Angry Mail Bag

I had the email exchange below yesterday afternoon. It is quoted verbatim. It's upsetting. I receive multiple emails almost every day from strangers about their watches. But this is completely unlike anything I have ever experienced in a dozen years. I have read it over and over trying to understand what set this guy off.

Some of what I say in emails is canned text. It has to be, I get way too much email to type the long answers to common questions. I am always looking for ways to improve that text. So any comments or feedback about this exchange is welcome...

***

From:Ryan Bean
To:"jsexton@elgintime.com"
Subject:Service question

Hi,

I was wondering if you could replace a spring on a 18s box hinge pocket watch case? The button spring is fine, but the lid spring needs replaced. If so, are you able to quote an approximate price?

Second question... Are you able to service a waltham model 57 circa 1865? It's ticking but with low amplitude, and then stops after about 30 mins.

Thanks for your time,
Rj

From:Jeff Sexton
To:Ryan Bean
Subject:Re: Service question

Hello -
Firstly, case repairs have to go to a specialty shop. I generally
recommend these folks:
https://www.watchcaserepair.com/

By the way, the case has nothing to do with Elgin. Like other American
watch companies, Elgin never made cases. In those days, the common
practice was that a customer would pick out a movement and a case
separately at the shop and the watchmaker or jeweler would assemble
them together. Because of that the movement and the case don't go
together in any way. There are many case companies, so parts are
often custom made and fit.

On the Waltham, this is a particularly old and rare model. I can no
longer replace most parts in them, so I don't do those particular
pieces anymore. This is the case with more and more watches these
days. If you want to look around, I suggest one good place to look for
a watchmaker though is the AWCI website at http://www.awci.com/. You
will see a link for finding a watchmaker near you. The directory is
not a complete list of watchmakers, but it is a good place to check.

Thanks!

From:Ryan Bean
To:Jeff Sexton
Subject:Re: Service question

Hmmm... I never said the case was an Elgin case. It's actually not... It's dueber. So I'm not sure why the long paragraph on Elgin cases was needed. But thanks for the advice on the model 57. I actually have a donor model 57 for parts... But it sounds like your not too eager for the job. So I won't contact you anymore.

Thanks.

From:Jeff Sexton
To:Ryan Bean
Subject:Re: Service question

The point is that there are no Elgin cases.

People contact me nearly every day about cases with the thought that they
need an Elgin part, watch crystals especially. But in fact the parts are
not standardized at all. Cases were much closer to "handmade" than American
watch movements. So you really need a specialist. I just service watch
movements. I am nit even a jeweler. That's true of most watchmakers.

Most folks tgat have an older American watch are not aware that their watch
was not sold with a case.

From:Ryan Bean
To:Jeff Sexton
Subject:Re: Service question

I was aware. Thanks. I have 240 watches. I didn't write you because you're an "Elgin guy"... But because you were a watch maker. Most do more than one kind of movement. And some do case.I still have absolutely no idea why you'd tell me about Elgin cases because I mentioned no such thing in the lette=
r. And technically there were Elgin cases... There was an Eglin case company not affiliated with Elgin national watch company..but whatever. ...but you have enlightened me to the fact that you're a pretentious douche bag. I'll make sure to cross you off the list.

Good day.

From:Jeff Sexton
To:Ryan Bean
Subject:Re: Service question

Wow! This is a first!

You don't know me, I don't know you.

I get a lot of email. Most people don't know these things, I had no way to
know that you did.

I hope you are more polite in person!

From:Ryan Bean
To:Jeff Sexton
Subject:Re: Service question

I have my doubts you are. You truly have the worst customer service skills I've ever encountered. If I had your skills in my job I'd be done a day. Anyway im sure you have someone else to go be a dick to don't you? My schedule is already filled with my quota of assholes for today.

***

I bit of background about Elgin pocketwatches and cases... I often get emails that say, in effect, "I have a grade 57 Elgin pocketwatch, can you send me a crystal?"

I have to answer this by explaining that the crystals are not standardized Elgin parts. In fact the entire watch case was purchased separately, and could be anything. The prospective customer does not need an Elgin specialist to source a crystal (or bow, or whatever), and they should use a specialty shop because of the huge variety in crystal sizes and profiles that exist.

I include this information when I get similar questions about how to open the case for given grade. There are different types of cases. The watch owner could have anything.

A bit of history... Elgin is a city. And the Elgin National Watch Co. was so famous that some case manufacturers used the word "Elgin" in their name, and put it on the cases. Some cases say things like "Such and Such Case Company of Elgin, Ill." with "Elgin" in big letters. These cases are often mistaken for Elgin-made products, which was clearly the idea. Elgin fought this in court, all the way to the US Supreme Court, and they lost. To this day as a result, it is not legal to copyright an existing place name.

I tell folks the above whenever I explain about cases and American watches. But there is another detail I usually leave out. For a brief time early on, Elgin actually did make pocketwatch cases. These cases are clearly marked as made by the Elgin National Watch Company, and are very rare. This is a little known detail I generally don't bother including in my explanations as the main point is that cases and early American movements are generally mix and match.

Anyway, all that is just an aside to the above email thread.

Mail Bag

I service antique American watches, which includes a lot of Elgins. After a 100 year run, The Elgin National Watch Company went out of business in the late 1960s. But I regularly receive email inquiries about modern Elgin branded watches.  This one was from awhile ago, it seems worth sharing.

Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2015 19:09:26 -0600
Subject: My elgin watch
From: ****@gmail.com
To: jsexton@elgintime.com

I bought an elgin watch about 3 years ago that i have had problems with since day one. I bought it at walmart and took it back three times in the first week i had it. The third time i took it back i asked them if they would exchange it for one exactly like the one I had because that's the reason i bought it - i like the way it looks. They exchanged it. This time it ran for three whole months before it stopped again. Again i put a new battery in it and it ran maybe three weeks this time. I went through this process for long enough that i didn't feel i could ask for a refund. About a month ago i took it to a jewel to ask about a repair. He told me it would be about $125.00. That's not an option since the watch only cost about $45.00 plus tax at walmart. Sometime back there not too long after i bought it, i looked up elgin on the internet and sent an email asking if they could do something to correct the situation. I didn't hear from anyone then went in the hospital for surgery. When i got out and recovered i still had not heard from anyone. Six months later i went in hospital again for another surgery and still have not heard from anyone. By now it's been at least three years or more. I no longer have the receipt. Have i just lost the $45.00 plus tax that i paid for a WORTHLESS watch? After bringing it home from the jeweler today and paying yet another $16.00 plus tax to have yet another battery put in for it to work maybe two weeks - three if Im lucky, i have a very bad taste in my mouth when i say the word ELGIN. Is there anything that can be done for this worthless piece of junk. (Im trying to keep it clean because that's not the word i use when referring to it.). Out of the three years I've had the watch, I've got to wear it a MAXIMUM of probably six months. The rest of the time it has not worked. My stomach knots up when i hear or even think the word "Elgin". Boy, did i get a lemon! With no help from anyone!