Grand Seiko service in North America

[pcrafan2]

Hi All,

I suspect this has been asked a million times but my searching hasn't turned up anything recent or useful so here goes...

My SBGE001 & SBGC001 need a service, I am based in Canada and the Mahwah, NJ seems to be the closest service center but the online reviews are horrible.

So what is the experience like? If not great, what are the alternatives?

Thanks

[Gebbeth]

NJ is GS's one and only US service center. I can't tell you, however, what it is that they do.

If you have a newer High-Beat movement or a Spring Drive movement, I believe that gets sent back to Japan. Once it goes there, there is a huge, black, hole, as to what's going on, when you might get the watch back, tracking information, nothing......

So to be fair, I don't know what the negative reviews are in that I've never actually had NJ service my watch (I think...). They've all gone back to Japan.

[pcrafan2]

Thanks. So far it looks like Canadian AD's do not use the NJ site for repairs and they will just send this to Japan.

Also seems like my GS will be one of the 1st they will be servicing...

Time quote is indeed vast - 8 - 18 months. But I don't have a choice.

The perils of GS ownership I suppose....

I'll keep this post updated with my findings ...

[1William]

8-18 months is amazing. Why so long? That is boarder line unacceptable depending on what has to happen to the watch. I might sell it and move on or contact the Service Center in the U.S. to see how long it would take there. Are you sure that's not weeks?

[pcrafan2]

Originally Posted by 1William

8-18 months is amazing. Why so long? That is boarder line unacceptable depending on what has to happen to the watch. I might sell it and move on or contact the Service Center in the U.S. to see how long it would take there. Are you sure that's not weeks?

Yep. I asked them multiple times.

This was surprising but seems like mine might be one of the first GS's these AD's have dealt with for repairs so they are probably(hopefully) massively padding their timelines.

Seems like these AD's became GS AD's in the past 3/4 years with the GS popularity explosion so not much experience with servicing yet and especially on the 9R8 GMT+Chrono calibre's.

Anyway...let the adventure begin...

[pandrew6l]

GS needs to have theirs own service structure, at least the front end , where consumers can approach. The NJ Seiko Service Center, as said before is a big black hole.

Very people bring their Lexus to the Toyota Dealership for service.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by 1William

… Are you sure that's not weeks?

I’m wondering the same …

[pcrafan2]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I’m wondering the same …

Yeah, I asked multiple time and seems like once it heads to Japan, they just have to wait it out. Perhaps they are massively padding the timelines just in case.

Also seems like the AD's here don't have much experience with servicing either...

We shall see...

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by pcrafan2

Yeah, I asked multiple time and seems like once it heads to Japan, they just have to wait it out. Perhaps they are massively padding the timelines just in case.



Also seems like the AD's here don't have much experience with servicing either...



We shall see...

Best of luck to you and welcome to the forum

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Gebbeth]

So when my Night Birch was sent in for adjustment (was running like +17 to 24 spd), it went from AD to NJ.....then NJ to Japan (NJ never told me they sent it to Japan). From the moment I went into the AD to when I got the watch back, 7 months. I have no idea what took so long if it was just an adjustment that was necessary. If there was more work done, I can't tell as there is no itemized list of services or and explanation of what the underlying problem might have been. There were undertones that they thought the watch was magnetized (i.e., a little gas-lighting), but it was fast right out of the box....so if it was magnetized....that's on GS.

Also, the AD said it probably wasn't as it was running so fast.

BTW, it still runs a little fast, but I can live with it. I wonder if it is an inherent issue with the 9SA5 movement. I'm not the only one that has dealt with very fast 9SA5 movements out of the box.

[holling]

The NJ service center was a bad experience for me. I sent in a watch that was loosing time fast and got back a watch that was loosing time even faster. I sent it back and it came back loosing the same amount of time. The watch now sits in my drawer never to be worn again.

[pandrew6l]

A Spring Drive or High Beat ? Was the service under Warranty or you paid out of pocket ?

[powerband]

I know their quote of 18 months is at the high end, but I cannot imagine that anyone can quote this time frame with a straight face.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Giovannibravo]

Originally Posted by pcrafan2

Hi All,

I suspect this has been asked a million times but my searching hasn't turned up anything recent or useful so here goes...

My SBGE001 & SBGC001 need a service, I am based in Canada and the Mahwah, NJ seems to be the closest service center but the online reviews are horrible.

So what is the experience like? If not great, what are the alternatives?

Thanks

Not sure where you are based out of in Canada. Are any ADs certified to service them?

[pandrew6l]

AD Services = Seiko NJ or Tokyo

[DJ2020]

I hope it does not take that long for a service. My 9RA5 in my SLGA015 has to be sent to Japan for service. 18 months is a long time to be without my baby.

I guess if it is that long, I will use it for a excuse to buy another

[mgsooner]

Grand Seiko produces beautiful watches that I have a great appreciation for. That being said, it is this issue which guarantees I will never purchase any GS with a spring drive or hi-beat movement. It is a completely unacceptable situation that needs to be rectified.

[Gebbeth]

Short of sending GS technicians to permanently move to NJ to not only directly service, but also to train a new generation of service techs, there is really nothing that can be done.

This is going to take awhile.

Sounds weird, but Japan was in a similar situation with respect to food. Widespread adoption of Japanese foods like sushi couldn't happen without the right infrastructure in place. In the early '70s, the US was not a "fish" culture like in Japan. Acquiring and sourcing all kinds of fish, with the kind of freshness and quality of "sushi-grade" fish just did not exist.

So Japan sent many people to the US permanently to cultivate an infrastructure, as well as a market for Japanese food stuffs including a system for getting fresh fish daily. They travelled all over the country to help set these things up.

This took a long time, and they had to overcome a lot of cultural barriers to the consumption of raw fish, but I would argue it was a success. But it took time.

I'm guessing something similar, although not that daunting, with regard to having a SD/High-Beat infrastructure here in the US.

[Fleetlord]

Not surprising. GROW GROW GROW GROW Sales before any additional service infrastructure gets implemented. Those caught in the middle of this will have their complaints ignored as if they never happened...