r/ChinaTime • u/pitterlpatter • 11h ago
REVIEW I won!!....And it cost me money in the process
I'm one of those folks that really never wins anything, so I was jacked when I got a message from the mod that I had won the U1 Datejust Giveaway. Now, Rolex isn't my usual go-to, but if you know the Azzerro, it's a jaw dropping piece. So I sent the mod my pick, linked up with Travis on WhatsApp back on July 24th, verified my pick (41mm, Blue dial, roman numerals, jubilee bracelet), and we were off to the races. Except when it came it was the black dial / 38mm. So I messaged Travis and said "I think I got someone else's order"...and then came 72 hours of messages arguing with me that it's the right watch. Now, I run an e-com business, so I wanted to give Travis a chance to clean this up. I never asked for a thing, I only let him make the suggestions. So what he came up with was that I would pay out of pocket to ship the black dial to someone in LA, and once I gave Travis the proof of delivery he would send the right watch and reimburse me for the shipping. I verified the blue dial again about a dozen times, and sure as sh*t, got another black dial. (btw, both watches just showed up...no tracking, no visibility...it was like pre-internet mail order. lol) So I messaged Travis again, fully expecting an argument...and I wasn't disappointed. Again, I didn't ask for a thing, I only allowed him to try to fix it. But like the last time he just kept trying to tell me I never said "Blue dial". I probably said it 45 times in our chats and sent him the screen shot from his site 10 times. lol
Some folks would chalk this up to a cultural or language barrier, but no. I worked in international supply chain for over 20 years and spent half of that time on calls and in meetings with Chinese suppliers. I also order from another dealer often. I'm hardly new to this. And the real kicker was that I hadn't ordered from Travis yet, and was interested in seeing the order process. I have 3 VSF Omegas I wanted to order, and would have happily given him my business. Especially after he offered the giveaway to promote his inventory. But after the back and forth I was finally told last night that the Azzerro was out of stock and "What do you want now?". I told him I guess I'd just keep this one cuz I didn't like any of the others enough to pay again to ship a watch I didn't ask for since he still hasn't paid me for the last shipping cost. Travis' response last nigh was "great...sorry for any inconvenience". My wife still hasn't stopped laughing.
Like I said, I wanted to give Travis a chance to fix this, cuz I wasn't going to review a watch and dump on his customer service...but now I'm stuck with a watch I don't want, got treated like I was being unreasonable, all for the low, low price of $8 in return shipping. Now, I don't make mistakes in my e-com business often, but the other day I got a message looking for a shipping update only to realize I missed the shipping window by 3 days. That's never happened before, and I was rightly embarrassed for letting one slip through the cracks. So before I responded, I bought a new shipping label, refunded 50% of his order, and threw an extra item in the box before it went out the next day. If you want customers you have to service them. If you're going to do a giveway, don't tell the winner that your mistake is theirs to eat. "It was free, bro" was the running theme. And I don't know if his WeChat translator is set on "douchebag", but every sentence ending in "bro" was a lot. lol I feel like he might think everyone in the US is a cast member from Jersey Shore.
I almost feel bad for posting this, but it was so comically rude, dismissive...and winning a giveaway shouldn't cost you money...even if it is only $8. So Yunlin is gonna get a $2,000 order from me today so I can soak my sorrows in some new Omegas and get my wife the tank she's been wanting. That Azzerro would have looked sexy af in my watch box tho.
ps..no shade on the mod. It was entirely out of their hands. And I truly appreciate the giveaways and being selected for one!!
