Not to flog a dead horse but I have been meaning to post a review or at least a comment on my dealings with MR for a whole and have just been lazy.
Although given how fantastic this dealer is, that isn't a valid excuse or acceptable considering these are the guys that provide the link between us, as very demanding buyers and the watch makers.
I have only recently joined the forum and don't post often (practically never unless it is to make a purchase ).
When I first came across these forums I found it almost impossible to conclude a deal given my location (way down south in South Africa). No members were willing to ship out here. I found it strange given that many other countries that members happily ship to pose more of a danger re customs, shipping etc than SA.
I managed to make an initial purchase from Pix (who only agreed to sell to me on condition the watch was shipped to the UK with me assuming all risks and it would be left to me to retrieve it from there). In desperate need of a means to acquire more reps without first enquiring if the seller would be prepared to ship here, Pix suggested M.
I first purchased 9 watches in one order. They were sent 3 per batch and arrived from china to South Africa within 10days with absolutely no issues.
Bear in mind I was and still am a noob and it was my first purchase from an TD.
I have just concluded a lengthy sale process with M for another 36 watches, which have been shipped and although they are taking longer than the first time to arrive (still no word from our local post office of them landing here despite them leaving china on 9 June according to tracking reference M provided).
My point of that drawn out story is that I was and still am flabbergasted at M's customer service. You get different levels of sales relationships and the ultimate every seller in the world strives for is one of relational value (as opposed to the common transactional value - once off and at arms length).
I don't think M sleeps. He responded to every single email of mine beyond every expectation I had. He was courteous, helpful and downright stupendous in his dealings with me. His communication was of such a high level that I actually had to finally ask him if they were several different people responding to me over the duration of concluding a sale.
We need to realise that the common view that these watches, our hobby, are made in sweat shops under poor working environments and at cut throat prices in a dodgy industry purely because they are fakes (I prefer replica) is totally unacceptable, unreasonable and misplaced.
This is business for M and his counterparts. It is their major, if not only, source of income, and is the basis of their livelihood in a very uncertain global economy. It is not a passing fad for them or a luxury hobby that they thought would be interesting and fun to indulge themselves in. And I have been subjected to a sales journey thus far that exceeds many I have received from major multi national corporates.
We don't accord these TRUSTED dealers the respect and credit they deserve and assume because we are dealing in illegal counterfeits that the person on the other end is inherently dodgy and out to scam us. I think sometimes a good look in the mirror is required because no matter how you spin this (a hobby that is unaffordable re gens given the extent to which we collect or just an appreciation of fine watches or horologics), we are in fact not as silky clean as we project and profess. We are guilty of many things, both by legal regulations and moral standards.
To the OP, this is in no way a rant at you or anyone in particular. Not everyone is subject to the same interaction with the same person and one wouldn't expect that anyway. Everyone has different views, circumstances, issues and expectations and these are ever changing not to mention they all combine to dictate our interactions with others. My advice to you would just be not to right M off so quickly - he is out of this world when it comes to customer service and delivering what he advertises. You are entitled to a level of service or delivery because it is your hard earned cash being spent but I would definitely not close this avenue so quickly because you won't regret it long term.
To the mods, I hope I haven't broken any rules with this post. It is spur of the moment (out of guilt for not posting a review sooner and an instinctive need to defend M given my interaction with him to date).
To M, you the f*^ken man in my books . My number one go to guy for rep watches. 45 watches purchased since our first interaction in March this year is sound testament to that!
Regards
Yoss
Oops, just realised I accessed the forum from the Mrs account, the post should have been from username, Yoss1234, if it makes any difference.
