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Regrettably,
it is the belief of the general public that watchmakers as a whole
are harassed and overworked mechanics, their nervous temperament attributed
to being an occupational hazard of the watch repair profession. Among
those involved in watch repair, however, it is well known that
watchmakers who understand their trade thoroughly do not find their
work laborious, monotonous or detrimental to their nervous system.
On the contrary, good watch repairers find their work interesting
- they inject life into a watch that is dead and useless, and after
their work is complete, the watch again becomes an essential factor
in the modern system. It is
the speed under which the watch repairer is demanded to execute
his skill that enervates him. The indiscreet judgment, the demands
of the public and, in many cases, of his employer are the things that
add to his tribulations. The time
demands under which the watch repairer is required to work
is one of the main contributors A good
watch repairer will find pleasure in putting a watch in first-class
condition if he is allowed ample time to do the work, but his employer
frequently fails to prepare his customer to pay for the time that
is required for such work. The employer will generally give an estimate
on the repair haphazardly, and promise a satisfactory result. When
he hands over the job to his watchmaker the price is plainly marked
on the tag, and that suffices to instruct the watchmaker as to how
much time he may spend on the watch. Let us assume the price is marked
$1 for a mainspring. A watch
is sometimes given to the watch repairer by his employer with
instructions to clean and regulate it. The price is placed at $1.50.
When the watch is taken apart the conscientious repairer sees at once
that the balance staff (that has been maltreated by a former repairer)
must be replaced by a new one, jewel holes must be fitted properly,
the jewel pin is several degrees too small for the notch in the fork,
some train pivots must be repolished and their respective holes closed,
the side-shake must be taken up, and several other jobs which the
repairer knows are essential in order to obtain the results demanded
by the owner of the watch. The final
outcome of such jobs is detrimental to the watch repairer's
peace of mind, and robs the employer and his employee of their fraternal
understanding, for it is an inevitable occurrence that such jobs are
eventually brought back to the store accompanied by that well-known
song and dance that is freely given to a watchmaker if the job is
unsatisfactory. If the
customer is combative he will venture to add that all his watch needed
in the first place was regulating, and evidently he paid $1.50 for
a job that was never executed. Such remarks are apt to put a crimson
flush on the repairer's face and discourage the best of workmen. As
for the boss, who has by this time either forgotten or was never aware
of the fact that his watchmaker had difficulties to make both ends
meet on the job, owing to the lack of time, he offers reasonable excuses
to his customer - assures him of positive satisfaction, and this time
without charge, if he will leave the watch for a few days observation.
Then the employer is ready to put the whole blame on his watchmaker
for not properly timing the repairs. Such
are mainly the conditions that cause the discomforts of the employer
and add to the trials of the watch repairer in his employ.
Every
competent repairer is willing to do good work, but his desire is in
many cases blocked by certain limitations and restrictions. It is
impossible to obtain high-grade results from a low grade watch. There
are certain grades of watches that are not modeled for close timekeeping,
and in order to obtain the results, which some laymen expect from
such timepieces it would require several days' labor of a skilled
watch repairer, who would have to reconstruct the watch. It would
be a great aid to the man at the workbench if his employer would instruct
his customers concerning the results to be expected from his watch.
A low-grade
cylinder movement cannot be timed as closely as a 17-jewel movement,
nor can a seven-jewel movement be adjusted to heat and cold or time
in five positions. Such
facts must not be left unexplained to the owner of a watch. Every
watch can be put in running order, but accurate time can only be obtained
from a movement that was designed to give such time. It seems
strange that watchmakers have failed to inaugurate a system similar
to that adopted in other trades. A plumber, for example, seldom gives
estimates on repairs before the job is completed. He invariably takes
his time in doing the job, and charges for his labor in proportion
to the time rendered, regardless of the result of the job. The watchmaker
is less fortunate. If a watch is taken in to be repaired and the price
is fixed at $1.50, the time spent on such a job by the repairer is
generally an expenditure to the boss of 75 cents, material averages
15 cents on each repair, and benzine, oil, light and rent 25 cents,
leaving 35 cents as a net profit for the "boss" under the
most favorable conditions. For this sum of 35 cents he is practically
requested, owing to the prevailing custom, to hand over to his customer
a paid-up insurance policy on his watch for one year! Such are the present difficulties that confront the watch repairer. He must determine how to do justice to his profession, to his boss and to the public.
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