Today we meet Richard and take a dive into the world of SAV.
Please introduce yourself! My name is Richard Gfeller, I’m from Bern the capital city of Switzerland. I run the SAV at HORAGE and before that I worked in the specialist warranty department at Omega, both at their HQ in Biel but also in Japan.
What does SAV mean? SAV is an abbreviation of French “Service Après Vente” or “Service after sales” translated into English. It is easy to forget at HORAGE where you mostly hear English, (Swiss) German and Chinese spoken that for the Swiss watch industry as a whole French is still language Nr. 1
Which areas of work are part of SAV? This depends a bit depending on the size of the company – at Omega I had a specialism of repairing vintage watches and chronographs. At HORAGE my role is much more varied and dynamic. Yes I repair any watches that have been damaged or need repairs, but there is also an intersection between SAV, engineering, supply chain management and QC. I should also state that like SAV is also a team effort with a lot of time and energy devoted from logistics, our back-office team and the HORAGE concierges who do a tremendous job in their local markets supporting customers.
What qualifications and skills do you need to have in SAV? The big challenge in SAV is identifying the cause of a problem. Watch owners might be able to communicate the symptoms they experience and SAV needs to figure out the cause in an efficient way. You need to be able to think quickly, logically and work in a very analytical manner. Of course, outstanding knowledge of the products you are working on is always essential.
Are there any issues with communicating e.g. diagnosis, linguistic barriers etc with owners directly? It is very difficult to understand where a problem can originate when you don’t physically have the product in your hands. In many exchanges between a brand and the watch-owner, one of the parties has the product but is not a technical expert and the other one is an expert but is always talking hypothetically. Communication is of course easier if the owner has a technical background e.g. they are an engineer.
What are the most common reasons for watches to be returned? The most common problems are caused by accidental damage for example dropping the watch or if the time is adjusted in in a humid/wet environment. If a watch is returned to use our aim is to have it back with the customer 6-8 weeks after they sent it to us. Sometimes the production of on a component can hold us up and cause a delay. We also have a policy of “continuous upgrades.” This means upgrading components in a calibre when a watch is returned to us. So even if a part is not causing any issues (and isn’t connected to the return) – if we are using a newer, improved version of this part we will endeavour to also install it within the repair at our cost. Of course, we will communicate with the watch owner about this process, and they can see exactly what work was carried out in the report which is automatically shared with them. This high level of transparency is part of the HORAGE brand ethic.
Do you work with the engineers/watchmakers e.g. give feedback to improve products? Absolutely as we mentioned earlier there is a loop with engineers, QC and SAV. We are a small team with much flatter hierarchies than with a big company where reports can take weeks to process. Every watch we build has a QR code linked to digital log. This allows us to quickly identify the batch, build date etc. As our calibres are continually upgraded this is a very important tool.
Can you give some examples of actual changes that have come about through this process. Usually a problem occurs when there has been a change to one part which interacts with a neighbouring component in an unexpected way. There might have been a change in production process or materials used.
For example, a component within an assembly is a little bit too soft and so it could wear prematurely. But if you adjusted to an increased hardness it would solve the problem of wear but have a negative effect elsewhere. There are lots of balances needed in a mechanical watch engine!
What steps should owners take to ensure their HORAGE watch performs perfectly? Well there’s the obvious stuff like don’t wind or adjust if you’re in a wet/damp environment. But as a collector I would say storage is something I would identify as a problem causer! I don’t keep my watches on a winder as they force the watch to run at maximum power. This would be like only driving your car at full speed everywhere. Let the watch run down! Lastly if you are returning a watch for service/repair clean it with a (unused) toothbrush and some warm water first. This will make the SAV partner very happy 😊
Thanks Richard, we hope you gained some new horological insights from this interview.
Which other departments at HORAGE would you like us to ‘investigate’?
Great article. Thanks for shedding light on the process Richard.
Curious about Richard’s question on getting a good independent watchmaker to work on the watch if for some reason it was needed.
Will scrub up any watches that need service in the future 😉
Thanks for the article. 3 questions in my mind:
Cases and bracelets get scratched. How do you refinish them?
Horage might be too young for the following questions: how long do you keep / produce parts to ensure long term serviceability of older watches?
You've said Horage watches are produced with serviceability in mind. Could independent watchmakers get Horage parts if they need to service a watch down the road?
As usual, love the transparency!
Insightful article. I would only counter point number 9 about winders, and say, avoid cheap winders that run continuously and/or those without any shielding from the electrical field of the motor, which could magnetize a watch movement. Better to use high quality winders that rotate in programmable intervals, that wind the mainspring while moving, and allow it to discharge energy while at rest, to avoid what the author cautions about running at maximum power.