I’ll be sure to share it, I wouldn’t hold your breath though.
It all sounds far too exhausting and pompous and life is too short to spend courting ADs, just so that they might grace me with a particular watch or model. Each to their own of course, but seriously.......
What do I look for in an AD? Usually the watch I want to buy.
Don’t really care for the pampering, the tea and coffee or the fake fawning over.
Like all shopping experiences I like them be over as quickly as possible.
I wear what I want as well. The AD needs customers to stay in business, if they want to judge me on my clothing I will go elsewhere. IMO no purchase is worth changing my normal behaviour for.
To avoid misunderstand, when I say ‘get the experience over quickly’ I do not mean with a sorn off or baseball bat. I mean a regular transaction.
By ‘wearing what I want’, I mean a sweat shirt, grubby jeans or indeed a hoodie but I do not wear the hood of the hoodie up. I already look like a thug and would not cause anyone to panic.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 26th March 2019 at 12:38.
These days, I don’t think I am interested in any AD. Just not relevant to me.
People you do realise that an AD is only your "friend" because they can get money out of you, don't you?
Outside of that they couldn't care less, it's a business not a flipping social club
Do you think anybody is dim enough to not realise that?
The whole idea leaves me feeling cold and puts me off the brands associated entirely. Phrases like 'My AD' and 'Got the call' are so at odds with what I perceive this hobby to be that I worry that telling people I enjoy watches marks me out to be one of these people who loves having their ego massaged with a 'free' glass of prosecco by some grinning slimy assistant who just wants your money.
Awful awful business.
Bleaughhh.
If we're talking about 'AD's' that represent normal non Rolex-y brands, then I look whether they have the item I want and how much it is. I certainly don't want a drink or to be tugged off during the transaction.
Unbelievable!
Not in the way that it sounds. I mean I don't believe it.
No jeweller (in fact no-one in retail) worth their salt would risk alienating a customer with such stupid personal "vetting" questions. Everyone in the trade I have ever met has a story about a scruffy looking customer who looks like they couldn't afford the bus fare into town, only to present a wad of £50 notes and make an eye-watering purchase. Such stories are usually apocryphal but generally have their roots in true stories passed down the line.
The way you describe it sounds like an interview to determine your level of wealth, which doesn't happen. Could it perhaps have been informal conversation where such things came up naturally?
I'm not even sure how true these stories of preferential treatment depending on your spend level are. Maybe at odd shops with wankers for managers, but I am still in contact with friends at a couple of Rolex AD's and once tried to pull a couple of strings for a green Sub. The story was the same, they work their way down the waiting list in order of first come, first served. Doesn't matter how much you've spent there, the only ones whittled out of the list were people from out of the area (who couldn't provide a landline number to prove residence). i.e. the dealers who ring every AD in the country to get on the Daytona list.
Anybody?
I'm not so sure.
I guess I don't understand these "how do I suck up to a retail shop?" type threads. Get some perspective and self respect, they are only trinkets and the end of the world if you don't get one.
By all means enjoy them, I certainly do, but some people seem to spend so much time over thinking a "hobby" that for many the "involvement" is just means buying something.
I don't believe you. Total BS.
I’ve no idea if it is true (or that big a deal either way), but in fairness to the OP something similar happened to me in a suit shop once, so it’s not unheard of.
Wearing a suit? On a weekend? going into a shop?
There's your problem OP, trying too hard. One quick look at you making so much effort the sale person instantly thought you're a tyre kicker and fobbed you off with awkward questions hoping you'll just ef off
In fairness, I don't understand them either. I've not particularly found an issue with AD's being anything other than shop-like.
But equally, my attitude is that with sports rolex its cheaper to just suck it up and buy grey as its a one off charge rather than umpteen other brands and datejusts before getting anywhere near the feted "list".
I was passing the local branch of Goldsmith's last weekend and saw a Sea-Dweller in the window.
As I was composing a PSA to post on the forum about it, the watch was plucked from the window display and taken across the store to a young chap I'd seen looking at it a minute earlier, who was already seated at the Rolex counter rolling up his sleeve.
He was wearing jeans, trainers and a jumper, and had bought the watch a few minutes later.
What do I look for in an AD? Watches!
Where do you stand on Viceroys?
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Trying to imagine you done up like a crazy WIS Manga b**ch, snarling at any approaching assistant...
Concrete. I just like the noise they make...
I thought they were a subbrand of Rolex, not an independent though?
Mick,
Just to be clear are you suggesting that Jay-Z is a thug and he is going to hurt staff and then rob the AD ?
Last edited by MFB Scotland; 26th March 2019 at 16:03.
Im actually dead laid back. I know its surprising to all
I think he was pulling your leg
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I completely get that. The AD has to be happy that he/she isn’t selling to someone who will resell it the next day
To be brutally honest, I have never heard of him, let alone recognise him but I would not blame any Jeweller who is as equally inept at recognising celebraties as I am at refusing him admission in that type of dress.
Thank god you don't work in retail.
I'd fire you.
FTFY
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
He was serious as he followed up with customers are selling the watches on etc. On completion of my chat with him, there were a couple of customers sporting Rolex watches ready for their fortnightly sign-on with him to show his lordship they are still in possession.
Mick, I was teasing you a bit, and I thought you would recognise him, so my tease fell flat. There are shops where the staff would identify the expensive brand of everything Jay-Z is wearing in that photo and know he had the money to afford any watch in the shop.
Really rich people don’t wear suits so much any more, they spend £2k a pair on trainers these days.
That's hilarious! Just say you have won the Euromillions and were thinking of splashing some cash around but now you've decided to take your business elsewhere.
A little bit of background. I had prearranged a drop in to view a watch that I had not seen in the flesh before (it was an Explorer so no Daytona) and something didn’t seem right as I told him my occupation and he followed up without a pause the seniority. I was wearing a casual suit one that I felt was appropriate for the day and occasion. I recall the story about the guy who founded M&S used to dress scruffy and see how his staff treated him. It was a shame as I had the funds in my current account ready to purchase.
I don’t own a suit , I only have 3 pairs of long trousers , all jeans . Don’t have any shirts I can wear a tie with .
If I’m in the UK I’m generally wearing jeans , boots , T-shirt and a warm jacket I drive a 10 yr old mini but am on public transport in UK . I wouldn’t answer any of those questions it’s none of their business as long as my credit card clears - and yes I want the VAT back .
Do you want to vet me or sell me something?
I don’t seem to have a problem with being taken seriously in a shop , maybe it’s my demeanor not my attire.
Edit - what do I look for in an AD - stock
Yes - double denim is unacceptable and he will never make anything of himself dressed in that manner.
Just imagine if they missed their allotted time, the watch would have been taken away and placed in the safe for a week, alongside the box, stickers, and warranty card
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