Well, after noticing a fair few 'issues with Breitling's service' threads I thought I'd post about my more positive experiences!
I originally posted about the problems with my Blackbird here: http://breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=14029. Essentially there was a problem with the big date which meant that a couple of times a month the wheel would turn too far leaving the date halfway between two numbers. Not a life-threatening problem but annoying nonetheless. I have actually put up with it for around a year - clearly I should have taken the watch in as soon as the problem manifested itself but I didn't really want to be without the watch for so long... Childish attitude perhaps but it is my first 'proper' watch
In any case an opportunity arose when I took a 3 week holiday in Aug/Sep, so I decided to drop the watch into an AD here in Paris to get it sorted while I was away. I took it to Royal Quartz on rue Royale, and they were very helpful. They took the watch, assured me it would be repaired under warranty and gave me an ETA (beginning of October
because no-one in France works through the summer). I got back from my holiday, called up the AD and they called Breitling for me, then called back to confirm that the watch would be posted to them on the 2nd of October. But yesterday I got an email saying that it had arrived already! So I went down to the shop and there it was waiting for me - but what really surprised me was that it was sparkling and shiny, looking brand new - in fact I was a little concerned at first glance that they'd given me a polished one back by mistake, but fortunately not, it's still stealthy!! Having read various things on this forum about what to expect from warranty repairs I hadn't expected this at all, but when I checked the return slip they'd given the watch an overhaul inside and out amounting to a full service, including a full polishing, replacement hands, and apparently a replacement calendar too. The watch was also provided to me in one of the nice Breitling travel cases with a Breitling polishing cloth, which I am pleased with. Total cost to me, not one centime.
Anyway, overall I'm really happy with the way Breitling have treated my watch, it really looks brand new and it's great that they've given it a full service under warranty. I guess some people might say that should be expected for a fault with the watch, but for a warranty repair I think that goes above and beyond. Clearly the scuffs and scratches couldn't be blamed on Breitling! FYI the watch was repaired by Breitling Service SAS in Besançon, France.
Of course I've only had it for less than 24 hours so I can't confirm whether they've actually fixed the underlying problem but fingers crossed on that
Now the question is, how do I keep it nice and shiny?? With a desk job the clasp and the 12 o'clock side of the bracelet get really scuffed...