Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

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McDaWisel
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by McDaWisel »

Well this made me laugh. How is a forum admin supposed to solve CS issues?!? That’s nuts. It’s bad enough people are getting the showroom manager involved.

Blaming “fanboys” and the admin team is just silly. They are a bunch of enthusiasts trying to discuss their hobby with likeminded people in their free time. That’s all.

I am sure it’s frustrating, and the forum is a place to discuss, but not a place to blame members for CW’s mistakes.

Can I generally recommend people call instead of email? Email is increasingly unreliable.

Personally I have had several conversations and interactions with the CS team. They were polite and generally did as promised, even if a day or two later than I would have expected.

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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by H0rati0 »

McDaWisel wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2019 1:02 am
Can I generally recommend people call instead of email? Email is increasingly unreliable.

Personally I have had several conversations and interactions with the CS team. They were polite and generally did as promised, even if a day or two later than I would have expected.
The key is to get someone who can actually help's personal commitment and I must agree that a conversation is the best way. Phone or even a showroom visit, but get to talk to someone.

While it absolutely should not have to be that way, if CS are overwhelmed and as an individual you are already in the clag, the (polite) squeaky wheel will get the grease.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by Mikkei4 »

McDaWisel wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2019 1:02 am Well this made me laugh. How is a forum admin supposed to solve CS issues?!? That’s nuts. It’s bad enough people are getting the showroom manager involved.

Can I generally recommend people call instead of email? Email is increasingly unreliable.

Personally I have had several conversations and interactions with the CS team. They were polite and generally did as promised, even if a day or two later than I would have expected.
Nobody is getting the Showroom Manager involved - he's being held up was an example of what CW CS attitude should be and what they should be doing.

I think you'll find that people have been trying to call CW or it's been suggested in previous posts. They are being ignored when they try to escalate their problem through and up the CW management structure when they are getting nowhere with the other CS staff.

Being polite is easy. Generally did as promised - such excellent level of service. Even if a day or 2 later than to be expected - then either they don't have sufficient staff or they are totally overwhelmed by the present situation.

Kip talks about people repeating the problems - that's because nothing seems to be improving and other posts state the blinding obvious solutions repeating what other posts have stated throughout this topic.

kyledemo says he still hasn't had an adequate response from CW - shouldn't the onus of making a telephone call be on CW? Why should it be the customer that continually has to try to talk to somebody at CW that has sufficient clout to get this sorted?
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by Caller »

Mikkei4 wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2019 8:43 amshouldn't the onus of making a telephone call be on CW? Why should it be the customer that continually has to try to talk to somebody at CW that has sufficient clout to get this sorted?
Absolutely. Indeed in one example, we learnt repeated messages left for the CS manager, who was never available when called, were never returned.

It just seems as though various issues have come to a head at the same time and this might actually shake CW out of their lethargy. I hope so, as it can't go on. I know I am going back now, but how long did it take CW to respond to the justifiable and oft repeated criticism of watches being delivered loose, and sometimes damaged, in their box? It's quite obvious that post sales CS has been a low priority for some considerable time.

However, I do think it is extremely unfair to aim any criticism at the mods here for the companies failings. They do this work voluntarily and without them there would be no forum. I think it was good that Kip personally intervened to make MF aware of these problems, although as usual, in response, MF engaged his mouth before his brain!
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by Lavaine »

The fact that the forum is owned by CW (I like it FYI) has to do with technical and financial support. It has nothing to do with editorial content. Nowhere is is it stated that the Forum is owned by CW on the banner. It States "Independently Operated.." I do not see where anyone gets a certain expectation that their issues will be addressed by stating them here...reasonable or otherwise. Posting an issue here is not
bringing up an issue with CW. While we certainly point CW in the direction of posts that bring up repeated issues and/or suggestions. We are not CW. We cannot step in and solve problems. We can only make CW aware, and in most instances, they already are. As I have said, They watch the forum.
Perception is reality Kip. While it may be true that CW have no editorial control over the forum, and that it does not state owned by CW on the banner, there are other things on the forum to give new members that idea. Things such as threads that reference a time when you were employed by CW (not that that has any bearing on your current position, but new people may see it without context of your current status). Threads with pictures of the mod/admin team having meetings at CW Towers. These things may give the uninitiated the impression that the relationship between the forum and the company may be more than advertised. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant if that is the conclusion that is drawn by a member here.
As for the company monitoring the forum. Again, perception is reality. When someone posts about a watch being lost by CW, and another member posts about 60+ emails to get a repair completed, and no one from CW reaches out to those posters immediately, their is a strong perception that this is just not the case. Monitoring the forum without acting on these issues is of no value to the affected customers. I'm curious if any of these affected folks have reached out to CW on social media, and if they have received a response? If CW has a social media person, they should be charged with watching the forum for these issues to arise, and connecting with customers who have these issues ASAP. This would go a long way to fixing both the current issues with the mods being pressed to act on behalf of the posters, and of the posters being seemingly ignored by CW.
At the end of the day, fixing these issues should not fall to the mod team, but until CW gets its customer service poop together, these posts wil continue, like it or not. CW needs to fix their customer service issues, and monitor and respond faster to issues raised on the forum and on social media.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by jtc »

I get the impression CW's use of social media isn't quite 2019. While they do seem to post things, they don't have much reach or interaction with their followers.

I was in Berlin while the Canadian F1 grand prix was on. I, for a bit of a laugh, tweeted Mercedes asking if they had anywhere I could watch the race. Not only did they respond to me, a random on the internet, they even tried making contact with their large Berlin dealership to arrange a place to watch the race. CW need that sort of engagement if they want to grow.

Adverts for commuters with strange political undertones feels a decade behind where they should be... and I've always found the "do your research" tagline a little abrasive. They're missing the mark in the marketing department, seems the customer services department is similarly stuck in the past. Modern businesses operating online, interacting with customers digitally, need modern systems ...

A few years ago these problems were written off as "growing pains". Not sure what they are now?
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by FloridaPhil »

This entire thread reminds me of the old adage 'the problem is not that things go wrong, rather, the problem is how to respond to them when they do'.

Doing nothing or serving up more of the same seems ill advised in this age of instant communication.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by TP Fit »

Kip wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:06 pm
Lavaine wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:22 pm 2 days, 4 pages, and radio silence from Kip. Maybe he's thrown in the towel as well?
And what would you have me say or do?

CW is well aware of these problem topics. Mike France has already issued a statement. I am certain he has discovered that not all old issues have been resolved, despite what he stated.

My own observations…
CW need to make warranty conditions clear on all fronts.

CW needs to improve the internal processing and communication systems. This is already in the works and being tested as we speak. Hopefully this will do as intended and a customer will know where the watch is at all stages.

Automatic notifications in all areas are not functioning properly regarding customer service inquiries, magazine requests and shipping.

CW needs to Improve/change final QC process to eliminate mis shipments and niggly QC issues.
Publish service rates again.

For all the seemingly doom and gloom regarding service, what we have had over the past week is one topic questioning the terms of warranty and 3 topics related to service specific issues. Within those three topics, by three different people, 4 others have mentioned specific recent issues while everyone else has been piling on with old issues and/or discussing possible solutions, venting, offering condolences. Somehow these few issues get everyone thinking that CW overall customer service is a now a disaster.

I do not believe that, despite the power of the internet, the overall issues are anywhere near as bad as many would have us believe. If it was, CW would no longer exist.

While I genuinely feel for those that have issues, and sincerely hope they are resolved quickly and in a satisfactory manor, things are not, nor cannot, be as bad as a few topics make it seem. When considering the volume of watches that CW ships, I suspect the overall (percentage wise) issues are quite small.


I am not inside CW. I do not know what specifics they are addressing. I do know that they watch the forum. Regardless, if you have an issue with CW, the forum cannot solve it. You must deal directly with CW. If you want to discuss/suggest, then this is the place.


I will generally agree with Kip, but as a new CW customer and forum member for 6 months...this is what I know personally:

* 2 Watch CW purchases: 2 Returns and a horrible experience with customer service.
* These are facts and not complaints.
* 2 Watches, and CW as had them longer than me after purchase.
* What are the odds?

Just a fluke on my experiences, probably not. Probably some truth to poor quality control and customer service. We can play the numbers game with the forum only being a small percentage. I have taken statistics at a high level. If a sample is indicative of a pool, and the pool error rate increases over a period of time in the same sample...well, conclusion, the error rate has increased in the entire pool, not the complaints because its human nature. Human nature of making complaints will always prevail...thus the percentages have increased. Period.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by McDaWisel »

Only if it’s a random / representative sample :-) which the forum is absolutely not.

When things go wrong people come to the forum to look for help. It’s a self-selecting sample that is highly biased.

Doesn’t take away from the terrible customer experience through, clearly that still needs to be resolved.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by Essex Paul »

Forum member 9 months.
1 CW watch purchase.
Failed after 2 months.
At Fawlty Towers for 2 months.
Watch returned to me “TOOL SCRATCHED”.
No email for 2 weeks after it was sent back 2nd time.
Phoned CS and VERY luckily Declan answered, sent a new watch to me overnight.
Horrendous first experience.
Second CW purchase postponed.

There’s a HUGE staff shortage and system failure at CW.

I do hope it changes. I’m kinda into the brand.....for now.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by nbg »

TP Fit wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:31 am Just a fluke on my experiences, probably not. Probably some truth to poor quality control and customer service. We can play the numbers game with the forum only being a small percentage. I have taken statistics at a high level. If a sample is indicative of a pool, and the pool error rate increases over a period of time in the same sample...well, conclusion, the error rate has increased in the entire pool, not the complaints because its human nature. Human nature of making complaints will always prevail...thus the percentages have increased. Period.
Agreed. To dismiss the cracks that are showing in quality and CS as “small self selecting forum sample, etc...” is naive and shows a lack of understanding in statistics.

Implication being if you receive a duff watch or very poor service you by default come to the forum to vent or look for answers. There are no doubt many who wouldn’t complain about a retail service on a forum. They would take the natural course of action and complain direct to the retailer.

CW recognise they have problems that need fixing. During previous bouts of poor service over the five+ years I have been a member here there has often seemed to be a visible lack of acceptance from CW that there were issues.

The point that on this occasion MF has acknowledged there is a problem speaks volumes and fair play to him for fronting up and stating they will fix it.

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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by H0rati0 »

nbg wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 8:49 am
The point that on this occasion MF has acknowledged there is a problem speaks volumes and fair play to him for fronting up and stating they will fix it.

Neil
As armchair commentators it's all too easy to demand action but a kneejerk is no use and lasting fixes are not implemented overnight.

I hope CW can get on top of this in short order and fellow forumites suffering from abysmal failures get satisfaction.
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by nbg »

H0rati0 wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 10:59 am
nbg wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 8:49 am
The point that on this occasion MF has acknowledged there is a problem speaks volumes and fair play to him for fronting up and stating they will fix it.

Neil
As armchair commentators it's all too easy to demand action but a kneejerk is no use and lasting fixes are not implemented overnight.

I hope CW can get on top of this in short order and fellow forumites suffering from abysmal failures get satisfaction.
Agreed. The recent threads have been full of sage advice about end to end processes, full view of customer and implementation of CRM systems etc.., as if JB and the three founders weren’t really aware of such stuff. After all it’s not as if any of them are longstanding hard nosed entrepreneurs..... :)

Well actually they all are. But guess what sometimes choices have to be made when growing a business, that hasn’t been able to burn through cash to implement state of the art systems. Maybe, just maybe, having gone through an expensive rebranding, they are still at the stage where generating cash from sales is most important and the other stuff has to follow on, when cash flow allows.

A difficult balancing act for many small businesses.

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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by H0rati0 »

nbg wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 11:31 am
Agreed. The recent threads have been full of sage advice about end to end processes, full view of customer and implementation of CRM systems etc.., as if JB and the three founders weren’t really aware of such stuff. After all it’s not as if any of them are longstanding hard nosed entrepreneurs..... :)

Well actually they all are. But guess what sometimes choices have to be made when growing a business, that hasn’t been able to burn through cash to implement state of the art systems. Maybe, just maybe, having gone through an expensive rebranding, they are still at the stage where generating cash from sales is most important and the other stuff has to follow on, when cash flow allows.

A difficult balancing act for many small businesses.

Neil
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Re: Another CS nightmare (still in progress)

Post by QPRcat »

My question is, why are CW having all these faults?

I thought the sellita movements were supposed to be highly reliable?