"Service rep really helpful and courteous "

"I had been looking around for a cool gift for a Military friend of mine and I thought a Hamilton X-Wind would be a great gift considering Hamilton's long military history. I found the watch I was looking for at Amazon.com sold by Certified Watch Store and it said the watch was "In Stock". I decided to check out the customer reviews, which were very good for the most part so, the next day, I called to verify that the watch was still in stock. The salesman ensured me it was and that it would ship promptly so, I forked over the $1,100 asking price and waited for the watch to arrive.

5 days later the watch still hadn't shipped so I called the store to check on my order. When I asked the salesman if the watch really was in stock he replied, "Oh, it's in stock, just not here. Don't worry about it". He said it would ship it out the next day. Of course, it didn't ship the following day either so I called again. This time I was told there was an "Inventory discrepancy" but the watch should be shipped out the following day. They upgraded the shipping from "standard" to "2 day" and the watch arrived a few days later.

I opened the box and pulled out the watch only to find the wrong manual and the warranty cards were missing - not a huge deal as I was able to download it from the net and the warranty card wouldn't do me much good since Certified Watch Store isn't an Authorized Dealer anyway.

Then I found out that the Chronograph was broken. And that's a pretty huge disappointment when you've just spent over a grand on a gift. So again, I called and told them I wished to return the watch for a refund. I was then informed of their outrageous return policy - I'd be charged a $110 "restocking fee" plus the two day shipping charge, plus the cost of return shipping (I admit, I never read the fine print before placing my order). Basically, they wanted to charge me nearly $200 for the pleasure of shipping me an expensive paperweight. Now that’s some stellar “Customer Service” for you.

After seeing what it would cost me to return the brand spanking new broken watch, I decided to take it to an Authorized Dealer and have them fix it instead. It'll probably end up costing me an additional $300 on top of the $1,100 purchase price. At least I won't be handing over $200 for nothing.

At the very least I know I'll have the watch in working order before my friend gets back, and that's all that really matters to me.

So, just make sure you read the fine print before you decide to buy anything from Certified Watch Store. Apparently, they think it makes good business sense to charge the customer for their mistakes.

I’m thoroughly disappointed with the entire transaction and the next time I purchase a new watch (I have my eye on a nice Bell & Ross Heritage Chronograph) I will be sure to steer clear of Certified Watch Store.

Edit Following "Management's" response:

This is a prime example of how they do business at Certified Watch Store. "Unfortunately there are unreasonable customers out there, and we can not please every client."

So, in essence, "Management" is claiming that I'm an unreasonable customer because I didn't care to spend nearly $200 to return a broken watch that had just been pulled out of the box. Does anyone on this board feel that the customer should be charged nearly $200 to return a watch that was broken even before they put in the shipping box? A simple function check would have revealed the issue - something they claim to do prior to shipping every watch - this is obviously another complete lie. And don't try to hide behind company policy. Policies are meant to develop over time - perhaps it's time you look over and revise your policies to where your customers aren't being forced to pay for your mistakes. Corporate Policy isn't State Law, you have the ability to change it as your business develops. That's a free tip for today.

Forcing me to pay you more money to resolve such a simple issue is beyond ludicrous. I'm not giving you $200 just for returning a broken watch. That is your responsibility as a business owner. It's also known as the cost of doing business.

If it was simply a matter of returning the watch because I didn't like, fine. I can live with that. But not when you shipped me a broken $1,100 time piece. That's just bad business for you. And this, having a dissatisfied customer sharing their experience with potential customers all over the world, is also bad business. Really bad, as a matter of fact. I know this because I'm a business owner myself. I never charge my customers for my mistakes - and you know what, customers come back for that reason alone - they know that I will fix any issue they have related to the services I provide, no questions asked. An I eat the cost all on my own. Great problem resolution is a fantastic marketing tool. And so is word of mouth, by the way. Once they know that I will go out of my way to resolve their issue, they will return with a friend the next time they're in the market. These are also basic concepts explained in any Business 101 book. "

"No just bad customer service -- there is NO customer service, unless you manage your order yourself. I placed an order for a watch (it was to be a gift) on Nov 22. In the "comments" box, I entered the following: "Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx if the order will not ship out within 3-5 business days. This order is time-sensitive. Thank you." Needless to say, I did not hear from the company within any reasonable time period. No phone call, no email, no communication of any kind. I checked the order status online a few times, and eat time it said that my order was being processed. I assumed that I should be receiving my order within a reasonable time. Finally, not having received my order, I called and reached customer service on Dec 8 to check on the status of my order. Only then was I informed that not only is the item that I ordered (and Omega watch) was not in stock, but that I would never be receiving it. The customer service rep informed that me that the company was supposed to send me an email to that effect today. It was obvious to me that unless I had taken the initiative and called the company today myself, NO such email would have been forthcoming. The customer service rep did apologize on the phone, but what good is his apology when the company has wasted over a month of my time? Since the day that I placed my order, and even at the moment that I write this review, the company's website lists the product as "SPECIAL ORDER-Will Ship in 3-5 Days" -- basically it is listed as being in stock. Thanks to this vendor, the gift that is highly time-sensitive, will not be delivered on time. I am extremely dissatisfied with the lack of service. I will never shop this website myself, and would discourage others from doing so."

"Hi,
I had an issue with the delivery address, the company was not willing to assist me and also to the point of being rude. The person dealing with it appeared to make no effort in assisting me with the issue. Now the parcel is lost in transit. I am so disappointed. "

"Excellent, always deliver on time
"

"Good watch. Good shipping"

"I’m very happy with the ease of purchase & quickness of the delivery of my Alpina watch"

"Excellent watch. Date nearly too small to read. As others complained the watch band should be longer."

"Very pleased with my recent purchase from Certified Watch Store! I'll be certain to keep them in mind when considering another wristwatch purchase. Highly Recommended..!"

"Decided to delete my Amazon order and chose your website because of the free shipping. Saved about $5 and recieved it Monday when I placed the order on the previous Thursday."

"bought a watch. then they said price was wrong. so they cancelled order. said sorry. no coupon or something for their mistake. why would I buy from here again?"

"Excellent products and service."

"We ordered the Shinola Blizzard and paid for the item. Got our confirmation and then got an email saying they could not sell it at the price and sorry. We are currently contacting the bbb. Very poor customer service and representation. "

"Love the watch. It arrived quickly, too. And even after paying $20 to have it sized, I saved a bundle. "

"Everything went well. Got my order in good time . Product was as it showed . On line. "