So, I got a new job..

[310jag]

...at a Rolex AD.

It's the same one I bought my TT sub from a couple months ago, and discussed a potential employment opportunity with.

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=60882&hl=

I'm absolutely thrilled, and have been there for about two weeks. It's amazing. We do a lot of Rolex service work, and I simply can not tell you guys how many TT Datejusts with champagne dials I've seen in the past two weeks. The average service seems to be running $550-$600, but the watches look GORGEOUS when they return. It's well worth the money, and the one year warranty.

Today a gentleman brought in a 1680 for service (loses time, stops intermittently), and Rolex no longer service these...among other older models. We have other watchmakers we deal with that will do the work, however. I snapped a couple pics of it, please forgive the quality, or lack-there-of. I also took a quick picture of the Rolex case, but only got the gents. The ladies section is equally as large. The 1680 is an amazing watch in person, and this particular one was in immaculate condition. I'll try to get better pictures when it returns, hopefully with a real camera! I didn't get to deal with the man personally, but hopefully I can catch him when he picks it up, as I would love to offer him something for it.

Anyway, as usual, I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I haven't forgot about you guys. Now know that you have someone on the inside! I'm glad to answer any reasonable question you all may have. http://www.rwg.cc/members/style_emoticons/...ult/biggrin.gif

Edited February 7, 2008 by cornerstone
Removed two photos for reasons I'll explain below :)

[StormTooper4]

Congrats on the Job dude. I'm envious for sure. Its gotta beat my office any day. But don't forget us guys.

Edited February 7, 2008 by stormtooper4

[jkerouac]

Congratulations, and good luck. I also hope they give you a great discount.

Needless to say, please be discrete with your affiliation with RWG. Do nothing that would endanger your job or career.

Cheers.

[cornerstone]

Do nothing that would endanger your job or career.

And to that end I have edited 310jag's post to remove the two photos that had letterheads from his new employer in the corner.

[310jag]

And to that end I have edited 310jag's post to remove the two photos that had letterheads from his new employer in the corner.

Thanks cs! It was only half of the name, but I know there some crafty people floating around.

Of course I plan on doing nothing to compromise my employment. There are many gen owners (and future owners!) in this community, and unfortunately not everyone's local AD has a very helpful staff. I hope to help remedy that situation.

[Corgi]

I've always been curious about the following;

1. Do they tell you how to treat customers wearing reps?

2. What do you do when a potentially dangerous or suspicious customers asks to see a very expensive watch?

3. How many high end watches do you actually sell on a weekly, monthly basis?

4. What kind of discount do you get?

5. How low are you allowed to get the price for a customer who wants to haggle?

Anyway, good success on your new job! Sounds like a lot of fun!

[coolfire]

I've always been curious about the following;

1. Do they tell you how to treat customers wearing reps?

2. What do you do when a potentially dangerous or suspicious customers asks to see a very expensive watch?

3. How many high end watches do you actually sell on a weekly, monthly basis?

4. What kind of discount do you get?

5. How low are you allowed to get the price for a customer who wants to haggle?

Anyway, good success on your new job! Sounds like a lot of fun!

Questions I also wanted to ask too!

[cc]

I've always been curious about the following;

1. Do they tell you how to treat customers wearing reps?

2. What do you do when a potentially dangerous or suspicious customers asks to see a very expensive watch?

3. How many high end watches do you actually sell on a weekly, monthly basis?

4. What kind of discount do you get?

5. How low are you allowed to get the price for a customer who wants to haggle?

Anyway, good success on your new job! Sounds like a lot of fun!

+2

[Centurion]

+3

[Shundi]

4

[offshore]

I only want to ask one question.

If you are throwing out any Rx parts, can you throw them this way?

Congrats on the job, nothing better than doing what you enjoy.

Offshore

[itseme]

5

[dadog13]

Congratulations, and good luck. I also hope they give you a great discount.

Needless to say, please be discrete with your affiliation with RWG. Do nothing that would endanger your job or career.

Cheers.

Do nothing that would endanger our beloved forum...

and you could always try to replace a mvt from the rep with the genuine one... ....just kidding!

Enjoy your new job!

[JuiceMaker]

that's an awesome job...

you lucky you!!!

[Watchmeister]

Congratulations on your new job. Best of luck! And for pete's sake be careful with your pictures. The forum will always survive but we want your job to as well.

[310jag]

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. This new place is a lot more work than the previous, but it's well worth it.

I actually brought in my TT sub rep from josh last yesterday and passed it around. Everyone was cool with it, and got a big kick out of it. The biggest flaws they pointed out were the color of the dial/bezel, and the boldness of the font on the dial. Most agreed that it would pass from around 5 feet, and most didn't call it out until after handling it. We all agreed the quality was quite nice, and one guy even said that unfortunately it could very easily be passed off as a gen to an uneducated buyer.

Now, onto your questions

1. Do they tell you how to treat customers wearing reps?

Nope. There are no guidelines or procedures for this. Posed with the situation, no one really thought it would have been a big deal.... unless the customer wanted to add genuine Rolex accessories on a rep that they were sold, believing it was a gen. It really comes down to tact, and the personality of the salesperson you end up with. I guarantee there are salespeople out there at other ADs that would pick up the holier-than-thou attitude, and scoff at a rep. Gladly, that's not the case where I am. And like I said, most got a kick out of the high quality reps that are surfacing these days, but believe me, there's always a give away.

2. What do you do when a potentially dangerous or suspicious customers asks to see a very expensive watch?

Good question, as this is a difficult situation. Our store is very secure, and requires customers to be "buzzed" in while on camera. This is a large deterrent to would-be theives, as the door also locks behind you after entering, making a quick escape impossible. Not to mention you're on camera from the time you get out of your car. Once in the store, we do have our security protocol to adhere to, but unless you're posing an imminent threat somehow, you'll get to see whatever you wish.

3. How many high end watches do you actually sell on a weekly, monthly basis?

Tough to say, as it fluctuates throughout the year. I'm not sure of the number of sales around the holiday season, but I know it's significantly higher than other times. Our store does very, very well with the ladies Rolexes around Christmas... especially TT DJs. From looking at sales/appraisal records, I'd have to say we average 3 to 4 high end watches throughout the non-holiday months.

4. What kind of discount do you get?

That's really going to vary from one store to another, but Rolex does offer a ONE time opportunity to buy a watch at 30% BELOW cost for AD employees! A one year tenor must be accrued, however. I think that's a very generous offer, but there's not as much mark up on these things as some may believe..

5. How low are you allowed to get the price for a customer who wants to haggle?

Not that low. Seriously. We have no control over the percentages we can discount Rolexes. Rolex tells us what we're allowed to do, and we can't do a penny more unless you're buying in "bulk". On some watches (SS/Blk sub, LV Sub) no discounts are allowed at all. And I've seen the waiting list for the SS Daytonas. Wow. All I can say is good luck!

We expect to have the new Milgausses within 8 weeks, and an all SS anniversary GMT II that's already spoken for.

The discount levels actually depends on which watch you're looking at. There's a very little margin on the all stainless pieces, so don't expect any more than 10%. And remember, customers aren't automatically entitled to a discount. The decision to discount is based on a lot of factors, including time of year, production, demand, current ads that are running in the media, individual store history, etc. So the bottom line, if you play your cards right, you might see 10% off SS. Perhaps a little more on a TT or all gold piece, but not much. And remember, cash talks.

[cornerstone]

Very interesting read - cheers!

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

In reference to the taking of photographs... A very close friend of mine WORKED for a Porsche dealer for 8 years. When an un-named celebrity wrecked his Carrera GT, my friend took a few pics of the car sitting in the service bay. He was stupid enough to post them on a Porsche forum and some other forum specializing in ragging on people who wreck expensive cars. It took less then a week for the celebrity to have papers drawn up demanding an investigation as to who took pictures of his car.

In less than another week, my friend was fired and he was served with civil litigation papers. The celebrity sued him for several different things (although his name was never revealed in any of the posts).

Just be careful...

[hiker01]

Congrats on your new job!

I've got a favor to ask, but I'll just PM it to you!

[freddy333]

I actually brought in my TT sub rep from josh last yesterday and passed it around. Everyone was cool with it, and got a big kick out of it. The biggest flaws they pointed out were the color of the dial/bezel, and the boldness of the font on the dial. Most agreed that it would pass from around 5 feet, and most didn't call it out until after handling it. We all agreed the quality was quite nice, and one guy even said that unfortunately it could very easily be passed off as a gen to an uneducated buyer.

I hate to be a killjoy here, but I believe it is against RWG policies to be bringing our reps into an AD. The reasoning behind this is to keep RWG, our collectors/factories/distributors & our hobby under the radar of those who would like to do us harm--the ADs and the watch brands they represent. Obviously, the genie is out of the bottle in this case, but I would hope that you would think twice before doing it again. Regardless of whether everyone 'got a big kick out of it' or not, you are putting us all at risk by doing what you are doing.

[FxrAndy]

Congratulation but please be carefull

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

I hate to be a killjoy here, but I believe it is against RWG policies to be bringing our reps into an AD. The reasoning behind this is to keep RWG, our collectors/factories/distributors & our hobby under the radar of those who would like to do us harm--the ADs and the watch brands they represent. Obviously, the genie is out of the bottle in this case, but I would hope that you would think twice before doing it again. Regardless of whether everyone 'got a big kick out of it' or not, you are putting us all at risk by doing what you are doing.

I was just chatting with another senior member and we thought the same thing. Although the member may have good intentions and there is no apparent reason to believe that he is just here to gather info for Rolex... its difficult to say that any of his co-workers wouldn't take issue with his "hobby". I would imagine that Rolex has some program for employees to report such activity, and I also pretty sure there would be some benefit to doing so.

I personally think this was quite a bad idea, and hope that none of the collectors here are harmed because of it.

[freddy333]

I would imagine that Rolex has some program for employees to report such activity, and I also pretty sure there would be some benefit to doing so.

Yes & I believe other brands have as well.

[310jag]

Are you people serious? Do you really think this forum is going to be shut down, because one person (i.e., me) showed an AD a rep? If you think this is the first time this has happened, you're wrong.

It's not like I'm giving them the address to this site, our dealers, lists of what's available, etc.

I told them I got the watch from an ex-customer of mine who worked for GE, made yearly trips to China, and often brought back replicas. That's the back story they have. Please explain to me how that provides them with the ability to trace a single watch, out of millions, back to us/this forum. Coincidently, the GE employee story is a true one. I do have a client who is in that situation, and has shown me reps in the past.

I was just chatting with another senior member and we thought the same thing. Although the member may have good intentions and there is no apparent reason to believe that he is just here to gather info for Rolex... its difficult to say that any of his co-workers wouldn't take issue with his "hobby". I would imagine that Rolex has some program for employees to report such activity, and I also pretty sure there would be some benefit to doing so.

I personally think this was quite a bad idea, and hope that none of the collectors here are harmed because of it.

And no, Rolex has no such policy for AD employees to report reps in place. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If you knew how much work went into operating and running a high end jewelry store, you would know that the last thing on our to-do lists is contacting Rolex about someone possessing a replica. That's laughable. Really, think about it. Do you think that Rolex relies on individuals employees of worldwide ADs to keep them, a global corporation, up to date on fakes?

You all are dramatically overreacting.

The situation with the celebrity owned Porsche in quite understandable, and incomparable to this one. That was a private individuals car, who had an expectation of privacy with regards to his name and property. Please explain to me what personal or sensitive information I have divulged. And yes, I posted pictures of a customers watch. How is that any different than looking up a picture of a 1680 online? Did I post the serial number? No. The owners name? No. Social security number? No.

Now I'm glad to answer any reasonable question you all have about genuine Rolexes, and general procedures. I've been a member of these forums for years, and take offense at the thought of potential harm to this, or any other rep forum.

[jot9011]

No harm, no foul....

There is a rumor floating around that Rolex is releasing a new 42mm Daytona...possibly with a date window.... any truth to that?