Does Your Store Accept Watch Repairs?

Published

17 years ago

July 2, 2008

For this month’s question our panel answered:

YES, WE DO
82%

NO, WE DON’T
18%

Many thanks to Instore’s Professional Retail Panel for their responses. If you’d like to be part of our panel, email us at Click here

YES, WE DO

Watch repair is the cancer of our industry. [But] someone has to do it.
Doug Meadows; Aurum Inc.

The value is that most watch repairs are for men’s watches and that gets the men in to see the jewelry. Howard Leong; Golden Image Jewelers

It used to be great, then good, and now I wonder why we still take them in. It is getting harder and harder to find workers that know all the changing ways to work or repair all the brands. John Anthony Jr.; John Anthony Jewelers

There are so few stores that offer the service. I market the fact that I still accept watch repairs to other jewelry stores that do not accept watch repairs. The stores then have an option for their customers who ask the inevitable question; ?Do you know anyone that can repair my watch?? Chuck Koehler; Anthony Jewelers

Very valuable! It can be up to 30 percent of our month in the summertime.When you do $500 to $1,000 watch repairs on a regular basis, that’s why it’s a valuable service. Roland Sherman; Bryant & Co. Jewelers

Not everything we do can be easy. I feel watch repair is a necessary evil of the jewelry business. I sell several watches each year when I explain that the customer’s has reached the end of its life. If I miss that sale, shame on me! Vic Hellberg; Hellberg’s Jewelers

I send them out as I do not have an in-house watchmaker. However, it is getting harder to find a well-priced quality repair house in order to make a halfway decent profit. The possibility of discontinuing the service is very high. Dave Beduze; Generation Jewelers

Brings more upper-class clients into the store Matthew Phillips; The Jewelry Emporium

NO, WE DON’T

We do not take in watch repairs, but we always recommend another local jeweler who does them on premises. And no, we do not believe that recommending another jeweler hurts our business. In fact, almost all of these customers come back to buy something at a later date and thank us for helping them find a reputable watch repair jeweler. Dorothy Retzke; Krystyna’s Jewelry

You can’t win with watch repairs. Charge $50 to $300 to clean and overhaul a watch depending upon the movement type and brand, and if it isn’t perfect you’re no good and a crook. The same customer pays between $150-$1,000 to tune up their car, a week later it pings and knocks, and the customer says ?Oh well, it’s an old car.? Absurd! Adam B. Staub; ABS Gems & Diamonds

Watches are very user-unfriendly. Something frequently goes wrong and if you aren’t a watch repairman (or don’t have one in house), you’re in a bad situation. The average loss in goodwill isn’t made up for in the gain for offering convenience when you average out the problems and the profits. Barry Nicholls; Paradise Jewelry

Four Decades of Excellence: How Wilkerson Transformed a Jeweler's Retirement into Celebration

After 45 years serving the Milwaukee community, Treiber & Straub Jewelers owner Michael Straub faced a significant life transition. At 75, the veteran jeweler made a personal decision many business owners understand: "I think it's time. I want to enjoy my wife with my grandchildren for the next 10, 15 years." Wilkerson's expertise transformed this major business transition into an extraordinary success. Their comprehensive approach to managing the going-out-of-business sale created unprecedented customer response—with lines forming outside the store and limits on how many shoppers could enter at once due to fire safety regulations. The results exceeded all expectations. "Wilkerson did a phenomenal job," Straub enthuses. "They were there for you through the whole thing, helped you with promoting it, helping you on day-to-day business. I can't speak enough for how well they did." The partnership didn't just facilitate a business closing; it created a celebratory finale to decades of service while allowing Straub to confidently step into his well-earned retirement.