Propter Hoc
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2008
- Messages
- 44
AVOID AT ALL COSTS: Fred Meyer Jeweler, Salem, Oregon. Sales Associate Tom Moore and Manager "Josh."
"The Most Shocking Customer Service Experience of my Life"
I recently purchased a .934ct F VVS2 H&A AGS Certified Ideal Cut-Polish-Symmetry Isee2 diamond with great proportions (bottom line BEAUTIFUL stone) from goodoldgold.com. I''ve also initiated the order process with Mark Morrell Custom Platinum for a ''Sunburst'' solitaire ring which will not be ready for some time. Because my fiance and I would like to be married this summer I made what I now consider to be a significant mistake and purchased a temporary setting locally from a Fred Meyer Jeweler''s store at Salem Center in Salem Oregon. While I recognize local jewelery retailers (esp. so called "Maul Stores") are likely the worst place to purchase a diamond, I trusted they would be competent to prepare a simple solitaire setting and mount my gorgeous stone for my fiance to wear for the next few weeks until my MM setting is completed. My deadline of three days from the date I requested the setting be made until the day I intended to propose left few options to consider.
The Fred Meyer store at Salem Center featured seemingly competent sales people and even allowed me to speak with their goldsmith who understood my request to have the stone set in a white gold solitaire setting as low as possible in a 6-prong mount according to my FI and my tastes. The ring arrived on schedule and to my delight appeared in the exact style I had pictured and attempted to describe to the goldsmith. The craftsmanship was fair to below average. Notably, the prongs did not contact the diamond''s crown and a visible gap existed when the setting was viewed at profile with strong backlighting or when viewed through a loupe. No worries, you get what you pay for and the setting was a temporary one anyway. The staff was professional and friendly and I left satisfied and glad I had not purchased a diamond from this chain.
My proposal went off without a hitch. Circumstances came together more ideally than I could have planned for or prepared in advance. The ring fit tighter than I expected and my FI could remove it only with great difficulty. Because the idea of her showering, doing dishes, or other similar risky chores wearing such a great stone in a low-cost setting made me somewhat uncomfortable, I encouraged her to return to the store where I had purchased the ring and have it resized. The store had offered to size the ring one time for free after she was able to wear it for a few days.
My FI contacted the store and they suggested she take the ring to another store of the same brand across town for faster service. That store was the FRED MEYER JEWELERS STORE AT LANCASTER SHOPPING CENTER where she was assisted by Sales Associate TED MOORE. My recommendation is that you AVOID THIS RETAILER AT ALL COSTS. Allow me to explain why.
My FI arrived at the store after having called ahead to ensure that they would be able to size the ring more expediently than the Salem Center store. The salesperson examined the ring and tested it with a tool I have seen the Salem Center store use to verify that it is, in fact, a genuine diamond. At this store, however, the sales associate tested my FI''s stone without testing the machine on one of his own products or a diamond he might be wearing as I had observed the associates at the Salem Center store to do regularly. The machine incorrectly indicated that the stone I had purchased was Moissanite and the associate remarked (in what I feel was a moment of indiscretion) "This stone tests as an imitation. Let me go check my machine to make sure it is working correctly." He returned 1-2 minutes later with my FI''s ring and assured her it was in fact a genuine diamond. He did not apologize for his initial remarks.
My fiance called me after leaving the store, somewhat distressed, and explained to me what had happened. I assured her I would resolve the issue and take care of sizing her ring myself (something I should have done in the first place). I returned to the Lancaster store and asked to speak with whomever had consulted with my FI in the last 3 hours about resizing her engagement ring. It turns out I was speaking to the associate for whom I was asking. I requested a business card and he gave me one. He, I assume suspicious of why I may be asking, called a manager over as well. I asked him to explain the process his store uses to assess the authenticity of a diamond and at what point in that process he would express his suspicion to a female customer that her engagement ring may be imitation or otherwise not what she thought it was. He began to explain the process. I suggested that this store adopt the procedure I had seen practiced at Salem Center of testing another stone, the authenticity of which the associate could be reasonably assured (his own stone or product), before testing a customer''s stone. This is when things started to get ugly.
The manager (who identified himself only as "Josh" and refused my request for a business card), in front of customers, began to berate me with sarcastic and snide comments to the effect of "yep, sure, that''s exactly what happened" as well as "thanks for your concern, bye" in the middle of conversation and "you do whatever you feel is necessary, alright?" before walking away mid-sentence. I cannot over-emphasize the level of disrespect and contempt I perceived during my effort to bring an easy process improvement to their attention and prevent them from distressing anymore clients the way they had upset my FI. After the manager walked away, the sales associate and I exchanged a few more words (I assume he hung on longer either because he was embarrassed by the treatment I received from his manager or because I was holding his business card). I communicated my dissatisfaction and my intent to compose a letter of complaint to this chain''s corporate office. The manager had reentered the scene to attempt to diffuse the concerns of other customers in the store at the time and commented from across the store "oh yeah, you do that, that''s great."
To be absolutely clear, I had and continue to have no significant complaint about the lapse of judgment on the part of the sales associate in dealing with my FI or myself. I sought only to bring the issue to their attention and suggest calmly a simple procedural change which could improve their relationship with their customers.
My major complaint is a result of the impermissibly unprofessional conduct of the manager "Josh" and the blatant disrespect with which I was treated as a customer expressing a concern about a product and services for which I had already paid. In addition to his disrespect, he dishonestly attempted to "explain" to my FI that the free ring sizing I had been promised by Salem Center referred only to the fact that all bands are shipped to Fred Meyer as size 7''s and are sized at the store by request before delivery to the customer (a labor for which I had already been charged somewhere between $125 and $175 USD). This argument was directly refuted by Salem Center associates when I returned to their store to express my concern about the lack of integrity of the management at the Lancaster store and suggest that they refrain from sending any further business there for any reason. The Salem Center associates (2 of them) confirmed that the intent of their agreement to size the ring at no cost referred to some reasonable point after my fiance was able to wear the ring and that they had directed her to the Lancaster store believing that Lancaster would honor the chain''s policy and expedite the process. They also expressed dismay about the remarks made to my FI about her stone being an imitation one without confirmation and reiterated their store policy of testing their equipment before using it on a customer''s stone.
SUMMARY: Avoid Fred Meyer Jeweler at Lancaster Shopping Center AT ALL COSTS. Their dishonesty, complete lack of professional integrity, and blatant lack of respect for the customer is staggering and unequivocally confirms my previously held belief that many mall store jewelers are staffed and managed by entry level retail associates with little or no understanding of quality diamond jewelry and absolutely no respect or consideration for the significance of the wedding and engagement jewelry shopping experience of their customers.
Thank you for your interest,
James
Keywords: Fred Meyer Jeweler, Salem, Oregon, 503-371-4020, 831 Lancaster Dr NE Ste 184, 97301, Lancaster Mall, Lancaster Shopping Center, Ted Moore, Engagement Ring, Salem Center, Wedding Band, Ted Moore Sales Associate, FM, FMJ, Portland, Albany, Eugene, Corvallis.
"The Most Shocking Customer Service Experience of my Life"
I recently purchased a .934ct F VVS2 H&A AGS Certified Ideal Cut-Polish-Symmetry Isee2 diamond with great proportions (bottom line BEAUTIFUL stone) from goodoldgold.com. I''ve also initiated the order process with Mark Morrell Custom Platinum for a ''Sunburst'' solitaire ring which will not be ready for some time. Because my fiance and I would like to be married this summer I made what I now consider to be a significant mistake and purchased a temporary setting locally from a Fred Meyer Jeweler''s store at Salem Center in Salem Oregon. While I recognize local jewelery retailers (esp. so called "Maul Stores") are likely the worst place to purchase a diamond, I trusted they would be competent to prepare a simple solitaire setting and mount my gorgeous stone for my fiance to wear for the next few weeks until my MM setting is completed. My deadline of three days from the date I requested the setting be made until the day I intended to propose left few options to consider.
The Fred Meyer store at Salem Center featured seemingly competent sales people and even allowed me to speak with their goldsmith who understood my request to have the stone set in a white gold solitaire setting as low as possible in a 6-prong mount according to my FI and my tastes. The ring arrived on schedule and to my delight appeared in the exact style I had pictured and attempted to describe to the goldsmith. The craftsmanship was fair to below average. Notably, the prongs did not contact the diamond''s crown and a visible gap existed when the setting was viewed at profile with strong backlighting or when viewed through a loupe. No worries, you get what you pay for and the setting was a temporary one anyway. The staff was professional and friendly and I left satisfied and glad I had not purchased a diamond from this chain.
My proposal went off without a hitch. Circumstances came together more ideally than I could have planned for or prepared in advance. The ring fit tighter than I expected and my FI could remove it only with great difficulty. Because the idea of her showering, doing dishes, or other similar risky chores wearing such a great stone in a low-cost setting made me somewhat uncomfortable, I encouraged her to return to the store where I had purchased the ring and have it resized. The store had offered to size the ring one time for free after she was able to wear it for a few days.
My FI contacted the store and they suggested she take the ring to another store of the same brand across town for faster service. That store was the FRED MEYER JEWELERS STORE AT LANCASTER SHOPPING CENTER where she was assisted by Sales Associate TED MOORE. My recommendation is that you AVOID THIS RETAILER AT ALL COSTS. Allow me to explain why.
My FI arrived at the store after having called ahead to ensure that they would be able to size the ring more expediently than the Salem Center store. The salesperson examined the ring and tested it with a tool I have seen the Salem Center store use to verify that it is, in fact, a genuine diamond. At this store, however, the sales associate tested my FI''s stone without testing the machine on one of his own products or a diamond he might be wearing as I had observed the associates at the Salem Center store to do regularly. The machine incorrectly indicated that the stone I had purchased was Moissanite and the associate remarked (in what I feel was a moment of indiscretion) "This stone tests as an imitation. Let me go check my machine to make sure it is working correctly." He returned 1-2 minutes later with my FI''s ring and assured her it was in fact a genuine diamond. He did not apologize for his initial remarks.
My fiance called me after leaving the store, somewhat distressed, and explained to me what had happened. I assured her I would resolve the issue and take care of sizing her ring myself (something I should have done in the first place). I returned to the Lancaster store and asked to speak with whomever had consulted with my FI in the last 3 hours about resizing her engagement ring. It turns out I was speaking to the associate for whom I was asking. I requested a business card and he gave me one. He, I assume suspicious of why I may be asking, called a manager over as well. I asked him to explain the process his store uses to assess the authenticity of a diamond and at what point in that process he would express his suspicion to a female customer that her engagement ring may be imitation or otherwise not what she thought it was. He began to explain the process. I suggested that this store adopt the procedure I had seen practiced at Salem Center of testing another stone, the authenticity of which the associate could be reasonably assured (his own stone or product), before testing a customer''s stone. This is when things started to get ugly.
The manager (who identified himself only as "Josh" and refused my request for a business card), in front of customers, began to berate me with sarcastic and snide comments to the effect of "yep, sure, that''s exactly what happened" as well as "thanks for your concern, bye" in the middle of conversation and "you do whatever you feel is necessary, alright?" before walking away mid-sentence. I cannot over-emphasize the level of disrespect and contempt I perceived during my effort to bring an easy process improvement to their attention and prevent them from distressing anymore clients the way they had upset my FI. After the manager walked away, the sales associate and I exchanged a few more words (I assume he hung on longer either because he was embarrassed by the treatment I received from his manager or because I was holding his business card). I communicated my dissatisfaction and my intent to compose a letter of complaint to this chain''s corporate office. The manager had reentered the scene to attempt to diffuse the concerns of other customers in the store at the time and commented from across the store "oh yeah, you do that, that''s great."
To be absolutely clear, I had and continue to have no significant complaint about the lapse of judgment on the part of the sales associate in dealing with my FI or myself. I sought only to bring the issue to their attention and suggest calmly a simple procedural change which could improve their relationship with their customers.
My major complaint is a result of the impermissibly unprofessional conduct of the manager "Josh" and the blatant disrespect with which I was treated as a customer expressing a concern about a product and services for which I had already paid. In addition to his disrespect, he dishonestly attempted to "explain" to my FI that the free ring sizing I had been promised by Salem Center referred only to the fact that all bands are shipped to Fred Meyer as size 7''s and are sized at the store by request before delivery to the customer (a labor for which I had already been charged somewhere between $125 and $175 USD). This argument was directly refuted by Salem Center associates when I returned to their store to express my concern about the lack of integrity of the management at the Lancaster store and suggest that they refrain from sending any further business there for any reason. The Salem Center associates (2 of them) confirmed that the intent of their agreement to size the ring at no cost referred to some reasonable point after my fiance was able to wear the ring and that they had directed her to the Lancaster store believing that Lancaster would honor the chain''s policy and expedite the process. They also expressed dismay about the remarks made to my FI about her stone being an imitation one without confirmation and reiterated their store policy of testing their equipment before using it on a customer''s stone.
SUMMARY: Avoid Fred Meyer Jeweler at Lancaster Shopping Center AT ALL COSTS. Their dishonesty, complete lack of professional integrity, and blatant lack of respect for the customer is staggering and unequivocally confirms my previously held belief that many mall store jewelers are staffed and managed by entry level retail associates with little or no understanding of quality diamond jewelry and absolutely no respect or consideration for the significance of the wedding and engagement jewelry shopping experience of their customers.
Thank you for your interest,
James
Keywords: Fred Meyer Jeweler, Salem, Oregon, 503-371-4020, 831 Lancaster Dr NE Ste 184, 97301, Lancaster Mall, Lancaster Shopping Center, Ted Moore, Engagement Ring, Salem Center, Wedding Band, Ted Moore Sales Associate, FM, FMJ, Portland, Albany, Eugene, Corvallis.
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