Anton Savage: The curious tale of my old watch, a former Eurovision winner, and a flower shop
I thought I’d seen it all when it came to customer service. I had not
Originally published in the Business Post.
Modern customer service (particularly modern online customer service) has become terribly formulaic. A customer whinges online, the brand representative replies that they will look into in and coaxes the complainer to move off-line so they can be placated.
It came as a thrilling surprise for me therefore to see a consumer brand break that mould with abandon this week. I ended up in an hour long public rolling battle with – of all companies – Seiko, the middle-of-the-road Japanese watchmaker. They accused me of misrepresentation and untruth, and demanded retractions of tweets. Seiko. Who’d have thunk?
It all started with a watch repair. Thirty years ago my late father bought me my watch. It is my only watch, but a few months ago I shattered the glass on it. So to ensure it was fixed properly I went to the manufacturer (they have a mail-in service, but given the sentimental value, I drove to the industrial estate where they’re based.)
“Lads, can you fix the glass on this and while you’re at it, maybe replace the hands and bezel?” The bezel is the twisty bit around the outside of the face. I looked it up so I could talk ‘watch-lingo’ with the Seiko people, thereby winning their respect.
They examined my shattered heirloom, told me there was limited chance of finding hands and bezel (the twisty bit) but they’d take it in for repair, and maybe find some hands or a bezel on some old watches “out the back”.
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