I have sent in several watches for repair and have experienced great service . . . the majority my watches have been repaired at no additional cost to me. It's nice to see a company stand behind their products!
** They no longer have the shop counter as of 2/2017 which used to sell discounted watches. I'm not sure how they would handle repairs. **
I took my high end Accutron watch in to get the band adjusted (for free) and they gave it back to me with scratches on the face. The would NOT own up to causing the scratches on my NEW watch. It's polished stainless steel so the scratches are very obvious. They took it back and polished it a little and some of the scratches weren't there but I still notice them. This was about 3 years ago.
Most recently I brought my diver watch in for repair. The rotating bezel stopped working properly. Any owner of a diver's watch KNOWS it's meant to turn only one direction. The reason is simple.. Let's say your SCUBA bottle gives 20 minutes of air. If you set the bezel to time yourself before you go underwater.. and you accidentally bump the watch into something while you are underwater.. it won't rotate the other direction giving you more time underwater.. the worst case scenario is you have less time. Pretty simple right? Well that function stopped working. So four days after I brought it in I call in to check on the status (price estimate to repair, etc). They have no idea where the watch is. They said it's been sent back to Kay Jewelers. (I brought it into their little factory store). I couldn't follow up because I was at work and it was the end of day. So a few days later I get a call "We took a look at the watch.. and that's how the bezel is supposed to work." They were INSISTING I didn't know what I was talking about. Meanwhile I own 2 divers watches. I've wore that watch for 3-4 years. They said they would get back to me. A week later.. same call from a different person they told me they've never seen a watch only turn in one direction before. This was from a watch repair person that's been there for 40 years.. SERIOUSLY?! Was he blind these last 40 years? The results of this are still pending but it doesn't look good.
But here are my thoughts. Mind you I own 5 Bulova watches. (a Swiss ETA chronograph, a Swiss skeleton, a vintage 70s tuning fork, Precisionist, a Swiss ETA divers)
Bulova is trying to market their watches as high end. They've even rebranded the Accutron line of watches to be called Bulova Accu-Swiss and jacked up the price. But their service is bottom of the barrel. They scratch your watch and blame YOU. You bring a watch for repair and they tell YOU you're wrong. I KNOW good service. I've had watches from Tiffany's serviced at Tiffany's and brought my friend's watch to service at Patek Philippe. There is a level of professionalism that Bulova with all their marketing will NEVER be able to touch.
Take LOTS of close up (macro) BEFORE pictures.
Don't buy Bulova with ANY expectation of service. I would sooner take it to my local horologist.
As a New York native, I pride myself in supporting things that are home grown. But Bulova isn't a brand anyone should support unless they clean up their act.
Watches sold there are also final sale AS-IS. So be very certain you want to keep that watch. There are no refunds whatsoever.
My Bulova Accutron II watch stopped working within 18 months of Purchase. I went to an authorized Bulova retailer to replace the battery but that did not fix the problem, the shop advised me to send the watch for repair because the More
This is a shame that the corporate store closed for over a year now the website says open till 4 pm shame
Nasty, rude store attendant! Doesn't want to work, when asked about a watch cost, yield from far $500+, when insisted to know the exact price turned out to be way less! When I asked a bout anything, I got a question as an answer!
Bought two watches a month ago, both defective, went back to the store only to learn no returns or exchanges, only repairs.
Have sent the same watch back now 6 TIMES!!!!! They don't fix sh#it. Bulova blows!!
Always a Great experience whether Isabella in the company store helps me or staff in repair or overhauling.
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