"FOC" - Music to My Ears

 

I took my father's watch to Rolex at Tong Building on Monday for battery replacement.

The Filipino Front Desk Officer greeted me with a wide grin and I said I was there to 'change battery for the watch'.

She took a look at the watch and said,"Yes, this watch needs battery."

I asked,"How much do you charge to change the battery?" My father had a 2008 receipt which had '$30' clearly printed on it for battery replacement. He said the price has since increased. My brother last replaced the battery for $50. I would expect the price to further increase to at least $80 but I bore a secret hope that it remained at $50.

To my utter surprise, the lady replied,"We don't charge for changing of battery."

I was stunned. I must be dreaming.

I repeated,"No charge?"

She affirmed the repetition,"There's no charge."

I clarified,"But you used to charge for changing of battery."

She replied,"Yes, but for now, we don't charge."

It's free? At Rolex, an ostentatious, luxury brand for watches. They don't want the money?

Yay!!! 

There's something that doesn't need money in Singapore! 

I waited around for the receipt and feasted my eyes on the watch displays that priced from a humble $6xxx to $39xxx before walking out of the door feeling really lucky.

A catch: the watch would need servicing which starts from $850 if it does not move after a battery replacement and they would give me a call to let me know.

They called two days later to inform me that the watch was ready to be picked up with no hiccups.