S F
7383
I would say this probably has to do…
with the changing society and population composition. The tight labor conditions are not helping too.
We have the right to expect high level of service and attention, however, when past luxuries now becoming more common and not as special anymore, it seems the attitude of the businesses and expectations from consumers are not always aligned.
I am glad that the few stores I have been to recently, the sales reps were still using gloves and I also gave praise to a trainee who was courteous, helpful and attentive (under the watchful eyes of my sales rep 😂).
And in my recent trip to Mumbai, I was impressed with the high standard of service (which to me was bit over). On the other hand, I was absolutely stunned when a few dining establishments in a Japanese city REFUSED to entertain foreign tourists when I visited in 2019. And the one that finally took us in, they wanted to charge a minimum per head fee??!! I noticed this fee was waived in the bill probably I had spent about 20X the minimum charge. While I could understand why after hearing horror stories about the behaviors of certain profile of tourist, I would least expect this to happen in Japan!! In the end, businesses have to decide how they want to treat their clients and us as consumers have the choice who we want to patronize.
Oh no! Standards are falling! People need to be more careful.
Saw this during Monterey Car Week at the local Patek Philippe dealer... Oh no! Assuming that this mishap was caused by a jewelry store employee (can't imagine a customer can open the display case), it shows how rushed some employees can be. Just goes to s...
Yes! Jewelry stores have become very cruel places to shop!
Watch stores and jewelry stores used to be my happy place. Now, my happy places are chocolate stores! Better yet, everything is mostly affordable!
I made an appointment with a store, and then they refused to honor my appointment!
I made an appointment with a store and then they refused to honor my appointment! The jeweler was a well known Rolex and Patek Philippe jeweler. When I complained, an employee just shrugged his shoulders. The swagger of jewelry stores these days.
I have a feeling this is the new marketing strategy…
Make everything seem so valuable and behind the scenes that even when you get call for the watches that used to sit on the shelf for months/years, you now giggle like a silly monkey and gladly paid for it. They make you feel special what you are getting i...
Yes! And we all fall for it!
And soon I'm so happy to be given the opportunity that I pull out my credit card very quickly. "Please! Take my money!"
It was a major Rolex and Patek Philippe jeweler in a major city in the East Coast of USA...
I'm afraid to say too much. I don't want Rolex or Patek Philippe executives to put me on their "naughty" list and thus hurt my chances.
Perhaps you could reconsider? Your response to being treated badly may inadvertently be encouraging the poor practices
Seeing what you posted, ADs doing well will feel even more emboldened to act with impunity, arrogant in the knowledge that customers are cowed. One would've hoped that serious, connoisseur sites like this would be a credible place to [gently] call out bad...
True...
But it's a careful balance. I can call out everyone whom I think is not performing to standard. Furthermore, even if everything I say is true and accurate, it wouldn't be representative of the vast majority of the consumers, consumers who are mainly looki...
People, generally, do not seem to take pride in their work anymore.
I agree there has been a consistent decline in service, caring and common courtesies and I lament that. Part of it seems to be generational in my opinion. What can we do about it? Continue to maintain your sense of decorum and be the gentleman and lady th...
Well said. I think you hit the nail on the head...
People indeed do not seem to take pride in their work anymore. This work ethic is disappearing. You're exactly right, I think you've spotted the root of the problem. Furthermore, there used to be a desire for people to "belong to society" as well as "be a...
You're exactly right! But to what point should we allow de-formalization to occur?
Should we allow wigs to be not worn in courts? I guess that wouldn't hurt me as long as lawyers, judges, and advocats are still dressed in a respectable manner. But should we allow people who just came from the gym, still wearing a tank top, to sit next t...
I agree
Elegance isn't about always being the most overly dressed, but about knowing how to calibrate your formality level based on the situation. Wigs in court may be outdated, but we shouldn't sacrifice a decent level of decor just to be the most comfortable al...
Well said...
Elegance is always the most difficult to achieve. It's easy to wear a suit. But a suit isn't appropriate in a nice country setting sometimes. Thus, something elegant takes more thought. And that being said... what you said is exactly right. Many people ar...
Hi Patrick, I don't want to be too harsh on this specific Patek AD (which is identified uniquely in your post by the location of Car Week), but broader cultural considerations aside, what I see in that picture is definitely not looking good! ;-)
Since my understanding is this window was potentially visible to anyone passing by Carmel-by-the-Sea that day, let's hope the issue was discovered and rectified quickly ;-) I'll send you a WhatsApp tomorrow if I know more. Especially now that Patek is abl...
I wasn't trying to be too harsh on the dealer and I definitely don't want to draw the ire...
Oh no! Now we really narrowed it down to the town! I guess I made it too easy didn't I? I definitely don't want to draw the ire of the jeweler in question and I definitely wasn't trying to identify the jeweler in question. As I have visited the store, I h...
True!
But standards just took another dive. Some standards for some things are underground now! Speaking about lawn, don't see my lawn. My lawn is the embarrassment in the neighborhood! No water to water it! I now try to save most of my gray water to water my l...
I would say this probably has to do…
with the changing society and population composition. The tight labor conditions are not helping too. We have the right to expect high level of service and attention, however, when past luxuries now becoming more common and not as special anymore, it seem...
Interesting!
I find in Asian jewelry stores, the white gloves are more often used. But not as much in USA and European jewelry stores. I've never been to Mumbai, but I have been to another major city in India; where I found service very good in some areas, and very la...
Both black and white gloves were used by different stores…
The minimum fee was not much, JPY500 per pax which I said was a big surprise to see in Japan!
I see...
I haven't been to Japan for a few years. Can't wait to go back! I don't remember about those 500 yen fees from my previous visits to Japan.
As an American who lived in Tokyo in 2014 and 2015....
...I have never heard of this. We ate at Michelin Star restaurants and at Izakaya under the train tracks, and were treated just like anyone else...
Yikes!
Our member S F did seem to suggest that his encounter was in a smaller city, so considering Tokyo is the largest city in Japan, it probably happened in a different city thank Tokyo. Nevertheless, I was surprised to read S F's experience.
Vote with your feet
Walk away if you are displeased. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from my friend Hal, who started a large brokerage firm and continued in the business until he was 85. You can't make a man run his business the way you want him to, you can o...
You're right! Vote with your feet. But also tell the establishment why you're leaving them.
Sadly... Sometimes though, that's a really long walk! And sometimes you don't have a choice. For instance, if I don't want to fly next to people who board airplanes coming from the gym still in their tank top and the airline won't make a rule... I don't h...
Or given airlines nowadays, they might not care (or have no alternatives)
I fly business class when I can, upgrade if I can, or don't go. Mostly for the last 3 years I haven't gone. Or you can fly a puddle-jumper where "every seat is an aisle seat, every seat is a window seat, every seat is first class" but those flights have t...
All my money goes to watches, fine food, the autos (and petrol to fuel the thirsty machine), and so on...
Oh! I forgot the flying private alternative. I'm unfortunately not in the income bracket that allows me to charter a plane. And all my money goes to watches, clocks, fine food and wine, and other "necessities." Thus, necessitating me to save money on flig...
I have
My first boss paid $25k per year for an AA pass that would let him fly anywhere American went, any time, First Class. It might have been because we had a fair number of Frequent Fliers in our company. I had to buy my own tickets (company later reimbursed)...
I still remember that $250K American Airline Air Pass!
That was a good deal! $250K and unlimited First Class flights with AA! What a good deal!
I don't know who Patek Philippe uses for their displays...
But it's probably not the display manufacturer, it was probably just damaged while putting things in and out of the window. Maybe someone's sleeve caught the logo and broke off a piece of it while pulling something out of the display case.
what a sad sight. Perfectly portraying how...
A lot of the romance of watch collecting seems to have evaporated - especially over the last few years.
I was just thinking the same thing….
That picture is an analogy as to how I feel about “Modern” Patek Philippe. I have bought some of the new stuff and have always sold it on. I suppose Thierry is doing A-Ok, just not by me.
I wouldn't say it's a Patek Philippe issue...
It's not an issue limited to any specific brand. Although Patek Philippe seems to get the brunt of it. And overall, I'd say Patek Philippe does make wonderful products. They're still a great manufacturer making good products. Although I don't like all of ...
Thank you! Indeed... If only the sales side adopted the same old-world techniques that makes the product so desirable...
Who knows, we'd probably like the old-world sales techniques. We all like old-world watches. Why not old-world sales techniques to buy those watches.
So part of a logo is bumped, and a discussion ensues about a decline of standards in the industry and beyond??
That is the craziest stretch I have heard in a long time. Let’s pull back to reality. I bet the logo was fixed in a matter of seconds. Even with few watches available for sale, I have to say that my experience at Patek dealers remains completely first cla...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Tahoeblue!
This post was definitely not meant to target this specific jeweler, although I realized after the fact that I did uniquely identify the jeweler by mentioning the geography and with the photo. The post also does not target any specific watch brand, as what...
Yep selling Rolexes and patents became like a bodega store!
When you go to your bodega there’s stuff flying all over and no one seemed to care because you need to buy your small stuff and move on, the exact thing is here you need them anyways and you’ll buy anyways even if the store is run down!!! In general we lo...
I haven't been to a bodega in a long time!
I don't think I could treat someone like garbage even if I wanted to. But it's sad that the traditional experience isn't there anymore when we buy traditional products.
Welcome! Thank you for posting!
Indeed! Things can be less promising. But all we can do is hope for the best. Or we can all move to Japan!