# Ball Watch Service in Singapore



## GhoulOfTheEast (Sep 23, 2007)

Folks,

I had shared in an earlier thread about the issue I had with the misaligned hand on the 6 o'clock subdial on my Fireman Ionosphere. I finally got around to going over to the Ball Watch service center on Bendemeer Road in Singapore this evening. 

The experience was superlative and was beyond my expectation - truly 'customer delight' material and I wanted to share the same with you. I really was pleasantly surprised.

- The location and the building are not much to right home about, but the Service Center is super fancy shmancy - NICE reception, mood lighting, automatic sliding doors (Star Trek style!) into what I think is the workshop, a nice collection of watch magazines in the waiting area.

- The technician looked at my watch and said..."no problem, please wait"...went into the workshop (thru the Star Trek door). Meanwhile a lady came and asked me if I wanted coffee or a soda while I waited. I politely declined...while flipping through a watch magazine (Ball ads were bookmarked  ). She comes back and asks me how the watch is keeping time and if I would like them to regulate it for me. I wasn't about to turn down a good offer, and I said sure... despite the fact that I hadn't really tracked the performance since the watch hasn't notably been off. The man comes back with the problem fixed and the watch regulated! I was expecting to leave it there for a few days...but he fixed it AND regulated it on the spot while I waited...fantastic job, VERY knowledgeable and courteous, and no complaints with the service yet.

- Notably, there was no one else in the service center...it was nearly closing time...but the place didnt look like it saw many people coming in - granted that its new...but it seems like not many people have had issues with their Balls (er...pun not intended)

- They didnt even want to see my warranty card or purchase reciept despite the fact I offered.

- Quick bit of info for Nightrain fans...the new batch is going to come with Green Tritium hour markers instead of yellow...along with the UTC window relabelled to Universal Military Time instead, as has been discussed in other threads. Not sure if I would prefer the green over the yellow...might just yank an old one with the mislabelled UTC window - although am concerned with the issues with straps falling off and the incorrectly mounted buckle pin on some (rubber?) straps.

- The lady (pity I didnt ask them their names) offered to call me when the new batch arrived...and took my number down. Remember that this isnt a retail outlet...and there're no commisions involved! Fantastic.

Kudos to the gentleman and lady who attended to me earlier this evening - if anyone @ Ball Watch is reading this...they definitely qualify for a spot award / bonus!

Anyway, sorry for not posting for a while...things have been quite busy - new job, and preparing for my imminent doo...er wedding  Hope ya'll had a great X'mas - best wishes for a fantastic 2008! 

Cheers!


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## srh_pres (Apr 13, 2006)

*Great to hear that GOTE (about the service and your impending... wedding - congrats)... |>*


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## GhoulOfTheEast (Sep 23, 2007)

srh_pres said:


> *Great to hear that GOTE (about the service and your impending... wedding - congrats)... |>*


Thanks Steve


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## scottw44 (Aug 16, 2006)

the issue with the strap is the pins are slightly too fat...they need to be .7 and are .8 in some.

I got my first backward strap and found out the screw heads are for show and popped it off with a spring bar tool and reversed it.

Granted, at 1799 US Retail, I should not have to put my loupe on...and I do hope they get this right.


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## ceratos (Nov 18, 2007)

Upz for service centre in Singapore.........:-!


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## sys12345 (Aug 30, 2007)

I'm glad to hear that Ball Singapore provides such excellent customer service. It gives peace of mind should any of my watches requires a service trip. :-!


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## GhoulOfTheEast (Sep 23, 2007)

Woke up to the subdial hand slightly past 12 o'clock...depressing the chrono reset button took it back to exactly 12 o'clock. All good for now, but I dont want to be doing this everyday. Will keep ya'll posted.

Cheers!


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## bullosa (Jul 11, 2007)

Good to hear that you have a pleasant experience with Ball Singapore. Cheers!


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## JimmyT (May 7, 2006)

I have to agree with you a 100%. I was there last Wednesday afternoon at the After Sales Service Center ( Singapore ) to buy the Engineer Hydrocarbon rubber strap at Ball . As the receptionist was on vocation, I was attended by 2 very friendly Ball staff -- KK Ho / Finanace Manager and Mr Lee / Ball Staff Watchmaker. KK Ho is a very pleasant person to talk to and even offered to mail me the Ball 2008 cataloque.

As you described, the new Ball Office Service Center Recept room is spacious and very well furnished. Mr Lee took less than 10 mins to complete the band swop. I have thought of doing it myself but not sure if its easy. Mr Lee showed me the right way to do it without scratching the lugs. 

I requested to have my watch movement accuracy checked and it was found to be slow by 16 secs per day at 3 O'clock position. Mr Lee tuned it to less than +3 secs per day. I was expecting to be charged for this service but it did not cost me anything.

Well, I am into my 3rd day of wrist time with my tuned-up Engineer Hydrocarbon GMT and its at + 1 sec accuracy. 

Definitely a very happy experience with Ball's Best-In-Class service and friendly attention. This is an After Sales Service Center that is so distinctively different from the rest that I have visited. 

Cheers !


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## marineguy8888 (Oct 14, 2007)

:-! for balls singapore 

Keep up the good work .


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## exxondus (Sep 10, 2007)

My Ball EMII Chronometer LE is losing/gaining 1-3 minutes a month even tho I wear it 5 days a week and leave it on a eilux watch winder over the weekends.

Is this something that i can bring over to the service centre to check? I mean, althou it kinda bothers me to have to wind my watch every week (usually 1 minute slower after a week), but then i wonder how would they view me if i just go there and tell them hey your chornometer is losing more time even tho its certified


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## sys12345 (Aug 30, 2007)

Exxondus, if i recalled correctly, COSC specs -4/+6 secs/day. It appears that your Ball EMII C. LE is running within specs. At the extreme (assuming its consistently losing/gaining), it'll lose 120 secs or gain 180 secs in a month. What u r experiencing falls within these extremes and it appears fine to me IMO. As in the discussion about watch winders some time back, I noticed that my watch winder pretty much throws my watches out of their usual operation spec (as experienced by some other forummers as well). So, how accurate are u expecting yr watch to be? Suggest u try not using the winder & evaluate the performance first.

Edit update: Now i'm a bit confused, u mentioned yr watch is losing/gaining 1 - 3 mins in a month and later added that its usually 1 min slower after a week. Which is correct? There are about 30 days in a month and 7 days in a week. If its usually slower by 1 min in a week, then u do have an issue with yr watch (if the result is the same after taking it off the winder).



exxondus said:


> My Ball EMII Chronometer LE is losing/gaining 1-3 minutes a month even tho I wear it 5 days a week and leave it on a eilux watch winder over the weekends.
> 
> Is this something that i can bring over to the service centre to check? I mean, althou it kinda bothers me to have to wind my watch every week (usually 1 minute slower after a week), but then i wonder how would they view me if i just go there and tell them hey your chornometer is losing more time even tho its certified


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## GhoulOfTheEast (Sep 23, 2007)

sys12345 said:


> Exxondus, if i recalled correctly, COSC specs -4/+6 secs/day. It appears that your Ball EMII C. LE is running within specs. At the extreme (assuming its consistently losing/gaining), it'll lose 120 secs or gain 180 secs in a month. What u r experiencing falls within these extremes and it appears fine to me IMO. As in the discussion about watch winders some time back, I noticed that my watch winder pretty much throws my watches out of their usual operation spec (as experienced by some other forummers as well). So, how accurate are u expecting yr watch to be? Suggest u try not using the winder & evaluate the performance first.
> 
> Edit update: Now i'm a bit confused, u mentioned yr watch is losing/gaining 1 - 3 mins in a month and later added that its usually 1 min slower after a week. Which is correct? There are about 30 days in a month and 7 days in a week. If its usually slower by 1 min in a week, then u do have an issue with yr watch (if the result is the same after taking it off the winder).


I resonate exactly the same sentiment. 1-3 minutes a month isn't something I would worry about, but if its consistently losing 1 minute or more every week, then you might want to head over to the Ball service center. I presume they would be happy to regulate it for you free of charge - do call and check before you go though.


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## exxondus (Sep 10, 2007)

GhoulOfTheEast said:


> I resonate exactly the same sentiment. 1-3 minutes a month isn't something I would worry about, but if its consistently losing 1 minute or more every week, then you might want to head over to the Ball service center. I presume they would be happy to regulate it for you free of charge - do call and check before you go though.


hi guys, thanks for the replies. sorry i wasnt too clear, let me rephrase

1) I have set the watch based on my handphone digital clock. Upon wearing, it can go out by 30-40 secs a day.
2) Hence, in aabout 4-5 days of daily wearing to work, i notice it to be 1-2 minutes out. 
3) within a week, it can be out by 1-3 minutes.

Cant really gauge a month as I usually rewind it every sun. not that I am very particular and have to e accurate to the second or minute, but just wondering if tis is how a chornometer shld behave thats all


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## sys12345 (Aug 30, 2007)

Exxondus, i think u have to set a correct benchmarking tool before u can be certain that yr watch needs regulating. IMO, a handphone clock is not exactly an accurate tool to benchmark against. Use an Internet atomic clock for comparison. If yr C. LE watch is off by 30-40 secs/day as compared to an atomic clock, then its not running within specs as a COSC certified watch should be. Bring it back to the service centre and i'm sure they should be able to get it regulated.



exxondus said:


> hi guys, thanks for the replies. sorry i wasnt too clear, let me rephrase
> 
> 1) I have set the watch based on my handphone digital clock. Upon wearing, it can go out by 30-40 secs a day.
> 2) Hence, in aabout 4-5 days of daily wearing to work, i notice it to be 1-2 minutes out.
> ...


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## groundhog (Aug 25, 2007)

Just for info purpose, the clock on a cell phone is regulated by an atomic clock.


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## scottw44 (Aug 16, 2006)

groundhog said:


> Just for info purpose, the clock on a cell phone is regulated by an atomic clock.


I notice variance on my cell phone clock so I don't trust it. I like to go to the same reliable source every day so I know exactly what I am getting.

For like 18 bucks, we bought a small clock that receives the atomic signal and updates nightly, or can be updated manually whenever you want. I find it works very well, and it is my official time source.


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## sys12345 (Aug 30, 2007)

I'm not sure if this is a fact for all service providers and/or mobile phones but its certainly not happening in my case. The clock of my PPC phone can hardly be termed accurate, even a cheapo quartz watch beats it anytime.<|



groundhog said:


> Just for info purpose, the clock on a cell phone is regulated by an atomic clock.


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## obie (Feb 9, 2006)

groundhog said:


> Just for info purpose, the clock on a cell phone is regulated by an atomic clock.


My cell phone is nowhere accurate whatsoever. I use time.gov to keep track of accuracy.


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## GhoulOfTheEast (Sep 23, 2007)

Neither is mine. Not off by leaps and bounds, but still not super accurate.


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