When your AD calls and says,"I have some bad news & some good news

[VTM]

Last week I dropped my rose gold President off to my local AD for a service. I specified that I did not want my watch polished so at the bottom of the work order it is written, "DO NOT POLISH OR REFINISH"

I received a call today from my AD that starts with, "I have some bad news and some good news. Your bracelet was polished but the good news is we will polish the body and give you a $200 discount."

My response was "I need to think about it."

I always felt, and have always been told, polishing a Rolex devalues it, plus I wear my watches so any aesthetic enhancement is only good for a period of time before the watch looks like it did when I brought it in.

Appreciate opinions on this. Am I overreacting ? Is, as I believe, polishing the watch a big deal and if so what should I do?

[Roddypeepa]

There are loads of stories like this on TRF. To be honest, if there’s a clear do not polish order on the repair, and they then do exactly the opposite they shouldn’t be charging you any more.

You’ll get loads of conflicting views on here about polishing. Point is YOU asked not to and they’re either so careless or so blase they ignored you. And now want to charge more??? No way.


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[VTM]

I was clear about the polishing. This is a good, well established AD that I bought my first Rolex from over forty years ago. Someone just made a mistake, it happens but has bummed me out a bit

Here is part of the invoice. It's pretty clear

[worldofoyster]

if it was me, i probably won't be too happy about it

[Cru Jones]

I would demand more of a discount. They screwed up. In fact, for me, the starting point would be, yes to polish, no to paying anything.

[Jack T]

I would be very ticked off, the instructions were explicit, there should be no charge.

[zabazja]

I would be super pissed. Most polish jobs are poorly done.. Sorry to see what happened to you, 2x unlucky.

[KermitGang]

Absolutely not. There is no way they have the proper equipment to handle the laser cut bezel.

[georgekart]

I wouldn't be happy about the polish if I explicitly stated I don't want it. I guess I would have to see how it was polished. If it is done well, I'd probably accept the $200 discount (provided they don't charge extra for polishing). If it is done poorly I'd have to ask them for a bigger discount to account for having to send the watch off to someone who can actually do it right and get it back to looking good.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

I would demand more of a discount. They screwed up. In fact, for me, the starting point would be, yes to polish, no to paying anything.

100 % this

Maybe start with, “how about you replace it with a new one unpolished of course” (sort of).

I just got my 114060 back from servicing and I am very thankful they followed my no polish instructions.

[996marty]

I would definitely push them for more compensation after all they have stuffed up

[omar-rye]

For those who think they’re charging him extra to polish the case but giving him a $200 discount for that, I don’t believe that’s the situation. They’re giving him a $200 discount on the service cost for their mistake.

I would simply take the watch back without polishing the case. Don’t try to fix one wrong with another, if that makes sense. It’s very hard to mess up a bracelet polish, but there’s a risk of getting back an over polished case. The bracelet will naturally age in a short while and will match the wear of the case again.

[Jb1264]

Hope I’m wrong

Have they already polished the body?

Just my gut feeling

[~JJ]

The main concern, for me, regarding polishing is the case. If only the bracelet was done, then it will scratch up quickly enough and match the rest of the case. Take the discount and smooth bracelet and be happy!!

[Roddypeepa]

Originally Posted by Jack T

I would be very ticked off, the instructions were explicit, there should be no charge.

Exactly what I was getting at. Mistakes happen but it’s what they do to rectify the situation. Like not charging the customer.


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[WilsdorfNDavis]

I would be extremely upset and would expect not to pay anything.

Ask yourself this:

Would you still have had the watched serviced if they said right up front "we require polishing with all servicing"?

If answer is "no" then you should push for a no charge on everything because they blatantly disregarded your instructions, telling them that you would have taken it somewhere else instead.


Added: If they haven't polished the case yet, DON'T!

[travisb]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

I would demand more of a discount. They screwed up. In fact, for me, the starting point would be, yes to polish, no to paying anything.

This is the way to go at this point.

[VTM]

Great feedback everyone. Thank you.
I believe the watch was sent to Rolex but that would have been a very fast turn around. I would like to know the answer to that question, who polished the bracelet?

I really miss being able to go directly to Rolex when they had a service center above Saks Fifth Ave in San Francisco. Always had great results.

I think leaving the case unpolished is the way to go and in my dissatisfaction after the call I had not even considered that option so thank you all.

[Poodlopogus]

I'd point out that they've now made two blunders: first, polishing your watch and, second, the typo typo where they left a "1" off the front of "$200" in the proposed discount.

[KY..]

The AD should give you the watch back as-is free of charge with additional $500 store credit as incentive to continue your long standing relationship…

[paul cbc]

Originally Posted by VTM

Great feedback everyone. Thank you.
I believe the watch was sent to Rolex but that would have been a very fast turn around. I would like to know the answer to that question, who polished the bracelet?

I really miss being able to go directly to Rolex when they had a service center above Saks Fifth Ave in San Francisco. Always had great results.

I think leaving the case unpolished is the way to go and in my dissatisfaction after the call I had not even considered that option so thank you all.

I think you're on the right track.
Get it back, take the discount, and enjoy your newly serviced watch.

You can always have the watch polished years down the road at next service.

[AF_Rob]

I think you made the right move, OP.

As long as you didn't get charged for the polish and they gave you a discount on the movement service, I'd say that's a fair-ish resolution.

Now, how they broke the news to you, totally bad. There is no "good news" in this story. More of what you didn't ask for is FAR from good news, regardless of the discount.

[swedishsteel]

Refuse the body polish, take your discount and hopefully the bracelet is to your liking.

[SLWoodster]

I think this is more or less about them not doing what you asked.

Polishing the bracelet does not diminish value. Light touch up usually increases value. However if they polished it poorly or polished it too much, then it will devalue your watch.

[Colina19]

Tell then to sell you a pepsi

[Zach69SS]

I would be very, very,… upset and expect them to at least cover the service at no charge, especially with as long as you have been a customer? $200 is an insult, this is a PM piece that is $$$ not a SS one. Even with a SS one there would be a price to pay. They should be asking you what you want to resolve the situation.

Have the polishing inspected by a watchmaker or service center to see if any mistakes were made. The service form clearly shows not to polish the watch.

I hope this works out for you, best of luck to you.

[jimanchower]

Originally Posted by VTM

Someone just made a mistake, it happens but has bummed me out a bit

Props for having a reasonable attitude about it. It's not the end of the world. However, I agree that the offer of a $200 discount is a bit of an insult. They should have asked you what they can do to make it right.

[csaltphoto]

Originally Posted by jimanchower

Props for having a reasonable attitude about it. It's not the end of the world. However, I agree that the offer of a $200 discount is a bit of an insult. They should have asked you what they can do to make it right.

THIS is the correct response from the AD.

[casadecamporolex]

Amazing performance of incompetent behaviour that should be called out on.
The fact is that they did exactly what you specified not to.
Speak only to an owner. It’s their money.
The proper reaction is simple:
No charge service. Pocket change to the AD.
Written apology from the employee who didn’t follow instructions. Punishment to never ignore repair directions again.
Throw in a pen and key fob, too.
And if you would like a new Rolex, state your preference.

The businesses I’ve owned, I’d take full accountability for my staff.
True it was an accident, but it’s inexcusable.

[stark1]

What's done is done. I'd polish the case to match the bracelet, and I'd take the $200 graciously. The AD might know that their offer isn't enough and might make this up in other ways. So I would show interest in a reference that might not be the easiest to get, then see what happens.