Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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TheBeatles
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by TheBeatles »

Alex r wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:00 pm Just got a reply from Vallen at CW towers. A battery change and service on my C6 Quartz is £150 plus postage
This is more than i paid for the watch when new. Is this Excessive ?
The Email doesn’t give a break down of what the service involves on the plus side they havn't lost it yet :silent:
Just a thought, but maybe the quote is so high because they just want you to say don’t bother, send it back.

So they have 1 less watch to worry about
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by nbg »

Alex r wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:14 pm Glad I'm not the only one to think it's steep for a 3 handed quartz. A Chronograph or thermo compansated movement i could sort of get unless there is a lot more wrong with it than a new battery but then a new ETA movement can't cost that much can it.
CW have just quoted me £150 for servicing a C600 Trident Pro GMT....

Neil
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

nbg wrote:
Alex r wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:14 pm Glad I'm not the only one to think it's steep for a 3 handed quartz. A Chronograph or thermo compansated movement i could sort of get unless there is a lot more wrong with it than a new battery but then a new ETA movement can't cost that much can it.
CW have just quoted me £150 for servicing a C600 Trident Pro GMT....

Neil
That sounds in the right ball park, Neil.

I had a C40 Speedhawk, 7750 Chrono, serviced a few years back and recall it being in the region of £175.

Similarly I had a full service on a C6 Kingfisher (quartz) for around £60.

Guy

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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by FloridaPhil »

Seiko charged me $80 for a battery change in my Grand Seiko 9F which I nearly fainted at but decided to do since it's a $2,200 watch. They did change the seals and pressure test it though so I guess it was worth it.
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by jtc »

Just putting it out there, but I wonder if there's any incentivised approach to post-sales support like servicing etc? No advertised prices = a free market economy to ask whatever the service person wants...
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Alex r »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:25 pm
nbg wrote:
Alex r wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:14 pm Glad I'm not the only one to think it's steep for a 3 handed quartz. A Chronograph or thermo compansated movement i could sort of get unless there is a lot more wrong with it than a new battery but then a new ETA movement can't cost that much can it.
CW have just quoted me £150 for servicing a C600 Trident Pro GMT....

Neil
That sounds in the right ball park, Neil.

I had a C40 Speedhawk, 7750 Chrono, serviced a few years back and recall it being in the region of £175.

Similarly I had a full service on a C6 Kingfisher (quartz) for around £60.

Guy

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Could just be a standard email and they haven't relised it's a quartz which is probably more worrying
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Alex r »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:25 pm
nbg wrote:
Alex r wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:14 pm Glad I'm not the only one to think it's steep for a 3 handed quartz. A Chronograph or thermo compansated movement i could sort of get unless there is a lot more wrong with it than a new battery but then a new ETA movement can't cost that much can it.
CW have just quoted me £150 for servicing a C600 Trident Pro GMT....

Neil
That sounds in the right ball park, Neil.

I had a C40 Speedhawk, 7750 Chrono, serviced a few years back and recall it being in the region of £175.

Similarly I had a full service on a C6 Kingfisher (quartz) for around £60.

Guy

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Could just be a standard email and they haven't relised it's a quartz which is probably more worrying
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Lavaine »

Grand Seiko quartz service - 80 GBP
CW C6 Quartz service - 150 GBP
New Ronda 715 movement - 12 GBP
Hmmm.
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by StrappedUp »

I think a proper GS 9F quartz service would be significantly more, but shouldn't have to worry about that for at least another 46 years .... theoretically :D
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Thegreyman »

Lavaine wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 2:32 am Grand Seiko quartz service - 80 GBP
CW C6 Quartz service - 150 GBP
New Ronda 715 movement - 12 GBP
Hmmm.
I think the C6 service price quoted must be a mistake/error. My C60 Trident mk1 service within the past year was £99. iirc, CW charged about £15-20 for a battery change so not sure how all of a sudden it can be £150 given there isn't much else to do on a quartz other than battery, gasket, reseal and test......or is there some other witchcraft in a quartz movement that needs to be serviced :?
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Martin »

Some thoughts:

I do remember CW first offering a watch service. I think it was £99 for an automatic. They serviced my C5 Aviator. The job got done but seemed a little uncoordinated. Different people in the organisation had no idea if anyone else had raised a job number/ seen the watch/ any knowledge of.
The service was done, I got my watch back with an invoice sheet and all within a couple of weeks. Move on six years and CW has grown. Thousands upon thousands of watches sold. Demand for repair and routine servicing must have grown enormously. Has the infrastructure? Probably not enough. I recently bought an Omega. Reading this (and similar) threads led me to consider what happens when I decide to have it serviced. I presume I go to the AD. They have systems in place which track the watch, send it to a service centre. They service the watch. A separate department raises an invoice. A separate section handles payment. These operations occur daily throughout the world. In comparison CW are on a wholly different scale. Right now I imagine a relative few employees operating under stress and not really enjoying their work. I may be wrong of course. but this is how it appears. Obviously things need changing for the better: I hope they do for all concerned. It probably comes down to investment.
I have purchased CW watches for over ten years now. No problems at all. I remain delighted with them. My C5 Aviator ( on its new olive green Nato) is coming to France with me next week.
I hope all problems get resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. But it has not been CW’s greatest week.
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Essex Paul »

Essex Paul wrote: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:29 pm Slightly off topic but thought it was funny.
Even though I’ve bought a watch from them I’ve never received a Loupe magazine.
So weeks ago,(dunno 6?), when the summer one came out I clicked on the “request a copy” link on the website. Nothing. Phoned CS. Nothing.
Requested on website again 3 times!! Nothing.

Yesterday 2 arrived together.
Today 3 arrived!
They’re in a right state I think. :lol:
Got another one today! :lol:
Do they have a computer system?
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by FullFat »

My C60 MK1 is in for a service and I've been quoted £250 + return postage , battery change on another was £20. Have to admit to being surprised at the service cost because all the threads I'd searched mentioned £150!
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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Thegreyman »

FullFat wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:30 pm My C60 MK1 is in for a service and I've been quoted £250 + return postage , battery change on another was £20. Have to admit to being surprised at the service cost because all the threads I'd searched mentioned £150!
My C60 mk1 was serviced last summer for £99. I can't believe the price has gone up to £250, that seems high. Are there any specific repairs/parts it requires to take it to that cost?
Patrick

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Re: Bad experience with Christopher ward watch and it's customer services

Post by Thermexman »

Thegreyman wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:41 pm
FullFat wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:30 pm My C60 MK1 is in for a service and I've been quoted £250 + return postage , battery change on another was £20. Have to admit to being surprised at the service cost because all the threads I'd searched mentioned £150!
My C60 mk1 was serviced last summer for £99. I can't believe the price has gone up to £250, that seems high. Are there any specific repairs/parts it requires to take it to that cost?
My C600 Tri-Tech Elite 500m dive watch with H.E. valve was £99 for a service, with an additional £10 for a new Ratchet Wheel plus £7.95 postage.
Therefore £116.95 for a service & repair. (It wouldn't wind).

This was may 2018! Why the big change and such varied prices being quoted?

A service requires a full strip down of the movement.

A repair should only require a little extra work and the cost of the new part?

It's like someone is just making numbers up?
Steve.
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