Feedback on Whiteflash you may be interested in

[hoofbeats95]

Gypsy - my bad I don't think I read everything correctly. It sounded like he had to completely back out of an order and I was shocked at that concept. If it was just timing then that's all it was. . . and bridges shouldn't really be burned in that case?

 

[Andelain]

Concerning the diamonds you had purchased, it could be a system error. I had a diamond on reserve for about 4 weeks because it took time about a week to return the diamond I had earlier and another 2-3 weeks for the diamond to be inspected by AGS labs. Throughout those 4 weeks, the status of the diamond became "available" twice. I informed them when I noticed it and it was rectified immediately. I don't think they intentionally "released" the diamond while we were in the process of concluding our transaction.

As for the post on FB, I have read it and have to say that it was in poor taste.. but I don't think it was directed specifically at you or your proposal. Since you have attempted to contact Traci for an explanation, give her a few days to reply you. She's my salesperson as well and when I tried contacting her earlier today, I was informed by her colleague that she's away for the weekend. She may not have internet access and be privy to what is unfolding at this moment. If I was in your position, I would be very upset as well but I would give her the benefit of doubt and allow her the chance to properly explain herself.

This was my thought on the post, that it wasn't directed at planned out events like yours, but lame wall posts. From your description, it wasn't a facebook proposal at all. You sent a video, and had people there to deliver it and record the reaction. FB was just used to announce after the fact. Not saying that WF was right to post that, but I'm just having trouble tying that to your very nice proposal.

BTW, I wish you and your bride-to-be all the best, and I love your ring. And stay safe over here. If you're where I'm guessing you are I'm about a mile from you.

 

[Gypsy]

Depends on what you say when you cancel the order and how many four letter words were used. Just kidding. But I just read it as a timing issue. What do I know???

 

[TimMD]

This was my thought on the post, that it wasn't directed at planned out events like yours, but lame wall posts. From your description, it wasn't a facebook proposal at all. You sent a video, and had people there to deliver it and record the reaction. FB was just used to announce after the fact. Not saying that WF was right to post that, but I'm just having trouble tying that to your very nice proposal.

BTW, I wish you and your bride-to-be all the best, and I love your ring. And stay safe over here. If you're where I'm guessing you are I'm about a mile from you.

Andelain, actually the upload on facebook was EXACTLY how I planned to do it, because I wanted her friends and family to see the video and share in the excitement. The video on disk was a backup plan I set previously because the internet is so unreliable out here that I could never have a plan solely dependent only an upload. So luckily when I see that post just a few hours before I go to bed that night with planned 4-5am wakeup to upload the video, I scramble to come up with a another avenue and chose facebook. My other post about my attempts at a "perfect proposal" i left out all this drama because I wanted it to appear it went off without hitch. But yes, unfortunately my EXACT plan that my friends, her family, her friends, and Traci at whiteflash was aware of was to upload a video slideshow of us on facebook with the last slide asking "will you marry me". I am just so type A that I anything in my life is usually 3 plans deep! So it wasn't an absolute disaster just took some communication and a few hours lost sleep to remedy, the betrayal and disrespect it what stung the worse.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and posts. I never intended to make this post to bash Whiteflash because again, prior to this they had been amazing and very patient/responsive to my needs and the piece is amazing. I was just so betrayed and angry by everything that I honestly blamed myself because I figured I just over reacted so I wanted to place this post to
a) vent
b) give feedback on my particular case and show whereas WF makes excellent jewelry and usually has great customer support, they dropped the ball on this on. I used all the great feedback on PS to make a decision on WF in the first place, so a little realistic feedback I think just shows the company is rans by humans
c) get reactions to see if I over reacted or see if others were disturbed as I was. Sometimes when you are so emotionally vested in things, you over react, especially in stressful conditions. You guys are unbiased and the fact of similar distaste and feel of betrayal on this act just really really, helps me realize that I was just a big jerk that over reacted. I GREATLY appreciate the feedback and support and know that all of you guys that took time to respond made a huge difference to me. Sincerely, thank you.

The more that time passes and my anger dissipates, the more hopeful I am that I hear from someone from WF that cares about this lack of respect and sincerely makes me feel like my business is important to them and makes an attempt to rebuild the burnt bridges so I can feel at peace with such a large purchase. Thank you again for everyones AWESOME feedback.

 

[TimMD]

I think the COO just read the emails in wrong order and he just responded again with a much longer email, I am going to go read it but didn't want the email of no response on here.

 

[bricklayer]

Hello everyone, some may have read my previous excited post (see link) about my recent purchase with Whiteflash and are waiting for the followup to my proposal and handshots, that is still coming...

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/[/URL]

As I have been posting all over pricescope as any excited guy about to propose would, I had nothing but good things to say about whiteflash. They made a BEAUTIFUL ring, were responsive to my difficult situation and were very patient. I emailed the saleswoman (Traci) at least -3-4 times a week over the 8 weeks that we interacted and even felt like we were friends. So much so, that I shared with her my proposal idea, showed her the video I made, and told her the exact plan and date of plan. My proposal was overall less than ideal but I am currently in Iraq and wanted to give my fiance the commitment she deserves. You see, she is a traveling nurse, originally from FL (where all her friends and family are currently), met her at work and the rest is history. When I volunteered to come to Iraq for my second tour in 3 years, she made the decision to stay in Texas to take care of our house and dogs instead of going back to Florida with all her family, friends, and a great job that is waiting because she wanted to support me. After all these months apart, she has been INCREDIBLE and because of her commitment to me, I wanted to show her that it was all for something and give her the commitment she so much deserved and that we both wanted and do the unusual and that be a long distance proposal. I think most would agree it is not ideal but most women could appreciate my attempt to show her that there was an ultimate goal in our relationship and this time apart just sets up for a better time back together. Anyways, back to Whiteflash, so Traci and Whiteflash were all very aware of my situation and Traci VERY aware of the plan to upload a video to facebook (why facebook? because this is the avenue she communicates with all her family and friends back in Florida, so wanted to share) with a picture story of our lives with in the end, the proposal. Not ideal, but setup much more extensively than that (see my separate happy post on the details). Traci was aware enough of the plan that she wrote today "so today is the big day". This was all a surprise but my fiance knew I was looking for diamonds and "passing time" she thought and me and her both followed Whiteflash on their facebook page. So with months of planning, her mom flown across the country to take part in this, what does whiteflash post on facebook TODAY of all days?

"Word Little Blingers, Happy Friday. In the world of social media there are a lot of great ways to share information and receive it as well....but where do you draw the line? Although not a Wednesday, Roundtable topic for this Friday : Proposal via Facebook? Totally Awesome or Epic Fail? Discuss." after which several of the employees of whiteflash comment on how much of an epic failure it is, to include my very own saleswoman!!!! When I brought this to their attention (Traci failed to respond to any of my emails), I was written back that "this is merely a coincidence, sorry, no one knew", which is an absolute lie because they obviously knew because Traci emailed me that very day AND saw and commented on the post about the "big time failure" this would be. Now honestly, I don't care what you post on facebook, but what a complete slap in the face? Did they remove the feed in response to being alerted how this sabotages my plan? OF COURSE NOT! Ultimately, it doesn't matter, but my fiance (to whom is completely unaware of this pending proposal) will read this post on her facebook feed and read the slamming of the idea by the employees, all to have her "dream proposal" be exactly what they are smashing that night? That is all I am saying, show some respect for people's unusual and dire circumstances and a little compassion for a guy trying (against unusual circumstances) to share his life with the woman he loves? How unprofessional, tacky, and repulsive it was. I feel completely betrayed by a company that I have been heavily endorsing because of the beuatiful piece they made. Don't we chose a jeweler for more than just "sell me the ring"? I mean this is why we buy from companies like whiteflash for the lifetime tradein and thus lifetime relationship right? I mean not only did I buy the diamond, e-ring, and band from, because of my excitement, I followed up with 0.86 ctw ACA studs and a diamond pendant, almost 20K in just 2 months and this is the way they show me they honor my business? If it was just an "honest mistake" as they claim, why not just remove the post for the day? I mean I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but do you sabotage a guy's plan that is in Iraq helping to protect these freedoms we all enjoy? I am sorry for this long drawn out post but I just can't help feel betrayed and undermined and with a company that has nothing but glowing reviews on PS (which they should because they made a GREAT ring), I just thought I would share that even they are less than perfect. I should have not shared my plan with them, that was my mistake.

I had refused to log in to this site and check out any postings after all of the disgusting dramatic craziness with the Facebook group, etc., but I had a day to myself and decided to stop in and see what new photos had been posted. And this comes to the top of my list when I enter rocky talky.

Oh. My. Gosh.

How disturbingly unprofessional, how disturbingly disrespectful, how disturbingly RUDE! Traci should be ashamed of herself. Her superiors should be reprimanding her. This is disgustingly poor customer service.

There are simply no words...no explanation...nothing that Whiteflash says or does in response to this could be taken any other way than a PR spin because they simply have no leg to stand on in this instance. I don't know the folks at Whiteflash but no apology would be remotely sincere in my opinion. There is no excuse. I find the lying about "not knowing" to be utter nonsense, they knew damn well what they did, and they were way out of line to say anything about your mode of proposal, and to post anything about your plan. It doesn't make a whit of difference to me who posted it. It was posted at all. And the day of the proposal, no less. This is appalling. This should be the utmost in embarrassment for Whiteflash. That's a confidentiality breach, privacy breach. When someone says SURPRISE proposal, in fact, when anyone is working with you at all, you do NOT speak of anything again. Don't follow up. Don't post anything. Be thankful for the business and be done. Let the consumer come back to you and fill you in!

I am disgusted by this. It's a shame you cannot return all of your purchases and buy from anyone else. Because this instance forever cost Whiteflash my business.

You did not overreact at all, in fact, if you were me, you underreacted. I would have immediately cancelled plans. I would have returned the ring, cancelled every order and posted on here that despite my initial love for the experience and product, this instance ruined everything for me. I would never be able to see that ring or those items without thinking about what a ridiculously inappropriate thing my salesperson and that company did.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Tim, since it is 11pm central time on Sat. night, I just hope that this person just hasn't read all his emails yet. Because that wouldn't have exactly been the right reply to your last email. So I'd do like you said and wait until Monday and see what happens then.

 

[lokelani]

EDIT:

Not a problem, Tim! Ahh very glad to hear that some more appropriate action is being taken on their part. What an unfortunate incident to have happen though... I am so sorry you had to deal with the stress of all this surrounding what ought to be nothing but a completely joyous time in your life, enjoying your new engagement to the one you love. I wish you all the best!

 

[TimMD]

Lokelani, I apologize, I prematurely posted that email as they responded to the last email I wrote, so I assumed they had read them all but I think he was reading them in reserve order because 5 minutes later I had a VERY in depth apology with solutions on trying to make it write. I actually deleted that post and would request you delete the quoted thread out of your post

Mr. Eber (the COO) has emailed a very sincere apology and has already tried to start to make things better with offering to refund the 75 dollars for the appraisal. While I was sleeping (I am 9 hours ahead of CST) I did receive confirmation of canceling my orders but again I did request that previously through others before I wrote Mr. Eber so hopefully they were just trying to honor my request instead of inquiring into what was going on. I think now everyone is getting on the same page and hopefully we can come up with a solution/remediation so I can replace my orders. Thanks again to everyone, I will update on the outcome, I am sure it will be a positive one.

 

[asscherisme]

I wound not understand WHY you would want to replace your orders from Whiteflash? Apology or no apology, I would not want to give more money to a company that behaved SO unprofessionaly. But thats just me.

 

[TimMD]

I wound not understand WHY you would want to replace your orders from Whiteflash? Apology or no apology, I would not want to give more money to a company that behaved SO unprofessionaly. But thats just me.

Very good point and I do not disagree with it. Problem is as another PS'er pointed out, it is a difficult dilemma. I already have a large commitment in the company with the engagement ring, which I could never return because of the negativity of that and the ring is beautiful. I know there are LOTS of great jewelers, but I would just REALLY like to build a rapport with one and let them appreciate my business and take care of me. I HOPE this was an agregious error of WF and they DO value my business and somehow try to make right what has happened. The stubborn guy in me just wants to go elsewhere but again, that defeats the purpose in being SOOO selective and upfront with the jeweler I chose and also makes difficult any future upgrade. I mean the stone I got is great, but I definitely see it doubling in size in 5-10 years and the tradeup policy was a big selling point for me, I would hate to throw that away. I know i could trade up with any jeweler, but they might not give me complete value like WF will. So it is cancel the orders and cut all further ties and make difficult/chance losing money in the future any trade-up hopes or HOPE they try to make amends and regain my trust as a customer. I DEFINITELY agree with you overall and that is why I initially wrote 3 emails in 15 minutes when all this first happened asking for refund on the other purchases....who knows, maybe I am just getting soft in my old age.

"To err is human, to forgive is divine"

 

[Lula]

I'm very glad to hear that you got a sincere apology, and that the WF COO took the time to address this over a weekend.

But, honestly, Tim, I have to say I choked on my coffee when I read that you are considering continuing working with WF to "build rapport" so you can develop a long-term relationship with them in order to maintain your trade-up options, including reinstating your order for the Valentine's Day project. If you were so angry -- and rightly so -- I can't understand why you wouldn't want to start over with a new vendor. I'm sorry, but it would be very difficult for me to trust a vendor that I felt had publicly embarrassed me re my proposal. And, frankly, it may be difficult for them to trust you after this thread. It sounds like there was a bit of a kerfuffle with BGD, too, in your terms "burning bridges." Vendors are humans, too, and building rapport requires trust on both sides of the relationship.

Of course you were right to complain about what happened; I continue to support you in your assertion that the FB post was inappropriate and insensitive. But I think you need to realize that taking it to a public forum like PS does change the dynamic, and trust needs to go both ways

(Ducks to avoid any rotten tomatoes coming my way!).

 

[Tuckins1]

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident. I thought your proposal was really sweet and heartwarming! What else were you supposed to do? Forget about what was said; far too often people make comments based on their own views without thinking of others.

 

[TimMD]

Lula, I appreciate your candor and don't disagree. I attempted to contact them at least 8 times (via email and chat), 4 different people prior to ever posting this. The reason I want to "build rapport" is because I already have a stone that I paid a significant amount for that I can't return. Upgrading through another jeweler when I do what to upgrade I would not get 100%, so I would be taking a loss. If I could cancel all and start over, I definitely would, although again now that my girlfriend has the ring, I could never do that to her.

So what are my options? Accept their sincere apology and understand that that this isn't the norm for this company? there are 1000s of post in this forum about WF, mostly all positive. I do not disagree with trusting me, but I think as long as I a paying consumer then I have a right to voice my dis-satification with a company. I have tried to be as tasteful as possible. I have been emotional (easy to do) but never "bashed" them as a company, just stated my dis-satification with their actions of a 24 hour period but yet gave kudos for the previous 2 months.

So I can cut all losses and just be happy and when it comes to upgrade time, fight that battle then or allow the company to try to right their wrong and for that I will be a loyal customer and finish this blog with a happy ending. No rotten tomatoes from me, that is what this forums are for right? Discussion, thank you again.

BTW, I informed them about this blog and actually sent the thread to the COO. I offered them (as well during my misunderstanding with BGD) to fire me as a customer if I was too difficult and that would bias their interactions with me and neither chose that option. I would understand completely, I LOVE my job but i have had patients that because of persisting/long term negative interactions, it become difficult to practice unbiased and I discussed with them and either discussed a fix to our problem or recommended another provider. I would have NO ISSUE with any feedback they gave about me to another patient, as long as it was honest.

 

[Lula]

Thanks for your response, Tim. I think I understand your rationale a little better, especially the part about telling your fiancee that you're returning the ring. Yeah, that would not be a good move. It's a beautiful ring, by the way; I just saw your photos in the SMTB forum.

It does sound like WF is trying their best to make amends. You are correct; they have a great reputation on here. I do believe you did everything in your power to privately apprise them of your dissatisfaction before posting this thread. So I'm crossing my fingers for a good outcome so you can put this behind you and enjoy your engagement!

 

[CharmyPoo]

DISCLAIMER: Did not read all the posts in this thread

I suggest that you request a different sales associate. WF is a large company and they have many sales associates - I dare say absolutely not made equal. I understand that WF should take responsibility as a company but you need to find the sales associate that will give you the respect you deserve. I dealt with Chris Gonzales from WF and found him responsive and caring.

Everyone here raves about BGD and I can certaintly understand why especially with all the personal referrals I have sent there. However, my dealings with one specific sales associate left me second guessing and taking my business else where. The whole transaction could be very different if I had another sales associate.

 

[TimMD]

Charmy, you are definitely right. At BGD, I think the world of Lesley and I think Brian's reputation speaks for itself, there was one particular salesperson that made me decide to go elsewhere. Weird thing with this interaction with WF is since the end of November, this particular sales person has been AWESOME, that is why I was so taken by surprise. Now that I am in communications to try to fix what went wrong, the first request was never to be contacted by that sales associate again. Chris's name has already came up as a possible replacement actually, that is funny. Anyways, I just wanted to agree that regardless of the reputation of any business, it takes one bad interaction with just one individual to sour your feelings forever for the whole business.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I just wanted to agree that regardless of the reputation of any business, it takes one bad interaction with just one individual to sour your feelings forever for the whole business.

I have always intended on going to BGD for my next RB H&A purchase but if I can't get Brian or Lesley to help me ... I can't take my business there. The person I dealt with questioned my intelligence by insisting that I am being tricked by other vendors (and I was dealing with very reputable PS vendors). Frankly, I don't like dealing with sales people that feel the need to put down others for a sale. They should be able to stand by their own.

Anyways, it is so true .. my experience with GOG was amazing and I know it had to do with Jonathan taking care of me personally. He had the knowledge to answer all my questions and the authority to get me / make me what I wanted.

 

[marymm]

OP, you must do what you feel comfortable with. You've spent a lot of money with them and since you have decided to keep the ring and foresee a future upgrade, I can understand if you decide the economics of the situation outweigh the vendor trust factor.

Based on this episode and its chronology, however, I have concluded that fault does not lie with a single employee but rather WF has a serious systemic problem with respecting their customers. I have permanently crossed them off my vendor list.

You have my sincere gratitude for serving our nation. I hope Monday brings you the resolution you seek, and happy Congratulations on your engagement!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I can understand why you would never want to deal with them again. But you are invested, and I hope they can seriously
make it right. I am not sure what that would take. Refunding your appraisal is a good start, but not quite enough.

I don't think money refunded from my purchase would be enough. It would still leave a taint. Perhaps, a gift certificate to
a romantic restaurant in your area, when you come home, so you can replace the unhappy memory with a happy one.
Dinner on them, complete with champagne and roses and maybe some chocolate would be nice. Good chocolate can solve much.

WHITEFLASH:::: I HOPE YOU ARE READING THIS AND MAKE THIS UNHAPPY MEMORY INTO A HAPPY ONE!!!!

Personally, that is my take on what they need to do. Please note; my opinion is worth exactly .02 cents.

 

[atroop711]

Tim..I have first hand experience with Chris from WF..great guy...super sweet and patient (I find direct calls are better than emailing)

I think you had a great experience with a company who does amazing work. Unfortunately the FB fiasco happened but I have to say I can see why you want to work on a relationship with the company. It says a lot about you that you can see that one person's mistake isn't indicative of how the entire company is run. They're a great company but made a bad choice when it came to the FB post. I would bet anything it wasn't intentional. I'm sure they will do their best to rectify things for you. I've been on PS for a very long time and have noticed that most vendors make mistakes at least once...they're human (as we all are) it takes a big person like you Tim to see past the mistake, forgive and go on. I don't think I'd blame an entire company for the bad choices of one or two workers..in that case I have the power to not deal with that sales associate. I find it harder to deal with a company when the owner not one of the workers was the one who was unprofessional and rude (happened to me but I won't name names) but since this isn't your case, I can see why working with them in the future is possible.

Gl to you and I can't wait to see those hand shots. The rings are spectacular!

 

[TimMD]

I don't think money refunded from my purchase would be enough. It would still leave a taint. Perhaps, a gift certificate to
a romantic restaurant in your area, when you come home, so you can replace the unhappy memory with a happy one.
Dinner on them, complete with champagne and roses and maybe some chocolate would be nice. Good chocolate can solve much.

Hahaha, you gave me a good chuckle and I wish you worked for Whiteflash and could make that happen. Yea I have also asked myself what would make me happy but being the pushover I am (funny I am SOOOO not a pushover in any other realm of life) I have kind of just accepted it. The financial aspect of not wanting to leave them is not the complete story, meaning it isn't just about the upgrade but when you buy something so special, you always want to keep them a good memory as not to tarnish the sentiment of the item. Some on this post think I am rolling over (most would agree I am one of the most aggressive/stubborn guys in the world) but I would do anything for the woman I love and she worries this creates negativity on such a special occasion but I told her this is just my healthy way of relieving my frustration with the help of everyone here. Considering purchasing anything else from them....well if we are going to stay "positive" then why not? I am a one stop type of guy (aren't most men?) so I would rather just deal with one jeweler if possible. Also, never mentioned but I live close to whiteflash and liked the fact that when I am home I can be in the vicinity if I need a repair/evaluation/etc. So having said all that, I agree I am not sure financial compensation (discount on the pending order) changes anything, but the offer would speak volumes in itself because that is a big step for any retailer, just like it is a big step for a guy to drop 20K with a jeweler in one month. Do I want people reprimanded? Definitely.....fired? That really doesn't work for me, unless this is a pattern then hopefully save from it happening to someone else. So in the end, I am not sure what makes all the better, but the sincere apology and the 75 dollar refund (no brainer) is a good start, but agreed, not enough. And doing back on the "trust" issue someone brought up earlier (as far as them trusting me), anyone can go look at my few posts since joining and see that EVERYTHING before this point, i did nothing but sing the praise of WF and anyone I gave advice to, it always involved recommending them. I think that is only natural, so again I only acted out when I thought it got a little personal....because in the end, there is a part of this story I don't share and that is my why I think this happened, much more than coincidence, but changing to sales associates will be a good start. Happy Sunday to everyone

 

[TimMD]

Tim..I have first hand experience with Chris from WF..great guy...super sweet and patient (I find direct calls are better than emailing)

Gl to you and I can't wait to see those hand shots. The rings are spectacular!

The hand shots are up, check on my post on SMTB. I actually already wrote in my reply email to Mr Eber that I think Chris was a good choice (brief interaction with him before) so it is nice to hear multiple positive comments. Happy Sunday!

 

[Chris-at-ERD]

Tim,

Congartulations and best wishes to you and your lovely fiance and I applaud your patience and understanding. The E-Ring and diamond look beautiful and a fine choice and I would like to add... my experience when with DVATCHE I had the privelege in dealing with some of the very fine vendors associated with PS such as ERD GOG WF Wink & Todd@NI and believe that all named have and will continue to offer the best posible choices and service to their customers as humanly possible. People do make mistakes and most importantly the bond and trust between the client and the jeweler should not be lost and with that said I wish you the best and highly respect your decision and a safe return.

 

[TimMD]

Tim,

Congartulations and best wishes to you and your lovely fiance and I applaud your patience and understanding. The E-Ring and diamond look beautiful and a fine choice and I would like to add... my experience when with DVATCHE I had the privelege in dealing with some of the very fine vendors associated with PS such as ERD GOG WF Wink & Todd@NI and believe that all named have and will continue to offer the best posible choices and service to their customers as humanly possible. People do make mistakes and most importantly the bond and trust between the client and the jeweler should not be lost and with that said I wish you the best and highly respect your decision and a safe return.

Thank you Chris, and thank you to the other people in the trade that have commented. I can't help but feel like I am the proverbial "angry customer" and it is nice for other jewelers and the like to admit maybe things could have been handled differently. I am actually far from the angry customer and hopefully if WF can't reap the benefits of my loyalty, hopefully one of the other vendors raved about on PS can.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Tim, first of all, congratulations on your engagement. The ring you had crafted was impeccable, and your proposal speaks of a man who just can't wait to marry his beloved. Thank you for your service.

I'm sorry you have been so disappointed with WF's customer service, but one things sticks out for me about WF since I have been there multiple times. You're making a huge leap to assume that the marketing department and the sales department communicate about their customers like this. The two areas of the business are in completely different physical locations. So much so, that the last time I was visiting WF in the sales area, we didn't even bother going all the way over to the marketing area which resides in another area of the building. Yes, perhaps Traci should have immediately seen the connection, but they're human, as are you, and we are all prone to mistakes. As disastrous as this one was, the apology reads as sincere as it can be, IMO.

That being said, thank you for sharing your experience with BGD, despite a thoughtful apology from Lesley, and then your posting here about WF leads me to believe that at least you're aware of your very particular set of requirements. You've referred to yourself as Mr Difficult, but truthfully, the way you're posting here speaks of a very easy-to-work-with customer who has laid it all out there.

Perhaps you might be able to post both sides of email exchanges since this predicament occurred? Just trying to get a feel for the details as to how you specifically reacted when you were so angered, because when last I looked on FB, the thread is gone?

 

[TimMD]

Lauren, there is much more to the story that I don't post and the emails would take it a step beyond. However, having said that, if you read the earlier posts, everyone that saw the facebook posts understood EXACTLY what made me so upset. The posts were NOT removed in response to my anger, they were removed once this blog was started and PS'ers that follow whiteflash on facebook went and were liking my reply to their post and unliking their feed. The only people that even commented on the post were ALL employees of whiteflash. I contacted the marketing person directly and they defended the post and had NO interest in removing it until the day later (after my proposal) and the pricescope lash back. That is not assumptions, that is fact.

I wish I could post all the email communication on Friday when this started but kind of hard since no one would email me back, except the one from marketing with the apology yet no action on such but defending the discussion. THAT is what made me mad. I agree I am very particular, but I am a guy that doesn't like when things change after money transfers. But I wholeheartedly accept responsibility in my actions in things and I accept even losing a bit of composure when this happened but when you plan for something for 2 months from 8000 miles away and you are out of control of the situation and the people you trusted DONT respond to help something this sabotages all that work and instead of being able to be proactive, I just sit and watch it happen from Iraq, I think that is enough to push anyones buttons. Again Traci (my sales person that knew the plan, saw my video, wrote me the morning of the proposal to say "today is the big day") posted on the discussion not once but TWICE with her commentary "big time failure" but didn't think to act on the bad timing? Did she forget that she just emailed me 1 hour before?

This isn't court, I have nothing to prove but unfortunately did lose and still stand to lose as I invested with this company in the hopes of a long standing partnership/upgrades etc. If someone wants GORGEOUS jewelry, definitely look into Whiteflash, I have NEVER said otherwise. If anyone from Whiteflash wants to know the REAL reason this happened (again I won't discuss it in the forum) they can contact me and I will gladly provide them with WHY this happened. Oh yea, did I ever mention, Mr Difficult was so grateful at the interactions with whiteflash and my sales associate initally that I sent her a Christmas present all the way from Iraq to says "thanks for taking care of me" ( a 2010 crystal snowflake Swarovski ornament). Thanks again everyone for your comments, I am signing off this post and concentrating on the good ones. This is just my story and experience, nothing else. Their are 1000s of wonderful Whiteflash stories on these forums and they make good jewelry. Just like I don't try to convince anyone that Whiteflash is bad or didnt take care of them, I don't want anyone trying to insinuate there is anything to debate.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Lauren, there is much more to the story that I don't post and the emails would take it a step beyond. However, having said that, if you read the earlier posts, everyone that saw the facebook posts understood EXACTLY what made me so upset. The posts were NOT removed in response to my anger, they were removed once this blog was started and PS'ers that follow whiteflash on facebook went and were liking my reply to their post and unliking their feed. The only people that even commented on the post were ALL employees of whiteflash. I contacted the marketing person directly and they defended the post and had NO interest in removing it until the day later (after my proposal) and the pricescope lash back. That is not assumptions, that is fact.

I wish I could post all the email communication on Friday when this started but kind of hard since no one would email me back, except the one from marketing with the apology yet no action on such but defending the discussion. THAT is what made me mad. I agree I am very particular, but I am a guy that doesn't like when things change after money transfers. But I wholeheartedly accept responsibility in my actions in things and I accept even losing a bit of composure when this happened but when you plan for something for 2 months from 8000 miles away and you are out of control of the situation and the people you trusted DONT respond to help something this sabotages all that work and instead of being able to be proactive, I just sit and watch it happen from Iraq, I think that is enough to push anyones buttons. Again Traci (my sales person that knew the plan, saw my video, wrote me the morning of the proposal to say "today is the big day") posted on the discussion not once but TWICE with her commentary "big time failure" but didn't think to act on the bad timing? Did she forget that she just emailed me 1 hour before?

This isn't court, I have nothing to prove but unfortunately did lose and still stand to lose as I invested with this company in the hopes of a long standing partnership/upgrades etc. If someone wants GORGEOUS jewelry, definitely look into Whiteflash, I have NEVER said otherwise. If anyone from Whiteflash wants to know the REAL reason this happened (again I won't discuss it in the forum) they can contact me and I will gladly provide them with WHY this happened. Oh yea, did I ever mention, Mr Difficult was so grateful at the interactions with whiteflash and my sales associate initally that I sent her a Christmas present all the way from Iraq to says "thanks for taking care of me" ( a 2010 crystal snowflake Swarovski ornament). Thanks again everyone for your comments, I am signing off this post and concentrating on the good ones. This is just my story and experience, nothing else. Their are 1000s of wonderful Whiteflash stories on these forums and they make good jewelry. Just like I don't try to convince anyone that Whiteflash is bad or didnt take care of them, I don't want anyone trying to insinuate there is anything to debate.

Tim, what a lovely gesture as a grateful customer. I'm so very, very sorry that this was the end result, but part of me still thinks this was a very disastrous miscommunication.

I'm just trying to find out if you explicitly told Traci that you intended to post the video on Facebook and not just send it to your FI directly. As someone who has helped countless men find engagement rings from many different companies, Pricescope vendors or not, I have witnessed people make slideshow proposals all of the time, but either send them in private email, or show them to their beloved in person.

I'm not making excuses for how the fallout was all handled, and I agree, YES, as soon as the situation was brought to their attention it should have been removed from their FB page, but I'm wondering if you EXPLICITLY said to anyone at WF that "This video is being posted on her Facebook page as my way of proposing . . ." If not, can you at least see how this whole thing wasn't about you?

Also, consider the timing. Friday afternoon/evening. Ms. Wexler and many members of her team are part of a religion (Orthodox Judaism) that abandons technology when the sun sets on Friday evening, until the sun sets on Saturday. Not sure if you're aware of that, but as with any company, little can likely be done when the executive team is out of pocket.

I really do hope for your sake that this is ultimately resolved to your satisfaction, but I do hope that you and your soon to be wife are happy and don't have any cloudy feelings about your gorgeous ring.

 

[LGK]

Wow. What a ridiculous subject for WF to post on their page at all! And the behaviour of the SA sounds a bit lame to say the least. Fortunately it sounds like the COO and Alison at least understand your unhappiness and are working to rectify it. I do think that it says a lot (of good things!) about you that you are willing to continue to work with them.

Someone mentioned that a sales relationship requires trust on both sides. Actually, in terms of customer service? No. You have to be willing to take whatever customers dish out, with a smile no less- and if you've made a mistake, doubly so. There is no reason that Tim shouldn't expect *amazing* service after this from WF. Frankly if I were him? And was happy with the product but not so happy with the behaviour of one or two people in the company? I'd stick with them at least for one more chance. Because I would bet that WF is likely to bend over backwards to make some amazing jewelry for him from here on out.

 

[Kaleigh]

Lauren you make great points, as always. MY reaction is that WF shouldn't be posting a topic like this on their FB page. Period!!!


He's half way around the world and said he was proposing via FB... If I read that correctly??

BUT the biggest thing was that it wasn't taken off FB until yesterday early afternoon my time...

ALL vendors make mistakes...


BUT this story seems to have many layers. I am trying to go through each layer to figure out what happened. That's just me, because there are always 2 sides. I was in the business ages ago. NO internet, so no FB. BUT I would never have made a comment on this topic even if there was this social media back in the day. Because I really cared about my clients, cutomers and shared in their joy.....
I helped many plan proposals.

Tim is correct, the only people that made comments were WF employees. I hit ( like) when Tim made his comment to WF on FB.

And for the record, I hate being called a little blinger... Sorry had to throw that in here....

I hope all works out, it usually does....