Disappointed with my sale experience

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
User avatar
TheBeatles
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2603
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:36 am
CW-watches: 6
Location: England

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by TheBeatles »

TheBeatles wrote:I recently asked Wera about any ladies watches down the back of her sofa.

She duly found one and my wife was delighted, a quartz Victoria. We had to have it, same name as our eldest daughter. Wera arranged despatch and for a new battery to be fitted.

Watch arrived early June and after a few days stopped running. This coincided with dear Wera's departure.

I received returns pack and it has just returned today.

Guess what, fault report states "Battery Expired"

Looks like Wera was hung out to dry, no new battery fitted. QC at fault again!

To be fair, it's my only experience of poor service. Luckily, all my watches have been faultless :D
Update':-

Watch has stopped again. Returns pack for refund requested.

My wife unhappy as all mine have been ok.
Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night. Be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels, Frank Sinatra

All You Need Is Love, The Beatles

Too much of anything is bad. But too much of good whiskey is barely enough, Mark Twain
User avatar
Skipper
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 688
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 12:03 am
CW-watches: 12
Location: Mediterranean Spain

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Skipper »

TheBeatles wrote:My wife unhappy as all mine have been...
:lol: :lol:
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
User avatar
Summerz
Junior
Junior
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 12:22 am
CW-watches: 0
Location: Somerset

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Summerz »

Again, this continues to be grim reading. Does it matter to the company, all this negativity I wonder?
Frankcastle123
Senior
Senior
Posts: 63
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:44 am

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Frankcastle123 »

Gents,

Happy to report that I have received an email back from Christopher Ward and I have to say... they are thankful for the email I sent expressing my concerns and although they didn't offer anything crazy just to make me happy, the person on the other end of the email appeared concerned and promised that they are working on making a change for the better. They also sent me a voucher which helps..

All I wanted was to make them aware that this is a mistake that companies need to address in or Day to remain in business. I guess my reply and suggestions made it to the big wigs at CW


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
Caller
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:44 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Hua Hin, Thailand

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Caller »

Summerz wrote:Again, this continues to be grim reading. Does it matter to the company, all this negativity I wonder?
Considering that each successive sale makes for grimmer and grimmer reading, plus the various QC issues that are reported on non-sale purchases, the simple answer has to be, that no, it doesn't matter and that their priorities are elsewhere. The emphasis has been on the re-branding and development of new designs and watches. However, it seems pretty clear that this company is not operating as a single, coherent unit and whilst one section of their operation is striding ahead, the infrastructure that supports the end product is clearly being neglected - namely IT and support and CS (including QC). God, I hope they don't bring in the consultants again!
'Tis me
Drnom
Junior
Junior
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:16 am

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Drnom »

Frankcastle123 wrote:So on July 3rd I was able to place 2 different orders during the sale.

First one was the typhoon $600+
Second one was the rapide COSC $360+

I got confirmation on both orders and a day or two later the rapide was marked as shipped. I finally received my watch on July 13 only to discover that the watch was defective. The hands were misaligned and one of the hands didn't appear to be fully polished. Needless to say it went back.

On Friday, July 14th I try to get an update on the typhoon and was told that I would be receiving an email with the status of the order. Today July 17 I revived the email....

Image

According to the company they dropped the ball with the typhoon and admitted that it was an error on their part. However I could've been made aware of the issue sooner and I would've been able to pick a different watch from the sale.

To add insult to injury Mr. Scott Callaway (CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER) makes 0 attempts to try to solve the issue. Offers 0 solutions and basically tells me on this letter better luck next time.

Mr. CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER common sense dictates that if you messed up, you try to offer a solution to make up for the bad experience and retain your customer specially if you see that they have bought multiple watches from your company.

Maybe ask if there's anything else that interests the customer and offer a discount as a sign of you trying to remedy the mistake. Doesn't have to be 50% but something.

The route taken in this case was an email apologizing and that was it. Horrible customer service and if this is coming from the customer service manager then you know what to expect from the regular customer service employees.

Still love the watches but this time around the customer service left a very sour taste.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sorry that happened to you, mistakes happen.
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13151
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by nbg »

Caller wrote:
Summerz wrote:Again, this continues to be grim reading. Does it matter to the company, all this negativity I wonder?
Considering that each successive sale makes for grimmer and grimmer reading, plus the various QC issues that are reported on non-sale purchases, the simple answer has to be, that no, it doesn't matter and that their priorities are elsewhere. The emphasis has been on the re-branding and development of new designs and watches. However, it seems pretty clear that this company is not operating as a single, coherent unit and whilst one section of their operation is striding ahead, the infrastructure that supports the end product is clearly being neglected - namely IT and support and CS (including QC). God, I hope they don't bring in the consultants again!
Because all an average management consultant will do is take your watch and then tell you the time..... :lol:

The old jokes are the best! :)

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
kingwillis
Junior
Junior
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:06 pm

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by kingwillis »

i'm new here, I was looking to make a purchase. but after reading the post recently seems like i shouldnt buy a CW from the website any time soon until the work out the sales/QC bugs.
User avatar
Renton
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 554
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:07 am
CW-watches: 3

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Renton »

hughesyn wrote: A more appropriate dessert analogy in this case would be:

The frangipani tart was on special offer, so I ordered it for dessert.
5 minutes later the waiter comes back and appolgizes that, due to the special offer, they've run out. 'Would sir like something else from the menu?'

The least I could expect, I thought, for the emotional trauma of not getting the frangipani tart is to offer me a discount on all the rest of the menu items. Or knock the wine off the bill.

Oh, if only the waiter had checked how much frangipani they had left before taking my order! That would have saved all the heartache and disappointment.

No such offer was forthcoming, so I decided to have no dessert and never go back to the restaurant.
When I got home I gave the restaurant a bad review. That'll teach them to run out of something and ruin my evening.
:lol: :clap:

I'll have to choose my words more carefully than last time I posted on this subject, because it resulted in a slapped wrist and Mods deleting posts! Will definitely avoid the use of "cry babies" this time around because that didn't end well.

Second time lucky:

The level of upset some people feel when they're told about a watch order which can't be fulfilled does sometimes seem disproportionately high to me. It produces such fierce emotions that a humble apology for a genuine mistake is interpreted as "Horrible customer service".

While I agree with some that perhaps a token one-off discount on an alternative watch might be well received, if CW has decided that it only wants to offer an apology, then that's the way it goes.

Inspired by the comedy frangipani tart analogy, here's my less amusing offering:
A clothes shop is running a sale. You give them a call, they say they have the exact jumper you want and they'll save one for you. By the time you get to the shop the jumper is sold out and they can't find the one they put aside for you. In fact everything from the sale has gone. A staff member offers a sincere apology for the speed at which everything sold out and the failure of their reservation system.
Would we really request/expect a discount on a pair of trousers by way of compensation?

Being a web-based company you have place an order to buy a watch from CW. And being run by humans, means mistakes sometimes happen.

Will there be another clearance sale within the next six months? I'd say it's (much) more likely than not.

Fingers crossed the OP and anyone else who missed out will get something they like next time around :thumbup: :D
User avatar
hughesyn
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1770
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:01 pm
CW-watches: 5
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by hughesyn »

kingwillis wrote:i'm new here, I was looking to make a purchase. but after reading the post recently seems like i shouldnt buy a CW from the website any time soon until the work out the sales/QC bugs.
Don't worry, you'll be fine.
If you order something now it will be a normal stock line, not a sale item.
C8 Pilot Mk II Vintage; C5 Quartz Mk II; C4 'Phoenix', C5 MMXV FLE, C7 Automatic Chronograph
User avatar
hughesyn
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1770
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:01 pm
CW-watches: 5
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by hughesyn »

Renton wrote:
Inspired by the comedy frangipani tart analogy, here's my less amusing offering:
A clothes shop is running a sale. You give them a call, they say they have the exact jumper you want and they'll save one for you. By the time you get to the shop the jumper is sold out and they can't find the one they put aside for you. In fact everything from the sale has gone. A staff member offers a sincere apology for the speed at which everything sold out and the failure of their reservation system.
Would we really request/expect a discount on a pair of trousers by way of compensation?
A good analogy.

However, in your story, you have actually wasted time and money (fuel, parking) to go and visit the store. You would be justified being more upset.

In the case of CW, being internet based, the most you have lost is a couple of minutes sitting in front of your PC / tablet / phone tapping in your credit card details.
Perhaps those 5 minutes should be compensated ('made good' as they say).
A box of chocolates maybe?

Perhaps Scott should pop to Costco and get a pallet of Roses :D
C8 Pilot Mk II Vintage; C5 Quartz Mk II; C4 'Phoenix', C5 MMXV FLE, C7 Automatic Chronograph
User avatar
Tyke
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 5944
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:47 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by Tyke »

hughesyn wrote:
Renton wrote:
Inspired by the comedy frangipani tart analogy, here's my less amusing offering:
A clothes shop is running a sale. You give them a call, they say they have the exact jumper you want and they'll save one for you. By the time you get to the shop the jumper is sold out and they can't find the one they put aside for you. In fact everything from the sale has gone. A staff member offers a sincere apology for the speed at which everything sold out and the failure of their reservation system.
Would we really request/expect a discount on a pair of trousers by way of compensation?
A good analogy.

However, in your story, you have actually wasted time and money (fuel, parking) to go and visit the store. You would be justified being more upset.

In the case of CW, being internet based, the most you have lost is a couple of minutes sitting in front of your PC / tablet / phone tapping in your credit card details.
Perhaps those 5 minutes should be compensated ('made good' as they say).
A box of chocolates maybe?

Perhaps Scott should pop to Costco and get a pallet of Roses :D
There is also a big difference in 'having one reserved for you' and in fact buying and paying for it only to then find out that they have sold 'yours' to someone else (possibly later in the queue). I'm not massively in favour of the apology voucher as this is just a get out of jail free card for the vendor, I'm more in favour of them having a robust system that doesn't allow someone else to buy something you have already purchased. That way the sorry voucher is redundant.

This certainly isn't the first time the 'system' has allowed this to happen, they haven't fixed it & it's happened again, which reduces the confidence in them fixing it this time so it doesn't happen again.

We will most likely be here debating this again at the next sale........
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13151
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Disappointed with my sale experience

Post by nbg »

Out of interest the "frangipani tart incident" wasn't an analogy with the CW lack of stock control.

It was just an example of instinctive good common sense customer service, from which I concluded that the restaurant knew how to treat its customers and obtain repeat business.

Went back a couple of days ago and had the frangipani tart. Will probably choose a different dessert this evening. :)

Now back to watches, as I have just remembered an experience I had with a prominent online retailer of luxury watches.

During a busy sale time, I ordered a watch at a significant discount at about 10:00pm one evening - automatic confirmation email received. I then received an email at about 11:00am the following morning, to apologise and explain that the sale watch(s) had sold and with no more in stock they were unable to fulfill the order with that level of discount. They could however order in, but would only be able to offer a reduced discount (still far greater than a discount that could normally be negotiated during a non sale period) and asked me to email or phone to discuss.

I telephoned with the intention of trying to secure a bit more of a discount. During our conversation I was advised that a few further sale items were to be added from the same brand if I was interested. One of which was a model I had been hoping would be in the sale - so that's what I ended up buying. Happiness all round. :)

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post