Audiobooks on the Bench

On the bench, one might think watchmaking is a very monotonous job. It can be. Especially when all you do is work on the movement.

One thing that helps me get the job done quick (or at least seem to) is listening to audiobooks. I've gone through plenty of fiction and non-fiction over the years. Before smartphones or iPods, I was already listening on an MP3 player.

Then YouTube Premium came along with screen-off playback. I have a bunch of shows I listen to audio-only. It's my way of keeping up with the latest in tech, AI, and other topics I'm interested in.

You'll always see me with AirPods on, every day.

What do you listen to while you work?

-FZ

The Trust Account

Every warranty claim is a deposit or a withdrawal from the trust account. Most service operations don't know which one they're making until the client stops coming back. The two scripts When a client walks in with a warranty question, there are essentially two opening lines:

What Breaks When You Do

My dad ran his watch shop for years on memory and paper. Job statuses, promised dates, parts on order, callbacks pending. All of it in his head or in a pile on the bench. Then a client called on a Thursday. His anniversary. The watch was done Wednesday. My dad

FREE battery service?

A colleague once told me how he handles customers who can't afford the store they walked into. Client comes in, looks around. Budget is tight. SA notices his Citizen quartz is running behind. Offers to set the time, and finds out the battery is dead. Client gets embarrassed.

Some watches aren't for sale.

Not because of what they cost. Because of what they mean. A dealer can price a reference. He can't price a memory. He can't price the feeling of putting on a watch that spent decades on someone else's wrist before it landed on yours.

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The Trust Account

What Breaks When You Do

FREE battery service?

Some watches aren't for sale.