Parsec Sports Timing?

I've sent Nike watches to Parsec for at least 4 years now and my only complaint is the inconvenience of having to package the watch and mail it. The turn around time from sending the watch in and receiving it with a new battery is generally less than two weeks. If you send a note with your watch indicating that you need it back ASAP for an upcoming competition, Parsec generally sent it back very quickly. I don't think I ever paid more than $16.95 for the battery replacement plus shipping and handling. The replacement batteries have always lasted around 18 months. Friends of mine who used local watch repair have noticed several different problems including the alarm no longer works, batteries wear out quicker, etc.

Parsec has tried to be nothing but helpful for us with problems we have dealt with. I think a major problem is that there are in fact three companies you are dealing with here Sieko/Nike/Parsec. Parsec never seems to have the parts for newer models, and I don't blame them. If Nike releases product that has no replacement parts what are they to do? I have had Nike product sent back to them and not heard a thing for a month or more. I guess that is the one piece of feedback that I would give. Even if you don't have an update, call the customer and let them know you haven't forgotten about them.

God forbid a "running speciality store" is dissatisfied. there's only a couple of those in the country, right? I can't believe not all of them are without complaint. it seems to me everybody should be happy at all times, especially in dealing with such an uncomplicated mechanism as a sports timepiece: I mean, I could probably craft such a device with a few loose scraps of wire and a small hammer. It baffles me why we need service centers at all!

No Way. Your name in regards to question 1 is absolutely appropriate. If a battery fails, whether it be $3 or $45, it doesn't just happen to start working again on a whim. There's obviously something more problematic with your watch than you may be aware of. Because the bottom line is this: Parsec does NOT charge $45 for a battery replacement. Look on their website, call them and ask them, inquire into the matter. They're not trying to hide their prices.

As for a business being "shady" because of their willingness to contract with Nike....I'd like for you to count the number of speciality running stores that don't contract with Nike. And like I said before, any business that tries to undermine another business without being fully aware of the facts is what is called slander and as far as I'm concerned that way of doing business is more shady than what your complaining of.

My $45 battery also includes a "screen cleaning". That is what the itemized bill stated. I got a bargain sice others only got a battery. Thank you for the additional service.

Here is a recent experience, within the last week.

My Nike watch(triax) had stopped working. It I had the battery replaced at a mall store. In a short time it stopped working again.

I am pretty resourceful so I decided to try and replace the battery myself. When I opened the watch I discovered that the internal chamber was filled with water and rust residue and the gasket was not seated properly.

Upon this discovery of a probelm beyond my ability to repair I sent the watch to Parsec enterprises. Within days they contacted me by mail with the estimate. As follows:

1 Battery - no charge

1 Gasket and sealer- $4.00

1 Movement - $20.00 (reduced from $40.00)

Labor- $18.00

Shipping - free

Total - $42.00

They also threw in an operation manual, for FREE. (I lost mine and asked to purchase one)

The watch was not under warranty.

The entire transacation took 2 weeks from leaving my house to arrival back at my house.

Frankly, I am very satisfied, the watch looked ruined and worthless to me when I opened it. They repaired it quickly and at a reasonable cost.

It appears to me that the company(mall store) that replaced the initial battery did, in fact, ruin the gasket and destroyed the water resistance of the watch which caused the subsequent damage.

I would be very happy to answer your questions. Please give me the repair numbers from your invoice or estimate and I will relate to you the parts replaced and the technicians notes regarding the analysis and repair of your watch. As to the running store in question, I cannot, and would not, relate anything concerning issues regarding another business. And, I would not in anyway impugn the good work of another business, such as your friend at Walmart.

Again, if you will provide the numbers, we can deal with facts and not conjecture. Thank you for your input.

Marc C. Young

Well, I for one think the problem is not Parsec. The Nike watches we have sold have had a history of "bugs" that always seemed to cause us to return about a third of the watches we sold. This includes my own Nike Triax 120, which I sent back to Parsec after a year and a half. I hope this won't make Mr. Young mad, and Justin knows, but it was returned to me with 250 laps of memory. A bonus with the "case cleaning", I thought, LOL. I also had a Triax 100 Heart Rate Monitor, and although I never sent it back, I did have to replace the battery in the chest strap every 2 months or so, from when it was brand new. I wondered out loud that if Nike/Seiko wanted you to send back these HRM for battery replacement, why the hell did they put the quarter slot in the back so yahoos like myself can get in there and change it themselves?!? Just seemed like an invitation to void the warranty to me. But not a knock on Parsec, they did not design the watch. Plus with all of the other assorted problems we have had with the Nike watches, I just thought somebody at Nike/Seiko did not like me. I cannot blame Parsec for anything. They have been nothing but good to us, even before our association with Mr. Young's son. I do however, have a small problem with Nike. We had returned a bunch of watches from customers who had them only for a few months when we first carried the watches. We then called Nike to send them back, and were told we could only send them back for repair to Parsec. We were never told this, I said. This presented a problem to us because we had already issued new watches for the defective ones to the customers, and we do not sell used watches or any other product. And besides, if a customer brings back a Nike shoe for a blown Air unit, we don't send the shoes back to Nike for repair of the blown Air unit while the customer waits. They gave in after seeing my point. Or after being afraid of me once they got me ticked off. I'm not in any way a representative from Parsec, but I would encourage any of you who have had a watch repaired at Parsec only to have it fail in a few months, send it back to Mr. Young. They are professionals at what they do. I can't imagine they would then charge you for the same service in 3 months if the watch fails. Deep down I know they wany what every other business wants. To make the customers happy and to say good things about them.

To Justin, as well as "Mr. Bateman"....Keep pluggin' away. I know Chicago did not go like you wanted, but we're still rooting for you. Wish I could have seen you more at Chicago, but I got lost.

No Way wrote:

I live in Chicago and their reputation is poor in our area. While on vacation in southern Florida, I wandered into a running shop and shared the above story with the storeowner. He laughed and said his experiences have been similar.

No Way,

Do you recall which running shop this was? I used to live in south Florida and work at the running shop FootWorks, so I'm sure it wasn't that one. We always spoke highly of Parsec's service. And I know there are only a handful of other running stores in the South Florida area, i.e. Runner's High, Running Edge, Runner's Depot... As a former Miami runner, I'm just curious.

I am interested in purchasing some of your "Imperial Sluts". Price is not my concern, I am willing to pay for quality. Please forward me a catalog.