Hour Passion Kildare

HDMI

A few weeks ago I done a deal with Frankie5angels for his Hamilton Pan Europ. When he bought the watch from Hour Passion he was sold the watch on the rally strap. Nice watch and it wears nice but the springbars are so close to the case it's tough to get another strap to fit.

I emailed Hour Passion enquiring about the possibility of getting the nato strap and got a reply from them asking me to pop in with the warranty card and the model number. I took a trip down and they held on to the box and warranty card and a couple of days ago I got a phone call from Rasa the manager of the store. Drove down today and was given this by her.










This is the larger Pan Europ box with nato strap and changing tool. The charge for this nice big box was a big fat zero, gratis, complimentary.

We always hear about the bad things when companies get it wrong, so a big shout out and thanks to Rasa and her staff at Hour Passion for the great customer service.

My wife and I were given plenty of attention by Rasa and got to play with some really nice watches. My wife has been browsing the Rado website since we got home and she doesnt even like watches.

Frankie5Angels

Nice one, that worked out well! (ye b****x )That box is so much nicer than the one I got with it. I've posted here a few times saying they're a good bunch and mentioned when we met that I'd be afraid people (mods! Are mods people?) would think I work there. When I was getting the rubber strap for the '67 diver, they couldn't have been more helpful - sized it and fitted it in store when I collected it. Dealt with Rasa too - very pleasant, very helpful - and another chap whose name escapes me just now.

HDMI

Frankie5Angels wrote: »

Nice one, that worked out well! (ye b****x )That box is so much nicer than the one I got with it. I've posted here a few times saying they're a good bunch and mentioned when we met that I'd be afraid people (mods! Are mods people?) would think I work there. When I was getting the rubber strap for the '67 diver, they couldn't have been more helpful - sized it and fitted it in store when I collected it. Dealt with Rasa too - very pleasant, very helpful - and another chap whose name escapes me just now.

I will accept that first accusation with a smile on my face only because the wife calls me one all the time :rolleyes:

Johnny is the other guy at the store, he was the first one to reply to my email. Had a great chat with him last time I was down, wasn't there today because he is on holidays.

They have some nice Longines Chronographs down from 2k to 1300 at the moment. If anyone is interested buy yourself a bus ticket and drive down and the ticket gets you 10% off anything in the store.

The_Guvnor

Thank you for the recommendation. I have heard good things about this store too. Wear your piece in good health. Regards.

OldBean

Good to know. I've been eyeing a Hamilton Pilot Day Date recently, reckon it'd be worthwhile popping down for it.

The_Guvnor

Personally I always prefer to buy from a bricks and mortar store where possible, rather than online (despite online being cheaper often).
Reason being, one gets the feel good factor of excellent customer service doing a face-to-face deal. I think that still has great value.
Yes, when one is buying a Seiko 5, or Casio MDV106, Amazon etc is the way to go. And I had a good experience buying my Steinhart online.
But for mid-tier pieces upwards, it is a good feeling to try them on for size and count out the 50 notes doing the deal the old school way.
What I try to do where possible, is to make the purchase part of a weekend away. So it isn't just a clinical watch purchase, but the memory of having a good time somewhere too. Recently I flew to London to collect my 116613LN, and had a nice couple of days away. So even if it is just a day trip driving to a jewelers; one should always try to make it a nice day out. Treat oneself to lunch or something different etc.

2shea

When I bought my Seiko Sarb035 in Japan the guy in the shop went out of his way to be nice. He gave me a gift if a beautiful Grand Seiko Pen and my wife a Grand Seiko umbrella (pink!) Offered us wine/coffee and everything and insisted on sending one of the staff to show us how and where to claim the tax back on it, which was about half a mile of a walk for her. Felt like I was buying a Rolex.

We didn't get that treatment when buying a brand new car! Sign here. There's the Keys. Bye.

It really does make a difference when shops do that bit more to make your purchase a nice experience.

Good to see Irish shops doing that too.

Good to see a post about places when they get it right like you said and not just the bad.

The_Guvnor

2shea wrote: »

When I bought my Seiko Sarb035 in Japan the guy in the shop went out of his way to be nice. He gave me a gift if a beautiful Grand Seiko Pen and my wife a Grand Seiko umbrella (pink!) Offered us wine/coffee and everything and insisted on sending one of the staff to show us how and where to claim the tax back on it, which was about half a mile of a walk for her. Felt like I was buying a Rolex.

We didn't get that treatment when buying a brand new car! Sign here. There's the Keys. Bye.

It really does make a difference when shops do that bit more to make your purchase a nice experience.

Good to see Irish shops doing that too.

Good to see a post about places when they get it right like you said and not just the bad.

Very interesting feedback, thank you.
With regard to the best and worst of customer service; I can honestly say when I purchased my Planet Ocean I got the best treatment (from an Omega AD). But Rolex? They treat you with contempt. Like it's an inconvenience to them you want to purchase a piece. And that is after the 20% deposit and battle to get ones name put on their list. I had to ask for a glass of water as it was obvious I wasn't going to even get a tea or coffee, glass of champagne etc. In American Rolex AD's its nothing unusual to get a free watch winder/baseball cap/umbrella/leather wallet/holdall etc.
But in London they give you nothing. I think buying a piece from an AD should be a special experience, not one that leaves one feeling peed off. Honestly the difference between Rolex and Omega in customer service is night and day.
The other plus is that one can see a Planet Ocean in the window, walk in; purchase it. None of the waiting list nonsense that Rolex make one go through. They flood America with steel sports pieces, while causing a drought in the UK and Ireland etc. So this drives up grey market prices on used pieces to above new. Clever market manipulation by Rolex; create a supply and demand issue to make them more desirable; then treat the customers as if they aren't worthy.
When it comes to Rolex AD's I can recommend Lunnes in Belfast as levels above Weirs in Dublin. I say this having experienced both respectively over the years. Lunne's make one feel special, Weirs on the other hand come across as arrogant.

2shea

VostokIreland wrote: »

Very interesting feedback, thank you.
With regard to the best and worst of customer service; I can honestly say when I purchased my Planet Ocean I got the best treatment (from an Omega AD). But Rolex? They treat you with contempt. Like it's an inconvenience to them you want to purchase a piece. And that is after the 20% deposit and battle to get ones name put on their list. I had to ask for a glass of water as it was obvious I wasn't going to even get a tea or coffee, glass of champagne etc. In American Rolex AD's its nothing unusual to get a free watch winder/baseball cap/umbrella/leather wallet/holdall etc.
But in London they give you nothing. I think buying a piece from an AD should be a special experience, not one that leaves one feeling peed off. Honestly the difference between Rolex and Omega in customer service is night and day.
The other plus is that one can see a Planet Ocean in the window, walk in; purchase it. None of the waiting list nonsense that Rolex make one go through. They flood America with steel sports pieces, while causing a drought in the UK and Ireland etc. So this drives up grey market prices on used pieces to above new. Clever market manipulation by Rolex; create a supply and demand issue to make them more desirable; then treat the customers as if they aren't worthy.
When it comes to Rolex AD's I can recommend Lunnes in Belfast as levels above Weirs in Dublin. I say this having experienced both respectively over the years. Lunne's make one feel special, Weirs on the other hand come across as arrogant.

I have to say I was talking to a very nice guy in Weirs when I was just in inquiring about Tudors.... he went through what he thought the pro and cons of in-house vs eta were and just chatted about watches Seiko omega rolex was there for almost 20mins. But you could tell he loved his watches.

The_Guvnor

2shea wrote: »

I have to say I was talking to a very nice guy in Weirs when I was just in inquiring about Tudors.... he went through what he thought the pro and cons of in-house vs eta were and just chatted about watches Seiko omega rolex was there for almost 20mins. But you could tell he loved his watches.

Glad you had a positive experience from them. Must me just me then!
Have a look at the UK prices on Lunnes site before you buy your Pelagos/Black Bay 58; as there is a decent saving to be made on new pieces UK v Ireland.
Well worth getting the train to Belfast for the day in my opinion. They always have good stock of Tudor too.

2shea

VostokIreland wrote: »

Glad you had a positive experience from them. Must me just me then!
Have a look at the UK prices on Lunnes site before you buy your Pelagos/Black Bay 58; as there is a decent saving to be made on new pieces UK v Ireland.
Well worth getting the train to Belfast for the day in my opinion. They always have good stock of Tudor too.

If I'm going to buy I think it will be through Montredo. There is €1000 in the difference!

The_Guvnor

2shea wrote: »

If I'm going to buy I think it will be through Montredo. There is €1000 in the difference!

Wise choice. Buy with confidence as they are Berlin based, so no import tax worries. Also the warranty card will be stamped by a Tudor AD so no service/warranty problems in the future either. 1K is a nice saving, even better than the 500 Euro difference on a 41mm UK v Ireland.
Honestly I can highly recommend Montredo as their customer service and return policy is Steinhart level.

art

Have to say I have found Weirs (and Applebys for that matter) to be gracious and helpful on more than one occasion, quick to phone me back and have been honest about discounts or potential discounts on watches. Stock prices do vary, and as I too am the market for a Tudor had noticed that UK prices of those can be lower. However, other prices are frequently aligned and ultimately if we all go abroad to buy watches we'll count the cost in lower choice and opportunities here to try on and get close, approachable support.