Dear ladies, I just sent my two items to vca for simple servicing. I'm still waiting for the exact quotes but the SA told me that 1 cm chain extension on the vintage Alhambra necklace will be about 220+ USD. This felt quite unreasonable to me to be honest for a tiny piece of chain they have to insert into another chain. The other service will be polishing (VA pendant) and I also have no idea how much that would be. Did any one of you do any service (not only extension or polishing) recently and what were the charges?
VCA servicing rates in your country?..
- Thread starter Ylesiya
- Start date
Got it! For some reason here it is more expensive. I was not aware it is the same rate for length up to 2" and SAs never told me this. I will ask for more details once they get back to me with the quotes! There will be no point in extending the necklace only to 1 cm then I suppose. I just got my other two items extended as I enjoy longer necklaces but yes, that was free since both items were recent purchases.
Hi - not sure which country are you in but this is the link to the Services section on the US site.
Jewelry services - Van Cleef & Arpels
The Maison offers multiple services to ensure your jewelry creations are optimally maintained.
www.vancleefarpels.com
ETA: The price and VAT in your country may be different? But I would assume that they'd have to honor whatever price is published on the website.
After 90 days chains can still be extended for free if you have good relationship with your SA. I just got 3 pendant necklaces that I bought years ago extended for free.
So my SA got back to me today after I chased him with the quote for 1 cm extension (about 180 USD, yes) but he could not answer any of my basic questions whether it's the same fee for up to 5 cm and what's extra charge onwards since we are talking about 20 motif necklace. Basically he said he has to get back to me next week.
I must admit this is quite frustrating, he's really not a bad guy but the communication with him is quite artificial and there's not much real help from him (unless it's about buying something) while there's another one whose communication is way way better.
I actually wanted to ask for an advice how appropriate it would be to change the SA? And what would be the best way to do it? They work in the same boutique so it's quite a delicate matter but I really like the other one much more and I'd rather have him get the commission next time I come to purchase something. And in the end I am the client I suppose, so I can decide whom to go to?
I must admit this is quite frustrating, he's really not a bad guy but the communication with him is quite artificial and there's not much real help from him (unless it's about buying something) while there's another one whose communication is way way better.
I actually wanted to ask for an advice how appropriate it would be to change the SA? And what would be the best way to do it? They work in the same boutique so it's quite a delicate matter but I really like the other one much more and I'd rather have him get the commission next time I come to purchase something. And in the end I am the client I suppose, so I can decide whom to go to?
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Hey everyone, I was wondering is there also a service fee to shorten bracelets? I’ve seen a price of 260$SGD for adjusting bracelets but surely that’s not the cost for shortening??
Best way to switch SAs is to call the boutique, ask to talk to the other SA and make an appt to see him. Then when you go to the store, you can say you have an appt and just work directly with him. No awkward moment with your old SA thinking you came to see him.
I would for sure switch SAs. The value of a SA is not when you buy something, the value of a SA is the help provided when you have a question or need to service a piece. And getting little goodies from an SA is nice too.
Is it possible to change boutique? I am so glad I found a local SA who is absolutely fabulous. No drama, no hard sell, work just get done!! On the issue of pricing, even the most fabulous SA cannot commit immediately as VCA needs to run diagnostic and the quote actually comes from the repair centre (at least based on my experience).
But I think your frustration is beyond pricing. I can feel it all the way here ....
Thanks a lot @willeyi, this is what I probably will do the next time. I know there are some days on which he is off and I will make an excuse not to come on that day to see the other guy.
I am glad that you understand me because buying is very easy - swipe the card and pack into the box and paper bag but everything which is after sales is not so straightforward. And you are right, this is where a good SA is needed which I am lacking now.
@Stardust Andromeda, it is possible definitely, but the story is that I really liked one particular person in the same boutique with whom we do have a great communication and I can see that he really tried to help. I stopped by the other places occasionally but no one was as nice. I really don't expect the SA to give me a particular quote straight away but I do expect them trying to understand my situation and concerns and giving an advice on what's the best way to proceed. Also, if you have an experience, you still can give a rough estimate of the cost and be able to advice what's best to do. That's a minimum requirement for a basic SA and this is what I am not getting although last month I bought 1 pieces of guilloches with him.
I went to Chopard today to drop for the watch for servicing and the SA was excellent: everything was super clear, he explained the whole process and I walked out of the door completely satisfied.
I am not a picky client, in fact, I am quite easy going. What does frustrate me is that we are not trying to solve differential equations and send a rocket into space - this is really not that complex stuff to manage.
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Just a bit of letting the steam out. I really don't know what to do.
I came to get back my items from servicing today (it was a paid service if this is important). My usual sales assistant was busy with some other clients which is perfectly fine as I did not have a specific appointment, so he passed me over to another sales assistant.
Right from the start I was treated in a manner like she was doing me a favour by serving me which I felt was quite disturbing. She tried to be polite but often her responses were quite abrupt and felt impolite. I understand that this could be my personal impression, however, here are some facts:
1) one of my items was a 20 motifs long onyx necklace. It came back perfectly clean and wrapped into the plastic. The SA tried to remove the plastic but as the necklace was long, she got frustrated and started pulling the necklace out of the plastic by applying force. I find such treatment of the creation absolutely unacceptable for a number of reasons.
2) later, she was putting the necklace into the pouch which has a back pocket. Not only was she leaving her fingerprints all over cleaned onyx motifs, she was jamming the necklace into the pocket. Again, I find such treatment of such a creation absolutely unacceptable. I was shocked and asked her whether it is okay to do things like this and she answered that for onyx it's fine. I ended up taking the necklace out and laying it out carefully into the pouch myself while she was watching this.
3) since the necklace was covered in her fingerprints, I asked for a black cleaning cloth, so I could clean the necklace myself later. She refused, saying she has to ask another SA and they can't give cleaning cloths just like that. Later she told me that they are out of stock. I purchased 2 guilloche pieces from the same boutique recently and did not receive any cleaning cloths with my purchases. And frankly, I don't understand why it is such a problem to provide such a small and basic thing, not even saying about refusal in such a rude manner.
I came out of the boutique feeling deeply insulted as this is not the kind of service I expect to receive at any place, leave alone Van Cleef and Arpels. Not even me, but this horrible attitude to my jewellery which would damage it. I really did not like feeling like I am a beggar asking for such a simple thing like cleaning cloth which was supposed to be provided with my purchases in the first place.
This is not the kind of feeling I am expecting to have when I am walking out with my valuable pieces out of the door.
What would you do in this situation? I am just feeling totally insulted, I just have no words. I was not rude or offensive, I am not snobbish, in fact, I am very simple and easy going. I am always trying to be friendly and have a small talk with SAs and doormen (which are actually very very nice and simple guys there). I really can't think about anything I could have done to cause such attitude. And even if I were most snobbish and sloppish woman ever, this is not the reason to treat my jewellery like that.
I came to get back my items from servicing today (it was a paid service if this is important). My usual sales assistant was busy with some other clients which is perfectly fine as I did not have a specific appointment, so he passed me over to another sales assistant.
Right from the start I was treated in a manner like she was doing me a favour by serving me which I felt was quite disturbing. She tried to be polite but often her responses were quite abrupt and felt impolite. I understand that this could be my personal impression, however, here are some facts:
1) one of my items was a 20 motifs long onyx necklace. It came back perfectly clean and wrapped into the plastic. The SA tried to remove the plastic but as the necklace was long, she got frustrated and started pulling the necklace out of the plastic by applying force. I find such treatment of the creation absolutely unacceptable for a number of reasons.
2) later, she was putting the necklace into the pouch which has a back pocket. Not only was she leaving her fingerprints all over cleaned onyx motifs, she was jamming the necklace into the pocket. Again, I find such treatment of such a creation absolutely unacceptable. I was shocked and asked her whether it is okay to do things like this and she answered that for onyx it's fine. I ended up taking the necklace out and laying it out carefully into the pouch myself while she was watching this.
3) since the necklace was covered in her fingerprints, I asked for a black cleaning cloth, so I could clean the necklace myself later. She refused, saying she has to ask another SA and they can't give cleaning cloths just like that. Later she told me that they are out of stock. I purchased 2 guilloche pieces from the same boutique recently and did not receive any cleaning cloths with my purchases. And frankly, I don't understand why it is such a problem to provide such a small and basic thing, not even saying about refusal in such a rude manner.
I came out of the boutique feeling deeply insulted as this is not the kind of service I expect to receive at any place, leave alone Van Cleef and Arpels. Not even me, but this horrible attitude to my jewellery which would damage it. I really did not like feeling like I am a beggar asking for such a simple thing like cleaning cloth which was supposed to be provided with my purchases in the first place.
This is not the kind of feeling I am expecting to have when I am walking out with my valuable pieces out of the door.
What would you do in this situation? I am just feeling totally insulted, I just have no words. I was not rude or offensive, I am not snobbish, in fact, I am very simple and easy going. I am always trying to be friendly and have a small talk with SAs and doormen (which are actually very very nice and simple guys there). I really can't think about anything I could have done to cause such attitude. And even if I were most snobbish and sloppish woman ever, this is not the reason to treat my jewellery like that.
I think you need to change to the other SA whom you like! Then only come in when you have an appointment so you don't get handed off to another SA. I wouldn't appreciate my jewelery being treated that way, either. I take very good care of my jewelry to keep it in excellent condition.
I agree but this is not even a matter of having a particular SA, this is about receiving adequate basic service at any point in time from any person you run into in the boutique. I don't think it makes sense to overcomplicate one's life to make appointments with specific person for a very very basic service like picking up items from repair for a sole reason that you may run into a nasty SA. This should never ever happen under any circumstances. There were discussions here about SAs - good ones are really valuable for after-sales servicing and so on, and this is where they can help out quite a bit like not charging you for certain repairs, sending you gifts etc etc. But simply picking up your items should never ever result in this kind of humiliating experience.
BTW, I texted my SA about this experience - no response. I am just not coming back to that store again.