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a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
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Author:  ane76 [ Thu May 07, 2009 4:07 am ]
Post subject:  a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Hi to everyone in this forum.
I had read articles in the past, but registered now to ask for an opinion about what happened to me.
I have a Breitling Blackbird 08, which i own since November, so its a 7 month old Blackbird.
Last Saturday i was drinking my coffee outside, when i took it out of my wrist to adjust the date, put it back on, and next time i looked it too what time it was(about half an hour later)
a piece of it was gone !
I dont know exactly how its called, but its the small metal piece indicating the West.
Now, i dont know about you guys, but i think a watch advertised as "Instrument for professionals" should be able to last at least a year without pieces falling off it !
Also note, that i do a desk job and no sports at all !
This was the first part of the ridiculous case. The piece coming off by itself after 7 months of normal use.
The second part, and the even more irritating one, is that the Greek Breitling agent, says that Breitling watches DO NOT HAVE A WARRANTY for exterior pieces, only for the interior mechanism.
So i will pick it up tomorrow from the store, paying 50 euros, for the new metal piece they installed.
After all this, i am wondering, is this the official Breitling stand for all countries ???
Not even a year warranty for pieces that may FALL OFF !
Author:  g-star [ Thu May 07, 2009 4:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Wow! Very sorry to hear that. I have heard of rare cases like that and it is unfortunate. Hope things get better for you.
Author:  Driver8 [ Thu May 07, 2009 4:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Sorry to hear about your rider tab coming off. As G-Star said, this sort of thing is pretty rare, althuogh that won't give you any comfort now.

The warranty thing in this case is a difficult issue, as rider tabs are similar to the crown which is usually not covered. To be honest some AD's may honour the warranty claim, but for external parts you have to be able to convince them that it didn't come off as a result of some kind of misuse (or you even unscrewing it yourself). You have to prove a manufacturing defect which is very tough with externally screw-fitted component.

To be honest, I personally think Breitling should just suck it up and honour your claim as if you dropped it the case would be damaged too, but unfortunately customer service (anywhere these days) isn't always what it should be. My advice would be to try another AD in the first instance or try contacting Breitling direct to explain the situation. If you are forceful (without being rude or abusive!) and you get the right person you may yet get a free fix done.

Good luck and sorry again to hear your problems. Trust me, these sort of problems are pretty rare and hopefully when your BB is fixed you can enjoy it as much as the rest of us enjoy our Breitlings!
Author:  Sharkmouth [ Thu May 07, 2009 6:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
The thing I can't understand is why Breitling and their agents consistently seem determined to destroy customer goodwill for €50. That's retail, so maybe as little as €25 wholesale, €10 factory gate.

The chances of ane76 now buying another Breitling are probably zero whereas as an apology for the inconvenience and free fix would mean a happy customer and potential buyer in the future.
Author:  Roffensian [ Thu May 07, 2009 6:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Sharkmouth wrote:
The thing I can't understand is why Breitling and their agents consistently seem determined to destroy customer goodwill for €50. That's retail, so maybe as little as €25 wholesale, €10 factory gate.

The chances of ane76 now buying another Breitling are probably zero whereas as an apology for the inconvenience and free fix would mean a happy customer and potential buyer in the future.


+1

Official policy is completely irrelevant in these cases, you just do the right thing for the customer.
Author:  Driver8 [ Thu May 07, 2009 6:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Sharkmouth wrote:
The thing I can't understand is why Breitling and their agents consistently seem determined to destroy customer goodwill for €50. That's retail, so maybe as little as €25 wholesale, €10 factory gate.

The chances of ane76 now buying another Breitling are probably zero whereas as an apology for the inconvenience and free fix would mean a happy customer and potential buyer in the future.

:yeahthat That's exactly what I was getting at when I said that Breitling should just suck it up and honour the claim. (You just said it far better than I did Sharky!)
Author:  ane76 [ Thu May 07, 2009 10:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Sharkmouth wrote:
The chances of ane76 now buying another Breitling are probably zero whereas as an apology for the inconvenience and free fix would mean a happy customer and potential buyer in the future.


That is what i wonder myself, really. I was angry and sad the whole weekend(the thing came off on Saturday morning). Then instead of being confronted with a ton of apologies(as i expected) and things like "this has never happened before". I was confronted with a "we dont know if you broke it". And when i said, put on your funny goggles and look it up close to see if it was treated bad in any way, i got replies as "company policy" etc etc.
Really, with such a pricetag, i would expect a "No worries" kind of treatment, and not having to prove anything to anyone to avoid paying 50euros.
If i had a 50 euro Casio, they wouldnt question me anything after 7 months of use, i m pretty sure of that.
And to be honest, i was indeed planning to buy more Breitlings in the future, as i was a fun a long time now :(

I saw on the Breitling website they dont have a direct email, only links to local agents.
Anyone know how can i contact them directly just to complain about the whole thing ?
Author:  Driver8 [ Thu May 07, 2009 10:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
ane76 wrote:
I saw on the Breitling website they dont have a direct email, only links to local agents.
Anyone know how can i contact them directly just to complain about the whole thing ?

Contact info here - http://www.breitlingsource.com/contact.shtml

Good luck.
Author:  Oester [ Thu May 07, 2009 1:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
my north rider tab on my blackbird also comes loose...doesn't fall off
think I'm going to the AD fast for a small fix.

it just came loose after a year...
Author:  carlhaluss [ Thu May 07, 2009 6:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
Sorry to hear of your problem. It is very unusual. I would think that an AD would go out of his way to fix this, if nothing else than for goodwill.
I have had Breitlings for over 15 years, and have always worn them to work. The very reason I do wear them to work, is because the rider tabs do such a great job or protecting my watches! I work with my hands in and out of machinery many times a day, and often the rider tab will absorb a blow to the watch by an object catching on it, and the only thing that happens is that the bezel gets out of position a bit.
Anyway, that should not happen. And the Blackbird is definitely one of the higher end of the Breitlings, too.
Cheers,
Carl
Author:  Seattle [ Thu May 07, 2009 7:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
When I was in the soon to be a Breitling owner mode, I was almost scared away from the brand by a couple of BS forum threadsthat spoke of crowns coming off and no good customer service offered to fix the problem. Ive heard this word used here before, and I'll say it now, that kind of disregard for customer satisfaction is simply arrogant. I hope I never have to experience that dissapointment first hand.....

Roff is right, if a company selling watches with a low end of a couple thousnand bucks a pop can't spend seventy five bones to purchase some brand loyalty and good will when their product fails then I guess they will end up with only the super-rich as customers......maybe that's the business plan?

Sorry for the rant, but having to hear stories like this makes me feel as bad as if it had happened to me.....

Hope it all works out Carl....
Author:  mac5217 [ Fri May 08, 2009 3:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: a rather ridiculous Blackbird case !
I think everyone has to remember that on forums like this one, you are more likely to get people to post about their negative expierences with customer service then positive ones Most of the posts are about when we have problem with something and want to rant about it. Its alot less likely that someone seeks out a forum such as this to tell of a great experience they have had with customer service. And although this is an unfortunate situation which could have been handled differently by Breitling, for every one negative experience that we do read about... there are hundreds of "good" experiences that are never posted!

MAC
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