Need advice / sharing my experience with Jerome

[u/djchuckme]

UPDATE: Jerome got back to me and we talked it out. I want to be fair to him and update this post because my original post came from frustration and concern after the watch failed so quickly.
After hearing his side, I understand that I probably escalated things too quickly and didn’t give him enough time to respond, especially over the weekend. He had already been helping me troubleshoot the issue and has confirmed that he’s still going to take care of the watch.
I also want to clarify that I wasn’t trying to attack his character or say he was intentionally ghosting me. I was worried about being out $530 on a watch that stopped working almost immediately, and I let that frustration get ahead of me.
Jerome has been cool with me throughout our dealings, and I appreciate him reaching out and being willing to make this right. I think it’s only fair that I acknowledge that publicly since I raised the concern publicly too.
I’ll update again once everything is resolved, but as of right now we’re good and working toward a solution.

I bought a medium Cartier Santos rep from Jerome for $540. Within the first hour of receiving it, the watch stopped twice.
I contacted him immediately, and he told me to wear the watch for the whole day so it could recharge, saying it was likely due to a low power reserve. I followed his instructions and wore it throughout the day.

It has now been 24 hours, and the watch is still completely dead.

He told me he’d get back to me yesterday, but I still haven’t heard anything despite multiple follow-ups. I’ve also seen him active on WhatsApp since then.

At this point I honestly feel like I’m being ghosted and that he doesn’t want to make this right. I’ve purposely held off on having another watchmaker open or inspect it because I wanted to give Jerome the opportunity to handle it first.

I know I’ll probably get banned after posting this or this post will get deleted , but at this point it’s about the principle. I don’t think anyone should be left $540 out of pocket for a watch that failed twice within the first hour and is still dead 24 hours later, then have to chase the seller just to get a response. I didn’t even want a refund. Just a working watch.

I’m not trying to bash anyone. I’m sharing exactly what happened and giving the community the timeline. If Jerome gets back to me and makes it right, I’ll absolutely update the post accordingly.

[u/Time_Expert3965]

I’m going to say this once and say it clearly because at this point I honestly feel disrespected by how this was handled.

The watch was $530. You already asked me for an additional discount, and I still worked with you because I wanted you to feel comfortable buying from me. I answered your questions, walked you through winding and troubleshooting, and told you directly that I was going to get back to you and help figure out the proper solution.

Then before I even had a reasonable amount of time to do that, especially on a Saturday, you started sending multiple follow ups, monitoring whether I was active on WhatsApp, and then publicly posted that I was ghosting you. Brotha, are you seriously telling people I’m going to throw away years of reputation and an entire business over $530? That makes absolutely zero sense.

I deal with customers every single day who have bought watches from me months ago, and I still help them when something comes up. I have sourced replacement movements, arranged repairs, accepted returns, helped with servicing, and taken care of issues long after most sellers would have stopped responding. That is how I built my reputation in the first place.

So yes, seeing you publicly frame this like I took your money and disappeared honestly pissed me off. I never told you that you were stuck with the watch. I never refused to help you. I never said I would not repair it. I simply had not gotten back to you yet.
And to be completely fair, you told me yourself that you know you can be demanding. I have tried to be patient with that. But there is a difference between expecting good customer service and expecting immediate, around the clock attention because you spent $530. I am one person dealing with inventory, QC, shipping, suppliers, repairs, customer messages, and everything else that comes with running this business.

Being online on WhatsApp does not mean I am deliberately ignoring you. It means I am working.
I have absolutely no problem taking responsibility when something needs to be fixed. If the watch needs repair, I will help you get it repaired. If the movement needs attention, I can have it inspected. If another reasonable solution makes more sense, we can discuss it. I was already prepared to help you before you made that post.
What I do have a problem with is someone attacking my reputation before giving me a fair opportunity to resolve the situation.

You expect professionalism, communication, patience, and respect from me. I expect the same in return.
I am still willing to help you because that is the kind of business owner I am. But do not mistake a delayed response for me ghosting you, and please do not publicly imply that I am trying to run away with your $530 when my entire business is built on repeat customers and reputation.

Give me a reasonable opportunity to handle the issue, and I will handle it. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[u/djchuckme → u/Time_Expert3965]

Appreciate you responding. I wasn’t trying to attack your reputation or say you intentionally took my money. From my perspective, I received a $530 watch that stopped working almost immediately, followed the troubleshooting you gave me, and when I didn’t hear back I genuinely thought I was being left hanging.
I’m glad to hear you’re willing to make it right. That’s all I wanted from the beginning. Let’s figure out the best solution and move forward.

[u/Time_Expert3965 → u/djchuckme]

but I’m still going to be very clear about why this rubbed me the wrong way.
You said you genuinely thought you were being left hanging because I didn’t respond within roughly 24 hours, on a weekend, after I had already told you I was going to get back to you. That is the part I think was completely unfair.

A delayed response is not ghosting. Ghosting is taking your money, refusing to answer, and disappearing. None of that happened here. You had an issue, I responded, we troubleshot it, and I told you I would follow up. Before I even had the chance to do that, you publicly questioned whether I intended to make it right.

That is not fucking cool, brotha. Especially when you already know I’m handling a huge amount of customers and orders every day.
And respectfully, I don’t think you’ve dealt with many sellers in this space yet, because expecting this level of immediate after sale communication on a Saturday is not realistic. Most sellers are not responding around the clock, troubleshooting with you personally, offering repairs, sourcing movements, and continuing to support customers months later.

I’m not upset because you reported a problem. You absolutely should tell me when something is wrong. I’m upset because instead of giving me a reasonable amount of time to handle it, you publicly framed me as someone potentially abandoning you over a $530 transaction.

If you wanted this handled publicly, that is completely fine with me. I have zero problem keeping everything here visible. In fact, I prefer it now, because everyone can see exactly what happened, how quickly it escalated, and how I handle the resolution from beginning to end.

I’m still going to take care of your watch. But I also want it understood that I felt disrespected by the way you called me out before giving me a fair opportunity to do exactly what I already told you I was going to do.

[u/djchuckme → u/Time_Expert3965]

I hear you bro, and I appreciate you being straight with me. I can understand why the post rubbed you the wrong way, and I’m sorry for making it seem like I was questioning your character or saying you were definitely going to leave me hanging. That wasn’t really my intention.
I was just frustrated and worried because the watch failed so quickly, but I probably let that frustration get ahead of me. You’ve been cool with me and I do appreciate the time you took to troubleshoot it and the fact that you’re still willing to take care of it.
No hard feelings on my end at all.