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March 2024 by Erik Warnes
Very friendly and helpful.
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February 2024 by Jake Meer
I’m a regular at this point, and had another excellent interaction. Yacov complimented my watch and made me feel super at-home as he gracefully helped me with a tricky bracelet sizing with ease. Will return many times!
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February 2024 by Anthony Roman
I made an appointment to drop off a cuckoo clock for service. When I arrived at the scheduled time, the shop was closed. I had an email from the shop specifying the time of the appointment, so I confirmed that I was not mistaken about the time. The scheduled time was also during the normal business hours that were advertised on the shop's website. Nevertheless, the shop was closed.
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November 2023 by Steven Ellis
Dropped off a watch (micro-brand) with a broken stem. Was told they would take a look and let me know what the cost would be -- my check receipt said, explicitly, "estimate", with no price. Got a call a couple weeks later -- repair was finished and would be $75. Not what I was told to expect. The repair did work, but other things, that were fine before, are now failing. I'll try another place next time.
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July 2023 by David B.
Time for this place to go away. Long time customers - all the way back to when we were wee lads and lassies. Have used KC&W for all sorts of repairs, from vintage watches to our beloved Grandfather Clock. For years and years, the watch repairs were first rate - done while-u-wait, and always for a reasonable price. And Scott, the Tech who repairs and services clocks, is a top-level technician and a really, really nice guy. But lately, things have changed. Although the event probably has nothing to do with the steep downward slide in service, things started to go South when the place had its window smashed (not sure what happened - for us, however, simply a marker in time). Now, it always was a bit of a challenge and a circus in dealing with this place - you almost felt as if the place were run by Russian Mobsters who were running a front for some nefarious enterprise. And then, there was the young lady who would call - and call and call and call again - claiming that "your clock is due for service." Now, since each service call was $175 (plus any parts), scheduling a service call was a rather serious matter. But - she would call, like clockwork (pun fully intended) claiming that our clock needed servicing. Okay, still, because of Scott, we could handle that - for years, we simply politely declined the bi-monthly invites, and scheduled our clock service for the annual checkup. Which brings us to today. Our clock stopped working - it was serviced last May, so it's only been three months. So, we call - and, no answer. We call back, and we get a vague, "I'll have to check with my manager - we'll call you back." Well, no call back. So, we go to the store - needed a battery for the watch, anyway. And we see the "help wanted" sign in the window, and only Yakov (who has been there for years) is there, along with a fellow sitting behind a computer. No hello, no "how may we help you," nothing - but again, we're used to the weird vibe of this place. Old, dirty, slanting floors, same inventory of clocks for sale for the past 20 years. Finally, it's my turn - need a new battery for my cheap watch. And - I get charged $34 for a battery replacement on a cheap Chinese sports watch. Granted, Yakov told me that it was my choice - but the watch is somewhat sentimental, and I wanted to save it, so Yakov replaced the battery - grumbling all the time about something (couldn't make out the language - I assume Russian). And so I ask the fellow behind the computer - what about Scott - can he service our clock? "The manager will call you." Well, the "manager" hasn't called, our clock is still not working, and my new $34 battery isn't keeping very good time, anyway. So, a fail all around. What's the bottom line? Take your business elsewhere. Something - we know not what - has happened to this place. I'm sure there is a very good reason why only one person (Yakov) is left working (the other guy doesn't count - he just runs the credit cards for payment). And in the old days, there was something charming about a local business with a run-down, cluttered, disorganized "showroom" (that's being generous) on a historic corner with some truly old-school watchmakers sitting behind cluttered desks, fixing watches. And then there is Scott - oh where-oh-where are you, Scott, and can we contact you directly? No, we don't miss the bi-monthly harassment by the young lady trying to schedule repeated clock maintenance service calls. But we miss you. As for KW&C - today is farewell to thee. No more attitude, overcharging, poor people skills, arrogant and obnoxious customer "service." Maybe the owner, or the manager, or whomever, will finally hear the bell toll on this place, and put it out of its misery. As for the rest of us - go elsewhere. Spend your money with people who appreciate your business. KC&W are the "No Soup For YOU!" equivalents for the watch-repair world. And Scott - may you please, plea
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March 2023 by Brain Spills
Fast, friendly service. My wife had several watches with dead batteries. When I realized I couldn't read the battery types, even with a magnifying glass, I came here. I read some bad reviews, but came anyway, on two occasions. Both times, we were in and out in a few minutes, with excellent service and a decent price. I would tell you that I would go back here in the future, but I already have returned a second time, which was even faster than the first time. Everyone was friendly. The watch repairer literally whistles while he works. It's great. Yeah, it might cost $20 to change some obscure Swiss battery in a rare watch, but that's reasonable. I never saw any of the negative things I read in the bad reviews. We will continue to come here every time we have an issue with a watch. Give them a try!
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March 2023 by Jon Solomon
I usually go to another watch repair shop who charges me around $10-$12 for a battery replacement but today I tried Kensington because they were a lot closer. Unfortunately, I was seriously overcharged for the replacement of some watch batteries. Kensington's website advertises 3 watch batteries for $18.69 with a "while you wait" special of $7.69 so I was confused when my total turned out to be $87 when it should only have been around $26. The technician said that one of the watches "needed to be sealed" and that another took some time because of the screws (whatever that's supposed to mean), but nothing that warranted tripling my tab. Regardless, I sat right near him for the 15 minutes it took him to replace these batteries and he never once asked me to approve any additional work that would have incurred additional costs.If they had charged me fairly, I would have returned. By seriously overcharging me today, they lost any chance that I would ever give them any more business.
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March 2023 by Jon S.
I usually go to another watch repair shop who charges me around $10-$12 for a battery replacement but today I tried Kensington because they were a lot closer. Unfortunately, I was seriously overcharged for the replacement of some watch batteries. Kensington's website advertises 3 watch batteries for $18.69 with a "while you wait" special of $7.69 so I was confused when my total turned out to be $87 when it should only have been around $26. The technician said that one of the watches "needed to be sealed" and that another took some time because of the screws (whatever that's supposed to mean), but nothing that warranted tripling my tab. Regardless, I sat right near him for the 15 minutes it took him to replace these batteries and he never once asked me to approve any additional work that would have incurred additional costs. If they had charged me fairly, I would have returned. By seriously overcharging me today, they lost any chance that I would ever give them any more business.
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February 2023 by William Diaz
Very knowledgeable. Family owned honest great service a+++++
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August 2022 by Matthew Sims
I took a cuckoo clock in for repair since this shop had repaired it once before many years ago. The person in the shop is borderline rude and very disinterested in engaging with the customer. I received and estimate the following day for $275 to repair the clock. When I asked why the estimate was so high and I thought the only problem was the chain was off track, the technician said that a part was broken and the clock needed to be taken apart and rebuilt. I took the clock for a 2nd opinion to Eckers Clock Repair in Bethesda. He repaired the clock while I waited, tested it and charged $25.Customer beware of Kensington Clock Shop.
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March 2022 by Charles M.
I dropped off my aviator chronograph watch in November 2020 for restoration and the company never returned the watch to me or refunded me the cost of the repairs. Their technician Alex gave multiple excuses for not having the watch ready just as others have said in their ratings. This place is most definitely to be avoided at all costs. I am currently preparing to file in small claims court to settle this.
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March 2022 by Ed L.
I took a good mens watch 3 years ago for a part replacement and returned or calle and was told it was on backorder. The watchmaker stopped responding to my texts and emails. The staff "knows nothing." The absent owner "has no phone" and does not respond to my emails. Today I went to the shop and was told to leave. They have no intention of teturning my watch.
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March 2022 by Josephine R.
Here's what just happened. My metal watchband broke so I walked into Kensington Clock and Watch. Even though it his day off, the repair man works at my band carefully for 10 or 15 minutes so that it is as good as new. When I asked where I should make my payment, he waved me away. Free. Let's support this place!
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March 2022 by Patty S.
I had 8-10 watches that needed new batteries and one antique that I was hoping to have restored. Their website advertised $7.25 for battery and professional installation while you wait. The guy told me $12.95 for each battery and refused to honor the advertised price. Told me that was an old ad and prices go up, blah blah blah. He was so rude I took my watches and left. He had also been rude to the man who was ahead of me, an 80 year old black man. They had charged him $15 for a battery and damaged his watch in the process. I mention the customer's race because he paid $3 more than what I was quoted. I'm white. Can't imagine any other reason for the difference in price. I have filed a complaint with the county consumer affairs people based on their failure to honor advertised prices.
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January 2022 by Sean Donnally
They are unprofessional and completely unresponsive. I left them with an anniversary clock. They said they would get back to me. 10 days later they still had not contacted me. I called and they said Alex would call me. He never did. I called the next day to inquire about my clock. "Alex will call me". He never did again. i finally got tired of waiting for "Alex to call me" so I just went in to pick up my clock. They had no idea what I was talking about when I arrived to pick up my clock. Even after I showed them the claim check, they still could not find my clock. They finally found it, and when I asked them what they would want to fix it, "Alex" pulled a number out of the air and said $175.00. I told him that there must be a mistake because you can go on line and replace this clock for $50-$90. He said yes, I will charge you more than you can to replace it. I asked him why did it take almost two weeks for him to tell me that? He could have told me that when i first brought it in. He just looked at me an stared. Alex went back to staring out the window, and the women at the desk went back to eating. I don't think they really do any work at this clock shop. This place is a joke. They must own the building and just collect social security or welfare to exist because they cant be making any money.
