Monroe's is a great local business. I've bough a few things over there over the years and they're…read morealways very helpful and knowledgeable. Often, they're repairing instruments as well, so I bet going there for advice or questions would be a good idea. They matched a price on an amplifier for me a few years ago and special ordered it for me, so I can vouch for them on that.

It hurts to write a not so great review of Monroe's, one of Asheboro's few old downtown…read morelandmarks... Anyhow, I brought my Citizen Quartz watch in for a new battery which was replaced promptly and courteously. I didn't get the name of the the fellow who helped me but he was friendly and helpful. While I was there I showed him an older Elgin mechanical watch I own that belonged to my uncle. The crystal was scratched and I asked if they could polish it. I was told it would need to be replaced and that cost about $25-$35 dollars. I put the watch back in my pocket thinking 'I'll just try polishing it myself' when the employee said 'Why don't you leave it here, we'll write you a ticket and let our watch guy look at it and give you an estimate. I agreed & left the watch. A few days later I received a call. I was told the watch would not run. I was a bit surprised as I'd been wearing it daily for 2 months and it was keeping excellent time. It had stopped twice but appeared to be a matter of me not pushing the crown in fully after winding. I'd reset it, push in the crown and it always ran fine. Anyhow... they told me it would be about $33 dollars to replace the crystal. Did I want them to do it? They warned that I would have to pay regardless of the watch not running. I cautiously agreed thinking I'd be able to get the watch to run. I waited about 10 days and still there was no call from Monroe's. I finally called them and the woman who answered tells me their 'watch guy' refused to replace the crystal, he didn't feel comfortable working on a broken watch??? She told me the watch probably needed an overhaul and that usually cost around $90. I asked if the watch is there. The woman on the phone says 'Yes, I'm holding it and it won't run for me... but maybe you have "the magic touch" I get in my car drive up there go in. I handed them my ticket, I'm asked 'What's your name', I tell them, they hand me my watch and say not another word. I walk out surprised by their unprofessional behavior. I take the watch home more than a little irritated, sure enough it wouldn't run & it was wound tight. I've never wound it fully. So I tapped the watch on my palm, it would run for a few seconds then stop. I did this over & over until it finally started running again. Then I decided to try polishing the crystal with my 'Mother's Brand' headlight polishing kit which includes 3 grades of sandpaper and plastic polish. I was able to polish the crystal in 15 minutes removing all scratches, leaving it clear as glass and looking brand new. It was so easy! I wish I had done this to start with. The watch is once again keeping perfect time and now looks beautiful. The treatment I received from the lady at Monroe's was unprofessional at best. They kept my watch 10 days, did nothing and didn't bother to tell me they weren't going to do anything. My watch is definitely overdue for a service but it ran when I gave it to them and with a little messing about on my part it's running again. No 'magic' needed. I'm really disappointed. I'd like to be able to give them a glowing recommendation but beyond battery replacement I just can't do that. I'm mostly disappointed in how poorly they handled the situation and how little care they seemed to have for me, the customer. Their main concern seemed to be not being held liable for a broken watch.