Apparently replacing a watch battery has become a multi-week engineering project…read more
I dropped off my Tissot watch at Sumpter's Jewelry & Collectibles on July 21 for what should have been one of the quickest and easiest services a jewelry store offers: a simple battery replacement. Judging by all the glowing reviews, I expected competent service. Instead, I got an endless parade of excuses, contradictions, and complete silence.
After waiting about an hour, I was suddenly informed that the "watch guy" wasn't there and was supposedly on his way. Strange how that detail only came up after I'd already been sitting there. Then the story changed again. I was told the technician had accidentally damaged my watch's seal and that it now needed to be replaced. So my watch somehow left my possession in working condition and immediately came back with more problems than it arrived with.
When I offered to wait, they insisted I leave it because the watch technician wouldn't be available anytime soon.
Fast forward to July 29. Eight days later, after multiple phone calls, repeated promises that someone would call me back, and absolutely zero follow-through, I finally got the "watch guy" on the phone. His explanation? In over a week, all he had managed to accomplish was putting the back of my watch back on. That's it. He hadn't even completed the pressure test to restore the watch's water resistance. Apparently, after eight days, we're still working on Step One of a battery replacement.
The most impressive part of this experience wasn't the repair--it was the complete lack of communication. Not one proactive phone call. Not one update. Had I not kept calling, I'd probably still be wondering whether my watch was even there.
At this point, I'm genuinely questioning whether all of the glowing reviews reflect the service I received because my experience couldn't have been more different. If replacing a battery turns into damaging a seal, leaving a watch untouched for over a week, and requiring the customer to chase down every update, I'd hate to see what happens with an actual repair.
If you enjoy wasting your time, hearing a new excuse every time you call, and wondering whether your watch will ever be finished, this is the place for you. If you value professionalism, communication, and the expectation that a basic battery replacement shouldn't become an eight-day saga, I'd strongly recommend taking your watch literally anywhere else.