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Shanu Singh Guliani

Watch Batteries and Water Resistant Issues
June 21, 2008

My employees and I change clients watch batteries quite often and have informed customers that anytime the seal is broken the watch is not water resistant anymore—though we tell them—sometimes we all forget to print it onto the receipt when ringing up the sale.

Two weeks ago, one of my employees changed a battery on an Ironman Timex. The customer returned with water in the watch. She was extremely upset and unfortunately the watch could not be fixed. I explained to her how these types of watches are water resistant and not water proof—but she didn’t care so I searched for the exact model on the internet and found that it was more cost effective for her to go and spend 30 bucks for a new one than for her to even come back to the store, but of course I dared not to say that—although I was thinking it the whole time.

Before changing watch batteries we WARN customers the watch can get water into to because the seal is broken. The bottom line is that she complained for twenty minutes about how her husband has purchased her a few dozen of these watches which she uses for scuba diving—so there is no way it is water resistant but instead water proof and it was our entire fault. Because she was so pissed off I offered to pay for half of the watch knowing how much it costs (after looking it up on the net of course). When I offered her half she looked at me like she was about to rip my eyes out of my head and said the watch is way more money than that. Now, I was at a point I couldn’t say anything more. I couldn’t take in her in my office and show her the exact same model—I had to do something to try and make her happy. Well, I couldn’t make her happy and she left the watch—told me to ask my watch repair man if it could be fixed and ran out of the store.

Do you have a statement on your receipts that talk about the store not guaranteeing water getting in the watch after a battery has been changed? Do you only tell customers this verbally or do you print it out on your receipts? If you do have some sort of statement could you post it into the comments?

Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on June 21, 2008 | Comments (1)

July 16, 2008
In response to: Watch Batteries and Water Resistant Issues
tom kelley commented:

You need to understand that the customer come to you, the sign on the door says jeweler, You are the expert. Apparently, you want people to come to you for their jewelry needs, yet when you do not live up to your side of the bargin, you want to blame the customer. The idea that when you open a watch, a magic seal, a bond between the two case halfs releases a merraculous inpenatratable seal that will not allow moisture into the watch. It is possible to open a watch change a battery and close that watch ,with the same gasket, and the watch still be water resistant. (Assuming it was water-resistant when you recieved the watch. Unless you check the water resistancy of the watch prior to opening the watch neither you nor the customer can say for certain that the watch was water-resistant. From a watchmaker point of view, when taking in a watch explain that, "We can not guarenty that this watch is or will be water-resistant unless we replace the crystal, crystal gasket, crown, crown gasket and the back gasket, that will bring the watch back to the original factory tollerences." After saying this, point to your sign that explains this and then ask do you want me to replace your cell? Consistantly say this to every customer and the problem is solved. If you are acting like an expert, conduct yourself as such.