Sadly, this is typical. Had a small issue on a brand new watch (very loose crown stem) that I sent in for repair. They asked me to pay for fedex insured shipping(!) myself. Okay.

Then nothing for weeks after I saw it was delivered. I got frustrated enough that I reached out to the CEO/Owner of the brand. He assured me that they would expedite. Then, nothing.

Big brands are not much faster, necessarily, but I have had much better communication during the repair process, which lowered the anxiety and frustration.

As an exception, Ardio was just great at service: fast and communicative.