A watch, an estimate and three phone calls
A customer brings in an automatic watch that has stopped. You take it in and send it to your watchmaker, or to the brand's service centre. Two weeks later, an estimate arrives: a full service, plus a new crown and a crystal. It is a significant amount, and the customer needs to approve it.
Your assistant rings. No answer. A voicemail. Two days later, the customer rings back and asks why the watch needs a crystal, which nobody at the counter can explain because the estimate is a one-line description.
The watchmaker, meanwhile, has the watch sitting on a shelf. They ask whether to proceed. Nobody knows yet.
Why watch estimates stall
The watchmaker's estimate is written for you, not for the customer. It uses technical terms and codes that mean little to someone who just wants their watch back.
The approval runs through the counter, where it competes with everything else. There is no reminder to chase unanswered estimates, and no record of what the customer said.
Watches can also wait at several points: before sending, at the watchmaker, waiting for parts, on the way back. The shop rarely knows which, so the customer's questions get vague answers.
What waiting costs
| Problem | Result |
|---|---|
| Estimates relayed by phone | Customers confused about what they are approving |
| No chase for unanswered estimates | Watches sitting at the watchmaker for weeks |
| Decisions not recorded | Disputes about what was authorised |
| Location of the watch unclear | Vague answers to customers |
| Declined watches not returned promptly | Customers annoyed at the wait for nothing |
Watch customers tend to care deeply about their watches and expect to be kept informed. A clear, prompt estimate process is part of the service they are paying for.
There is a quieter cost at the service centre end as well. Some service centres and independent watchmakers will only hold an unapproved watch for so long before returning it unrepaired, sometimes with an inspection charge. A customer who finally says yes after that point has to wait for the watch to go back out again, and the delay lands on your counter, not theirs.
Brand service centres add their own rules. Some will only quote after a full inspection, some return watches with a standard estimate that has to be accepted in full, and some have long queues once a watch is booked in. If your shop does not know which route a watch has taken and what that route expects, the counter gives the customer a guess, and the guess becomes the thing they hold you to.
How we move watch estimates along
- Each watch job records the make, model, serial number where visible, condition at intake with photos, and the fault described by the customer.
- When the watch goes to the watchmaker or service centre, the send-out is logged with the date and reference.
- When the estimate arrives, the counter enters it, or the system reads it from the watchmaker's email, and adds your margin by your own rules.
- The customer receives a message with the estimate in plain language, any explanation or photos from the watchmaker, and buttons to approve or decline and have it returned.
- Unanswered estimates get a reminder, then appear on the counter's call list. The watchmaker is told the decision as soon as it is made.
- Each stage (sent, estimated, approved, awaiting parts, returning, ready) is visible, and the customer can be updated at stages you choose.
Brands and watchmakers each have their own terms and processes. We fit around them and do not advise on repair decisions.
Watch repairs without the phone tag
Customers get a clear estimate they can understand and answer from their phone. The watchmaker hears back promptly. The counter knows where each watch is.
- Estimates explained in plain language
- Customer decisions recorded with the date
- Watchmakers told the decision straight away
- Every watch's location visible to the counter
Does this sound like your watch repairs?
- Watch estimates are relayed to customers by phone.
- Customers often ask what an estimate actually covers.
- Watches wait at the watchmaker for customer decisions.
- You are not always sure where a watch is in the process.
- Declined watches take a long time to come back.