[bitt3n]

I have a Citizen PMD56-2592. I was having a small problem with it where the minute hand was running slightly slow relative to the hour hand. I sent it into Citizen's Torrance facility to get it fixed, but so far no luck. I have now sent it in three times in a row, and am considering sending it in a fourth time.

The first time it came back more broken than before. The only changes were that the day-of-the-week wheel was now advancing too far, and the caseback was not fully seated. The second time they told me that somehow the dial had been scratched and the second hand was damaged, so they ordered new parts from Japan to replace them (free of charge). They installed the new parts, sent the watch back. The new dial was completely missing lume on one of the digits, and the (new?) second hand was clearly scratched in two places.

I sent it back a third time and (after waiting two more months for parts) they sent it back, now with the minute hand still not adjusted right, and the day-of-the-week wheel still slightly askew.

This was nearly a $700 purchase, so I'd like to get it fixed properly. What should I do? Should I send it back a fourth time? Should I try to find an address in Japan I can use to send the watch to Japan to get repaired? (This model was produced for the Japanese market, but I am presently in the US.) Should I have a local watch repair guy fiddle with it, even though this would undoubtedly void the warranty and he couldn't water test it properly?

Also, the date wheel appears to have gotten more out of adjustment in the past week I've been wearing it. I'd post a picture but I don't have the requisite 5 posts.

tldr: Citizen keeps bungling what seems like a basic repair, and I am wondering if I should get the work done locally even though this voids the warranty, ship it back a fourth time, or try shipping it to Japan for service

 

[7s26b]

Maybe this one should be answered by COA ?? I presume they are still members here??
I think a swift intervention by them would be a good idea for all concerned.

 

[nzwatchdoctor]

I was a watchmaker for Citizen here in NZ.
We would never have treated a customer / watch like that.
Its pathetic

Can you talk to the manager about it?

 

[bitt3n]

Maybe this one should be answered by COA ?? I presume they are still members here??
I think a swift intervention by them would be a good idea for all concerned.

I'd love to talk to them if they're some way for me to get in contact. While the representatives have been polite and apologetic over the phone, I am disappointed with the level of service I've received. In particular I don't know how it's possible to install a face that's missing lume on one of the digits when a two-second glance under regular light is enough to see the problem. Then someone else somehow marked the repair as 'inspected'. The scratches on the hand were harder to spot but obvious enough after I noticed the face was defective.

I originally bought a Citizen because I wanted a reliable watch that I could be confident would be backed up with good service. So far I'm not impressed.

I was a watchmaker for Citizen here in NZ.
We would never have treated a customer / watch like that.
Its pathetic

Can you talk to the manager about it?

I hadn't thought of asking to speak with the manager. I'm reluctant to turn this into a confrontation by accusing them of handling things sub-optimally. The last time I spoke with them, the guy I talked to said they could try to fix the date wheel, but he didn't sound too confident. At this point I'm not sure I trust the people who work there to open up the watch again.

 

[tsteph12]

This is most unfortunate. I've sent several Citizen watches to the Torrance,CA center for service, including JDM models, and all have come back in perfect working order in very timely fashion. Prices have always seemed quite reasonable as well. Have you tried sending an email here for assistance?

[email protected]

 

[7s26b]

Citizen is a forum member - try pm'ing them, see if you get an answer. citizenwatchco

 

[bedmac]

This is most unfortunate. I've sent several Citizen watches to the Torrance,CA center for service, including JDM models, and all have come back in perfect working order in very timely fashion. Prices have always seemed quite reasonable as well. Have you tried sending an email here for assistance?

[email protected]

That was my experience as well.

 

[bitt3n]

I emailed their customer service address with the following. I will report back on what I hear from them (or perhaps they will post here). Thanks for all your advice so far.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I'm afraid I'm contacting you about a problem I've had getting my watch serviced at your facility. I sent it in originally in December of 2013 to get the minute hand adjusted, as it was running slightly slow relative to the second hand. (The original repair number is R559396.) At that point, the following events took place.

1. When I received the watch back, it did not appear that the minute hand had actually been adjusted. The only evidence the watch had been opened was the fact the caseback had not been reinstalled properly, so that there was a visible gap between the watch body and one side of the caseback flange. The watch was apparently somehow both inspected and water tested in this state. I sent it back in.

2. After a month went by, I called your facility and spoke to Anna, who told me that apparently the face of the watch and the second hand had been damaged somehow, and Citizen was awaiting new parts from Japan. (This is a Japanese domestic model, so there was no local parts inventory.) When I received the watch back after two months, at first glance it was obvious that the new dial was defective: the second digit at the eleven o'clock position was entirely missing its lume, which is upraised from the face. Also, there were two small scratches on the new second hand. I sent it back in.

3. After an additional two months went by, I received the watch back with the face and hand fixed. However, the day-of-the-week wheel is now sufficiently out of kilter that the lettering is slightly obscured by the bottom of the date window. This problem did not exist when I sent the watch in for service in December. I contacted your facility again about this and spoke with Ricardo, who suggested, much to my dismay, that the problem might be unfixable, although he said I could send it back in and they would try to do something. The minute hand is now running about 15 seconds behind the new second hand.

Thus far, this watch has spent six months sitting around waiting for parts or traveling back and forth across the country from Torrance to the East Coast (six times total), only to end up in worse condition than when I sent it in originally.

At this point, being concerned what additional problems would result if I sent it in for service again, I posted about my experience on a forum dedicated to Citizen watches in order to ask for advice regarding what I should do next. (COA appears to have an account on this forum.) The forum post is here:

[link to forum post went here. I don't have enough forum posts to post links]

This wasn't a inexpensive purchase, at $700 for a quartz movement. I bought a Citizen expecting I'd have a reliable watch that could be serviced easily. Needless to say, based on my experience thus far, I am not entirely convinced this was a good idea.

The feedback on that forum suggested other people have had great service from you, and your staff have indeed been polite and as helpful as possible over the phone. This gives me reason to believe that this problem can be resolved. I do hope so. Thanks for your time.

 

[bitt3n]

Update: I have received a friendly response from Citizen offering to have the watch shipped back to them at no charge so that the issue can be sorted out properly. Hopefully the fourth time will be the charm. I'll keep you guys posted with any updates. Thanks again.

 

[bitt3n]

Update: The rep called and said the watch is repaired but she had a question I'm hoping some people here might be able to help answer.

She noticed that the minute hand appears to move between five positions, hitting the minute marker when the second hand hits 50 and moving past the minute marker when the second hand hits 5. She asked if this is the behavior I recall. I don't recall if that's how it's supposed to operate. (Naturally if there are only 5 positions for the minute hand, it can't change every ten seconds, which seems the logical way to do it.)

Is this normal behavior for a Citizen watch? It seems like a minor point, but given the watch is at the repair center I figured I ought to be sure it's completely repaired. (The exact watch is PMD56-2592, a Japanese domestic model.)

 

[nzwatchdoctor]

Update: The rep called and said the watch is repaired but she had a question I'm hoping some people here might be able to help answer.

She noticed that the minute hand appears to move between five positions, hitting the minute marker when the second hand hits 50 and moving past the minute marker when the second hand hits 5. She asked if this is the behavior I recall. I don't recall if that's how it's supposed to operate. (Naturally if there are only 5 positions for the minute hand, it can't change every ten seconds, which seems the logical way to do it.)

Is this normal behavior for a Citizen watch? It seems like a minor point, but given the watch is at the repair center I figured I ought to be sure it's completely repaired. (The exact watch is PMD56-2592, a Japanese domestic model.)

It does seem a bit strange - normally the minute hand would move when the seconds hand hit 60/12 but either way is designed into the circuit and that definitely doesn't seem like a circuit fault.

I'd just say it was a quirk of that model and get used to it