Rolex scratched after service

[John Doyle]

Originally Posted by sherlock40

I am really surprised at the number of responses saying it’s not a big deal, just live with it, it’s only the caseback that no one sees and doesn’t change how the watch works, this is to be expected when a watch is worked on, etc. I guess a lot of people have such a low bar for expectations these days and will accept anything. Not me. I am a physician and my work demands perfection in my diagnoses and I embrace that. If I make an error, someone’s life can be ruined forever. I look through a microscope every day to make my diagnoses paying attention to minute details. I know this is a watch we are talking about, but I feel those in ANY profession should do their work as perfectly as possible and strive for perfection. This technician who worked on my watch fell well, well short of this and sent back a watch in an unacceptable state.

Yet you spend i don't know how much on insurance yearly to protect yourself from patients eventually sueing - or are you an exception and don't do what other doctors do?

[sherlock40]

Originally Posted by John Doyle

Yet you spend i don't know how much on insurance yearly to protect yourself from patients eventually sueing - or are you an exception and don't do what other doctors do?

The hospital pays my malpractice insurance. I don’t pay anything. It’s mandatory to have malpractice insurance as a condition of employment. I’m not sure what the point of this comment even is.

[BraveBold]

Originally Posted by sherlock40

I agree that watches get scratched. And I don’t have a problem with this, but ONLY if I do the scratching, not someone else carelessly handling my watch. This, I have a major problem with and don’t accept it.

Agree 100%.

But you must have expected diverse opinions, no?

Many people won’t return an under/overcooked steak. Many also won’t return products delivered with damage, etc. Of course important to not blame the messenger and to be civil, but when paying for service (and you did pay for the warranty in the purchase price) you expect service commensurate to price point.

I also agree that it is completely different when you do the damage yourself. Not comparable to when someone entrusted with professionally caring for your watch does the damage due to rushing/sloppiness (which is all it is).

Finally, if more people complained, they would improve service quality. If it means passing on higher cost I think most would accept a small increase.

[sherlock40]

Originally Posted by BraveBold

Agree 100%.

But you must have expected diverse opinions, no?

Many people won’t return an under/overcooked steak. Many also won’t return products delivered with damage, etc. Of course important to not blame the messenger and to be civil, but when paying for service (and you did pay for the warranty in the purchase price) you expect service commensurate to price point.

I also agree that it is completely different when you do the damage yourself. Not comparable to when someone entrusted with professionally caring for your watch does the damage due to rushing/sloppiness (which is all it is).

Finally, if more people complained, they would improve service quality. If it means passing on higher cost I think most would accept a small increase.

I agree totally with this. And yes, I do respect other people’s point of view and realize my point of view is not the only one. But, I do feel strongly about my point of view.

[garyk]

I’m sure I would not be happy if this happened to one of my watches. However, I believe the fix is simple like others have pointed out. Good thing this isn’t on any of the front side surfaces!

[sgt10p]

It does seem to be appalling Customer Service from Dallas RSC. Has anyone tried escalating a complaint to the next level? With the costs of service as they are you would expect the watchmaker to be properly trained and diligent. If a mistake happens they should ensure it is rectified before the watch is returned. Is there no pride in Dallas RSC?

[fsprow]

Servicing a watch is a difficult job, requiring much handling of the watch, fastening it in various devices to allow movement service, testing water ingress, removing hands, etc. There are many opportunities for surfaces to be scratched in usually quite minor ways. This is an example of what I would consider something requiring only a five minute polish and the watch would be in pristine condition again. Surprised this wasn’t done as a part of service. Yes, a small error was made. Glad I never made one!

[KatGirl]

Hey, Doctor. I agree with your point of view. I also think they should have noticed that they scratched the case back, and polished it, before returning it to you. If mine, I’d hesitate to return it to them, though common sense says they’d be careful making it right again. Since you’ve said you won’t do that, polish out the scratches yourself.

Kat


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[alphadweller]

Worse things happen at official service centers. I had a bezel broken and an erratic movement after an overhaul. Went back, got it fixed and had a second overhaul done, for free of course. It was Omega in this case. Total wait: 10 weeks. After that, I decided to only take my watches in if there is a problem. No preventative maintenance anymore.

I'm yet to take one of my Rolex pieces to the RSC. They'd have to seriously misbehave for me to have them looked at.

[njlam]

Reading this thread, I grow apprehensive about sending my DJ in for service to Dallas RSC, or any RSC.

I bought a preowned/discontinued 116139 in WG with an OEM leather strap and deployant buckle last year. It was in great shape with the fluted bezel and lugs looking flawless. That being said, the watch runs a little fast.

As I bought this watch from European Watch Company, I hope everything inside is original (as it was advertised), but can't be sure. I want the first time this watch is opened since I have owned it to be an official Rolex service, so if anything unoriginal is discovered it would be by HQ.

However, with all these posts about scratches, and/or unwanted polishing, I worry about sending it in to RSC. It is worth noting, I have heard Dallas is the best RSC location, however after reading this thread, I am worried about all of them.

The lack of confidence/satisfaction with RSC could be Rolex's Achilles heel. When spending tens of thousands on watches and hundreds on service, these things should come back noticeably better than then went in.

[77T]

Originally Posted by njlam

Reading this thread, I grow apprehensive about sending my DJ in for service to Dallas RSC, or any RSC.



I bought a preowned/discontinued 116139 in WG with an OEM leather strap and deployant buckle last year. It was in great shape with the fluted bezel and lugs looking flawless. That being said, the watch runs a little fast.



As I bought this watch from European Watch Company, I hope everything inside is original (as it was advertised), but can't be sure. I want the first time this watch is opened since I have owned it to be an official Rolex service, so if anything unoriginal is discovered it would be by HQ.



However, with all these posts about scratches, and/or unwanted polishing, I worry about sending it in to RSC. It is worth noting, I have heard Dallas is the best RSC location, however after reading this thread, I am worried about all of them.



The lack of confidence/satisfaction with RSC could be Rolex's Achilles heel. When spending tens of thousands on watches and hundreds on service, these things should come back noticeably better than then went in.

You have waited a fairly long time to send this DJ into RSC if you have any doubts about the movement inside being correct. If you choose to have a service done by the RSC please do not worry about the OP's experience. I believe he declined having the watch polished as part of his service and the minor issue would have been corrected in normal course of final polishing.

Originally Posted by fsprow

Servicing a watch is a difficult job, requiring much handling of the watch, fastening it in various devices to allow movement service, testing water ingress, removing hands, etc. There are many opportunities for surfaces to be scratched in usually quite minor ways. This is an example of what I would consider something requiring only a five minute polish and the watch would be in pristine condition again. Surprised this wasn’t done as a part of service. Yes, a small error was made. Glad I never made one!

I agree - but I admit that I do allow my watches to be polished to perfection when RSC service is done.

I will never live long enough to regret the slight loss of metal on any watch I've owned in the normal course of final polishing.


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[L_S_SHOE]

I wear my watches so minor scratches like this are pretty normal. May these scratches remind you of how underwhelming an RSC service can be.

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by L_S_SHOE

I wear my watches so minor scratches like this are pretty normal. May these scratches remind you of how underwhelming an RSC service can be.

My experience with both the Dallas and New York RSC’s has been outstanding. Several watches have been serviced there and all came back in beautiful condition and running very well.

[7enderbender]

Originally Posted by Tools

You expect that a watch completely taken apart, moved, handled, measured, parts replaced, reassembled and tested, but it will be in the exact same condition as before.

A scratch can happen when you take it out of the packaging.

I disagree with that. If that’s the attitude and result then why bother at all. If they can’t manage a simple task like that with the right tools and precaution it makes you wonder how well they can handle the delicate insides of the watch.

Stuff like that is unacceptable in any industry.

[codecow]

Patek scratched the case of my 5167 in a spot you’re never going to scratch it accidentally, only by taking the strap off to work on it.

It sucks but what can you do? If your watch is broken then you send it in and if it comes back running well with a scratch on it then you need to weigh the odds of it getting scratched again at the service or even worse broken during service.

[Skyrider01]

Tell RSC what happened and they should take care of it.
The same thing happened to me when RSC in Toronto serviced my GMT.
I took it back in and they polished the scratches off the caseback and it looked like new.

[MRBolton]

Rolex scratched my NOS Cellini 18k YG case back in 2018. I had a great case because I removed the case back sticker right before sending to them since I thought they would remove it to service it. I had to put up a fight, but they replaced it with a new one.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by sgt10p

It does seem to be appalling Customer Service from Dallas RSC. Has anyone tried escalating a complaint to the next level? With the costs of service as they are you would expect the watchmaker to be properly trained and diligent. If a mistake happens they should ensure it is rectified before the watch is returned. Is there no pride in Dallas RSC?

Well expect the watchmaker is probably trained,and when removing a case back on any watch no matter the watchmaker it's possible to make slight marks on case backs.Its not like they destroyed the watch it's just a case back that can be easily replaced ,or those miniscule marks removed by slight polishing.

[HONDABBQ]

This thread is hilarious.

[jinikari01]

Originally Posted by HONDABBQ

This thread is hilarious.

Agreed. Kinda reminds me of A.I. press confrence.
We talking about pratice... Not an actual game, but pratice. LOL.

[Kingranch]

Took my DSSD to the Dallas Service center March 2024 for a complete overhaul and polish. Picked up on last day they were open to walk ins. Shipments to them only now.

Watch came back perfect. Very professional service. I would not send to a AD for service.

The Dallas Rolex Service Center will always get my business.

[sgt10p]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well expect the watchmaker is probably trained,and when removing a case back on any watch no matter the watchmaker it's possible to make slight marks on case backs.Its not like they destroyed the watch it's just a case back that can be easily replaced ,or those miniscule marks removed by slight polishing.

It seems like your taking the part of a defence Lawyer for Rolex. My point is that for the cost of the service you would not expect your watch to be returned damaged. (From the OPs' picture it is OBVIOUSLY not minor as stated in your responce). A professional would rectify the error before the customer saw it. Surely the RSC has the appropriate tool to remove a case back without damaging it? I guess they have done this before? Once or twice?

[L_S_SHOE]

Originally Posted by fsprow

My experience with both the Dallas and New York RSC’s has been outstanding. Several watches have been serviced there and all came back in beautiful condition and running very well.

I think most folks will have a good experience, but there are so many stories about the RSCs doing less than stellar work, I prefer to send my watches to Phillip Ridley.

[X529]

That would be unacceptable to me. If that's the quality of work they do well, that's just shameful. I use a trusted Rolex AD here and their work is impeccable. If I showed them a scratch there would be no question it would be taken care of. When you are paying $800 + dollars for service you should expect perfection, IMO.

[madsitalia]

Originally Posted by sherlock40

I am well aware that this is the back of the case and does not change how the watch will run. This isn’t the point. The point is I see it. I know the scratches are there and I see them after I take of my watch. The point is the watch should come back in the same condition as it was received. People shouldn’t just accept that “things happen and oh well.” Some people do but I don’t.

Exactly

[LugholeChris]

A shame really.

I agree that it is not a catastrophe, but honestly, with the prices for a service these days, this would also be uacceptable to me. Have had several watches returned from RSC with dust on the dial too, and although quickly and perfectly corrected when I pointed it out, it really should not happen to begin with.

If you have worked on watches you will also know that these things are hard to avoid completely, but from the photos, it does not look like the biggest amount of care was used by the watchmaker in question.

Hope you will get it sorted out - in the end if it bothers you, then it should also bother your RSC. Ask them for a new caseback, and I am sure they will swap it out for you.

[doctoryellow]

This should not happen, and for those who think it’s ok: would you pay the same price for a watch that has those scratches as opposed to one without?

Clearly devalued the watch