Omega Boutiques: Please Share Your Experiences

[drunken monkey]

my experience of Omega boutiques has only been limited to browsing but my general report would be that the best feeling I've had have been at the Bluewater and Oxford Circus/Regents Street branches whereas the new Stratford Westfield place left me a little cold.

I'm not sure how to best put it but the closest I can get is that in the former two, the people served me like I was a guest at a hotel whereas the latter felt like I was being served by just another salesman.

[MST]

Westfield, White City
[April 2012]

4/10

I had gone to Westfield with the specific intention of buying either a PO 2500 or PO 8500, though I've visited the shopping centre a number of times this was my first time in the Omega Boutique and I have to say that the experience left more than a little to be desired. On entering the store and being followed in by the security guard I had to wait for the saleswoman who was out the back, initially she was quite helpful but seemed very keen to push the older 2500 model on a leather strap. In any case she sat us down and offered us a drink which we politely declined, after trying on several 2500 & 8500 models I made my decision and asked her what sort of discount she could offer on the 8500 - bearing in mind that the model I had chosen was £1000 more than I had previously intended to spend and I was in an an Omega Boutique, in my view the flagship of Omega's retail presence. I had set out that day telling myself that if Omega weren't willing to budge on price then they weren't getting my hard earned cash, her first response was "this is Omega, we don't do bargains" quickly followed by "we don't do discounts on anything under five grand" (this is verbatim), I can't remember what I said next but she then said "the best we could do is a free repair", this was after she had extolled the virtues of the newer and supposedly more reliable 8500 movement that comes with a 4 year warranty. I couldn't believe it, politely declined and left after thanking the saleswoman for her time.

Whilst I am aware that Omega are under no obligation to offer me [or anyone else for that matter] a discount they haven't exactly got people queueing up to buy their wares and as I've already stated on another watch forum; see my post below from the TZ-UK forum:

Funny, having visited the Omega Boutique at Westfield (White City) last month I know exactly what you mean. What it is with some [not all!] of the staff in these places? They seem to have a very strange idea of what customer service is and their role within the retail sales model. I don't walk into ANY store exuding an "I'm better than you" attitude because I shop there so I don't see why I should have to experience it from the staff that are paid to work there.

Just where are retail ......s sending jumped up retail assistants these days to earn the apparent chips on their shoulders, and would it not make more sense for them to employ members of staff with a more acceptable command of the English language?

I take it you're referring to the Omega Boutique? It's amusing to think that they clearly aren't "considerably-richer-than-yow" as you say, and perhaps would do well to remind themselves that the ONLY difference between them and the considerably less snooty staff at H. Samuel is a short walk, and that they put their Omega back in the display case when they shut up shop for the day.n

As I'm sure you can see I was a bit cheesed off to say the least!

I went to a local AD a couple of hours later and purchased the same watch I had intended to buy at the Omega Boutique, less a 15% discount.

[Bobsnocat]

Greetings,
I've been to the NYC location several times, and have received excellent service on two separate repairs. As previously noted they were done on site, and ahead of their estimated completion date. In addition, I was able to speak to the watchmaker both before and after the service, which was a plus. My experience with the sales staff was that they were pretty knowledgeable and willing to show me anything that I asked about.

I also stopped into the Vegas location at the Bellagio. They had recently opened, but I found that they were pleasant and accomodating as well. I happened to speak to the manager by coincidence, and she was also very helpful. All in all, my experiences in both locations were fine, although I did not purchase anything except warranty repairs from either of them.
YMMV
b.

[moky]

Omega Vancouver:

Very good overall experiences. The sales staff let me try pretty much any Seamaster POs I looked at (minus adjusting the straps) and were quite competent with Omega knowledge. They also noticed that my 2500PO was a little old looking and explained to me what was included when I send in my watch for a service tune up. One key thing which was a selling point for me was that I was there at 5:55pm on a Saturday and they were supposed to close at 6pm, to my surprise by the time I finished chatting with the staff, it was already 6:20!

Omega Chicago, Michigan Ave:

Security was very friendly and when they saw me peeking thru the display windows, they invited me in. Very friendly and jokes around as well. Sales staff approached me and offered me to try on whatever I wanted to try. I didn't have my PO with me, had a Panerai that time and she wasn't very familiar with it. Overall, the sales experience was good, but the one in Vancouver was smoother and had less "pressure" (?) She even gave me an Omega magazine and a few catalogues and brochures!

Overall, thumbs up for both Omega boutiques!

[ChronoScot]

... her first response was "this is Omega, we don't do bargains" quickly followed by "we don't do discounts on anything under five grand" (this is verbatim)...

Wow, that's an interesting sales technique.

Not expecting a discount from an Omega Boutique is hardly a big secret, however if a boutique is in the same city as ADs that sell exactly the same watches, ADs having the added sales lever of a potentially lower price, you could rightly expect something extra in return as an incentive to buy in the boutique. A pleasant experience with knowledgeable staff might just qualify as that little extra, but a sharp and abrupt sales tone hardly does.

London isn't exactly a city lacking in competition, so I would hope that boutique sales staff do not assume that the goods will simply sell themselves, based on the "Omega" name. If Omega ever becomes a "pure" boutique brand with complete control over sales (like Louis Vuitton), maybe their staff can get away with a poor attitude, but in the current environment a positive and inviting attitude is even more important.

[PBVA]

Here what we have here in Dubai - UAE: %99 of AD staff is only "sales person", does not aware about specification of watch. Mostly they misinform you about watch.

When you ask for an extra such as rubber strap for PO XL Cal.8500 they won't bother to pick up the phone and to ask their warehouse about availability & price. Instead they will write down your number and then nothing... Yesterday I visited MoE Boutique , 1 guy 1 lady sales person were there. No welcome or smile at all. What else can be said now???

I'm completely dissatisfied with all boutiques (visited ones) and I believe Omega should apply very strict policy on "sales persons" to change them to "enthusiast" ones.

Dubai Mall 6/10

I agree with these comments about the Dubai boutiques. I visited the Dubai Mall in October 2011. Friendly smiles but the staff does not have any knowledge about the watches. I got into an arguement with a sales lady about a 8500 PO that she was insisting is the Liquid Metal edition. I stopped arguing and just left the store and I could not believe it. I must say that i was overall a bit dissapointed

[Michael the Psycho]

they won't bother to pick up the phone and to ask their warehouse about availability & price.

Exactly how I feel about Beverly Hills:

Didn't visit the physical store but phoned in to order some 825 titanium end-links for my SMP. The guy who answers got my number and said they'd called me back later; little confusion there with the SMP and PO designation. The lady from parts' didn't really know what I was talking about; didn't know what an end-link was, didn't know the model, and kept referring to the PO when I said it was the SMP (I guess they sell more POs in boutiques). Anyways... After spoon-feeding her the bracelet number, the model number with which the end-links came off of, my own serial number (which they don't need because it's a different model), and the end-link number, they said they don't have those in stock and she'd have to ask parts'. Fine... I get it's a special-order item. I get it's not in stock. I knew that already but when I asked her to check with the source or a rough ETA, she kept giving me the line about not being able to know for sure and that she'd have to order it first and didn't offer to check for availability. After her third "I can't know for sure," I just thought... Well... Can't you just ask for me and call me back??? Whatever. Didn't even cross her mind that she could do that for me. Am I supposed to personally call the parts' department??? I don't work for Omega; you do... I ended up just getting it from Ofrei... There's just this huge gap between what could be done and what she offered. I thought boutiques were supposed to be the end-all of customer service???

[jandrese]

Houston.

Very friendly security. Lots of selection in shiny store. Relatively poor location in Galleria mall. Salesman had limited knowledge, but tried to help.

[MST]

Wow, that's an interesting sales technique.

Not expecting a discount from an Omega Boutique is hardly a big secret, however if a boutique is in the same city as ADs that sell exactly the same watches, ADs having the added sales lever of a potentially lower price, you could rightly expect something extra in return as an incentive to buy in the boutique. A pleasant experience with knowledgeable staff might just qualify as that little extra, but a sharp and abrupt sales tone hardly does.

London isn't exactly a city lacking in competition, so I would hope that boutique sales staff do not assume that the goods will simply sell themselves, based on the "Omega" name. If Omega ever becomes a "pure" boutique brand with complete control over sales (like Louis Vuitton), maybe their staff can get away with a poor attitude, but in the current environment a positive and inviting attitude is even more important.

Interestingly [and I suppose rather unsurprisingly] the Omega Boutique at Westfield (White City) have the monopoly on Omega, there are a number of other stores situated in the centre that ordinarily are ADs but none of them carry any Omega stock, I presume at Omega's request. On leaving the store I made my way to the nearest AD only to find that they didn't have anything at all, likewise at the others.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with the Louis Vuitton analogy, just where do LV send their [generally foreign] staff to learn how to be snootier than the next sales assistant, who, in all honesty, probably earns the same if not more and are one hell of a lot more customer focused!

[richardew]

Omega Boutique NYC - My first visit there was when I was shopping for a watch. I found the sales staff to be helpful and pleasant. Very low key. They had a great selection. I didn't buy a watch there because they don't discount. I returned and bought a deployant and some straps for a couple of my watches. Again it was a good experience. I have returned several times and always enjoyed the visit. The last time there I was talking to the manager and he went to the safe and brought out the platinum speedmaster with the platinum bracelet and had me try it on. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend using them for service and sales (although they won't discount).