4th delay from James Allen - Now due to moving??????????

[BeachGirlG]

Yessie...who said there was no bugging??? My fiance has bugged them quite a bit.

But in all fairness, this is how it works...
You get a ship date. On that day at approx 5:30pm, you get an automatic email saying that your item shipped (and a tracking #) or that it didn't (this didn't happen with the one of the delays, not sure why). Then you call to find out what happened (although a manager called for this last moving delay, so my fiance didn't have to call).

The only other vendor I've worked with was Brian Gavin (re-cut and reset) and their customer service was wonderful. They initiated the calls, kept me informed, and kept their deadlines. And the finished product was perfect (loved the prongs!).

I know posting about this would upset some people on this board that don't want to believe that anyone receives less than stellar service from PS vendors, but I think it's important.

This situation is also a bit embarassing...I raved about JA's great reputation to my fiance, my son, and a co-worker that are in the market for e-rings...my fiance takes the plunge, then this happens (He wanted to buy from a B&M). My fiance feels awful that I've been without my ring for so long...I travel for work almost every week and it's embarassing because I told people it had to go back, but I would have it next time I saw them, then I still don't have it that time, or the next). A few co-workers were making jokes that I must've dreamed that I got a ring.

So, now I promised to help my son & a co-worker find e-rings and I feel pretty foolish.

 

[TC1987]

(sigh) Well, don't feel singled out. (None of this was from any PS vendor, for the record.) My advice to anyone getting any jewelry work done or buying any engagement or anniversary ring is to avoid buying/fixing/making anything during this time of year if at all possible. ALL jewelry repairs or custom work or stone-mounting of any kind that I have had done in May-June-July has always ended up being an absolute disaster and abysmal waste of money, a quagmire of messy work, or just not at all what I ordered. I would up with one damaged stone and an expensive but total crap custom ring that I eventually sold for scrap gold because it was just totally slipshod and not even repairable. My solution is to avoid the anniversary and wedding rush hour and also the Christmas rush hour, and only buy things or have things make in off-peak times like August or September. So far, that strategy has worked great for me.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Well, I dunno. I think that you are over reacting in the sense of feeling foolish and embarrassed and all that. I have had much worse experiences with a few PS vendors. They all made it right and I would use them again. I chalk it up to the BIZ, like Yssie. For me, the end result is what matters and I can accept that the process often has missteps. Yeah, it is annoying, but a week delay is not so bad in my humble opinion. And I am not saying that because this is a "PS vendor". I say this type of thing all the time to people on PS. I realize its an enotional purchase and a lot of money, but its important still to keep things in perspective.

I second Yssie that you consider just returning the mount and setting it locally if this drags on, for your own peace of mind.

Also, just for lurkers, JA is primarily recommended for good prices on loose diamonds. I don't recommend them necessarily for mounts or bench work or after-purchase CS. For those things, other vendors are much better. And you pay for it.

 

[BeachGirlG]

No, really, Dreamer...I actually was very embarassed when I had to give a presentation at work (Fiance was there, too. We work together) and everyone congratulates me and asks to see the ring. I tried to make a quick excuse without going in to all the details. Then everyone looked at my Fiance and he was embarassed, too. He feels really awful and keeps apologizing to me like it's his fault.

I'm leaving Tuesday morning for a huge work event next week with all the VP's and above from my company. It's days of meetings and dinner parties, etc. I haven't seen these people since I got engaged (6 weeks earlier) and I'm dreading it because I am going to be asked over and over again to see the ring after they congratulate me.

So, I really do have my fingers crossed that it ships tomorrow and that JA will do the overnight shipping like my fiance requested.

I sent my ring on 6/1. The earliest I could possibly get it back would be 6/21 (with overnight shipping) or 6/24-6/25 with 2-day shipping. "Regular" people (non-PSer's) really can't understand how it could take that long to "change the prongs" and think we should not have bought online...this is the stuff that scares people into B&M stores, kwim? There is still a very real stigma with large online purchases of things like diamonds. People just don't understand.

ETA: It wouldn't be so bad if this was an upgrade. But with a new engagement, people want to see the ring and really call attention to it.

 

[WillyDiamond]

After all of this, if they don't ship overnight to you, then they are really missing the message here.
Best of luck.

 

[BeachGirlG]

Update: It shipped tonight!!
Overnight delivery, too.

 

[Laila619]

Update: It shipped tonight!!
Overnight delivery, too.

Yay!! Awesome news!

 

[momma2boys]

Would love to see some pics of your ring! Hope it's perfect!

 

[Roxy]

Update: It shipped tonight!!
Overnight delivery, too.

YAY!!! I'm so excited for you & can't wait to see pics once it's on your hand! I hope you LOVE it. It'll be so much fun to "show it off" to everyone next week.

 

[hearts-arrows_girl]

Did you get it yet? Please post pics.

 

[TC1987]

Hopefully it all worked out and your ring is done right. I don't think you should have let this upset you so much. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You got the ring with a temporary head and you sent it back for the platinum one to be installed, and then there were a few delays. Smile, shrug, and say "Things happen. It's a busy time of year for jewelers." That's all you have to say.

 

[lostring14]

I'm glad to hear you got what you wanted as well. For what it's worth, I have made 4 separate purchases via James Allen, interacting both with Jim Schultz directly as well as his staff. I have experienced nothing but excellent service, value and results throughout the entire process on each instance, some of which were years apart. I would highly recommend JA to anyone in the market for the kind of things we are here, without reservation. Delays can happen, no doubt, and I'm sorry they did here -- but based on what I know of JA and staff, I would imagine they were doing everything they could to avoid such things and make it right behind the scenes, even if it wasn't necessarily obvious. Congrats on your new purchase!

 

[Enerchi]

BeachGirlG

How did it turn out?? Can we see some pics of your new ring??? I hope you are thrilled over the moon with it!

 

[soxfan]

Ok, so I sent my ring back on 6/1 and now my ship date went from:

6/11 - 1st estimated ship date
6/14 - delayed because it's more complicated than they thought to make a platinum v-tip head for a pear
6/17 - delayed because it didn't pass QC
6/20 - delayed because they are moving

I am really trying to have patience, but I think this is a little too much...
This is a simple platinum knife edge tiffany repro with a v-tip.
Am I being unrealistic to expect more than this????

Feedback like this (honest, raw) is, in my opinion, what brings value to forums like these. It's beneficial to be aware of as many experiences as possible to enable one to make a fair, unbiased, "real" judgment on a vendor. We are, in the end, all adults and have the ability/right to make our own decisions based on the information we have gathered/considered to be of value.

I come on here everyday just to see what's new. I get the sense that many PSers get quite sensitive about PS-liked vendors. This is sad, I think, and doesn't help anyone. Bullying people into thinking that they've done something wrong or don't have the right to feel the way they do is just way too "highschool".

Kind of disappointing, really.

OP. I hope you get your ring soon....and that it's more beautiful than you hoped for