Rolex windmilling

[watchmaker]

Just thought I'd share a story with you about my day at work today.

I have a customer demand to speak with me today, demand I opened his watch infront of him, and refused to pay for a full overhaul of a 2000 daytona.

He had become accustomed to the feel of his watch when he manually wound it every morning (his choice). The feeling was that of the automatic rotor spinning in the case as he wound the watch. (This is known as windmilling, and is caused by the reverser wheels, the red ones, seizing up. this is a common fault, and I repaired it as you would expect)

He shouted at me infront of potential customers, claiming I stole the movement, and replaced it with a cheaper one (one that didnt make his comforting noise and vibration)

Three people walked out as a result of him.
Some people know nothing of what they talk about.

Rant over.

[kyle L]

The nerve of the guy...its guys like these that can ruin businesses. If I was you, I would have said "whos the professional here, you or me? Would you like to fix your own watch?"

[The GMT Master]

Shocking, there are some real scumbags out there. Sorry to hear that Watchmaker

[sddjd]

When I have a client that refuses to pay for my services I hold their deliverables... Hopefully you had a chance to refuse to return his (now properly repaired) watch pending his payment?

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by kyle L

The nerve of the guy...its guys like these that can ruin businesses. If I was you, I would have said "whos the professional here, you or me? Would you like to fix your own watch?"

Sadly, being self employed, I cannot be as 'blut' to customers

Even the difficult ones.

And I did indeed get my money. I gladly made a fool of the man. Plus he got to see the inside of my workshop, a rare pleasure I must say :P

[kyle L]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Sadly, being self employed, I cannot be as 'blut' to customers

Even the difficult ones.

I understand, I guess you just have to deal with them. I admire your patience with him.

[watchmaker4u]

I know how you feel, people that get used to how their watch feels and sounds, and they dont understand that it might not be right and that is why they bring their watches to us to be serviced......To bad people react, before they have all the answers!!!!!!

[Andad]

Hmm, every now and then you get a customer that will not understand but it can go both ways.

I'm more interested to hear that reverser wheels, the red ones, seizing up up is a common fault.

[Parachrom]

Ge openly slanderd you in front of public , employees and customers. Get a lawyer and sue his ass you have the address ,for service because you just serviced the watch. Your name and professional integrity have been besmirched. Cricify this fella or lady

[Yume-sama]

This is why I insolate myself from the general public. I don't deal with them... I pay well to the people who do.

[ippon20]

personally, I would have opened it up for him right there as he requested. Forget the gloves, the non dust environment, etc.. Just open it. Then after he is satisfied that you did the job right, send him on his way, that is without you resealing the watch and reminding him that all kinds of junk could have entered his movement as a result of his request and you would suggest another service because of this. This way, he gets what he wants (verification) and you get what you want (a jerk out of your store).

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by directioneng

Hmm, every now and then you get a customer that will not understand but it can go both ways.

I'm more interested to hear that reverser wheels, the red ones, seizing up up is a common fault.

Yes, the fault usually stems to the click inside one or both of the reversers breaking, catching, or for other reasons failing to perform its function. It is accepted in the industry that reversers are a less than perfect compromise to the problem of winding in both directions.

[txbikerdude]

man what a dork. the world doesnt need people like that. he should apprecieate your services and knowledge

[mailman]

Originally Posted by ippon20

personally, I would have opened it up for him right there as he requested. Forget the gloves, the non dust environment, etc.. Just open it. Then after he is satisfied that you did the job right, send him on his way, that is without you resealing the watch and reminding him that all kinds of junk could have entered his movement as a result of his request and you would suggest another service because of this. This way, he gets what he wants (verification) and you get what you want (a jerk out of your store).

I like the way you think

watchmaker; no one deserves to be treated like that.

[buz-lh]

You should have called bruno to knock his lights out.

[cody p]

i have an eta movement that windmills, but only when i manually wind it from a dead start.

[MrCowboy99]

offer to break it again for him for a price.. (since you know what caused it, put it back and still charge him.)

[wanasub]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

This is why I insolate myself from the general public. I don't deal with them... I pay well to the people who do.

Dude, you've got right! I deal with the general public all day long and I'm not at all well compensated.

[SLS]

Being in a service orientated business myself, offer him an extra year warranty on the service and a free polish..."I am so sorry that you feel that way sir, but I am so confident in my work that if you have any problems with the watch in the next two years, bring it in & I will fix it free of charge. On top of that I will give you a free polish in a years time." You will accomplish two things here, creditability and a customer coming back into your store. Plus I guarantee he will be a good source of referrals.
~Scott

[gregdolley]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Yes, the fault usually stems to the click inside one or both of the reversers breaking, catching, or for other reasons failing to perform its function. It is accepted in the industry that reversers are a less than perfect compromise to the problem of winding in both directions.

Hi Scott - I know this is an old thread, but I remember reading about the "windmilling" problem a while back, and now I have the same problem. I have a Tissot chrono (7750 movement) and a few weeks ago the rotor started to move a bit as I wound the crown, but only when the mainspring was close to full charge. The problem slowly got worse - the rotor would move more and more, and it didn't take as many winds before the rotor started moving. Right now, the rotor spins all the time when I wind the crown (no matter what the charge of the mainspring) and it's getting harder and harder to turn the crown.

My Tissot is a little over one year old, but I hardly ever wear it - I just manually wind it every two days (if I remember).

But here's the weird thing - as you probably know, the 7750 has no reverser wheels, since the rotor only winds in one direction. What could the problem be in this case???

Other than this problem, the watch runs fine and keeps pretty good time.