Robinson's Family of Businesses — Local services in Salisbury

I brought a family heirloom clock to Robinsons. It had slowed down and needed cleaning, that's all. First, they closed the store where I brought it. I only found that out when I went there after not having heard from them for six months.

I found their new location after a search. It was seventy five miles away. After recontacting them I awaited their confirmation that they had my clock. They never called back. I contacted them again. They said that they would look for my clock at a third location and never told me anything more. I decided to go to this third store to retrieve my clock, repaired or not.

By this time it had been two years since I had delivered it to them. When I arrived I asked to speak go someone about the repair. They quickly brought the clock to me and handed it to me. I asked about the price for their work. They said that they couldn't fix the clock so their was no charge.

I found a certified horologist (clock repair specialist). I delivered the clock to him and told him about the symptoms that caused me to bring the clock to Robinsons, that the clock had just slowed and stopped.

He inspected the clock. His report: All that the clock needed was a proper cleaning to get it to run properly again which is quite normal for a clock to need periodically. Someone who didn't know what they were doing had opened the internal works of the clock. He found several broken parts including the spring and pivot. There was no way that this could have been there before I brought it in to Robinsons if the clock had merely slowed to a stop. He further said that he gets a lot of Robinsons customers' "repair" jobs that he needs to fix.

Summary: Robinsons had my clock for more than two years, moved at least twice, misplaced it, never called me, returned it to me broken. The horologist feels that it is beyond repair at a reasonable price unless he can find a full set of internal works to replace the broken parts. He feels that this is highly unlikely given the age and make of the clock.

I never should have let them get their hands on my family heirloom clock!

UPDATE: May 28, 2020...

Two years ago I posted the review above. Since then three independent horologists have examined my clock, trying to see if they could repair it for me. Here is their quote concerning the work that Robinson's did: "You know...the jury came in when the three of us really inspected the work that was done on that clock. What I can tell you is that someone put an awful lot of hours into trying to undo the damage that was done either when disassembling it under load or trying to reassemble it by forcing the plates together without proper alignment of the pivots into the receiving plate holes. All 3 of us had never seen anything like it, and the work seemed to demonstrate that whoever did that did not have a full working grasp of proper horologic repair techniques. This movement is not...

I had come into the store to sell some jewelry and also have a ring made. The owner himself told me it would only take a few weeks. He also quoted me around $400 and said it shouldn’t be any more than that because it’s a simple ring. So it’s been about 1 month since I had spoken to him and decided to call the owner to get a timeline for the ring. When I had got on the phone with the owner, they had said the ring hadn’t been started and they were still coming up with pricing and it would now be between $400-$600 and also the ring hasn’t been started because he takes a vacation every year around this time. Not that it really matters but it was also an anniversary present. Kind of disappointing when there’s nothing to open. Not sure why they wouldn’t be honest about the timeline and then try to jack up the price on me. This wasn’t the first encounter I had with this company. About a little bit more than a year ago I also had a necklace repaired. I should’ve learned my lesson from the experience that time. It took them more than three weeks to repair a latch. I wouldn’t give this company the time of day…He also lowballed me on the gold I had sold him. He’s a crook. Do not trust him!!!!!

Update from your reply - Now I know for a fact you’re a liar because I don’t have any family in this area. It’s also amazing how you look back at other negative reviews about you and you comment similar things about their family also. The truth is in black and white right on google reviews. You try to make other people look like they are crazy. It’s funny you mention the flea market because I thought I was there when I came to your store. Someone needs to put you out of business because you’re a crook. Very unprofessional as well...

My experience was some time ago but it was negative. After reading Robinson's unprofessional replies to unsatisfied customers I had to explain my experience. October 2017 Robinson's picked my antique Grandfather clock up for repairs to the tune of $800.00. It was finally returned the next spring after repairs they did poorly. I did contact Robinson's many times to check on the status and was given excuse after excuse for the delay. When the clock was delivered I found the repairs substandard and missing original parts. My clock had brass weights. It was returned to me with concrete black pinecone shaped weights. The original key to wind the clock was also replaced with a different one as well. The centerpiece on the top was replaced by a small cheap gold eagle that looked ridiculous. After looking at that for a week I had to trash the eagle. It took away the antique look and stuck out like a sore thumb. I wonder what happened to these parts or who got them instead of me. After the original parts were replaced with knockoff parts the value went out the window. The store might look great but you don't know what is going on behind the scenes with your property. I was very familiar with the original parts and noticed the replacements immediately. I was insulted to think they would think I would not notice. Get repairs at your own risk. I would not have given them one star but had to in order to post this. Don't disrespect me with a rude response. It will only prove your ...