The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Yeah I'd love to know which idiot came up with that idea all those years ago!

"I know, let's ship a load of people we don't want here off to a huge, unspoilt tropical/sub-tropical land, and leave the rest of us here on a small, overcrowded, grey rock in the North Atlantic"! Awesome planning.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I am not a salesmen but the adage goes "the most successful salesmen is the one who knows his product best". Good salesmen should be researching the products on their own if they are not getting the training. I expect that most high end luxury buyers know the details of what they are buying including other choices. It is sad and why we have the term "caveat emptor".

The vast majority of watch store sales people truly couldn't care less about the watches they are dealing with...let that sink in for a moment..

While there are a few VERY knowledgable and PASSIONATE experts working in these stores and boutiques, the vast majority don't care to know anything other than which case has Rolex, Breitling or Omega in it..

Quite frankly, they don't need to...

99% of high end watch buyers don't require any real level of expertise...They stumble in the store with some cash and want some status on their wrist..That's about it..They just need to be reassured it looks good on them and that they should definately "treat themselves"...A Rolex dealer may add a line or two about imminent price increases and the watches taking over a year to "hand make"...blah blah blah....

It's like expecting Police Officers to be "gun nuts" so you engage them in conversation about Glock vs Sig Sauer. The vast majority know only their service weapon and leave it there..

It's great to come across a fellow watch fan at an AD, but I certainly never expect there to be one at every AD...

Lucky in the AD's I Frequent the people are knowledgable BUT that is down, IMO, to one been the owner and the other been good at his job and is into watches too. That said, that's why I Frequent them. Like most say above the lack of knowledge of some Sales assistants is Astonishing. I find this to be the case in most stores. I remember purchasing, a gun of all thing, worth around €3.5k. I had a general idea of the the brand I wanted so I got a brochure and done a bit of googling, no more than a few hours here and there. I quickly Picked up a general idea of the lines of models, specific models, prices and a feel for the brand as I say in a few hours.
Every single store I visited I knew more that anyone I talked too.

I have found this to be the case with most purchases, Hi Fi, cars, guns! Watches you name it.

Kinda Bugs me, a lot.

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Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

I think the reality of retail today is a little more simple.... & sad.

Consumers are far more educated & essentially will almost always know what they're looking for well before they step foot into the retail environment. The in depth discussions on this forum & the Facebook feeds on the E2 well ahead of launch are evidence to that.

The entire retail model has changed & it's less about information & much more about one of two things. a) an experience that you can't get elsewhere, or b) nothing more than the best price possible.

This is why premium brands like Breitling have invested so heavily into their own boutiques, to control the 'experience' piece.

I'm glad that there are still wonderfully trained retailers around, like the forum sponsors, but I'm equally glad I don't need to fight it out in the retail world on a daily basis.

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Montbrillant Datora
Chronomat
Superocean Steelfish
A number of strap / bracelet combo's

I think I might have posted this before. I was in a high end jewelry store AD in Boston. I asked the saleslady about a Seawolf that was in the case. After a couple of questions, dial colour available and strap or bracelet. She told me " you know more about them than me" and walked off. Needless to say I never purchased anything from that AD.

She should of been fired.

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5 Super Avengers
1 Super Avenger 2
1 Super Avenger limited edition
1 Super avenger night mission
1 Limited edition chronomat Boston Celtics
Navitimer GMT
Transocean Chronograph Unitime
2 Omega planet ocean chronographs
1 Tag heuer Monaco

Bad, worst again is incorrect information given, I really hate that.

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Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

Since I instanced in a previous post here the inexpertise I encountered in an Omega boutique - and since I also remarked that alas few are as good as the forum sponsors - I should complete the story and add that I elected to deal over email and 'phone with Aziza from Banks Lyon, having seen numerous recommendations on here. Aziza gave me info about various models which I couldn't get anywhere else, and consistently replied by return. This weekend I duly took custody of an Omega Seamaster 300M GMT (co-axial, clear caseback) with which I'm delighted.

I have to adimit, there is a huge lack of competence in sales staff.
In a normal store, You allways have 20-30% topsellers(staff, not watch), who know their merchandise and the rest, who just do their job by being present. Usually the topsellers also earn twice the money from the normal staff.
So if You happen to meet the right person in a store, it can be interesting and fun, but if she/he has his day off or is busy somewhere else, or You just don't look interesting enough for her/him to intervene in the action of his untrained college, You and specially the storeowner have lost.
It is very hard to have all topsellers in a retail shop, as they tend to fight each other and usually either leave or ruin the whole experience, but the combination of a few good ones and some more weak ones usually works out fine.

BG

Thomas

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http://www.ellert.at