One watch at a time, or batch?

Some watchmakers run one watch at a time.

Dismantle, wash, service, polish, case and bracelet, assembly, water test, QC. Start to finish before the next one starts.

I batch.

The argument against batching is that a missing part stalls the whole group. True. But the same thing happens on a single watch. You still set it aside and move on.

What batching gives me is room.

→ Finish the bench task, shift to admin
→ Estimates, emails, supply orders
→ Shop cleanup, inventory stowed
→ 30 to 60 minutes at the end of the day absorbed by the things that usually pile up

Start the day at the bench. End the day with everything else.

That's the rhythm that works for a one-person shop.

— 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.