On this forum, we're "commenting and sharing our findings" rather than "complaining". I take it from your post that we SHOULD be complaining, but not on this forum - instead we should be complaining to our dealers?
What you say is absolutely correct though - they get away with it cos we accept it and get it fixed, but it is a tricky one.
So, do you
1) Complain to dealer - maybe get the problem sorted, maybe not. Possibly p1ss them off so they don't deal with you again (esp if you're a relative newb) or at the very least they'll be less inclined to deal with you.
2) Live with it - chalk it up to experience - keep fingers crossed for better luck next time. This is a risky sport - you're going to get your fingers burnt every now and then.
3) Send it to a reputable watchsmith, who will not only sort the problem, but you will end up with a more reliable and possibly more accurate timepiece.
In practice, I suspect that most of the regular collectors on here do a bit of all 3 - I've certainly sent watches back before now, and had replacements sent and problems sorted. I've lived with a few, and a couple, like the recent IWCs, will get a bit of The Zigmeister treatment. But if we all piled back to dealers with a flood of complaints, is it going to encourage them to get new models out?
I agree with the principle of what you say, I just think in practice it pans out a bit differently.
My 2c!
Hilts