Trident woes :(

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Kip
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by Kip »

I think it is true that everyone is rooting for CWL to succeed. It is also a fact that when someone does have an issue, we want them to know that it will be taken care of as swiftly as possible. That is why they are directed to Customer service and given plenty of moral support.

In a perfect world I would agree that there would be no need for a customer support system. Just find me a company that doesn't have one. When you are dealing with mechanical devices that are subject to the rigors of shipping and pass thru many hands before arrival. There is a need. If mechanical things did not break down or require service, there would be no need. I for one am thrilled that we have available the finest customer support system I have ever dealt with.

I have purchased well over 100 pieces, including gifts, and have had one issue due to shipping. My problem was rectified immediately...well within 5 days due to the shipping time.

While it is true that some have better luck than others, if you look up the volume of complaints/problems, they are few in comparison to the satisfied customers.

If you in fact want a CWL watch, you can rest assured that the product will be taken care of by CWL and its own support staff and not a subcontracted service center.

I have said this before....

Any brand selling through a network of authorized dealers has a built in support system. These dealers do the equivalent of dealer prep in the auto industry. The watches are checked, cleaned and polished when necessary (which is more than you might think) before they are put out for sale. The dealers hide the flaws in the makers systems. Believe me that the major brands are much worse in general then CWL would ever dream of being.

How do I know? I am the service manager at a major retail chain.
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secrethouse92
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by secrethouse92 »

Understood, Kip.
Of course there is a necessity for customer support. I don't mean to dispute that. And yes, it's nice to have an astute, courteous and efficient one. I just wonder if the forum isn't quick to gloss over what should be a concern here which is quality control. I understand your point as well with regards to CW not having that last line of defense in the form of a retailer. If you stop and look at it, however, this site is essentially a small sample size of the CW purchasing public. Yet there seems to be quite a consistent rate of people with issues. Again, you may have had all but perfect luck but some of us have had multiple issues with purchases. For me, 100%. Sounds like the OP has a similar story. For such a tiny portion of the world's CW owners actually posting here, we seem to see more than the occasional problem. That doesn't bode well for the larger numbers of owners and wearers out there.
I don't see it as a slam to suggest that there's an issue with QC. Not if it's said only with the best intentions or honesty. We can still pull for the brand, and be the most ferverent supporter even, yet point out where we have concerns. That's just called caring. I'm a fan, but I try to stop shy of fanatic.
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Paul Drawmer
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by Paul Drawmer »

secrethouse92 wrote:... For such a tiny portion of the world's CW owners actually posting here, we seem to see more than the occasional problem. That doesn't bode well for the larger numbers of owners and wearers out there....
There's a statistical assumption in there.
The vast majority of satisfied customers will probably go away and say nothing anywhere. Those that do have problems naturally use the internet to try and find further information. That means that there is a natural attraction to this type of specialised forum; which will tend to end up with a mixture of product devotees and those seeking solutions to problems.

So, looking at the complaint numbers on here as in indication of overall quality/satisfaction is only taking the top and bottom of the total into account. Whereas statistical smoothing would often ignore the extremes of the curve.

With any retail distribution chain, there will be mistakes. The first recourse must be back to the established complaints procedure to give the supplier an opportunity to correct the problem.

Great customer service is exemplified by how the company reacts when things go wrong.
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by HendrixGreen »

Paul Drawmer wrote:
secrethouse92 wrote:... For such a tiny portion of the world's CW owners actually posting here, we seem to see more than the occasional problem. That doesn't bode well for the larger numbers of owners and wearers out there....
There's a statistical assumption in there.
The vast majority of satisfied customers will probably go away and say nothing anywhere. Those that do have problems naturally use the internet to try and find further information. That means that there is a natural attraction to this type of specialised forum; which will tend to end up with a mixture of product devotees and those seeking solutions to problems.

So, looking at the complaint numbers on here as in indication of overall quality/satisfaction is only taking the top and bottom of the total into account. Whereas statistical smoothing would often ignore the extremes of the curve.

With any retail distribution chain, there will be mistakes. The first recourse must be back to the established complaints procedure to give the supplier an opportunity to correct the problem.

Great customer service is exemplified by how the company reacts when things go wrong.
Really well put!!
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by welshlad »

secrethouse92 wrote:Understood, Kip.
Of course there is a necessity for customer support. I don't mean to dispute that. And yes, it's nice to have an astute, courteous and efficient one. I just wonder if the forum isn't quick to gloss over what should be a concern here which is quality control. I understand your point as well with regards to CW not having that last line of defense in the form of a retailer. If you stop and look at it, however, this site is essentially a small sample size of the CW purchasing public. Yet there seems to be quite a consistent rate of people with issues. Again, you may have had all but perfect luck but some of us have had multiple issues with purchases. For me, 100%. Sounds like the OP has a similar story. For such a tiny portion of the world's CW owners actually posting here, we seem to see more than the occasional problem. That doesn't bode well for the larger numbers of owners and wearers out there.
I don't see it as a slam to suggest that there's an issue with QC. Not if it's said only with the best intentions or honesty. We can still pull for the brand, and be the most ferverent supporter even, yet point out where we have concerns. That's just called caring. I'm a fan, but I try to stop shy of fanatic.
I must say that I think your comments are pretty fair, constructive and I largely agree with them.

There is no doubt that the CW customer service is excellent, particularly at sorting out problems and going the extra mile. However, I have seen enough examples (statistically significant or not) in the last year or so of things that should never have got through Quality Control to form a view that the QC at CW is still not quite what it should be. I think it is improving as the company grows and matures, but we shouldn't be afraid to point out QC deficiencies. We all want CW to succeed and acting like a critical friend to them will only help them in the long term.
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by wvexelcw »

A very well performing QC must lead to less work for customer service. And to customers that are more satisfied. So I would bet on a better QC.

If I have no issues with my watch, I shall never turn to customer service. :clap:
Why I buy watches? It makes me think I am buying time :)
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by Kip »

I do not dispute that quality control can be improved. I would like nothing more than to see no problems at all. As Paul says, the numbers can seem skewed in an environment like this.

The facts from Chris are that all problems together are less than 1% of the total sales.

That being said, I do not want anyone to be afraid to mention issues and problems in here. If CWL is not aware of difficulties, whether with a process or product, they will not be able to fix the system or product. We are a voice for the end users of CWL.
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tempusmaximus
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by tempusmaximus »

" WE ARE A VOICE FOR THE END USERS OF CWL" :clap: very well said kip and not a truer word said I back this 100%, most of the people that use this forum are normaly collectors or watch enthusiasts that know a good timepiece at the right price for the right quality I feel as do many others that is exactly what you get with cw however because It is a cw forum people with issues will also give there opinions and mention faults as they should this forum is our voice!

but out of all the posts the majority of them have nothing but praise for cw .there are other luxury watch companies whos customer care service ,servicing and there product are quiet frankly appalling for the money you pay because of the name on the watch, ive been a collector for 35years so I have had some expeirance with these companies.every watch company gets complaints about the quality of a watch and many of these watches cost many of thousands of pounds I for one would rather I paid a few hundred pound and find a fault rather than visa versa.

problems of 1% on total sales says it all really .however cw are still a young watch company whos qc can be improved I know someone like patek put each movement though 600 hours of qc before it is put into a case then it goes through a further2-3 weeks of tests before being released,what procedure do cw watches go through I have no idea .however a company like patek are the exception.


to the op I hope your problems are sorted out quickly as im sure they will and please don't be put off by them .and to any one who wants to knock me yes im one of those who want cw to flourish there a company that care about people(customers) and not just about making profit and they make high quality watches at low prices :thumbup:

ps.even my dustbin man wears a c60 (a high quality swiss watch)and hes 19 _ says it all really :D
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by secrethouse92 »

It's great to see a discussion like this. My intent wasn't to start a war or words and thankfully no one took it that way! When the delusionality of "everything is great always and dont you dare think differently" gets too strong amongst fans of ANYTHING it immediately turns me off. I feel like i've noticed more and more of that lately. Having a healthy discourse like this one is wonderful and I'm glad that's the way it has evolved.
Ironically, I'm in the midst of a pretty lame customer service ordeal with another company! Still, I stand by my feelings regarding our perception of things as fans of the CW brand. Let's root for them to be excellent in all areas. Business, service and production. It benefits everyone. Criticism with concern and good intentions is, well....good!
Have a great Saturday, folks.
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by DEV.Woulf »

Quality control must be improved in the future for the sake of the sanity of the customer. My first two CW watches came with no problem, the C5 being very handsome and the C3 being stunning and even better. With my Makaira, it was to be very special because it was my first Automatic and is simply a more expensive looking watch with it's case, finish, and Museum Sapphire crystal. It was a also a Christmas gift from my mom as she went half with me on the money. Then the strand of hair popped from the bezel. OK, they'll rush a new one to the states and I'll have it by Christmas. It comes soon with a scratch on the case. They'll rush a new one out by the 21st which is the last day for me to get it by Christmas. Instead, I asked they take it slow and make sure it is defect free this time for sure. Deb held back a day and a technician looked it over. I got it some days after Christmas and it was perfect.

I thought the thing was ridiculous and gave unneeded stress to me and my mother, made even harder by me living in the USA. I didn't get to open and wear my watch on Christmas day. If the third had a problem, I was done...with the Makaira anyway but I had my eyes on other brands too. When they took it slow, it worked out for both of us. I love my Makaira and wear it all the time. Hopefully no one has to go through what I went through but luckily I have not read of something similar yet. CW's Customer Service is second to none though.

Stress-free watch purchasing leads to happiness and more watch purchasing. Remember that. :thumbup:
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by JamesH »

Obviously I have no idea how many C60s they sell but there does seem to be rather a lot of problems with this watch. Also its 2013 (not 2002) one of the first things people do when they have problems with a product is post in forums like this.
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by Banker »

JamesH wrote:Also its 2013 (not 2002) one of the first things people do when they have problems with a product is post in forums like this.
Exactly right! A problem will cause people to post a question or comment right off the bat. Those who have no problem or issue are often less likely to post about a product. While we WIS types are drawn to these forums, I'm betting the average watch buyer isn't. A problem may be the only thing causing them to seek out places like this, resulting in a higher percentage of "problem" posts.
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Re: Trident woes :(

Post by mabotham »

I think the last couple of posts simply echo what a forum is about. CW want to know the issues raised with their products, regardless if 'those who have no problem or issues are often less likely to post'.
And that is not true of this forum; there are hundreds of threads celebrating how people think their CW is fantastic.
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