Dino944
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+1,000 Well said Stitchy. As someone that worked in sales years ago I couldn't have said it better myself!regarding the ALS strap story that apropos related, i think it boils down to a few things. as a person who has worked most of my career in sales or sales related positions, in the jewelry industry and others, and both in sales and managerial roles, the onus in my opinion falls on a both parties a little bit.
the customer: i dont know the whole story, but this is what it seems to me. i know everyone wants to hope that because they are a baller people will insta-recognize them without them having to say a word. but i hate to break it to ya, thats not reality. even a-list celebrities sometimes get turned away because they are not recognized. sure, this guy bought a very significant amount of high figure pieces, but guess what, lange makes expensive watches, and i bet there are many customers that spend like he does. and if he did not buy them in that boutique, its highly unlikely that anyone would know that he is a major customer, for all they know he got the watch on ebay.
and lets be honest, the guy is not a fool, he knew he was asking for something a little special. what he should have done, imo, to avoid that, would be to politely walk over to a sales person and either right off ask for a manager, or just put all the cards on the table. hi, my name is so and so, i have been a customer for a long time and have purchased x,y,z.... watches from ADs. i recently bought this strap here and i realize i dont really love it, it was only worn a few times, would it be possible to swap it out for another? i can almost assure you, had he done that, the outcome would have been significantly different.
now, for all i know he said all that, and did just that, but based on the result and what i read, i am confident that he probably just walked in, said hi please exchange this. the salesperson said no, because that is probably their standard policy, and yes all companies need policies or people will abuse them. and he said ok and walked out all mad that they did not recognize him and service him as he deserved. many many issues in these types of situations break down to poor communication. dont wait for people to figure out who you are, just tell them. it saves everyone a lot of aggravation and time. if i am wrong and he did that and was still turned away, whoever made that call is a moron and should be fired.
the salesperson: the hiring process for most of these sales postions is pretty simple, be pretty or handsome and well enough spoken or charismatic, and we will teach you enough product info so you can reasonably sell. many of them dont have much interest in upward mobility, they want to put in their hours, get their commissions (if there are any) and go home and take vacation. very run of the mill wage employees.
for such a person, when a customer walks in out of the blue that you dont know has bought through authorized channels, and asks for a favor, they pick up their head, and politely (hopefully) say, no i am sorry we can not do that. and then they wait for something more exciting to happen or for a smoke break.
a better sales person would have realized that something more might be as stake, asked a few questions to get the whole picture, and then said, let me ask my manager. the manager would have said yes, and everyone would be happy. but, not all sales people are astute like that, and its kind of a pity.
however, the only way to truly fix that, is to hire better people. and better people cost more money. and with all the growth these companies are experiencing that can add up fast. and guess where that cost goes? thats right, right into the price of the watches. because that is business. sure, it would be nice if every company could only employ top notch amazing sales people, but that is just not the reality. that being the case, know that going in, and say what you have to say, dont leave any guess work. and if the person you first speak to is not getting it done, ask someone else.
just my opinion.
Thanks for that view point, Stitch. As someone not in just sales, but specifically the sales of watches, it's great to hear it from the other side.
I may be off base here, but I would expect there to be 'stricter' requirements of sales people working high end goods, no? For example, at a Ferrari dealership, I would expect that the sales people there have been taught how to deal with Ferrari customers - their (many times) needy and entitled demands, right down to the nitty gritty stuff only a Ferrari dealership could offer. I dont' think you could approach a Ferrari customer/client the same way you do a Ford or Toyota or even Lexus customer..
Frills you should contact Patek and offer to sell them your revolutionary idea for the next complication they should release. All kidding aside they are beautiful !!!^^ mimo, I am happy to oblige. Here is my new "two-tone perpetual calendar dual time split seconds chronograph!" That's right, boys and girls. I've got timepieces from Patek that allows for split seconds chronograph functionality - the ability to time two events simultaneously. No, it's not the 5004 or the 5204. I cannot afford either of those pieces. So, instead, I present my innovative split seconds chronograph - dual face watch, yellow gold and platinum, both with silver dials. For the first event I click the top pusher on the platinum, and for the second event I click the top pusher on the yellow gold. Voila! In fact, this "split seconds chronograph" of mine not only allows me to time two events at the same time... it's also a "perpetual calendar dual time" complication, which allows me to track the time/day/date/moonphase for TWO PLACES IN THE WORLD at the same time! How 'bout that! Not even the
5004 or the 5204 can do that! Heh heh.
I really liked the IWC Ingenuir ...but the AMG version didn't do much for me.Stitch and i were talking about this watch yesterday...cant believe i forgot to suggest that. The ingy is an awesome watch. Rugged as hell too. I love the bracelet, but it also looks awesome on a strap..IIRC they did an AMG version on a black kevlar strap that was really sporty looking. Not something i typically like at all but it really looked nice on that.
Buy a new Submariner . Its a great watch, and if you don't specifically need a dress watch its is a perfect watch for almost every occasion. Hell, if you have to you can get away with it with a sport jacket or even a suit (although then I'd prefer a dress watch).So I was told by my fiance to give her some watch ideas for a wedding gift for me. Budget is $10K. I really like the dive watch style and the fact they they are rugged so some scratches will only add character. A nicer dress watch is in the cards but I feel I would not wear it daily.
So far my ideas are:
Omega Planet Ocean - Black dial, gray bezel, 42mm
Rolex Submariner - undecided on color
What other dive watches are on this caliber? I feel like I have went through a ton and none pique my interest.
Now I told her I like the 2nd hand market idea which would put a Rolex Deepsea or a IWC Portuguese Auto (though not a dive watch). I love the look of 70s sub with the patina and yellowish lume but she thinks they are too old plus she wants to see it in person.
Any ideas or pointers would be great!
I'm not always practical, especially when watches are the issue. That being said, do youself and your fiance a favor, just because the budget is $10,000 doesn't mean you should spend $10,000. Not sure how young, or old, or established you guys are, but there may be other things you will want or need. The Rolex can do everything you want it to do you its well under $10,000. There will be time to get other more expensive watches later on. If you guys are old or simply loaded, then completely disregard what I've said and blow then entire budget!