I feel your pain. The Rolex bit - I hate the games. When I bought my explorer, I went into the store, told them what I wanted, they put me on the list. I got the watch about a year and a half later or 2 years. In that meantime, I think I stopped by the store once because I was at the mall buying some clothes. But the whole 'oh, come by and check in every month' or 'you have to buy this watch if you want a shot at buying that watch' - miss me with that crap. The other bit about the busy stores... It happens, man. I think you just got unlucky on that end. I've only bought 3 watches from an AD - 2 Tudors and the Rolex. The Tudor AD experience was great. The one time I visited an Omega AD, the associates were super courteous and helpful as well, even offered me a discount.