Service Center: Omega vs Grand Seiko

Consumer advice time...

[Chris-ozqx]

I love GS, I have the SBGX117 and the SBGA001G but I agree with you, their service is abysmal.

I bought the SBGA001G in September 2016, admittedly it took a couple of months for me to notice, but the 6 minute marker wasn't stamped on the dial. I took it to the Bangkok service center and they gave me a receipt and said it would take a few weeks. 3 weeks later I get the text message saying my watch is ready, when I arrive the lady who took the watch takes my watch out of a plastic bag and along with it a smaller bag containing a cog and rubber She immediately looks at me with a worried look and then goes to talk to one of the service agents. She had wrote "missing 6 minutes" on the log book and they had thought it was losing 6 minutes NOT that the 6 minute marker wasn't on the dial. (OK, not ideal but no real problem, but next is where their service went terrible).

Next she calls her manager over and explained the miscommunication, I expected an apology and to be told that they'd order a new dial and it would take a few weeks... But no, instead he looked at the watch and said "well we don't have any dials available".... So I asked him to order one.... "well it'll take at least 3 months" he replied before then adding "it's such a small problem, and you didn't notice it for several months, are you sure you want it changed"?

Yes, the service center manager is asking if I want my 183, 000thb watch (still under warranty) completed to the standard it was supposed to be (which should have been before it left Seiko Japan for sale).

Needles to say I'm starting to get angry, so in front of the other waiting customers I replied "it's a small problem that I've never had with Rolex or Omega and they'd never even ask if I was sure I wanted perfect watch standards, they'd expect me to want them" before I handed him the watch and left.

3 weeks later I get my watch and it's been fine.
I prefer GS to Rolex, Panerai and Omega (the 3 others I have or do own) but GS' customer service is abysmal, and now that their watches are becoming more expensive than Rolex they must address the issue otherwise they will fail.

[FatSamEIE]

I had similar experience with Omega, I took my Speedy Pro to the boutique on Regent street in London and they demagnetised it and regulated it while I waited. Me and my brother were given soft drinks while we waited and made to feel like VIPs, despite me not buying the watch from them.

My Grand Seiko Spring Drive is fine luckily, so hope I dont have to get anything done with that soon!

Thanks for your video, still loving the accent 😁

[vladtheimpaler]

I live in New York. The gold tone minute hand on my brand new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra got tarnished. I brought it to Omega service center and was told that the watch has to be sent to Switzerland. 6 months later I got it back with the problem fixed. About 2-3 months later the same hand got tarnished again. My girlfriend sent her Ulysses Nardin to service center a few times to put back a fallen from the winding crown cabochon. I guess some people are luckier than the others with their watches, regardless of the brand. Eventually, both watches were sold. We decided that there is more to life than live it in service centers.

[yahiaalhamshary]

Just for the record the Grand Seiko looks absolutely out of this world stunning.

[vosedon]

Update: I received my watch back from NJ Seiko service center. After 1month I got it back and the watch looks perfect. It was long because I ordered links. It came in a black small Seiko case with paperwork checklist of what was replaced and service. All in all I'm happy and glad I didn't mess with Japan center. The call center for the facility is rough for the woman only give simple replys to questions you have for them. I wish I could talk to the technician for real answers but all well, Now my spring drive is ready for life!

[matthiaskrause]

Just had a 20 year old Omega "Bond" Seamaster (2531.80.00) for service with the Swatch Group Service Centre in Singapore and could not be more happy with the experience: 1) The bezel was replaced for free even though I was told it would cost about SGD 360 (USD 260). 2) Watch and bracelet were beautifully polished. 3) Watch now runs 1 second per day fast or less. — The whole process took 4 weeks, the staff is friendly and helpful. Also got the online tracking and the red case.

[robx]

Wow That sucks dude. I was tossing up between a gs and a seamaster but now I think you have steered me in the right direction.

[speedzero]

Good to know. Thanks for the upload too. I'll be staying with Omega.

[shipmate]

Grand Seiko, Seiko... both have a lot of QC issues with my experience. I have owned a number of their watches and every one of them had some alignment issue.

[dotsfrazer]

Wow the GS is a stunning looking watch pity about the shitty service in hong kong

[vosedon]

My experience so far: I bought two pre-owned SBGA001 cause those are the watch for me and since they stop making that old logo on the champagne dial I felt it was nessesary to pull the trigger on the second one just as a back up and live in peace. The second watch looked to be a little dirty under the sapphire. So since it's my second I can try the service route as Seiko informed me that the NJ service center should be more than qualified to service my spring drive vs going the Japan route. The customer service is terrible as it seems to only be bitter jersey woman who take the calls. They know nothing about time pieces at all for the watch maker does the diagnosis and informs what's the cost and if there's needed items to order. I told them I just need the dial cleaned BUT they said if I want that done it's the full service cost of $462. So ok I guess I will cause it's a 2013 model but the spring drive was keeping accurate time to under 1 sec a day for my monitoring but I'll go ahead and do the full service cause it will be my watch I hold on to forever. They still have cause I need extra "half links" which are impossible to track down and you can only get those if you do a service request on a team piece. You cannot just ask for half links. But to do the service alone it's 7-10 business days but I think it's going to be a while for the links are on back order so I will just pray those come in and my watch is perfectly clean on that dial when looking in the sun. Wish me luck. And just to be clear... I went with Grand Seiko because Grand Seiko as far as finish blow away Omega and Rolex to my eyes. And Rolex and Omega cannot compete with the accuracy of the spring drive movement. But that's just me my friends.

[TinBin-Craig]

cheers for the info ive just gone off Grand Seiko now i was tempted to buy one... at sometime

[beetrootjunkie]

I had an issue with my Omega Speedmaster Racing which needed to go back to Omega to fix a dodgy chronograph hour hand.😢This took 3 months, but I did also get a red pouch!😂

[Mr-Merchant.]

This honestly put me off my GS purchase, I'll pick up a Reverso or El Primero now, thanks.

[matttheoneonly]

I've had issues with a brand new zodiac Jetomatic. 4 days from owning it I sent it in for repair, got it back a month later, still didn't fix it, sent it right back again. For all I know they are still fixing it, it's been 3.5 months.

[pibblesnbits]

The service in the USA is no better; just look up the New Jersey service center on Yelp. It has 1.5 stars out of 5 lol.

[jyohannes]

Great information. So GS has the same service center with S? And also has the same QC resulting the same bezel alignment issue...OMG😵

[eyeheartsushi]

Thank you for sharing your service experiences with Omega and Grand Seiko. Sad to hear about GS. Sounds disastrous! Too bad because their watches look real nice.

[ndadson]

Why did you buy the GS when you saw that the bezel insert wasn’t aligned in the shop?

[veebeem]

All Seiko Fanboys should view this video....I saw a similar experience at another channel. I think Seiko makes good watches at a decent price, but their quality issues (misalignment as the rule) and strange service behaviour should be considered as well for sure. They are good, but surely not the best!