Reply With QuoteAlways great to get a something free when you'd expected to pay for it! Ten weeks though. I know they all have these lead times but it's just ridiculous. They're clearly not employing enough people to cope with servicing and repair demand.
I noticed my Neomatik Club Sport was losing minutes per day after taking it away on holiday with me so promptly contacted Nomos directly and was asked to send it in. I saw on the site that as the watch was out of the 2 year warrenty but less than 3 years ols (2yrs 8 months) it would be classed as a minor service / repair with a £175 cost which I thought was quite reasonable. I also asked for a replacement screw for one I managed to lose adjusting the metal bracelet.
Nomos arranged a DHL pickup from my home so the watch was sent to them fully insured at their cost and once it arrived I got a very unexpected but well received email saying that as a gesture of goodwill the watch would be repaired FOC and sent back to me along with the requested screws in approximately 2-3 months. I was kept informed of work as it was going on and they answered a couple of questions I had same day they were asked
10 weeks later and the watch is back with me all working, a couple of parts replaced, and 2 screws for the bracelet so I can safely lose another! :). Very happy with the service from start to finish
Always great to get a something free when you'd expected to pay for it! Ten weeks though. I know they all have these lead times but it's just ridiculous. They're clearly not employing enough people to cope with servicing and repair demand.
Nice to read about decent service from at least one company!
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Originally Posted by TaketheCannoli
Likely down to skills-shortage. There's an ongoing problem in Germany with watchmakers being poached to work in Switzerland where the pay is higher and the taxes lower. The companies I know moderately well like Damasko and Sinn have effectively-permanent vacancies.
It's a shame watches have to be returned overseas for fairly simple service and repair work, manufacturers are killing the repair trade in the UK.
Have to admit I`m impressed with the service the OP has had on this, the 10 week wait is frustrating but at least it's cost him nothing.
Surprised at the comment that taxes are lower working in Switzerland vs Germany, not surprised at the skills shortage though!
Thanks, I didn't know that. Why do the Swiss companies take so long if they have all the staff? Just feels like cost minimising to maximise profits at the expense of the customer. My Dad's TAG auto needed servicing and he couldn't get a turnaround time of under 16 weeks so didn't bother. They're happy to take ages to do the work and charge extortionate prices but don't seem to be investing in the customer experience. Watch owners seem to be treated really poorly compared with other industries where repairs and servicing are required.
Well I’d take “free and 10 weeks” over “£175 and 10 days” anytime. As long as it’s not the OPs only watch then it’s hardly the biggest inconvenience, and as mentioned industry standards are generally worse than this. It’s not uncommon to see estimates of 12 months from certain brands.
That's the point I'm making, industry standards are appalling. If I was told 12 months for a service I'd immediately sell the watch as 'needing a service' and avoid the brand in future. Those timescales are completely unacceptable when they could easily be reduced by investing more of their massive profits into a bigger skilled workforce. Like I said, it feels deliberate to keep costs down and it's treating customers with the utmost contempt.
If they’re under resourced wouldn’t the waiting times keep increasing as the backlog just builds and builds ? I often wonder if part of the reason for long turnaround times is to give the impression that the work is very skilled and labour intensive, to help keep an impression of luxury and excellence.
Don't know why the Swiss companies do a great deal of what they do TBH! Perhaps the skills shortage runs deeper than just poaching from one country to another, i.e. not enough recruitment of youngsters: all too busy with their social media 'careers'...
Or maybe they think keeping people waiting-around adds to their aura of exclusivity - rather like the way Rolex treats dealers and customers like human garbage for example...
Last edited by earlofsodbury; 30th January 2024 at 16:27. Reason: Popped a smiley in there for the hard-of-thinking... ;-)
Yes but they could recruit and train their way out of that but they'd need to want to, every other industry manages to do that. I agree with you about maintaining the image of luxury and excellence. It's all part of the charade of luxury watch ownership. Think about Rolex for example and a potential customer who has saved for years and years for their first and only Rolex, a Submariner. It's been something they've dreamt about most of their working life and eventually they've saved enough. A life's ambition.
They go to their local AD in a state of pride and excitement to be told they're not worthy of owning a Rolex Submariner because they're too poor to have a 'purchase history' with the brand or AD, despite having £10k in their pocket. Now try to imagine they decide to buy a 'lesser' Rolex that's been lying in the safe for a few years because they want to make a Rolex purchase - yes I know there's a pig flying past the AD window.
They buy the watch they never wanted and toddle off home. A year later there's an issue and it has to go back Rolex to be repaired. That'll be 9 to 12 months Sir. Can I have a 'loaner' if it's away that long? No? Do I get a goodwill gesture for it being away that long? No? "What kind of appalling service is that" he says. Well Sir, it's the kind of service you get when you spend outrageous amounts of money with companies that don't give a toss about you as a customer.
Now this poor chap might get his watch back inside a year without having to pay anything. But he might get a very nasty bill that he definitely wasn't expecting, depending on what Rolex say the issue is.
Luxury watch ownership or anal rape? Same thing.
Yup. That must be it.
Not with Nomos it seems. Even the screw was free ;-)
Haha, excellent
I sometimes wonder why folks bother with mechanical watches thesedays, as each year passes they make less sense and ownership becomes more and more of a challenge. The OP of thus thread has received excellent service, albeit with a lengthy delay, but this is generally the exception to the rule.
The high cost of service and repair, plus the inconvenience of lengthy lead times, is a result if the move towards restricting parts supply that all manufacturers have followed over the past 20 years. If parts were readily available, together with technical information, as they were in the past for many years, there would be more independent repairers who would happily service and repair watches for a sensible price. Everyone would benefit.
Just had the dubious pleasure of fixing a problem on a modern ETA hand-wound movement, a development of the venerable 2801 but with 70+ hrs power reserve. No chance of getting parts, thankfully it only needed a broken screw replacing and I was able to find one that fitted, the watch was also significantly out of beat and running -15 secs despite being less than 4 years old. Contrary to internet myth the movement can be regulated easily (with care) so I could sort it out. However, if the watch had needed parts it would’ve been back to the manufacturer’s service centre for a full service and the owner would’ve had a sizeable bill to pay. Modifying ETA designs to give 70-80 hr power reserve is coming at a price, owners will learn that eventually, dear old Swatch Group have taken another step to limit owners choices for getting even modestly- priced watches maintained.
The only logical decision when buying a watch us to buy a modestly priced quartz watch that’ll need a battery every couple of years. After 10-15 years it’ll either stop or eat batteries quickly, bin it and buy another.
The whole thing - brilliantly on-point
Chortle!
That is excellent service from Nomos, and the turnaround time is what I would expect, particularly as the watch has to go to the EU then return from it.
My Tangente is almost superfluous in the collection as I have a Dornblüth, yet it’s such a great product from such a likeable company, unencumbered by luxury brand nonsense, that I must keep it. I also appreciate it being emblematic both of the company, and of Glashütte watchmaking.
Dave
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Just picking up on a few comments here.
I contacted Nomos directly and they (not surprisngly) asked the watch be sent back to them for evaluation. If they had a repair centre in UK I would have sent it to them obviously. For other work I get carried out such as services, etc I try and use UK based repairers who I've had nothing but great service from too.
The watch is one in a collection of about thirty so I wasn't too fussed it went away for a while and having read some stories recently of service times I didn't think 10 weeks was that bad really. I'm a Scotman and worse, a Fifer, so certainly free with a 10 week wait was quite appealing to me! haha
It wasn't just the free repair I was happy with. Communication was always prompt, they supplied the screws I asked for without question, I sent the watch away in a crappy plain box (well padded!) and they sent said crappy box back but sent the watch in a nice new Nomos box with a cleaning cloth, etc. The whole process from start to finish was painless
Last edited by SIB; 31st January 2024 at 15:58.
And if any of our watch repairing members are interested the part that needed replaced was "setting lever 61 with left handed thread" and a screw for said setting lever
Setting lever won’t influence timekeeping. My guess is that they’ve fully serviced this watch, the setting lever is part of the keyless work, dial has to cone off to access it, once you’re that far in it makes sense to go the whole hog and fully strip the movement.
Definitely a good result.
Thanks Paul, that's the only part on the list from my receipt so assumed this was the fault but as you say this is probably a part that was replaced as a matter of course with a service
The watch is running nicely now anyway so whatever has been done has worked
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