Any relationship requires hard work. Friendships take time to cultivate, romantic relationships take commitment to last, family relationships take understanding to flourish... Similarly, one type of relationship that is not often discussed but (almost) as difficult to cultivate, is with your AD.
It is quite the understatement when we say navigating your relationship with your AD is a challenging endeavour. It is hard enough to try to understand what your significant other wants, imagine when you have to think about what it takes to get the latest watch models from your AD! It is an open secret that only those with long-standing relationships (and not to mention past purchase history and referrals) get a shot at the golden opportunity. While this might scream nepotism and unfairness, this is just how the watch world works - so get on board with the programme.
Much like any other relationship, there are different ways to express your love and affection - or in this case, our desire for a new wrist piece. Just like how you should never, under any circumstance, call your wife or girlfriend fat, we are sharing some well-meaning No-Nos when it comes to maintaining a ‘loving relationship’ with your AD:
Daily pestering
Previously in The Unspoken Truth, we emphasized the importance of maintaining a good relationship with your AD and elaborated on how one can go about achieving this. While mutual communication is a good way to go about this, I can say for sure that daily pestering (whether online or offline) is not. From your perspective, you might think this helps you be ‘top of mind’ when being considered - from our perspective, just the opposite happens. No one likes to be constantly bombarded with the same message (“got stock?”) all day every day, especially when one has been recently informed. Additionally, politeness might be common sense for many, but for the special few who need to be reminded, being rude to your ADs (or anyone for that matter) and demanding for favours is not recommended to get your way. Remember - relationships are not just built with consistency, but with mutual respect for time and space.
Insistence of sports watch on the first try
We get it, you would love to get their hands on the much coveted sports models. Guess what? So does everyone else. That is not to say that you will never get what your heart desires, all it takes is some patience, understanding and acknowledgement that chances of getting the ‘top-range’ timepieces at the very first try are slim (although one can always hope). As ADs, our priority is and will always be to our loyal customers who have similarly stayed loyal to us through the years and bought through the watch ranks. Additionally, as first-time customers, ADs have not yet determined whether you genuinely want the timepiece for your collection or you would flip it down the line - hence erring to the side of caution and giving the opportunity to others. This reiterates the importance of building a sincere, long-term relationship where your ADs can trust that your requests are passionate and genuine.
Word to the wise: there are some great models besides the 'top-of-the-range' that serve as good entry models - namely the Air-King, Yacht-Master, Sea-Dweller, Explorer, just to name a few. These would be a good start to your watch buying journey before moving up the ranks.
Bad online reviews
There are many ways to get attention online. Posting pictures of your ever-growing watch collection, participating in watch forum discussions, sharing interesting watch articles… While all of the aforementioned examples are well and good, some choose to take the opposite route by posting bad reviews. Whether the intention is reverse psychology or plain ignorance, one can say with certainty that it is definitely the way to attract all the wrong kinds of attention from your ADs.
While that is not to say that ADs are necessarily resistant to feedback and improvement to their service, there is obviously a difference between reviewing for attention and reviewing for genuine feedback without any hidden agendas. If your reviews are leaning towards the former, it is safe to say that you got yourself a one-way ticket to a watch blacklist.
Change of mind
Perhaps you played your cards right and finally got a call from your AD for the timepiece you have been eyeing for months. However, your eyes start to wander to the next shiny new watch and you start to think if you should be aiming for that instead…
There are many fishes in the sea (or watches in the boutique), and it is completely natural for your eyes to wander - it is human nature to want things ‘bigger and better’ after all. Nevertheless, while it is easy to have a change of heart, keep in mind that this makes things very difficult, not to mention frustrating, for your AD. The constant changing of mind is less about the inconvenience on the AD’s part to reallocate watches (although this definitely plays a part as well), but it speaks more to your willingness to purchase the timepiece in the first place. In essence, when you finally do get contacted for the model you want, please try to stick to it.
Only with mutual commitment and trust can a relationship truly flourish - Happy AD, Happy Customer. Wishing you all the best of luck in your watch-buying journeys!
What are some of your ways you keep the relationship with your ADs alive and well? Share with us some of your tips in the comments below!