17 weeks and STILL WAITING for a simple part.

[Fat Dave]

BACKGROUND

Ordered that popular cheapo 39mm quartz AP from Sead in June. Transaction went ok, though I received exactly the same QC pics as another buyer, so one of us got a watch not as pictured. But the watch was fine, so compared to my most recent TD experiences, I'd rate that transaction as "fair".

The watch was as expected, but the clasp fell apart after about eight uses - not Sead's fault; it's just a cheap clasp.


THE CURRENT SAGA

I asked Sead about buying a replacement clasp in mid-November. He said no problem, he could get one in about a week and ship it, and I should receive it in a couple weeks. I paid the same day and provided the shipping details (18 Nov).

After four weeks, nothing had been received (either a shipment or an email update), so I asked "can you tell me when it shipped", and he replied "yup".

After 7 weeks, still no email or shipment, and I was getting ready to leave that address (and that country). I emailed him to say DO NOT SHIP until I settle in my new country. He acknowledged (02 Jan).

Once I settled in Australia, I emailed him my new shipping address (28 Jan). He replied saying he already shipped it. I ask for tracking. Three days later he sent the tracking number, showing the item had just been shipped, and was destined to the old address / country.

He acknowledged that the mishap was his fault, and said he will ship a new one to my address in Australia (04 Feb) - that's the service level I was hoping for.

Five weeks after that, nothing has been received. I emailed for an update, and he says he shipped it (no details). I ask if it was shipped to Australia, and for a tracking number. That was four days ago.

So we're now at 17 weeks and counting, compounded by limited responses. I'm a very patient person (particularly with respect to replicas), and pretty easy going. All I ask is be forthright, and keep me in the loop.


I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have.


UPDATE

I will update here as events transpire.

 

[Fat Dave]

UPDATE:

Or more accurately, lack-of-update.

It's now been eight days since I asked for the tracking number and verification that the shipment was sent to my address, and I'm still waiting.

 

[Fat Dave]

Forgot to add - obviously the item has not appeared on my doorstep either.

We're now at 18 weeks.......

 

[Fat Dave]

still waiting for a reply (or for the part to arrive)...

 

[Fat Dave]

Reply received - the part had not been shipped at all. Says he will order it.

This is week 18, as a reminder, and we're now at the stage where the part may be ordered. Or maybe not - we've been at this stage before with no result.

No explanation as to why I had been told weeks ago it had already shipped when it had not.

 

[sead1999]

it was my fault , i shipped it once , it went to the wrong address, i know u have sent me new address
but sometimes reading historing on the order can be pain , and trying to find all the info from the email
esp when sometimes rreplied from phone or from computer , it messes up

after went through chinese new year, i had an order for the someone else for same part and this slipped through
u will get u part

again it was my fault ,
but also i cant get parts right away, sometimes it takes me weeks to get parts, sometimes i ship to people they even forgot they ordered , its just hard with parts, so please dont expect right away on parts

 

[Pyknic]

Not all TDs will even offer to replace broken parts this way.

Sead has ALWAYS pulled through for me and offers an outstanding service.

 

[Fat Dave]

Not all TDs will even offer to replace broken parts this way.

Sead has ALWAYS pulled through for me and offers an outstanding service.

He didn't offer to replace it. I asked him if I could BUY the part. This was a simple sales transaction. Or should have been. He said yes, he could get the part in about a week. Not "maybe", not "it could take some time". His exact quote in its entirety was:

ok
just might take me about a week to get it
ok?

That was on the 16th of November. We are now in April.

I'm glad Sead has always pulled through for you. I'm sure you can understand why I'm not feeling the same, however, and why it would be very difficult for me to recommend him at this point. We are now at 19 weeks, and still no update nor information that anything has happened thus far. The last correspondence is his post in this thread, which contains about 5 times more information than all of his emails to me combined.

 

[sead1999]

He didn't offer to replace it. I asked him if I could BUY the part. This was a simple sales transaction. Or should have been. He said yes, he could get the part in about a week. Not "maybe", not "it could take some time". His exact quote in its entirety was:



That was on the 16th of November. We are now in April.

I'm glad Sead has always pulled through for you. I'm sure you can understand why I'm not feeling the same, however, and why it would be very difficult for me to recommend him at this point. We are now at 19 weeks, and still no update nor information that anything has happened thus far. The last correspondence is his post in this thread, which contains about 5 times more information than all of his emails to me combined.

put at this way
i didnt want to put u through trouble of sending it back and replacing in factory
i said will get it (that doesnt mean factory will sell it me at my will)
first time they sold me full bracelet great , email history was a mess and i sent to u to ur first address( previous location), cost me a ems shipping and bracelet(EA403108515CN)
cost me a ems sghipping and watch that i have to figure out what to do with it

i still told u will fix but these things go as unexpected sometimes or delayed, parts are a bit..h to get

and also also, most of the people will not send u buckle or bracelet for free after 8 uses especially on 139 usd watch where the bracelet cost almost half the watch

about recommendation, im not perfect, never will be and alway will be issues with 1-2% of sales
, due type of the business
sometimes my fault, sometimes buyers fault, sometimes shipping agency fault and so on and on and on, but i will try
but i will try to be perfect with other 98-99% of the sales and those 1-2% i will fix issues recommended or not, thats how has been for past 12 years and thats how i will try to do it as long as i can

 

[Fat Dave]

put at this way
i didnt want to put u through trouble of sending it back and replacing in factory
i said will get it (that doesnt mean factory will sell it me at my will)
first time they sold me full bracelet great , email history was a mess and i sent to u to ur first address( previous location), cost me a ems shipping and bracelet(EA403108515CN)
cost me a ems sghipping and watch that i have to figure out what to do with it

i still told u will fix but these things go as unexpected sometimes or delayed, parts are a bit..h to get

and also also, most of the people will not send u buckle or bracelet for free after 8 uses especially on 139 usd watch where the bracelet cost almost half the watch

about recommendation, im not perfect, never will be and alway will be issues with 1-2% of sales
, due type of the business
sometimes my fault, sometimes buyers fault, sometimes shipping agency fault and so on and on and on, but i will try
but i will try to be perfect with other 98-99% of the sales and those 1-2% i will fix issues recommended or not, thats how has been for past 12 years and thats how i will try to do it as long as i can

First of all, you are absolutely not sending me a buckle or bracelet "for free" - you charged me and received (in NOVEMBER) full payment of $40 US. Why? Because I ASKED IF I COULD BUY ONE, and you SAID YES, AND THAT YOU COULD PROBABLY GET ONE IN A WEEK, and told me it would be $40 US. I didn't bargain, I didn't baulk, and I didn't ask for or receive any favour or any special treatment. I simply said "can I buy this part from you" and you said yes, "just might take me a week or so to get". Don't even try to play a hero in this story - I will gladly share this email chain with whomever would like to see it.

- The fact that you MISREPRESENTED that it might take a week or so to get - That's on you
-The fact that the factory supposedly sent you the entire bracelet instead of just the clasp - That's on you
-The fact that you thought you had shipped it but hadn't - That's on you
-The fact that you then said you had shipped it but hadn't - That's on you
-The fact that you then got one and sent it to the wrong address - That's on you
-The fact that you said that you had shipped the replacement to the correct address but hadn't - That's on you
-The fact that your communication and organisation is incredibly poor - That's on you
-The fact that you then come on here and MISREPRESENT that you are doing ANYTHING for free - That's on you

This has gone from poor service into blatant misrepresentation - not a quality I look for in a TD.

If you coudn't get the part, then you should have said so.
if you didn't know if you could get the part, then you should have said so.
If you didn't want to sell the part, then you should have said so.
If you could get the part eventually, but didn't know how long it would take, then you should have said so.
If the situation changed at any point during the transaction, then you should have said so.

All this nonsense for a cheap part on a cheap watch. Were I told the part was unavailable or difficult to obtain, I would have just bought a new watch.

There is no evidence to date that you are actually attempting to fix the issue (after 19 weeks), but instead are spending considerable effort just trying to cover it up. What part of ANY of this illustrates customer service? Customer service would quite simply have been:

- Apologize for the screw-up
- Let the customer know you'll make it right ASAP
- Communicate the progress of what's happening
- Prioritize the response, and ensure it happens

Mistakes happen. What any customer wants to see is that the mistakes get rectified. We now have a LITANY of mistakes within this single transaction, compounded by misrepresentation, and a significant amount of finger-pointing, without seeing any progress toward rectifying the issue.

The character of a good TD/retailer/business isn't found when things go right, it's how they handle when things go wrong.

 

[sead1999]

like i said i made a mistake and i will try to fix it
if u read previous reply u have ems tracking there posted , here is again EA403108515CN

i took longer than expected yes, and i sent it once wrong address, sometimes things dont work the way suppose too , like i said before

i said yes, i could get it, but it didnt come uout as supposed, esp before cny, i pretty much couldnt get any parts from any factory.
anyway thats ur tracking , if u still have a problem email,