A bit insulted

[Moze]

Just thought I'd share a little story about this past Sunday...

Saturday evening, I made my way to a friends house for an after party celebrating my university's continued winning streak. I was sitting in my car and decided to take my watch off as I didn't want anything to happen to it (as it often can when you become judgment impaired drinking). I was in a bit of a rush and guess I pulled too hard trying to take off my UPO's rubber strap, and completely pulled the springbar from the watch. Unfortunately, I had bent the bar in the process... which sucks because they were genuine Breitling springbars my watch guy had put in after attaching the strap and determining my PO's ones were suspiciously weak for such a heavy watch.

Sunday came along and basically every jewelry store/watch shop was closed so I headed to the mall, anxious to get my now favorite watch fixed. I ended up at Zale's, walked up to the counter and asked the sales manager lady if they could service watches, explaining that I needed half of a strap reattached. I showed her the planet ocean, she nodded and took it to the back to her "watch guy."

I want to mention that at the time, I was dressed up quite nicely for a nice dinner to take place later that evening and was wearing my DateJust. The lady returns as I'm glancing over the watch section, comes over to me and stares at my watch. She proceeds to first, ask me if it is a Seiko... And then informs me that they replace watch batteries for free!!! I'm at a loss for words at that moment and when I think that she could not possibly say anything more ridiculous, she begins to talk about how she has been selling watches for nearly a decade now, that I should be proud of mine, and that her Seikos on display are currently the best watches on the market. I simply look at her for what seems like a long time, blankly, then shake my head.

The "watch guy" returns with my watch, complimenting it and telling me the service is no charge. I think him graciously and get the hell out of there asap before my head explodes.

[b16a2]

Well...I suppose its better than them saying...'Here you are sir here is your knock off Omega'

[Moze]

Well...I suppose its better than them saying...'Here you are sir here is your knock off Omega'

lol very true. I would have loved it if she somehow knew my watch was a rep, and because of that said these things... But this wasn't the case. I was just sort of bothered that someone who has been in the business of selling jewelry and watches (many of them swiss automatics) could know so little.

[chiefwiggum]

Some people go to work to earn a buck, some go to work because they enjoy what they do. Clearly, she falls into the latter and a r s e and elbow spring to mind. ( Is a r s e really a swear word)

i.e. Doesn't know her a r s e from her elbow - I don't know whether you use that phrase in the US or anywhere else for that matter, but it is well used in the UK.

She never called you out, she is just in the Muppet league, another day another buck category.

Zales as I recall on my infrequent trips to the USA is just a shiny, sparkly Walmart but has loftier ambitions. We had a jewellers like that in the UK called Ratners - That company no longer exists, because from the CEO down they were only into the making money angle, not providing knowledgeable customer service.

Mate, I wish that you had the nuts to stick your Datejust under her nose and tell her that you were surprised to learn that after 10 years;

1/. She couldn't identify a Rolex

2/. That even a Muppet should know that Rolex batteries are like rocking horse 5hite.

But I know how you must have been thinking, so perhaps the stitches in your tongue were worth it

Glad to hear that your UPO suffered no ill effects.

[mars08]

"Doesn't know her a r s e from her elbow - I don't know whether you use that phrase in the US or anywhere else for that matter, but it is well used in the UK.

She never called you out, she is just in the Muppet league, another day another buck category."

Mate, I think the yanks INVENTED that "elbow" saying!

(Of course they favour the incorrect spelling)

[TeeJay]

Don't feel too bad about it, you weren't being insulted, she just didn't know what she was talking about. I had the exact same thing happen less than a week ago, when, on impulse, I decided to duck into the AD and try on an Aquaracer. The sales bimbo was very attentive, asked how she could help, etc, so I asked if I could look at the Aquaracer. Confused look. "Can you show me which one you mean?" WHICH ONE?!?!?! THERE WAS ONLY ONE!!!! Nevermind... I pointed it out, and tried it on. Without thinking, I put my 104 on the counter rather than in my pocket, but she didn't even look in it's direction. No danger of being called out there, bless her I wasn't impressed with the Aquaracer, so I thanked her and left.

As mentioned above, much of the time, these are just folks working a retail job, not people with a knowledge or enthusiasm for the product. I admit, I do find it irritating, as I expect sales staff to know about the products they sell, but I blame that on lazy managers not training them properly, not the person themself.

[JohnG]

Ditto to TeeJay

Jeesh guys, give the woman a break. If she had been a nasty snot I would have been right there with you, but like someone pointed out, this is just a (low paying) job to her. She obviously has no passion for watches, and frankly if she is pleasant and does her job reasonably well, who cares. I think this is what is really going on here:

She was a very sexy older woman. Through the slit in her skirt you could see she was wearing thigh-highs.

Something about her demeanor made you suspect she was single.

It was almost closing time.

You were dressed dapper, wearing a Rolex and offering up an Omega for service.

She should have been impressed and started to flirt with you. Then she should have said "oh my, well, okay!" when you then asked her to have a drink with you after she got off work.

Instead she offered you a free battery for your DateJust and tried to sell you a Seiko.

Now you are bitter and disappointed. I understand - it's a great fantasy. But I could have told you in advance, at Zales this was never going to end the way you wanted it to.

[TeeJay]

Ditto to TeeJay

Jeesh guys, give the woman a break. If she had been a nasty snot I would have been right there with you, but like someone pointed out, this is just a (low paying) job to her. She obviously has no passion for watches, and frankly if she is pleasant and does her job reasonably well, who cares. I think this is what is really going on here:

She was a very sexy older woman. Through the slit in her skirt you could see she was wearing thigh-highs.

Something about her demeanor made you suspect she was single.

It was almost closing time.

You were dressed dapper, wearing a Rolex and offering up an Omega for service.

She should have been impressed and started to flirt with you. Then she should have said "oh my, well, okay!" when you then asked her to have a drink with you after she got off work.

Instead she offered you a free battery for your DateJust and tried to sell you a Seiko.

Now you are bitter and disappointed. I understand - it's a great fantasy. But I could have told you in advance, at Zales this was never going to end the way you wanted it to.

I think you might have misunderstood my tone, amigo, I wasn't bothered that she didn't comment on my 104, infact, I'm glad she didn't. What bothered me, was that she didn't have a clue as to the product she was being paid to sell, because her manager had not properly trained her. So in that regard, while a little leeway is allowed, these people really don't deserve 'a break', as anything they don't know about their product/industry, they could always find out for themselves. When I had the 'pleasure' ( ) of working retail, I made sure I knew as much as I could about what products were available, read industry magazines, to keep abreast of industry shifts, which sometimes weren't even acknowledged by the company, and, when I was a manager, I made sure my staff were equally informed about such things. I don't think there's anything as insulting (in an indirect way) to a customer, as being met by sales staff who don't know anything about the products they are being paid to sell. Not being interetested in the products, fine, I can accept that, afterall, it is just a job, not their hobby, but, it is a job (regardless of pay scale) so I do expect sales staff to have product knowledge, if not because they want to find out for themselves, at least because their management should have trained them sufficiently to know about the products. If I go to buy a TV, and need it to have specific input/output ports, I don't want the sales clerk to look confused and shrug when I ask which set will fit my requirements. I don't know, that's why I'm asking them Of course, as long as they are courteous and helpful, then it's at least ignorable, but from a management point of view, that still doesn't make it right that they aren't informed about their products.

[chiefwiggum]

I suspect that the yanks may have a variation of the theme that goes, "Don't know your A S S from your elbow"

Strange though as a donkey has two long ears, four legs and a horsey face. So where the confusion crops up escapes me. Perhaps the smell? But why would you go around sniffing donkeys??

For those that don't know their a r s e from their elbow, I will patiently explain. Your a r s e is not the sharp, pointy one.

And for those of you still confused a little quiz

http://www.zegelin.com/love_files/ArseorElbow.htm

BTW - Spot on TeeJay - That was in essence the point I was trying to make.

[wombat247]

Just thought I'd share a little story about this past Sunday...

Saturday evening, I made my way to a friends house for an after party celebrating my university's continued winning streak. I was sitting in my car and decided to take my watch off as I didn't want anything to happen to it (as it often can when you become judgment impaired drinking). I was in a bit of a rush and guess I pulled too hard trying to take off my UPO's rubber strap, and completely pulled the springbar from the watch. Unfortunately, I had bent the bar in the process... which sucks because they were genuine Breitling springbars my watch guy had put in after attaching the strap and determining my PO's ones were suspiciously weak for such a heavy watch.

Sunday came along and basically every jewelry store/watch shop was closed so I headed to the mall, anxious to get my now favorite watch fixed. I ended up at Zale's, walked up to the counter and asked the sales manager lady if they could service watches, explaining that I needed half of a strap reattached. I showed her the planet ocean, she nodded and took it to the back to her "watch guy."

I want to mention that at the time, I was dressed up quite nicely for a nice dinner to take place later that evening and was wearing my DateJust. The lady returns as I'm glancing over the watch section, comes over to me and stares at my watch. She proceeds to first, ask me if it is a Seiko... And then informs me that they replace watch batteries for free!!! I'm at a loss for words at that moment and when I think that she could not possibly say anything more ridiculous, she begins to talk about how she has been selling watches for nearly a decade now, that I should be proud of mine, and that her Seikos on display are currently the best watches on the market. I simply look at her for what seems like a long time, blankly, then shake my head.

The "watch guy" returns with my watch, complimenting it and telling me the service is no charge. I think him graciously and get the hell out of there asap before my head explodes.

I don't get it. Why would someone's ignorance be insulting to you?

[steve123456789]

I don't get it. Why would someone's ignorance be insulting to you?

This is a good advertisement for Zales. They fixed your spingbar problem at NO CHARGE (you were desperate and no other stores were open). TheyDO NOT CHARGE you for replacing batteries if you have a quartz type watch.( I am guessing you pay for the actual battery ). Seiko is a great brand and is far more reliable than REPS. The Saleslady was polite and meant well. With more exposure to the watch world she will learn more. Sounds like great service to me. GO ZALES !

Steve

[TeeJay]

BTW - Spot on TeeJay - That was in essence the point I was trying to make.

Thanks, Chief Like I said, as long as they're courteous, then that covers a lot, but, at the end of the day, they are being paid to represent that company and sell product on its behalf, so it makes sense that they have the product knowledge to do that And it's 'insulting' if, at a corporate level, that the management care so little about their customers satisfaction, that they don't take the time to properly train their staff, beyond operating the cash drawer of the register

[Toadtorrent]

I don't get it. Why would someone's ignorance be insulting to you?

Just kidding. Most AD folks only have knowledge in a particular brand...if you're lucky. Outside of their brand, they don't know much. If you got good service...go with that, and feel good.

[ubiquitous]

Hey folks- 95.9% of the general population don't know a thing about watches aside from the fact that they probably take batteries and they tell time. Another 2.1% are likely to know that some watches have built in functions that will time your laps, monitor your heart rate, distance and altitude while running and an additional 1% are likely to know a little more about the differences between a mechanical watch and a quartz watch. The remaining 1% are WIS, which will spot your rep from 3 football fields away and can discern a sunken datewheel, misaligned date font, 0.02mm larger crown or incorrectly shaped CGs with a single flick of the wrist.

Okay... Not really.

But my point is that the majority of people out there are not likely to know squat about watches, or will be able to identify a brand, even if that brand and logo along with model name is printed on the dial. Yes, this is the case to be at times and can occur even if some of those individuals work at watch and jewelry stores.

I suppose there's a reason why the term 'Watch Idiot Savant' was coined Us watch folk... We're a pretty rare breed in the grand scheme of things.

[LordRasta]

So she thought the DJ was a Seiko? Surely she wasn't referring to the UPO. But then again... At least you didn't do like a mate of mines and go to the AD and DEMAND the UPO! lol! "Sir...UPO???, yes my friend has the orange UPO! There it is (pointing at the gen pumpkin PO)". He's no longer my wingman.

[Emperor Penguin]

I want to mention that at the time, I was dressed up quite nicely for a nice dinner to take place later that evening and was wearing my DateJust. The lady returns as I'm glancing over the watch section, comes over to me and stares at my watch. She proceeds to first, ask me if it is a Seiko... And then informs me that they replace watch batteries for free!!! I'm at a loss for words at that moment and when I think that she could not possibly say anything more ridiculous, she begins to talk about how she has been selling watches for nearly a decade now, that I should be proud of mine, and that her Seikos on display are currently the best watches on the market. I simply look at her for what seems like a long time, blankly, then shake my head.

I have a slightly dissenting opinion here. Before I begin, I must first ask: were you wearing a genuine or fake Datejust? Either way, you were wearing the watch with expectations that you would be recognized for your level of social status because of it. The Zales lady, contrary to her claim of watch-selling tenure, only proved that she made an egregious error in identifying your watch. I can only speculate in her favor that she did not see your watch closely enough to read "Rolex" on the dial to identify the watch. I have seen a lot of Seiko watches that are imitations of various watches, including Rolex. (My mother, for instance, owns a Seiko that looks like a Datejust from five feet away, fluted bezel and all.) I saw a Seiko watch that was an imitation of a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and had to take a closer look. As the addage goes, "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," and companies like Seiko and Citizen try to cash in on knockoffs.

I think a change of attitude may be necessary here. You stomped out of the Zales store without an erection because the Zales lady stroked you the wrong way for her lack of recognition. Admit it, dude, you are wearing status symbols for recognition, and the lady's reference to your watch as a Seiko was a slap in the face to you. For me that would be a funny episode to share with my buddies on the message boards, but to take that personally would be a rather snooty attitude akin to the dreaded snobs who are quick to condemn your watch as a fake. You should be glad that she didn't work part-time at an authorized Rolex dealer and totally embarrass you by calling out both your watches within earshot of other customers in the store. In short, if you are wearing a fake watch you should never have the right to turn up your nose, and even if you were wearing a genuine luxury watch you should, by social grace, never turn up your nose under any circumstances.

Zales are jewelry stores for the masses (dipshits). They sell low-quality jewelry that is affordable to all, given that most people in America are not as rich as you think. Never go to a Zales store if you seek flawless diamonds, because they will never carry them--go to Tiffany & Co. for those. I once went into a Zales store to look for an 18 mm single-deployant clasp and the store manager asked me what kind of watch it is for, and when I answered Patek Philippe he referred me to the nearby authorized dealer, which is fortunately two miles away, because he strongly recommended a Patek Philippe clasp for a Patek Philippe watch. The lady working at the counter was next to him and asked, "what is Patek Philippe?" and he answered, "it is a very, very expensive watch." I got a little kick out of that, knowing that the lady has never heard of Patek Philippe before, but never did I project a snobby attitude and imply that the people working at that Zales store were worthless. I looked at a few wedding bands, picked up a few business cards, and wished everyone at the store a good day. Did I give a long, blank stare at the clueless bimbo and shake my head? No way. Such a haughty attitude would show how shallow you are, and earnestly demanding social recognition with fake watches makes the situation even more ridiculous.

The Emperor has spoken.

[chiefwiggum]

Hehehehehe - I can see it from all angles now. - Hail to the Emperor.

I can see the humour and the tragedy in the failure to recognise a fake (or not) DJ.

No big deal in the grand scheme and a funny story to tell your mates - as long as you have told them that your watch(es) are reps. Otherwise, it's one for consignment to the back of the mind.

[chronoluvvv]

go back and get her number i'm sure you can de-brief her over a few drinks

[FxrAndy]

Not all in the watch sales arena are WISs, and hey at least you got your watch fixed

[Moze]

Woah woah woah, I need to explain that I am not upset about this event. I don't have anything against the lady... Her job is to be friendly and sell the watches and jewelry they stock... not to know a great deal about other watches, swiss watches or even watches in general.

Perhaps I used the wrong word when I titled this 'insulted'. I was very happy to have gotten my watch fixed, especially for free, and I appreciated every bit of courtesy and friendliness they showed me. It was just that from my point of view, someone who has a great interest in watches and spends a lot of time on these forums, that I was shocked to hear her first impressions and what she had to say.

I posted this to share a story I found humorous, not to state that I was genuinely [censored] off and venting about it. Sorry if that is how it came off.

[FxrAndy]

Ah dont worry, the question is "was she good looking"?

[teddy boy]

I think you might have misunderstood my tone, amigo, I wasn't bothered that she didn't comment on my 104, infact, I'm glad she didn't. What bothered me, was that she didn't have a clue as to the product she was being paid to sell, because her manager had not properly trained her. So in that regard, while a little leeway is allowed, these people really don't deserve 'a break', as anything they don't know about their product/industry, they could always find out for themselves. When I had the 'pleasure' ( ) of working retail, I made sure I knew as much as I could about what products were available, read industry magazines, to keep abreast of industry shifts, which sometimes weren't even acknowledged by the company, and, when I was a manager, I made sure my staff were equally informed about such things. I don't think there's anything as insulting (in an indirect way) to a customer, as being met by sales staff who don't know anything about the products they are being paid to sell. Not being interetested in the products, fine, I can accept that, afterall, it is just a job, not their hobby, but, it is a job (regardless of pay scale) so I do expect sales staff to have product knowledge, if not because they want to find out for themselves, at least because their management should have trained them sufficiently to know about the products. If I go to buy a TV, and need it to have specific input/output ports, I don't want the sales clerk to look confused and shrug when I ask which set will fit my requirements. I don't know, that's why I'm asking them Of course, as long as they are courteous and helpful, then it's at least ignorable, but from a management point of view, that still doesn't make it right that they aren't informed about their products.

I'm regularly astounded by how little the salespeople peddling high end watches know. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I invariably know way more than the salesperson. It's gotten to the point that I don't even ask what movement a watch has now as the response is usually something idiotic.

[fakemaster]

Uhhh...she said that Seiko was the best watch on the market. I think that pretty much says it all.

[TeeJay]

I'm regularly astounded by how little the salespeople peddling high end watches know. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I invariably know way more than the salesperson. It's gotten to the point that I don't even ask what movement a watch has now as the response is usually something idiotic.

Not just high end watches, it doesn't matter if it's TV sets, cars, art supplies or clothes. If the assistant does not have good product knowledge of what they're being paid to sell, then that's a failing of their management, and if not an 'insult', certainly irritating to customers, who might well have very specific requirements with their purchasses... I know retail can be a soul destroying job, but people really should either take an interest in their job beyond the pay cheque, or find another job which does interest them. We spend so much of our time at work, we owe it to ourselves to make it a job we enjoy, and to do it to the best of our ability

[iceberg1459]

wow, it seems you got too much arrogance for a rep collector. she thought your rolex was a seiko, and? does your confidence comes from the compliments of others? you should be thankfull instead that they didnt refuse to repair because its a rep.