an open letter to jewelry customers

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GnomeNisse

GnomeNisse

Resident Gnome
O.G.
Dec 28, 2008
814
15
#1
Dear customers and clients,

I need to get a few things off my chest. If I had to work with you all full time, 5 days a week I'd likely go ballisitic on one of you soon. (not anyone here! lol)

Firstly, let's get this one thing straight, you cannot come behind my counters at all. I'm not going to bend on it. Ever. No, you may NOT come behind the counter with me. Please stop assuming that you're such a special customer that you can walk around like you own the place. You don't.

Secondly, it is not my responsibility to replace your lost diamond when you

A: bought it from me four years ago
B: I've not seen you since, not for checks, cleanings or servicings as per your warranty- which you long ago voided
C: admit to me very clearly that your hand got closed in a door and your prongs were all crushed.

In this kind of case I will NOT be replacing your diamond.

Sticking to that topic, I won't be honoring a warranty from another store, either. I also cannot work on your XXX watches without voiding your warranty. Please understand I say no for YOUR sake. Go to an authorized dealer. I'm not trying to send you away, I'm trying to help you.

I will not do appraisals for free on pieces I didn't sell you.

No, I will not refund you the NONREFUNDABLE 20% deposit on your cancelled custom order. Sure, a month after comissioning this piece, you changed your mind. But during that month we did everything from CAD to waxing to ordering stones and findings to get this thing made for you. We spent our time and money getting this project started. ANd hey- you signed the contract and we told you the deposit wasn't refundable. Stop calling us every three days with threats of legal action. You're not getting your deposit back and no, it's not bad business on my part.


Another thing, we allow exchanges for 90 days. We'll make exceptions within reason. We want to keep you happy. But coming in 13 months after a sale and asking for an exchange is not within reason. The answer is NO. I don't care if, "You never really bonded" with it. I don't care if it sat in your box for a year, never worn. You kept it for 13 months! It's not my fault that it took you a year to decide you didn't adore it. You want something new that you do love and will wear? Well, you'll have to buy it.

And uh- selling it back to me for what you paid for it is called a REFUND. No. You do not get a refund after 13 freaking months.


Signed,

The Annoyed Owner
 
#2
Why I am loyal to my jeweler:
When my jeweler and I are looking at diamonds through the microscope, she invites me behind the counter to look at the diamond with her. I don't take liberties and wander back there, but I am invited. When we want to view diamonds under different lighting conditions, we go outdoors and into her private office.

My jeweler will allow exhanges within any time period, as long as I am choosing another piece. They have even permitted traded-ins on pieces they have not sold to me.

If I want to change settings, there is no time line that I need to meet.

As a result of superior customer service, I have spent a lot of money at my jeweler. They sell HOF and they have sold me a number of pieces, including my wedding set, earrings, pendant and my DH's Tag Link.

Oh, DH [an engineer] was bored one day, I was sent back to the bench to play with the lazer cutter--not on anyone's jewelry of course!!

This is an upscale jeweler with a loyal consumer base. They have DH and me as lifetime customers.
 
#3
Suffice it to say ITA. And when you have an online store as I do and people don't have to look you in the eye the chutzpah could make your head spin.
 
#4
I think it takes a lot of chutzpah to think you can walk behind the counters and start helping yourself into the cases! Same thing with wanting refunds and exhanges after a year or several years. I'm sorry but I am not in business to lose money. If I bent over that far backwards for everyone I'd be making a lot less profit than I do, if any at all. No other independant place will cut you money back on an item you got years ago, taking a hit themselves and coming out of pocket.

It also takes a lot of balls to cancel a custom order and demand a nonrefundable deposit back. Put it towards other items, keep it as a credit, have something else made up. But it is out of the question to ask me to come out of pocket a couple thousand dollars that I cannot recover, design and redesign your item, cast it multiple times and spend 20+ hours of labor on it and then ask me give you back your money back when you change your mind and decide to get a dog instead. If that's the kind of customer service some people demand, than I'm inclined to let them go shop elsehwere.

Nobody goes into business to lose money. And sometimes the customer is indeed wrong.

As for viewing diamonds, we have a consulting room we invite clients into for that. We do diamond appointments privately, not out in the store. That's still a far cry from letting people back behind counters. I'd like to see someone try to walk behind a counter at Tiffany. I bet it would only take security three seconds to be there.

And I'd never let anyone at the bench for any reason. Not during working hours. That might sound like fun but to me it sounds like a lawsuit, a broken saw, an acid spill and a lot more.

I guess I am not quite that high end. lol. That's fine by me. I don't even pretend to be the next Van Cleef. I'm just a small chain serving a small area.
 
#5
Oh yeah- major chutzpah to say, "Hi, I bought this bracelet at so-and-so and I need it appraised. ....what do you mean it costs $90? That should be free!"

No. You cannot walk in and expect services like that for free.
 
#8
Gnome, i am glad you posted your thoughts. Where do some people get off thinking they can get away with some of these actions?
Entitlement in a major way.
 
#11
lorihmatthews said:
You must have the patience of a saint, I don't think I could ever own a store because I really can't tolerate rude and entitled people!
Click to expand...


Me either! I'm just a shoe s.a. at a cheap chain store and my god the audacity people have! I swear I want to slap people sometimes, good and hard right in the face. The things they expect handed to them, the awful things they say, the requests they make! I sell cheap shoes for minimum wage while going to school, people - I am not a licensed podiatrist, your kids' babysitter, a person working on commission (trust me I don't want to harrass you in the aisle, I receive no benefits in doing so whatsoever, it's simply company policy), OR a restroom attendant who's going to clean up your mess after we kindly let you use our EMPLOYEES-ONLY bathroom!!!:censor::mad:

Great post OP!
 
#13
I can totally relate, Thanks for posting. Can I add another line? :graucho:

No, we do not do free sizing on rings purchased elsewhere, nor do we provide a finger sizing service. I understand that you came into our store and were sized by a sales associate for a particular designer ring we carry as a size "y".... and if you would have purchased it from our store, we would have gladly resized it for you at no charge being that size "y" is just a bit too big for you finger after all. But since you choose to order it online instead, NO I will not hold responsibility for the "finger size" quote and NO I will not size it for free.
 
#14
Missrocks said:
I can totally relate, Thanks for posting. Can I add another line? :graucho:

No, we do not do free sizing on rings purchased elsewhere, nor do we provide a finger sizing service. I understand that you came into our store and were sized by a sales associate for a particular designer ring we carry as a size "y".... and if you would have purchased it from our store, we would have gladly resized it for you at no charge being that size "y" is just a bit too big for you finger after all. But since you choose to order it online instead, NO I will not hold responsibility for the "finger size" quote and NO I will not size it for free.
Click to expand...


Oh yes! I HATE that! It happens at least three or four times a year. Someone comes in with some random ring they bought online or at another store and they want me to size for free. Usually up 2 full sizes, too. Or more...cuz you know, we love to half shank other rings for free. lol

What makes people think jewelers are all about giving away free labor? They want outside jewelry appraised for free, they want outside rings sized for free, they want broken clasps on 10 yr old chains replaced for free. They want diamonds they lost after several years replaced for free, it never ends.

If I told half the stories we've had, the only people that could believe it are other jewelers!

A couple of years ago a woman came to us with a Yurman necklace. She wanted to exhange it. Well, I don't carry Yurman nor am I an authorized retailer. I don't take exhanges for items purchased elsewhere. This woman became very irate and went on and on for three days, via calls and emails, about how we are in "the service" industry and that we won't ever succeed if we don't keep our customers happy.

But...she was never OUR customer! She bought an item from some other store and then waltzed in expecting me to let her TRADE it for something else she'd rather have. What are people thinking?

You other business owners have been there, I'm sure.
 
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