Patek Philippe - where is the value?
Baron - Mr Red
We hear a lot about value on our forums. Some watches give "great value" for what they are. It is not often one hears this on the Patek Philippe forum.
But we should.
I have had 8 or 9 vintage watches serviced through the Patek Philippe Salon in London over the last 3 years or so. Kerri Vujovic has been my contact there throughout. Kerri is about to leave the industry for an adventure abroad with her husband......I wish her and her husband well. Kerri..... will be a big loss for Patek Philippe. Kerri exemplifies what it means to provide awesome customer service. I will explain why....
About a year ago, I bought what I considered to be one of the nicest Reference 570G I had ever seen. It was essentially a new watch. The case is so perfect one could easily mistake it as a modern watch rather than one that is almost 50 years old. On buying the watch, I took it immediately to the Patek Philippe Salon for service. WIthin 30 minutes of owning it, it was on its way back to Geneva!
The months passed by and then I received an email from Kerri informing me that my watch was ready. I expressed how excited I was and said I would travel into London (3 hours drive for me) and pick it up in the following week.
On arriving, I was taken to the customer service area and soon the watch was in front of me. I just couldn't wait to wear it. In fact, I dispensed with the watch I was wearing into a pouch and put the 570 onto my wrist immediately. I paid the service cost and left to enjoy my watch over a good lunch.
Halfway through lunch I looked at my watch and noticed that it had stopped. I assumed it just hadn't been wound. So i tried winding and it was at maximum wind. Oh no! I took the watch back to Kerri who gave it to the watchmaker. He opened it up and noticed that the jewel had become detached rendering the watch inoperative. It was the first time he had ever seen such an issue. To be honest, it is just a freak occurence that is absolutely nobody's fault. The watch was returned to Geneva....that was 3-4 months ago. I got a call saying it was ready last week.
The watch is now on my wrist and is a delight. Patek Philippe refunded my entire service cost. Now, some of you may think that this was an appropriate thing to do. I don' think it was necessary at all. The watch was serviced twice, in fact, and Patek Philippe absorbed the entire costs on both occasions. I believe it would have been totally fair to have charged me for the service, but it was waived.
Yes.....Patek Philippe make some wonderful watches. Yes, they provide an incredible range of watches. Yes, they have kept accurate records of all watches that they have ever made. They have pioneered some extraordinary complications and developments. Implicit in alll of this is an essence of value. But, for me, their customer service is a factor where (from my experience) they stand head and shoulders above other brands. I have horror stories to tell about every other manufacturer where I have owned a watch....with the exception of Patek Philippe.
Yes, Patek Philippe watches cost a lot. But with that cost comes something which is, in my view, extremely valuable.....and that is their customer service. It is the best. Long may it stay that way.
There is an adjoining story to this. I also own a 5110G. It was serviced just over a year ago. A fault developed with the outer ring and I took it back to Geneva. It was out of warranty. Just. They corrected the fault and 2 or 3 months later, I received the watch back intact.
No fee. It was out of warranty but in their view not a fault that they would have expected of their high standards after just over one year. No fee.
It is outstanding customer service. One owns these valuable watches and just knows that the manufacturer will always be there to stand by their watches and ensure that they are maintained properly with the very best of customer service.
This is "value"
This message has been edited by Baron on 2016-08-02 01:46:40 This message has been edited by Baron on 2016-08-02 12:36:15
But we should.
I have had 8 or 9 vintage watches serviced through the Patek Philippe Salon in London over the last 3 years or so. Kerri Vujovic has been my contact there throughout. Kerri is about to leave the industry for an adventure abroad with her husband......I wish her and her husband well. Kerri..... will be a big loss for Patek Philippe. Kerri exemplifies what it means to provide awesome customer service. I will explain why....
About a year ago, I bought what I considered to be one of the nicest Reference 570G I had ever seen. It was essentially a new watch. The case is so perfect one could easily mistake it as a modern watch rather than one that is almost 50 years old. On buying the watch, I took it immediately to the Patek Philippe Salon for service. WIthin 30 minutes of owning it, it was on its way back to Geneva!
The months passed by and then I received an email from Kerri informing me that my watch was ready. I expressed how excited I was and said I would travel into London (3 hours drive for me) and pick it up in the following week.
On arriving, I was taken to the customer service area and soon the watch was in front of me. I just couldn't wait to wear it. In fact, I dispensed with the watch I was wearing into a pouch and put the 570 onto my wrist immediately. I paid the service cost and left to enjoy my watch over a good lunch.
Halfway through lunch I looked at my watch and noticed that it had stopped. I assumed it just hadn't been wound. So i tried winding and it was at maximum wind. Oh no! I took the watch back to Kerri who gave it to the watchmaker. He opened it up and noticed that the jewel had become detached rendering the watch inoperative. It was the first time he had ever seen such an issue. To be honest, it is just a freak occurence that is absolutely nobody's fault. The watch was returned to Geneva....that was 3-4 months ago. I got a call saying it was ready last week.
The watch is now on my wrist and is a delight. Patek Philippe refunded my entire service cost. Now, some of you may think that this was an appropriate thing to do. I don' think it was necessary at all. The watch was serviced twice, in fact, and Patek Philippe absorbed the entire costs on both occasions. I believe it would have been totally fair to have charged me for the service, but it was waived.
Yes.....Patek Philippe make some wonderful watches. Yes, they provide an incredible range of watches. Yes, they have kept accurate records of all watches that they have ever made. They have pioneered some extraordinary complications and developments. Implicit in alll of this is an essence of value. But, for me, their customer service is a factor where (from my experience) they stand head and shoulders above other brands. I have horror stories to tell about every other manufacturer where I have owned a watch....with the exception of Patek Philippe.
Yes, Patek Philippe watches cost a lot. But with that cost comes something which is, in my view, extremely valuable.....and that is their customer service. It is the best. Long may it stay that way.
There is an adjoining story to this. I also own a 5110G. It was serviced just over a year ago. A fault developed with the outer ring and I took it back to Geneva. It was out of warranty. Just. They corrected the fault and 2 or 3 months later, I received the watch back intact.
No fee. It was out of warranty but in their view not a fault that they would have expected of their high standards after just over one year. No fee.
It is outstanding customer service. One owns these valuable watches and just knows that the manufacturer will always be there to stand by their watches and ensure that they are maintained properly with the very best of customer service.
This is "value"
This message has been edited by Baron on 2016-08-02 01:46:40 This message has been edited by Baron on 2016-08-02 12:36:15
Comments:
crown comfort August 2nd, 2016-01:54
Wise words a business prevails or fails with customer service. Of course, you do need some half-decent product or service in the first place, but getting customer service right seems a very difficult task. Why else so many other manufacturers (not just of watches) g...
Baron - Mr Red August 2nd, 2016-02:00
spot on...... .....it is about taking responsibility. On this occasion, they go beyond that.... and that is why they have my custom....and why other manufacturers who don't treat me fairly lose my custom.
CastorKrieg August 2nd, 2016-02:42
Another way to do it would be to offer extended warranty on their watches. You were very lucky not to have been charged, especially on a 50-year old watch. Are you a significant Patek collector perhaps?
Baron - Mr Red August 2nd, 2016-03:03
"Significant"? No....not at all.... I have bought two modern watches over the last 5 years...and both watches were modest pieces..... I think I wasn't lucky. I think Patek Philippe treats its customers generally with more respect than other manufacturers....even small collectors like myself...
CastorKrieg August 3rd, 2016-00:03
That's good to hear! Company values and heritage is one of the things that attracted me to PP in the first place.
Tony C. August 2nd, 2016-03:19
Well... In my view, they simply did the right thing. By which I mean that your reaction is at least partly a reflection of how poorly customers are often treated with regard to the service of vintage watches. I could tell many stories, including my own remarkable...
Baron - Mr Red August 2nd, 2016-03:38
indeed..... .....I think we all have horror stories to tell. What I think is frightening is that I have a horror story to tell for EVERY single manufacturer where I have owned a watch.....so it is not as if I have a bone of contention with a specific manufacturer. Pa...
COUNT DE MONET August 2nd, 2016-03:49
respectfully disagree: as fas as I know there is a waranty period of one year after service therefore the 570 example could not count. The incident with your 5110 is clearly a good will service! However, if Patek is thinking to be the summit of watchmaking one can expect also they are the summit of customer service. Apparently they are. I have a...
Baron - Mr Red August 2nd, 2016-04:03
I should explain better.... my original point is still accurate. My 570 was sent for service. I paid the service fee. The problem happened. They gave me back the service fee. They sent the watch back to be corected. It came back. They asked for no service fee. So...I have paid NOTHING for the 570 service..... That is n...
COUNT DE MONET August 2nd, 2016-07:44
now I have got the point! That is very, very noble from Patek!
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