the lady at Zales...

[oobiecoo]

I went in to Zales just to look at some watches and the saleslady nearly had a heartattack over my ring... she was fanning herself and everything haha! She grabbed my hand and said "oh that must not be a typical princess cut". Well, no, its not any type of princess cut... its actually an ASSCHER! I can''t believe that their sales associates have such little training and knowledge.

I felt sorry for the guy in there who was looking at engagement rings. I wanted to follow him out of the store and tell him to run away and do some research online!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/9/2007 7:11:10 PM
Author:oobiecoo
I went in to Zales just to look at some watches and the saleslady nearly had a heartattack over my ring... she was fanning herself and everything haha! She grabbed my hand and said ''oh that must not be a typical princess cut''. Well, no, its not any type of princess cut... its actually an ASSCHER! I can''t believe that their sales associates have such little training and knowledge.

I felt sorry for the guy in there who was looking at engagement rings. I wanted to follow him out of the store and tell him to run away and do some research online!

I seriously would have....

Unreal.

 

[MoonWater]

I am grateful every day that I found this site before the Ering purchase!

 

[poshpepper]

Oh god...

So sad this is the typical "knowledge" these sale associates have.

 

[nebe]

Date: 10/9/2007 7:11:10 PM
Author:oobiecoo

I wanted to follow him out of the store and tell him to run away and do some research online!

I did that once to a guy in a Hannoush store. I told him to look around on Pricescope and he looked at me like I was an insane person.

Whoops! Won''t be doing THAT again.

 

[Haven]

Ugh. There are 14 jewelry stores in the mall near my job, so I often go and grade papers in the Barnes & Noble there after school. When our jeweler told us that he found a 2 ct cushion that was 7 X 8 mm I went around to the stores to see if I could try on any similar-sized stones to get a feel for how it would look.

Well . . . the lady at Zales told me that I is the highest color you need to go, AND an I2 is the best clarity possible I just stood there waiting for my eyes to uncross. Her manager came over and corrected her--"VS is the highest clarity, but I2 is all you need. And color doesn''t really matter, the differences are so minute." OY!!!!!!

I also went to J.B. Robinson, and Whitehall, and at least one other similarly awful store and was greeted by people who had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

And the only people who even knew what a cushion was were at J.B. Robinson, and they told me that they are so rare it would take years to find one. Okay, um, thanks.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Lol, what a shame that they have no clue as to what they are selling.

 

[marcy]

LOLFOTFL!!! You''ve got to love those knowledgeable sales clerks. My husband is always impressed when I just listen to them and don''t try to set them straight. He can tell I''m about to burst though. Ha Ha.

 

[sera]

I went into Zales to get an idea on what size mm I would want for a band. I walked out shortly after the SA tried (and failed) to pronounce millimeter.

I don''t understand why employers do not train their employees???

It''s soooo annoying.

 

[marcy]

My all time favorite discussion is trying to get them to tell you the cut of the diamond. You get RB, PC, etc. I say, not the shape; the make like ideal or 0, and they look at me like I just started speaking Martian or something.

 

[Rabe2000]

I love these Zales conversations....to think I went there back in March thank goodness for the Internet.

 

[amy_dub]

Well, I went into a Marks & Morgan to look at rings (our first time shopping in a store for an ering). The lady is like "what cut do you like? round or princess?" I said "Cushion" She was like "oh... we don''t keep those instock... we''d have to bring one in for you." she then proceeded to tell me that a cushion cut would be AT LEAST $18,000-$20,000 for the stone alone and that the smallest a cushion comes in .75 ct because if you cut it any smaller you couldn''t tell what it was.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Earlier this summer when I started thinking about wedding bands I stopped into a Zales Outlet (even worse!) while shopping, partly just to get an idea of band optoins, but mostly to see what the heck they sell in a Zales Outlet. The sales lady mistook my asscher for an Emerald, but hey, at least she was close! The most concerning thing, though, was when I looked at a couple of eternity bands and there were several small black specks in the diamonds. I was thinking that if "very included" was a clarity rating, these diamonds would fit the bill. The sales lady actually tried to spin it into a positive attribution of the ring saying that the specks were how you could tell it was a real diamond and not fake. Because, you know, massive inclusions are "natural".

 

[amy_dub]

I also forgot to mention that the lady at M&M kept calling a 4-prong solitare setting "the tiffany setting"... I guess she thought i was clueless..

 

[MustangGal]

I went into Zales Friday to look at a 3 stone a co-worker recently received. I had them pull one out of the case and the center diamond was about 2/3ct, and about 1/4 of the stone was a big cloud or crystal or something. I pointed at it, said "does this stone have a large crystal in it?", she calmly told me "I gaurentee it is not a crystal", like I was saying that the diamond wasn''t real! I then handed the ring to my husband and told him to look at it, he took one look and said "wow that''s a huge flaw!". We handed the ring back to her stunned look and walked right out!

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 10/10/2007 10:00:10 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Earlier this summer when I started thinking about wedding bands I stopped into a Zales Outlet (even worse!) while shopping, partly just to get an idea of band optoins, but mostly to see what the heck they sell in a Zales Outlet. The sales lady mistook my asscher for an Emerald, but hey, at least she was close! The most concerning thing, though, was when I looked at a couple of eternity bands and there were several small black specks in the diamonds. I was thinking that if 'very included' was a clarity rating, these diamonds would fit the bill. The sales lady actually tried to spin it into a positive attribution of the ring saying that the specks were how you could tell it was a real diamond and not fake. Because, you know, massive inclusions are 'natural'.

Isn't "Zales Outlet" an oxymoron of sorts?

I have to say that I had a very sensible conversation with a salesman from Ben Bridge earlier this year just before we were engaged. He knows me and I asked him what I could get in the under $15k range and as close to a 2ct. as possible. He pulled out their standard BB 2 ct. "starter" ring - simple white gold solitaire setting with an I SI1/2 I think. Not sure if those stats are correct but he said he wouldn't sell it to me because I know too much about diamonds to be happy with that ring. Then he showed me the price list for the nicer grade 2cts. and it was a LOT more...I dont think it was a selling ploy though because he's right, I wouldn't have been happy with their starter ring - the cut was awful to be honest. But my point is sometimes you get someone who knows something in a mall shop, but it's rare. I even had this saleswoman in Tiffany's - a place where I usually have no problems - and she wouldn't ALLOW me to try on baguette eternity bands because she thought they didn't "go" with my ering. Can you believe that?

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 10/10/2007 12:59:36 PM
Author: surfgirl

Isn''t ''Zales Outlet'' an oxymoron of sorts?

I even had this saleswoman in Tiffany''s - a place where I usually have no problems - and she wouldn''t ALLOW me to try on baguette eternity bands because she thought they didn''t ''go'' with my ering. Can you believe that?

LOL at the oxymoron comment!!! Too funny!

And OMG at the Tiff experience... what a dingbat that lady was. Unbelievable.

 

[princesss]

A lady at Whitehall told me that you want to go as high in clarity as possible, since that''s what makes the ring sparkle. She also proudly showed me her 2 ct. ring that looked like frozen spit. I had to keep myself from shuddering. She was so dang proud of it! I went in with one of my friends one time and had to spend 45 minutes teaching my friend about diamonds afterwards in the hopes that she wouldn''t actually believe the saleslady. She was incredibly sweet and genuine...just completely misinformed!

 

[Steel]

My most recent jewellery store

moment, was during my research for eternity bands. I asked the colour and clarity of the stones, she looked blankly at me and said "they are little diamonds" I asked again, yes, but the colour and clarity? She repeated as if I was stupid "Little Diamonds!". I gave up.

I wonder if any other profession feels so sure that they are right even when they must know that they don''t have a clue what they are talking about! To the point of arguing with the customer!

Another point, I am not the shy and retiring type. I do not suffer fools gladly. I am sure that I am in good company in this regard on this forum

.
So why, when these twits go off pontificating about that which they clearly know nothing and often are clearly wrong, do I feel so stunned to sit and nod like a dog? I hate that. I am very able to handle myself. Yet I just nod? (And God help me - when they bring out the ''special'' card (printout from GIA) from behind the counter with the haloed 4 c''s on, my heart sinks in preparation for my impending nodding, but I still sit there) WHY?

 

[Allisonfaye]

I have had similar experiences in the maul stores but I tend to just think that the typical Zales customer is not looking for a an education and for the amount of money that they want to spend, they aren''t going to get much in the way of quality.

 

[HollyS]

My local Zales store wasn''t nearly as bad as a hometown B&M that my parents have used for the past 29 years. It was our first stop on the ''search'' for a ring. Horrible, classless, tasteless settings, and a 1ct RB I color, SI2 for a price that made me gasp and say "no thank you". The saleslady was also classless, sporting a very nice 3-stone princess ring which she proceeded to denigrate by saying her husband had bought it, and she really didn''t like it, ''cause it wasn''t what she wanted!

My FI is a nice, mild-mannered, middle-aged man who was completely shocked by her behavior and told her so. He now refers to her as that B**** from the jewelry store!

 

[MajorGroove]

Date: 10/10/2007 10:00:10 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Earlier this summer when I started thinking about wedding bands I stopped into a Zales Outlet (even worse!) while shopping, partly just to get an idea of band optoins, but mostly to see what the heck they sell in a Zales Outlet.

Oh my goodness, isn''t it horrifying? My boyfriend and I cruised through one of those a couple weeks ago when we were outlet shopping. He''s the one who spotted it: "Zales outlet?! We have to go!!" Let''s just say that the inclusions were visible through the glass cases, even in smaller stones. We had a good time laughing at the stones, the appraisals, and the settings. It''s so shameful that anyone buys from them!

 

[MoonWater]

This thread makes me sad for all those poor souls that have yet to discover PS. Such hideous stones they are buying.

I went to Jared''s once and the woman was determined to get my bf to buy a ring so I could take it and compare it to another to see which one I liked (and btw I would be comparing it to a Ritani ahem). I couldn''t figure out why we would make a $3k purchase just to compare rings. Not to mention, and this is when I was much less informed and I could not remember the name "cushion" so I kept trying to describe it to her and she kept saying "princess" and I was like, um...no, not that. I figured she''d go down the line of more square shaped stones until she said the name I was looking for. Eventually I gave up because she seemed quite certain I was describing a princess and wouldn''t budge.

Also the same saleswoman, when I asked her the weight of the center stone (it was a three stone ring) she said a carat. I was like, "REALLY?" because it looked small. I kept saying, this can''t be a carat, are you sure? And she said, yes, it''s a carat. I am quite certain she meant the total carat weight of the ring but I didn''t argue with her, we decided to keep looking and I started reading PS on a daily basis.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/10/2007 5:54:37 PM
Author: Steel

My most recent jewellery store

moment, was during my research for eternity bands. I asked the colour and clarity of the stones, she looked blankly at me and said 'they are little diamonds' I asked again, yes, but the colour and clarity? She repeated as if I was stupid 'Little Diamonds!'. I gave up.

I wonder if any other profession feels so sure that they are right even when they must know that they don't have a clue what they are talking about! To the point of arguing with the customer!

Another point, I am not the shy and retiring type. I do not suffer fools gladly. I am sure that I am in good company in this regard on this forum

.


So why, when these twits go off pontificating about that which they clearly know nothing and often are clearly wrong, do I feel so stunned to sit and nod like a dog? I hate that. I am very able to handle myself. Yet I just nod? (And God help me - when they bring out the 'special' card (printout from GIA) from behind the counter with the haloed 4 c's on, my heart sinks in preparation for my impending nodding, but I still sit there) WHY?

lol Funny post.

As to why you nod and don't say anything? I've done the same, and for me, it's because I am embarrassed for them. And I feel elaborating/trying to educate them, when as you said, they SHOULD know what they're talking about, would be even more so....