What is your experience about IWC service quality and speed when the watch needs repair?

I like leather straps, but hate to see them worn and torn very easily. Almost every year, you need to buy a new one. It is simply too expensive. What about plastic straps? Do they last longer?

Shoddy treatment.
£350 for a new strap. The rings fail after 2-3 weeks. Go back to the shop and am told "condition of the strap is not linked to a manufacturing defect, we recommend you to purchase a new strap for replacement. "
How can something that is good quality fail after such a short time ?
How can IWC treat customers like this.
Shabby IWC, very shabby.

The cost of replacing the 2 poor quality rings cannot be worth more than customer satisfaction.....or can it !

I paid extra for a clap rather than a buckle. The clasp was £3,000 in gold. I thought this would last longer as there were no pinch points on the leather.

How wrong I am. "condition of the strap is not linked to a manufacturing defect, we recommend you to purchase a new strap for replacement. " according to IWC.

..."****" - one fuming customer.

With respect, we really do get it...you're unhappy.

You said that you bought a new strap that lasted only two weeks and that the Macau shop refused to replace it because the failure was not caused by defective manufacture. So, what caused the failure?

Normally, when you buy an item, in this a case a leather strap, you get warranty, in many cases regulated by law in the country concerned. I do not have a clue as to what happened to your strap and why, and I do not think it is constructive to complain in the Collectors’ Forum. It is not the right place (in my opinion, anyway). If you are not happy with the service you get from your local dealer, seller or whatever, you should get in touch with IWC, Schaffhausen, and present your problem in detail (no bellyaching). I am quite sure you will get a correct “verdict”.

I am sorry that you not happy with your watch, but griping will not make things any the better.

There are no such rules or laws in Macao. Customers have NO legal redress and so companies simple don't care. I have already spoken and emailed IWC but still nothing.
If the law does not support customers and IWC don't act please tell me what else I can do apart from try and get my voice heard and let others know of the issues.

With respect, do you ? With respect, your comment was patronizing and banal.

Have you tried the service center in Hong Kong? IWC offers a global warranty. If it is a brand new strap and has an issue, I believe they gotta help you one way or another.

I appreciate the constructive comments on this thread. However, I also will take this opportunity to remind everyone of two of the forum rules, which apply when one signs up:

"Members will refrain ...from direct or indirect personal attacks."

"Personal issues relating to watch purchases and service transactions should also be resolved privately and must not be aired on the forum for redress or publicity relating to such disputes."

On the latter point, please keep in mind that we can't always evaluate the full story. For example, straps don't automatically deteriorate --moisture or contact with a foreign object usually causes a problem. That doesn't mean IWC shouldn't treat a purchaser with respect nor try to solve a problem, but only that it's difficult to discuss or evaluate such issues fully.

Thanks for your consideration. We're all guests here in IWC's house :)

Thanks, but I tried - their comments were unhelpful to say the least.
Very shoddy treatment of customers. Disgraceful really. What is the cost of a small 15mm ring of leather ? Nothing. What is the cost of bad feeling and poor customer satisfaction...? Nobody seems to get customer service.

Mod - you are right, but IWC leave me with no other alternative but to air my problems here. They simply won't fix the problem. What else can I do ?

Thanks for keeping the thread alive.

how do you delete a comment?

My Ingenieur ME is still in the service center. Yesterday, I visited the Hong Kong Flagship Boutique with a hope to receive my watch that had been fully serviced and fixed according to the IWC staff. It did not take more than 20 minutes after I wore it that the watch stopped moving again. A full stop. No move at all. I went all the way from China to Hong Kong to receive this watch. And it was not fixed.

What made me really angry was the un-invited comment by the sales guy. He tried to preach me that I should not move the watch by swinging from left to right, or shaking it up and down. It might hurt the movement, he said. I asked him whether he would move his hand like that in his normal life. The Ingenieur ME is supposed to be a tool watch for engineers for daily wear during and after work. People go outdoor and go skiing with the watch on the wrist.

He also preached me that they finished rigorous full testing of my watch in the service center. It should not have any problem. I was just telling him that the watch stopped. A full and complete stop. It is in the exactly same condition when I brought the watch months ago. This is not a pleasant experience at all.

I just read another hot thread in this Forum that talked about some similarly bad customer experiences. I also saw other recent threads here and there that talked about service issues in different parts of the world. I recall some Forum members said in this thread that they had not experienced service issues in US or Europe. It seems more issues are surfacing up now. I am glad that issues are surfacing up. I am very sad that IWC does not show serious efforts to fix this issue.

I really urge IWC management to read the threads and take quick action to fix this issue. If not, I am afraid it is going to gradually kill the IWC brand itself.

At the reintroduction of the Ingenieurs it was advertised that an Ingenieur should stand what you can stand. People were shown climbing a mountain, hanging in ropes, an Ingenieur on the wrist. Of course, this is a slight exaggeration, but the message is clear: the Inge is a robust watch. To be sure, my IWC watches never deserted me, and I move normally, only subconsciously avoiding doors and faucets.

So, what the AD staff is telling you, and others, is nonsense, to put it politely. I guess your watch is a seldom example of a Monday-watch, this happens now and then. I read an example at this forum a few years ago about a Portuguese Automatic that about behaved like your watch. The owner was Swiss, after a few futile repair efforts he was offered the choice between a new watch and a refund. He took the refund. It would be quite a good idea of IWC to offer you the same deal.

I guess every brand has issues with some watches, this is unavoidable with these fine mechanical devices. The point of utmost importance is, how to deal with these issues. Wealthy people, probably more than other, dislike bad service as the plague, and they don't have any qualms in changing their preferences. They don't come back, and may take their friends with them.

Kind regards,
Paul

Hong Kong Boutique service issue again? I can easily imagine what happened there. It is fortunate for IWC CEO or key managers in Swiss that this Forum is run in English, because they do not hear all those real and loud complaints in Chinese and other Asian languages that take place in this market.

IWC needs to look at this and other issues that were discussed in this Forum more holistically systemically. I know this issue as I have worked in luxury goods industry in Asian markets for quite a few years.

If you just spend a few days in your own IWC stores in Hong Kong or Macau, you will understand what I mean to say here. Sales people here are busy selling new pieces to Chinese and other Asian tourists that just come and go. They seldom pay attention to service after the sale is done.

The store people also know many of those rich Chinese people usually do not bring their watches back to Hong Kong for service or repair. Even if they do, the AD tend to de-prioritize or even look down upon those who bring old or broken pieces for services and repair work. For instance, if there are customers who want to buy a new watch, when you bring your broken watch for repair service request, you will never get their attention. They may ask you to wait in the corner, so other people do not see you. Buyers will get beverages and snacks, while you will need to wait till the sales talk is over. Of course, they don't say that in front of you, but You know if you just observe how the store people behave.

IWC as well as all luxury goods companies is getting more aggressive in expansion in China which is growing very fast as a luxury goods market. If IWC does not fix the service issues in this strategic market, it will not succeed in the world. China is the biggest luxury market in the future, if not today. Period. Quite contrary to their expansion strategy into China and Asia, however, IWC does not try to invest in service capacity or improve service quality in this region.

For instance, how many service centers does IWC (or Richemont) have in China? Only one. Other companies like Rolex or Patek have 2 or 3 service centers in mainland China alone. Of course, Swatch group has more. In those service centers, what is the customer satisfaction level in China/Asia versus that in more developed or mature markets like Western Europe or North America?

I think the recent surge in consumer complaints we see here in this forum simply shows at least some partial truth of what is happening. It is an alarm to improve IWC quality assurance and customer service.

i need some advice from folks here. i read the whole thread. very helpful to me, as i was thinking about repairing my iwc for the first time.

net, here is my QUESTION to those who have used the hong kong service center. is it ok for me to put my watch there in hong kong s/c, based on your own experience? if not, what other alternatives can i have? any suggestion or advice?

here is my situation. mine is gaining time, almost two minutes a day. the bracelet is seriously damaged when i hit on the wall by mistake. the movement is ok, i think. i was looking for some tips about repair service. however, now that i have read the whole thread, i am kind of giving a second thought and looking for any alternative ideas as well. for info, i rarely travel outside the hong kong-macau-shenzhen area. i bought my iwc pilot watch in the united states almost 5 (or 6) years ago.

look forward to your kind advice. thank you.

If you do not travel, you don't have choices. You had better deal with HK Service center. Or, give it to the AD in Shenzhen, so they can handle in mainland china service center in Beijing or Shanghai.

Has anyone tried cross border DHL to send the watch directly to Schaffhausen for repair? Any customs clearance issue, given the watch has a high value?

I see one improvement and one continuous problem with IWC service center.

As a visible improvement from Hong Kong Flagship Boutique, the sales staff kept her promise (for the first time in past 3 months) to follow up on my case, and called me as promised. This is a HUGE improvement versus last time. I had to call them again and again.

To my continuous disappointment, however, she says my watch has a loose part in the movement that needs to be fixed. This is the same story they told me when I asked for repair service for the first time in August. She promised that they would handle my watch with utmost care and first priority. Now, she says the service center needs 15-20 working days to fix the issue, which again is the same story I heard last time. It is the same minimum service time for any watch you put into IWC service center. I need to wait till early or mid-December, if they finish everything on time.

I bought this watch in May. It stopped ticking in July, and I passed it to the IWC service center in August. Ever since, it stayed in the IWC service center, not on my wrist. In October, they said they fixed the issue, and asked me to come and pick it up. In less than 20 minutes after I received the watch, I found the problem was still there, and returned it back to the IWC service center. Now, the watch will stay there in the service center at least for 4 months. I do hope they fix the issue this time, so I do not have to send it back again to the service center, three times in a row, and keep it in the service center for more than 6 months.

By the way, when my old Seiko watch was ticking slower and also got a problem with the crown, earlier this year, Seiko service center finished everything in less than one week, including a full overhaul service. By sharp contrast, IWC service center is extremely slow, and fails to fix the issue. It really frustrates me. Can I get it back before the new year starts, and before it becomes an "old" piece?

I totally sympathize with you but at this point, do you really have any other choice?? You can use the service center and put up with the wait (and hope they fix it this time), take it to an independent watchmaker, or leave it as it is.

You're stuck between a rock and a hard place, but it may be time to choose something you can live and move on. Life's not fair sometimes but more importantly, it's too short to rage against things beyond your control.

Feel free to continue to vent though; you have a very sympathetic audience here.

Good luck!