bad experience with whiteflash

[ms101]

" Perhaps the salesperson at WF could weigh in on this. "

While it is not my usual style to come in on threads like this, and we realize that there will be both positive and negative feedback, I would like to clarify the following.

The order was placed on 12/1 and an order confirmation was e-mailed; we were told payment would be wired. The customer was contacted several times by e-mail and once by phone asking about payment. We were assured payment was coming several times after the 1st, but never received it. Then there was a period from 12/8 to 12/14 where we heard nothing from the customer. We called the customer on12/14 but there was no answer, so we sent another e-mail. He did not reply until 2 days later, again indicating he would be going ahead. We told him we must have the wire by the weekend. The weekend passed, and at 1:30 p.m. CT on Monday 12/19 he wrote, asking to pay the wire price, but with a credit card. We replied within 60 minutes of his email, telling him that would not be possible, and to please get back to us ASAP or we would have to make it available for purchase. We heard nothing for the rest of the day. That evening the diamond was reactivated for sale after no payment had been received. It was purchased online on Tuesday morning 12/20.

REALLY??? If Leslie is telling the board the truth, why was this ring offered for sale to me on Friday, 12/16? I''m not defending Targa, but WF is certainly not telling the whole truth regarding this stone!

 

[LesleyH]

ms101:

If you read what I wrote in my post, you will see that we were told that we would receive the wire by the weekend. When the wire was not received someone in the accounting department turned on the stone again and made it available for sale. Your sales person put it on reserve shortly afterwards and that is where the confusion set in. According to the database it was still turned off, but this time, it was reserved for you.

You will remember that when I spoke with you on Monday 12/19, I told you that the diamond was already sold. You were very upset about it saying that you had reserved it on Friday and since we had not heard from Targa and it was almost 3 weeks, we sold you the diamond.

Targa, we're hoping you will still consider calling us after you have had your"diamond break".

Hope that clarifies this.

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[portoar]

I don''t see anything inconsistent in WF offering you the diamond on 12/19. The bottom line is, they held the diamond for weeks while this guy hemmed and hawed and did not pay. Sour grapes. If they had started to shop it elsewhere, well, they are a business and they were dealing with a customer who, bottom line, did not pay.

 

[solange]

This is a perfect example of a potentially lost sale and customer. Here you had one customer with a cash flow problem who stalled and then wanted the Bank Transfer price when paying with a credit card. Most vendors fo offer a discount for bank transfer purchases because they get their money immedately and do not have to pay the credit card charge or wait for credit approval.

Here you have a customer ready, willing and able to go through with an immediate purchase and who was angry when informend that the stone had been sold.

Why should Whtieflash take a chance on someone who admitted he had a cash flow problem and had promised and delayed payment several times. By 12/19 when Lesley said the customer could have the stone, the other party had not yet paid and was still negotiating the bank transfer cost while paying with a credit card.

Obviously this was a very desirable stone that was grabbed up as soon as it became available by a customer who definitely wanted it and was ready to go ahead at once. It must be a gorgeous stone since it sold so quickly. This is clear evidence of a sale that might have been lost if the stone were held any longer.

 

[vadim_s]

ms101: REALLY??? If Leslie is telling the board the truth, why was this ring offered for sale to me on Friday, 12/16? I'm not defending Targa, but WF is certainly not telling the whole truth regarding this stone!

portoar, Solange, see what ms101 said above. She was offered the stone on 12/16 when WF was still holding it for Targa, not on 12/19.

 

[LesleyH]

Date: 12/27/2005 6:11:34 PM
Author: vadim_s

ms101: REALLY??? If Leslie is telling the board the truth, why was this ring offered for sale to me on Friday, 12/16? I''m not defending Targa, but WF is certainly not telling the whole truth regarding this stone!

portoar, Solange, see what ms101 said above. She was offered the stone on 12/16 when WF was still holding it for Targa, not on 12/19.

"When the wire was not received someone in the accounting department turned on the stone again and made it available for sale."

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[Mara]

It sounds like the stone was turned back on, possibly on 12/16 by accounting, maybe at end of day? Friday or Monday? The terms were by the weekend. The wire wasn't received anyway, so if the stone was offered on 12/16 by another salesperson (there is more than one person working in the offices!)....regardless, the stone was sold to someone who would actually pay. (ETA I see Lesley already addressed this above my post...)

Since this thread was ressurrected, one other thing I thought was odd previously was that Targa mentioned he did not have the money and wanted to pay by credit card, but then in the next line he said the wire would come the next day. Suddenly there was money for a wire? Confusing.

It's funny, I thought this earlier as well...but forgot to post it in christmas madness. One thing I can't stand is when a client in my own industry says they are going to pay and then lag around for another week or two after they said they would. Check in the mail? Please! I do my part of it and get them their items on time per our agreement because their deadlines are so important, so why is it acceptable for someone to lag around about paying when they say they will? It's total disrespect for the vendor and their deadlines. That is such a pet peeve of mine. When I read the chain of events on how payment kept being supposed to happen but didn't...I thought of all the frustration I feel when I ask my clients about overdue invoices.

 

[diamondsrock]

am I dreaming or has this thread been edited? I could have sworn there were other posts that are not here now.

 

[diamondsrock]

oops, my mistake. Forget it. I''m thinking of the other thread. I got the two confused.

 

[MiniMouse]

style="WIDTH: 98.7%; HEIGHT: 127px">Date: 12/22/2005 11:15:59 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
Those WhiteFlash people should be tarred, feathered, flogged, drawn & quartered.

Holding a $12,000 1.5 carat primo stone at the busiest time of year for almost three weeks with absolutely no money put on it.

Unbelievable...

I agree. Business is business. I believe WF reserved the diamond for a lot longer than they should have done, especially with promises of money that did not come through. If a customer promises payment time and time again and does not come through with it, why should a vendor wait? I think Whiteflash were actually more patient than they should have been. After the third promise of money and third let down I would have reposted the diamond. Yes, I agree that the best result would have been for WF to actually talk to the customer before reposting the diamond, but they tried and no one was available. They can''t focus on redialling time and time again during a busy period. Why should they hold the stone any longer, especially when they have clients ready to pay the money, with no hassle? I''m down right sure that if I wanted something that bad, I''d be available day and night! I''d also be moving hell or high water to get the money to the vendor pronto. Why focus on a setting when the diamond''s not sorted out? Energies would have been better spent actually buying the diamond first!

This whole issue concerns me. If customers do not respect vendors, then soon enough we''ll find vendors unwilling to send out diamonds and unwilling to give us any time to decide on a stone. Do we really want to see it come down to the first customer to get the money on the table gets the diamond? Yes, we all appreciate that a huge expense needs to be thought through and discussed, but surely 2-3 days is enough. If this customer had a financial issue, why didn''t they be honest with Whiteflash and explain when the money would physically be available, rather than string Whiteflash along saying the money was on the way but it wasn''t. That''s got to be the worst kind of customer. How were Whiteflash to know this was a genuine customer? I''m sure all businesses have had timewasters and people who just don''t get back to them. I think I would have been harder than WF on this customer. They waited far too long before reposting the diamond. They''re a business and selling is what they''re there for. They did nothing wrong.

My advice to Targa is to have your money ready in your account for transfer and don''t wait around once you''ve decided on a diamond, because there are other people out there willing to put money down straight away. Whether you work with WF or any other PS vendor, I''m sure you can find the perfect diamond for your setting. We''d really love to see it when you do.

 

[targa]

back again-
thank you ms. 101 for your post, btw how does the stone look?

now, since i am moving on, just curious what some of you think about the following 2 stones:

1.71 H/SI1 (i think it is ags 0? but not h&a) no photo or idealscope image yet
7.59-7.66 x 4.72
depth 61.9
table 57
crown 34.3
pav 40.9
girdle 2.8%
culet 0.2%
excellent symmety
very good polish
no fluoro

vs.

1.57 H/SI1 (h&a) idealscope very nice to my eyes
7.47-7.51 x 4.59
depth 61.3
table 57
crown 34.5
pav 40.7
girdle 1.5-2.4
culet none
ideal symmety
ideal polish
no fluoro

thanks.

 

[targa]

here is the 1.57 image.

 

[Kaleigh]

targa,
I love it, looks like a winner to me!!!!

 

[targa]

kaleigh, which one do you love- the 1.57?

 

[Kaleigh]

Yes the 1.57. But want to see the IS of the other stone as well. But you said they aren''t available yet???

 

[fire&ice]

I think when policies become loosey goosey - that''s when the vendor ALWAYS gets into trouble. No good deed will go unpunished.

 

[targa]

anyone, thoughts on the new options?

 

[strmrdr]

The 1.57 looks nice do you have an IS image for the other?

 

[strmrdr]

You might want to start a new thread for the new diamonds.
You would get more answers.
Not a lot of people are going to hit page 3 of this thread.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/1/2006 5:58:25 PM
Author: strmrdr
You might want to start a new thread for the new diamonds.
You would get more answers.
Not a lot of people are going to hit page 3 of this thread.

Yup, time for a new thread!!!