We visited IWC Schaffhausen today and it was….an experience.
From the moment we walked in, the associate at the counter was disengaged and unwelcoming. There was no greeting, no effort to acknowledge us, he actually just remained seated, focused on his phone or whatever was in his hand. My husband asked to see a specific model and while still sitting, he responded that it was “an older model,” saying they only the newest version was in store, without any attempt to educate or direct us.
When my husband asked where the updated model was, he simply POINTED to a display case directly in front of us (again, without getting up or offering assistance). It wasn’t until my husband explicitly asked to try it on that he finally stood to help.
Even then, there was little effort to engage or assist. Just when it seemed like he couldn’t get any douchier, he asked my husband’s budget—something that might’ve been appropriate had he made any attempt at all to build rapport or ask my husband a single meaningful question. Instead, my husband gave a deliberately understated number, and the associate laughed, saying anything in the store would “start at 7.”
Ultimately, we strolled down the hall to Cartier, where the difference in service was night and day. The team was welcoming and our associate was warm, attentive, and genuinely helpful. Anyways, my husband ended up purchasing a Santos-Dumont XL model (it’s fabulous) and we allllll lived happily ever after.