My husband and I took his Citizen watch to FRIEDMAN JEWELERS in Waveland, MS, on 05/14/05. The watch had a cracked crystal and a broken band and needed a new battery.
Friedman's was to send the watch off to the Citizen repair facility and call us when they received a response. Citizen was to notify Friedman's of the estimated repair costs and Friedman's was to call us for authorization.
Cynthia, our sales associate, emphasized that it could take quite a long time to get the watch repaired... That Citizen operated on a first-come, first-serve basis. We understood.
On or about June 27th (give or take two days), I called the store to check on the watch. It had been about six weeks and I was beginning to be concerned. I was on hold for about fifteen minutes before the clerk came back to tell me they had not yet heard anything from Citizen.
I gave the clerk an additional phone number where they could reach us, asked her to please check on it for me, and said my goodbyes.
Today, July 11. Still no word from Friedman's. My husband calls Citizen to check on his watch.
As it turns out, Citizen has sent three - yes, THREE - letters to Friedman's with an estimate, asking and then begging for authorization to fix the watch. The most recent letter, sent thirteen days ago, notified Friedman's that Friedman's had fifteen days to respond or the watch would be destroyed. That's two days difference between the deadline and when we discovered the negligence, folks.
Citizen put my husband on hold and called Friedman's. Friedman's gave Citizen authorization to fix the watch. If you will recall, Friedman's was supposed to talk to us before doing that, but apparently now they cannot be bothered. Citizen's then came back on the line with my husband and told him they would rush the job through, and overnight the watch to Friedman's. It should be there by 05/13.
Now off the line with Citizen, my husband calls Friedman's back. Cynthia is so pleased to hear from him, because she just called Citizen to check on his watch and it should be repaired and returned within the week. She specifically stated that she called Citizen. A bit of revisionist history, but aren't we all just thrilled that she's so wonderful?
My husband is not one to mince words and called her a bald-faced liar.
At any rate, Friedman's Jewelers in Waveland just abandoned the watch to be destroyed, despite our calls requesting information about the repair. They now feel they are doing us a great favor by not marking up the cost of the repair - go figure!
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