Laco Buhr - nothing but problems

[Uwe W.]

Either way this thread isn't about FedEx trying to price themselves out of the Norwegian market, but about Laco being unable to properly file a simple repair-and-return customs declaration.

Really? I was under the impression that this thread was about blowing isolated incidents out of proportion.

If Laco is so inept at dealing with the intricacies of shipping watches all over the world, as you suggested, you would think that this forum would be rife with 'customs' complaints. I can only speak from my own experience; of all the watches that Laco has shipped me (I'm in Canada), there hasn't been one issue with how it was processed through customs. I guess I must have been really lucky then. Of course I can only imagine the numerous pitfalls associated with keeping abreast of the customs requirements of the one hundred or so countries that Laco must ship to. And when something does get hung up at a border, at least we can all safely assume that the fault will most certainly be Laco's. Just like the excellent customs agents and FedEx employees in Norway (and Singapore), I assume that their Canadian equivalents are incapable of mistakes that would result in unnecessary costs or delays in a parcel's delivery.

When a watch manufacturer screws something up - and they all do on occasion - I prefer to judge them by how they fix their mistakes and not that they made one in the first place. Of course in your case we'll never know how things would have been handled since you couldn't wait a few days to find out how Laco wanted to process your particular warranty issue. Had the normal warranty procedure been followed, perhaps your watch would have been handled differently from beginning to end and the mistake in the shipping paperwork would have been avoided. Unfortunately, we'll never know the full story regarding the circumstances behind your particular complaint as it's highly unlikely that Laco will post anything here in their defence.

Forums are often very similar to kangaroo courts; manufacturers are accused of all sorts of things before being summarily found guilty by their accusers. I understand that buyers can momentarily get caught up in the frustration of dealing with a broken watch, but I'm equally frustrated when those buyers turn that frustration into an unfounded and undeserved bashing of a manufacturer. If the disproportionate number of complaints that you find in watch forums represented an absolute truth about the state of watch manufacturing today, you can believe that there wouldn't be one single watch company left in business.

[kevral]

Now you're just being ridiculous.

I'll make this as simple as I can:
Laco shipped me the same watch twice.

1. The new watch: declared full value

2. The same watch, after repairs: declared full value

The customs paperwork was, in other words, IDENTICAL both times.

How do you suppose that Customs would know that this was a warranty return when Laco filled out the paperwork as if the watch was new?

And for the record - Laco told me to send the watch back; I said I would FedEx it to them; they confirmed the address; I asked for their FedEx number - in that order. But I guess you aren't likely to believe a single word a non-fanboi says without seeing the full email record?

[Uwe W.]

I was wondering how long it would take before this thread degenerated into a predictable 'fanboy' accusation.

I fully believe you. No email records are required. Laco made a mistake and you paid for it. Shame on them. And shame on me for questioning the details of your convoluted posts and for suggesting that you might have had any role in this screw-up.

[kevral]

I just realized this is much like arguing with the doorman at the nightclub: it really doesn't matter whether I am right, and there is no upside for me either way.
So I am going to keep quiet and go away before I am made to.

[Uwe W.]

I just realized this is much like arguing with the doorman at the nightclub: it really doesn't matter whether I am right, and there is no upside for me either way. So I am going to keep quiet and go away before I am made to.

Funny, here I was thinking that you were the doorman...

I admitted that you were right, so you have me at a loss. What "upside" were you looking for? I think anyone reading this tread will understand that you're dissatisfied with Laco for their handling of your warranty repair.

And please don't pull that "oppressive moderator" card on me. It's insulting. I don't have a history of arbitrarily silencing contentious opinions in this forum, so as long as you remain civil - something that this thread has been so far - there isn't any threat of you being silenced.

[rice]

interesting read...

i suppose u may think i'm blowing it out of proportion. maybe i am. (shrug), i'm not really an anal guy - just average watch buyer who wants value for the cash... when i buy a product like the Laco B-Uhr I expect it to last longer than 4 months. One board-member advised the mechanism isn't made by Laco, so don't blame them.. Really? (surprised) who else would I hold responsible?

Two weeks later and the watch is still in customs. Laco seems to have failed to send the correct paperwork to Fedex. Yes they have 'repair' on one form, but FedEx is saying that it's not correct. I have no idea - a simple human that is not familiar with this stuff. I would expect Laco to have gotten their paperwork right. Laco seems to have decided to bow out of the issue altogether with no response to my last email requesting help.

Faced with a $240 bill from Customs (Philippines)... I've already paid this once (when I bought it), if I pay it again I'm up to $480 (plus the $60 I spent to ship it to them for repairs) - $540.... The watch was only $1k... and it broke within 4 months, do I really want to spend the cash to get it back? Will it break again?

I'm very picky with my watches, they are an object of precision and beauty, it's rarely a matter of money - wearing an oversized piece of crap wouldn't make me feel great. Even if I pay the fees (and I probably will) I doubt I'll be wearing this watch again, Laco has certainly lost it's allure - the shipping problem of course was only the icing on the cake - the real issue is that their watch only stood up to 4 months of use. Go figure. It's a difficult thing to pull off; wearing a 55mm watch, you can really only do it if you're proud of it, confident in it - but knowing it's a cereal-toy.... (sigh)

Like I said, I would have gladly (GLADLY) paid 6x the price if Laco would have only given me a watch that would last a lifetime, and some professional international customer service to back it up. The 55mm is such a conversation piece, I can imagine everytime I'm talking about it - in the back of my mind I'm thinking 'yeah, piece or refurbished crapola'

The new Uboat 53mm is looking pretty nice, so is the updated version of the sea dweller (deep sea?)... Still not sure why most guys like to slag off U-Boat, it's a nice (aesthetic) looking watch, and feels pretty solid on the wrist. Not sure of the mechanism, but surely couldn't be much worse than rolex?
;)

[Janne]

you get that the problem is coming from an outsourced component?
Laco just puts them in the case! They have absolutely no influence over the assembly, quality etc of the movement!

We should all be grateful that Laco ( and others that use ETA) are dealing with warranty issues with the ETA made and supplied movements!

And why are you tossing fuel on the fire by stating that your U-boat has maybe a better movement that Rolex? You do not even know which movements is in the U-boat!!!!!!!
Are you here on WUS to create fights, or to enjoy yourself?

[Uwe W.]

Like I said, I would have gladly (GLADLY) paid 6x the price if Laco would have only given me a watch that would last a lifetime, and some professional international customer service to back it up. The 55mm is such a conversation piece, I can imagine everytime I'm talking about it - in the back of my mind I'm thinking 'yeah, piece or refurbished crapola'

You certainly apply a very unrealistic set of standards to your purchases. I find it absolutely incredulous that anyone would state that a watch should last a lifetime or it's "crapola". Every single watch manufacturer on this planet has watches returned to them for warranty repairs. Watches are mechanical devices - and as such - they are subject to mechanical failures. Based on your comments, I assume that you expect a car should last a lifetime too?

I don't know what your experience with watches is, but eventually you will come to realise that it doesn't matter which brand or model you buy, there will always be a risk it breaking. You're obviously bitter by your experience with Laco, which is a shame. Maybe after some time has passed and you 'cool down' a little, you'll realise that you could have worded your comments here a little more carefully. Because at the moment, the extremity of your statements sound absurd given the relatively common nature of your experiences. As I stated before, I wish you good luck with your future watch purchases; I hope for your sake that they all last you a lifetime.

[forestone]

interesting read...

i suppose u may think i'm blowing it out of proportion. maybe i am. (shrug), i'm not really an anal guy - just average watch buyer who wants value for the cash... when i buy a product like the Laco B-Uhr I expect it to last longer than 4 months. One board-member advised the mechanism isn't made by Laco, so don't blame them.. Really? (surprised) who else would I hold responsible?

Two weeks later and the watch is still in customs. Laco seems to have failed to send the correct paperwork to Fedex. Yes they have 'repair' on one form, but FedEx is saying that it's not correct. I have no idea - a simple human that is not familiar with this stuff. I would expect Laco to have gotten their paperwork right. Laco seems to have decided to bow out of the issue altogether with no response to my last email requesting help.

Faced with a $240 bill from Customs (Philippines)... I've already paid this once (when I bought it), if I pay it again I'm up to $480 (plus the $60 I spent to ship it to them for repairs) - $540.... The watch was only $1k... and it broke within 4 months, do I really want to spend the cash to get it back? Will it break again?

I'm very picky with my watches, they are an object of precision and beauty, it's rarely a matter of money - wearing an oversized piece of crap wouldn't make me feel great. Even if I pay the fees (and I probably will) I doubt I'll be wearing this watch again, Laco has certainly lost it's allure - the shipping problem of course was only the icing on the cake - the real issue is that their watch only stood up to 4 months of use. Go figure. It's a difficult thing to pull off; wearing a 55mm watch, you can really only do it if you're proud of it, confident in it - but knowing it's a cereal-toy.... (sigh)

Like I said, I would have gladly (GLADLY) paid 6x the price if Laco would have only given me a watch that would last a lifetime, and some professional international customer service to back it up. The 55mm is such a conversation piece, I can imagine everytime I'm talking about it - in the back of my mind I'm thinking 'yeah, piece or refurbished crapola'

The new Uboat 53mm is looking pretty nice, so is the updated version of the sea dweller (deep sea?)... Still not sure why most guys like to slag off U-Boat, it's a nice (aesthetic) looking watch, and feels pretty solid on the wrist. Not sure of the mechanism, but surely couldn't be much worse than rolex?
;)

Pm sent!

[Janne]

3 years ago, I bought a JLC Reverso Day Moon. Around USD 9000 or so. 2 years later the Silver plated dial started to lose the Silver.
I had it sent to Switzerland. The problem was a leaking crystal.

I still love the watch, and JLC's products!

Everything can develop a fault.