completely disgusted - Jeweler rant!!!

[TLS]

Maybe I will take some heat from the jewelers here, but words cannot describe how upset I am right now.

Our local jeweler promised us my setting would be ready in 10 days, that would have been about 13 days ago... then he said it would be in later that week instead, ok still over 7 days ago.

I chose the setting but I let my boyfriend handle speaking with the jeweler because I wanted some element of surprise. Last weekend I thought I was going to get the ring only to find out the jeweler still did not get the setting in. He has been horrible about getting back to us and returning our calls in a timely manner, and seems to be extremely laid back. This weekend I thought I was absolutely getting the ring and didn't want to ask my boyfriend too many questions because I still wanted some element of surprise (as small as that "element" may be). I knew that the setting came in on Friday so I thought for sure I was getting the ring sometime saturday or sunday, assuming my boyfriend would be able to pick up the ring on saturday. Sadly my boyfriend had to tell me last night that the Jeweler did not have the stone set in time.

Originally he had promised us that he would set the stone as soon as the setting came in. I don't know if this jeweler is just clueless or what but he has completely destroyed our engagement. I was in tears last night when I found out that he got the setting in friday but didn't set it. I could not believe it.... I have such a strong work ethic, I could not understand after being over a week late with the setting that he would once again put us through another weekend of hell.

Do people not realize how emotional an engagement is and how important meeting expectations are? I can understand if the manufacturer failed to deliver on their promise and that to some extent is not the jewelers fault, but there is no excuse in my book for him not getting this ring set this weekend. If I was the jeweler I don't care if I had to be in the store until midnight on Friday, I would have gotten that ring set for my customer for that weekend.

Maybe some jewelers will read this and think I am a shrew, but maybe some of you might think and reassess how you set expectations with your clients.

Words cannot describe my sadness and disgust right now. I am very inclined to go in and give the jeweler a piece of my mind. Over promising and under-delivering is bad enough, but then to get the setting in and not make the time to get it set is outrageous in my opinion. I am so sad that this is how our engagment turned out. To make matters worse he knew we were going on vacation at a certain time and told us it would be ready before then, but thankfully we pushed our trip back. At this point we are just going to make it...we are going to be cutting it very close here with the dates and this leaves us scrambling to get it appraised and insured. God forbid anything is wrong with it when I actually receive it.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

i know this wont help.

But i get the same thing with the Chap i use. - has been more a injoke with our family, as we have being going to him since oo the mid 80''s - we call it jeweller''s time, if he says 2 weeks - we expect it to take a month.

 

[perry]

TL1:

I am sorry you have to go through this. However, keep in mind that the real meaning of the engangment is dealing with each other - and some jeweler who you will only use once - should not be part of your long term thoughts.

Pull your chin up, agree with each other that it is a bad situation, and then talk about what you will do after you get the ring.

I suggest that after you get possesion of the ring, that you file a Better Business report on that business.

Some of the good that can come out of this is that you can prevent someone else from having to go through this in the future.

Keep in mind that the future - and your future together - will not be determined by any one issue or situation - but by how you react to that situation. What have you learned, and how do that help you in the future.

May you have a wonderfull engangment trip after you get your ring.

Perry

ps: should the setting not be what you expect I suggest that you just ask another jeweler to repair the setting or reset the diamond (s). This will be much less disruptive to your future than having to deal with that jeweler again; and it is the future that counts - not the past.

 

[denverappraiser]

... but maybe some of you might think and reassess how you set expectations with your clients.

TL1,

I certainly won't defend such behavior. Like Steve, I’ve spent many a late night at the bench for exactly this kind of reason. Jewelers and other businesses should keep their promises if they want to keep their customers. Unfortunately, the jewelers who don’t understand this are probably not the ones who are reading this forum either. Reward the merchants who treat you well by going back to them and by referring others to do the same. If they treat you poorly, like this one apparently has, vote with your feet and with your pocketbook.

As Perry points out, don’t let this put a stain on the memory of your engagement. These are tiny details in something that is otherwise far more important.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[ICAA]

I am not defending the jeweller as I believe he did not meet expectations and did not provide you with the appropriate service. However, I will say that people need to make sure they allow for delays such as this as we don''t live in a perfect world. I started my search in late December to ensure I had plenty of time and I gave the jeweller plenty of time to make sure I was able to get what I wanted and he was able to produce what I wanted. I finally had everything , the loose stones and the custom setting picked on Feb 14. He is in the process of making the ring right now and I am expecting it to be complete around March 8th or 9th. He estimated two to three weeks to have the ring done. I have no particular date set to propose which is nice since I am not rushing the jeweller either. Anyway, long story short, always leave yourself enough time for delays.

 

[TLS]

Thank you everyone for your responses. After discussing with my boyfriend this morning again he told me the jeweler explained about being shortstaffed and not being able to get in the back to do anything because he had no counter help all week. While I can understand this being a difficult situation, I really feel that at 5 o''clock or whenever his shop closed he should have locked the door and then gone in back to finish this type of work - he does most of his own bench work I believe.

ICAA - the Jeweler is the one that set bad expectations with us. I did not try and rush him, when we first met I told him I understood if it is going to take some time to get done, but I just needed him to be clear about that so we wouldn''t book our trip to early. Thankfully it should be ready monday. I think people should be able rely on the expectations that are set. If this is a one time unusual incident fine, mistakes happen, whatever, but I still feel it is unacceptable-that is just my personal belief. i have to wonder whether this is a pattern of behavior with this Jeweler, the lack of communication makes me think it probably is. There were times when my boyfriend would call and was told that he was with customers at the time and would leave a message but would then never get a call back before he left for the day, and my boyfriend would have to be the one to call him back again the next day.