Walters & Hogsett - Boulder, CO - A Huge Disappointment

[wanderlost]

I just wanted to post my experience with this Brick & Mortar yesterday...

They''re one of the (very) few jewelers in the area who carry Gelin & Abaci tension set rings (though none of the jewelers actually HAVE the ring that my girlfriend wants (so we can get a look at it in person)). Nonetheless, I had heard some good things about the store & the staff seemed pretty knowledgable about stones (they complimented me on the one I had found and were willing to set it - no problem).

That''s the experience I had the previous time I went in the store & had expected to be just as pleasantly suprised this time (after getting some additional pricing information from several other vendors). The price they quoted me for the ring was $1165 (TR-025 14k White Gold) for the .67 ct. stone that is absolutely FANTASTIC (purchased from Wink - new thread about that great experience soon!)... The other pricing info that I got from a very helpful online vendor was $721.65 - quite a difference - but in (attempting) to support local business, etc... I thought I''d give them a chance to match it or come close....

Here''s the responses I got:
1. "That''s not the way that Gelin & Abaci want their product represented."
This one confused me & I asked for an explaination - they just repeated the same thing and then said that they wanted the vendors name so that they could ''report them'' to G&A. Asinine.

2. "It''s not about price - it''s about building a relationship and having good customer service."
Which I partially agree with, and I said I wasn''t looking for them to MATCH the price, but to do better. I was simply looking for balance between price & customer service.... plus... what kind of relationship is he wanting?... seems that it''s all give for me and all take for him.

3. "We''re not willing to even touch that price.... they''re making no money on that deal..... we think that our customer service has a price."
WOW

4. "If you''re looking for price, you should [look somewhere else] buy from them."
I guess I will.


Really disappointing though. I almost laughed when I was wrote down his line about "our customer service has a price" - seems like I wasted his time by asking about the ring, getting a quote & asking for them to be more competitive with their pricing.... I hope I don''t get an invoice for the customer service I received!

 

[quaeritur]

(long)

I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience there. Also unfortunate is the fact that mine has not been much better. I originally wrote some glowing remarks about this store here on PS, even wrote a customer review in the section on local jewelers that listed them. I'm very disappointed in the decline of their customer service in a short six weeks.

I went in to their store to look at HoF diamonds and to see some ideal cuts in person -all I'd seen to that point was online. I was willing and ready to purchase a stone from them if they could find what I was looking for, but from the first moment, I also let them know that I was searching online on my own.

After seeing a few stones in their inventory at the store, I decided that I was not interested in a HoF diamond. I gave them a list of what I wanted: D-E, .75-.80ish ct., SI1 (eye clean and with nothing breaking the girdle), with medium to strong blue fluorescence. They were lovely, helpful, courteous.

I got a call three weeks later that they had a stone for me to look at. So I went over... it was a G VS1, 1ct.

OK, so I gave them my list again. This time I also specified I didn't want a steep/deep combo on the angles. Again, they were lovely. I recommended them to Wanderlost when I found out he wanted a G&A setting.

Weeks passed. I figured they were having a tough time locating what I wanted, which was fine, I was in no hurry. Then, by pure chance, I found the EXACT diamond I was looking for elsewhere, and purchased it. I stopped by W&G to let them know to call off the search (which I now doubt they even started). They were fine, though a trifle disappointed -I have no problem with that. I told them there would be other stones and a couple of custom jobs I wanted them to do, they were gracious.

Anyway, in the meantime I met Wanderlost, and we went to W&G (because I always love to look) so he could check out their G&A inventory. I had my new ring too. I was rather shocked when the sales associate helping Wanderlost started taking digs at me! First he said he would not set W's stone because he and I were "overeducated" about diamonds and they would not take a chance on a stone that he had chosen, because he would be so picky about a replacement if something happened during setting... I pointed out that just because I was picky, they shouldn't label someone they'd only just met based on that. Anyway, towards the end of our meeting, the sales associate said something like... "It's frustrating for us because we spent all this time with you -you've been into the store what, six times? We bring in all these stones for you, nothing's good enough, and then you go and buy something on the internet."

Well, to set the record straight, I pointed out that I'd only been to the store four times: the first time, then to look at the stone in the wrong color, clarity, and size, once with my husband to get info about the custom pendant setting I wanted done there, and the current visit. Also, other than that one stone that only met my criteria for fluorescence, they NEVER brought a stone in for me. Yes, one of their associates spent time with me and showed me some items. The rest is just plain untrue. I also pointed out to them that I was referring them to other potential customers AND had written a good review for them here. The associate sheepishly thanked me for that.

Oh, yeah, and the estimate I'd requested for the custom work? Never got it. It's taken two requests and three weeks for them to finally call me (today) with a quote on a chain for a pendant!

Anyway, sorry to have rambled on. Bottom line? They not only have now lost my business, present and future, but I will also be writing a follow-up review that they might find less flattering.

Maybe Yowahking has some insights on this...

 

[zoobiedo]

Boy, you made me very happy that I am having Whiteflash make my ring. I had gone to Denver to look at some B&M, had okay experiences but they did not have what I wanted and the price of the settings, IMO, were very high for what they were.

 

[jsharley]

Wow, I'm glad to see some fellow diamond researchers in my area. I too have been scouring the internet and local jewelers for the best value. After stopping by Walters & Hogsett this past weekend to see their Hearts on Fire diamonds it has set me in a direction to research the various Hearts and Arrows premium cuts. Like zoobiedo I have been considering the whiteflash stones as they don't seem to carry quite the premium that W&H is quoting me on the Hearts on Fire cuts.

There also seem to be some vague conversations floating around about Eightstar diamonds. I've started a little dialog with their owner Richard von Sternberg but he's very edgy and unwilling to release any specific details in fear that I'll inappropriately share them with the net. Have any of you had any experience with these cuts or seen one in person?

 

[quaeritur]

Hi jsharley, and welcome to Pricescope!




I do have experience with EightStar, and own one. Feel free to PM me if you're interested in the cut. I ordered mine through Wink Jones (www.winkjones.com), but you can also work directly with Richard, since we don't have a distributor in the area. EightStar guards their pricing closely, but they do cut a gorgeous diamond. I found both Richard and Wink wonderful to deal with, and if I win the lotto, will happily do it all over again!

 

[roverco]

I wanted to share my POSITIVE experience with this jeweler and just share some of my thoughts about Bricks & Mortar vs. the Internet.

I personally thought I received a great value from Walters & Hogsett. I have been through the diamond buying experience a few times both in Colorado and in New England. I have sat with friends through many a diamond buying outing. Having said that, my very best experience was in Boulder, at Walters & Hogsett. Let me tell you why…

I wanted to be treated with respect and talked to as an equal. I want my jeweler to both educate me and be excited with me. Additionally I am after the little things: courtesy, knowledge, a level of education, and above and beyond customer service. After all, if you are going to make a big purchase, both financially and emotionally, you need to know that the vender you chose is there for you. This is what I found with Walters & Hogsett.

Being a fellow business owner, I have to respect the way Walters & Hogsett does business. They are a high-end store with highly knowledgeable employees. Their employees are made up of very experienced individuals, people with gemological degrees, and men and women that truly love what they do. They have many years of experience and have won awards such as Best of Boulder many times. What they are not is a high volume, low-cost, do-anything-for-a-sale, commodity company.

It is sometimes tough for a customer to try to find the subtleties between on online vender and a traditional brick & mortar shop. But my business will stay with Walters & Hogsett because they represent what I am looking for – knowledge, beneficial recommendations, experience, high-touch customer service, and top-shelf quality.

On a final note, my fiancé and I decided to elope. I had already given her a beautiful engagement ring and when we decided we were moving up our wedding date, Walters & Hogsett was there for us. They managed the entire process of making a custom wedding ring for us and delivered it just in time for our wedding – literally to 100% specification in less than four weeks! I wonder just how many other jewelers would even have taken on that task. Thank you Walters & Hogsett.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/27/2004 4:53:33 PM
Author:wanderlost
I just wanted to post my experience with this Brick & Mortar yesterday...

The price they quoted me for the ring was $1165 (TR-025 14k White Gold) ... The other pricing info that I got from a very helpful online vendor was $721.65 - quite a difference - but in (attempting) to support local business, etc... I thought I''d give them a chance to match it or come close....

Yeah, that''s quite some difference... Maybe they just can''t take that price point.

Perhaps if you bought the diamond from them the value added would have been spread over with the whole deal looking acceptable. As is, that''s just one and the same setting at twice the cost.

Hope GA doesn''t hear about this and start to even out prices among distributors