So I was taken for a mug admittedly...well, sort of I think.. till I woke up to it...read on as a warning to others.

So Mrs Cargo says her watch has died. Now I bought this as a b'day present from Aeon department store in May 2019, so I figured the battery has died. At this point I was tossing up whether to take it back to the original shop or just to a watch booth next to Kandal market where incidentally I had previously replaced a battery for my phone. Anyway, I decide to take it back to the original store for a new battery. Lady there says sorry sir we don't do batteries but there's a shop on the ground floor that does that and she gives me directions.

So I find the shop and ask the girl there can she replace the battery. She says yes and quotes me $5. I say OK..I think I'd paid $4-5 dollar previously at Kandal market..so I think OK. She says to me 'take a seat sir' while she disappears behind a curtain to a little back room to replace the battery. 4 mins later she comes back with the watch with the back plate off and says 'sir, I put new battery but watch not work'. I'm thinking about it and then she says 'we can send it to the company for them to check and fix it and give you a quote for repair'. She says 'how old is the watch' and I think a couple of years old but then start to think about warranty coz I had a vague memory it had a long warranty.

So I say to her 'look, don't send it off just yet..let me check the warranty and I will get back to you soon, otherwise, I need to send it back to Aeon store'. She hesitates and says OK. I go home to check the receipt and find the warranty was 2 years however, so it's out of warranty. I phone her back to confirm that. I confirm they will give me a quote before doing any work and ask what is the turnaround time. She says 1 week. So I say OK to send it off for repair. She then says normally it's $25-30 and asks me is this the first time the battery has been changed.

Meanwhile, I'm starting to think this is a scam because one moment she's talking about a quote and then next specifying a particular amount. And what does it matter if this is the first time, the battery has been replaced? Anyway, later at coffee with an expat mate, I recollect the story and he suspects a scam too..although not conclusive. I discuss with Mrs Cargo and she thinks the same.

So I call the shop, a different girl answers and I tell her, I've changed my mind and I want the watch back. She says 'sorry sir, the watch go to the company already'. I ask that they return it regardless and she says 'sir I call you back in 20-25 mins'.. I smell a rat and think damn, I'm not going to wait for a return call, I'll go back to the shop.

I arrive at the shop (no phone call in the meantime) and the same original girl is there and she says to me 'the company is bringing back the watch'. I ask when will it be back. She says in 1 hour and she will call me when it arrives. I say OK but if I don't get a phone call by then I will be back at the shop. She says 'sorry sir' and I head off.

1 and half hours later, I get a call to say my watch is back to collect. I return there and she says 'sir, the company check it and fix it with machine and now work with new battery'. Hmm I think and say 'Oh good, so it's just $5 for new battery right?'. She says 'yes sir' and returns the working watch with a 2 yr warranty on the battery card!

If I hadn't of taken the action that I did, I would've got a call a week later with a $25-30 repair bill. Moral of the story, stand there while they replace the battery and check that they actually put a new one in...otherwise, walk away. Lesson learnt

Or they would have charged you $5 for a new battery anyway.

I understand where you're coming from but, this is a shop in Aeon and usually they're pretty upfront.

Who knows, could of been a scam in the end but I'm thinking it was more likely them using a different battery.

That's not a moral. The moral is "trust noone."

"If I hadn't of taken the action that I did..."

If you hadn't have taken the action you did, you wouldn't have had to return to the shop, because you wouldn't have left the watch there, in the first place.

^^
Thanks everyone for the considered posts.

Before I read those, I had walked away from all this pretty much convinced this was a scam. In view of some of the responses, I can see it's also plausible that incompetency may have been an explanation for what happened.

So maybe inconclusive as to whether it really was a scam albeit Interesting story I thought. Luckily, it had a happy ending with Mrs Cargo reunited with her working watch.

Buy your wife a new watch every year for her birthday and you will not have this sort of problem in the future.

If this is possible in just a watch, imagine the possibilities of dropping off the motorbike or car for a simple fix, them rectifying the small issues. Once the small issues are fixed, them switching out any parts for a cheaper inferior product or a product that is doomed to fail. It creates an ongoing business cycle for them.
The other half insists on sitting in the workshop, the entire time watching the mechanic, that being said , she wouldnt know a single thing about a bike, car or even what the word maintenance means. But just makes sure they know she's watching