If you are a regular visitor to watch shops then you have probably already evaluated, whether consciously or not, the welcome and expertise of the sales staff. If not, pay attention the next time you enter a watch store. How you are welcomed, how you are treated and how the sale is handled will determine whether you buy a watch from that store and, far more importantly, whether you return to the store. This is the message that Eric Othenin-Girard, the Director of Training at the Watch Sales Academy, gives to his students on the first of their 42 days of training. “It’s a big step for many people even to enter a watch store,” he explains, “because they can be quite imposing. Furthermore, for many people spending in excess of several thousand Swiss francs on a watch is a big deal. When they enter the store, therefore, how they are welcomed is crucial in clinching a sale and retaining a customer.”
Hence the establishment of a federally recognized certificate for watch sales staff, targeted primarily at staff already working in watch stores, but also attended by staff from the watch brands themselves, who are looking to deepen their knowledge. The 42 days of training are spread over two years at the frequency of 14 three-day sessions with a maximum of 12 students. To get a feel for the course, its contents and its participants, I attended a full day of one course at the Watch Sales Academy in Le Locle, which packed in an abbreviated history of watchmaking, health and safety issues such as allergies, radiation and battery recycling, anti-magnetism and industry standards. In just one day, that’s quite a range of subject matter and the course is also complemented by practical visits to the watchmaking museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the watchmaking section of the commercial school in Le Locle and the workshops of Giulio Papi, who talks about movement design and shows off some of the most expensive watches on the market.
Suffice it to say that those who are awarded their federal certificate at the end of the two-year course are well equipped to serve today’s demanding watch buyers, who are increasingly knowledgeable not least thanks to the Internet. Having witnessed the motivation of the students and the expert tuition of Aurélie Michaud, a watch restorer at the International Watchmaking Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Gaia Award Winner. I am confident that the customers of tomorrow will be in good hands, at least as far as Switzerland is concerned. But the Watch Sales Academy also offers modular courses with a more targeted approach, as well as an international course for foreign nationals. Find out more on the Watch Sales Academy website.
