LGK|1295819839|2830728 said:Wow. What a ridiculous subject for WF to post on their page at all! And the behaviour of the SA sounds a bit lame to say the least. Fortunately it sounds like the COO and Alison at least understand your unhappiness and are working to rectify it. I do think that it says a lot (of good things!) about you that you are willing to continue to work with them.
Someone mentioned that a sales relationship requires trust on both sides. Actually, in terms of customer service? No. You have to be willing to take whatever customers dish out, with a smile no less- and if you've made a mistake, doubly so. There is no reason that Tim shouldn't expect *amazing* service after this from WF. Frankly if I were him? And was happy with the product but not so happy with the behaviour of one or two people in the company? I'd stick with them at least for one more chance. Because I would bet that WF is likely to bend over backwards to make some amazing jewelry for him from here on out.
thing2of2|1295821191|2830752 said:I'm sure I'm the minority here, but I think you're overreacting a bit. I do agree that the topic isn't an appropriate topic regardless of whether or not the WF marketing person knew you were proposing via Facebook, and it is unfortunate given your circumstances. But I think in a year or two you won't even remember this as an issue. And I'm sure your fiance loved the proposal and ring, and that's really all that matters.
Every company makes mistakes, and this doesn't even seem like that large of one.
thing2of2|1295821191|2830752 said:But I think in a year or two you won't even remember this as an issue.
TimMD|1295822129|2830766 said:thing2of2|1295821191|2830752 said:I'm sure I'm the minority here, but I think you're overreacting a bit. I do agree that the topic isn't an appropriate topic regardless of whether or not the WF marketing person knew you were proposing via Facebook, and it is unfortunate given your circumstances. But I think in a year or two you won't even remember this as an issue. And I'm sure your fiance loved the proposal and ring, and that's really all that matters.
Every company makes mistakes, and this doesn't even seem like that large of one.
I think I have said this myself times. Definitely not a big deal to undermine a moment I worked 4 months on from 8000 miles away, which is usually one of the biggest moments in most people's lives. Honestly though, I don't disagree with you and the greatest thing about these forums, is we all have rights to freely express our opinion, that is one of the reasons I am out here I think? Shouldnt we be watching football instead? Wait, I dont have a TV!!
iugurl101|1295825152|2830815 said:thing2of2|1295821191|2830752 said:But I think in a year or two you won't even remember this as an issue.
I disagree. I think that in a year or two, when if someone asks, how did you propose? I think he will tell the proposal story and leave out the WF post issue, but it will be in the back of his mind. Just my opinion though...
Kaleigh|1295820066|2830732 said:Lauren you make great points, as always. MY reaction is that WF shouldn't be posting a topic like this on their FB page. Period!!!
He's half way around the world and said he was proposing via FB... If I read that correctly??
BUT the biggest thing was that it wasn't taken off FB until yesterday early afternoon my time...
ALL vendors make mistakes...
BUT this story seems to have many layers. I am trying to go through each layer to figure out what happened. That's just me, because there are always 2 sides. I was in the business ages ago. NO internet, so no FB. BUT I would never have made a comment on this topic even if there was this social media back in the day. Because I really cared about my clients, cutomers and shared in their joy.....
I helped many plan proposals.
Tim is correct, the only people that made comments were WF employees. I hit ( like) when Tim made his comment to WF on FB.
And for the record, I hate being called a little blinger... Sorry had to throw that in here....
I hope all works out, it usually does....
Cehrabehra|1295858365|2831209 said:The WF sales people totally chum you up - it's their style. But you're a customer, not a friend. And you're not their only customer. My guess is Traci has dozens of customers at various points in their buying cycles. Also, I doubt that Traci is in any way a part of the FB face other than in replies. Because it was just something that was flagged for her to comment on through work and because you happen to be one of dozens of her customers doesn't mean she put two and two together and thought anything about you no matter if she knew it or not. I believe it was a coincidence, however disappointing that is to you, and I suspect that her response maybe stung more than anything as it would to me as well.
All of that said, I really can't STAND whomever the heck does those whiteflash updates. They're trite and annoying and immature and I don't know *anyone* who likes being called a "little blinger". It's condescending and childish, not cute and fun. The whole thing seems to be built on "who can we step on to make ourselves look good" and in the case of the op in this thread the answer was internet proposers... in another thread maybe you aren't getting the *right* thing for valentine's day or you don't have good taste in jewelry etc. I think the whole tone of their online voice needs to change.
rosetta|1295872701|2831263 said:Urgh I hate mondays.
Yeah WF were crass and the timing was spectacularly poor.
But I'm the kind of person who would totally laugh this off and forget about it in about three minutes.
I wouldn't forget crappy customer service though.
Sorry you took it so personally TimMD, but don't let it taint your engagement. You can't change what happened but you can control your reaction to it, and how much time you dwell on it.
Get started on the wedding planning, that'll distract ya!
Cehrabehra|1295858365|2831209 said:The WF sales people totally chum you up - it's their style. But you're a customer, not a friend. And you're not their only customer. My guess is Traci has dozens of customers at various points in their buying cycles. Also, I doubt that Traci is in any way a part of the FB face other than in replies. Because it was just something that was flagged for her to comment on through work and because you happen to be one of dozens of her customers doesn't mean she put two and two together and thought anything about you no matter if she knew it or not. I believe it was a coincidence, however disappointing that is to you, and I suspect that her response maybe stung more than anything as it would to me as well.
All of that said, I really can't STAND whomever the heck does those whiteflash updates. They're trite and annoying and immature and I don't know *anyone* who likes being called a "little blinger". It's condescending and childish, not cute and fun. The whole thing seems to be built on "who can we step on to make ourselves look good" and in the case of the op in this thread the answer was internet proposers... in another thread maybe you aren't getting the *right* thing for valentine's day or you don't have good taste in jewelry etc. I think the whole tone of their online voice needs to change.
atroop711|1295882530|2831363 said:Cehrabehra|1295858365|2831209 said:The WF sales people totally chum you up - it's their style. But you're a customer, not a friend. And you're not their only customer. My guess is Traci has dozens of customers at various points in their buying cycles. Also, I doubt that Traci is in any way a part of the FB face other than in replies. Because it was just something that was flagged for her to comment on through work and because you happen to be one of dozens of her customers doesn't mean she put two and two together and thought anything about you no matter if she knew it or not. I believe it was a coincidence, however disappointing that is to you, and I suspect that her response maybe stung more than anything as it would to me as well.
All of that said, I really can't STAND whomever the heck does those whiteflash updates. They're trite and annoying and immature and I don't know *anyone* who likes being called a "little blinger". It's condescending and childish, not cute and fun. The whole thing seems to be built on "who can we step on to make ourselves look good" and in the case of the op in this thread the answer was internet proposers... in another thread maybe you aren't getting the *right* thing for valentine's day or you don't have good taste in jewelry etc. I think the whole tone of their online voice needs to change.
I have to chime and say I respectfully disagree with what is in bold. Never once have I found any of the WF updates trite, annoying or immature. Neither do I take to heart that someone is calling me little blinger and I don't find it condescending or childish. What I do disagree the most is when you say "that the whole thing seems to be built on "who can we step on to make ourselves look good" . I've never seen any sort of post on their updates to warrant that kind of response. I'm on FB daily and while I think what happened to Tim on his proposal day was unfortunate, I don't think it was done out of malice or ever intentional. I don't work for WF but I am a customer. Vendors are not perfect. As for updates on FB by any vendor, I just assume these updates are meant to be light hearted and not cold and boring. They should attract attention which is why so many have contest, questions,ect. The great thing about these updates is that if one finds them annoying or childish the power is in ones hands to not be updated any longer.
Richard_Ross|1295888693|2831485 said:Tim – buddy – seriously – suck it up. I read the WF post and I don’t see how this attacks you personally. You didn’t actually state whether your fiancée saw the WF post, so I’m guessing she didn’t. I agree it probably wasn’t the smartest post WF ever made on their blog, but in these days of online everything, on a Facebook page, it was only a matter of time till they raised the question as a light-hearted discussion topic. And it was only a question. I’m assuming your girlfriend didn’t know the names of the people you worked with at the company, and surely, even if she did, she would have realized WF wasn’t blogging about a situation like yours where there was no other option. The posts made by commenters all talked in terms of doing it some other way – meaning they’re assuming there WAS some other way. This doesn’t apply to your situation, so where’s the drama? Clearly their post didn’t refer to you. Just out of curiosity – has WF apologized? They obviously took down their post to accommodate you. You sure you’re not being just a tad vindictive here?
As for the whole ‘Blinger’ thing – so what? It’s a catchy phrase. If you like it – great – if you don’t – no need to get your panties in a wad – leave the site. I’ve only recently been on PS looking for ideas for a ring for my fiancée-to-be, but I’ve contacted a number of vendors. Everything I’ve seen from ALL the PS vendors has been top notch, and WF also has been extraordinarily helpful. They haven’t tried to trick me into thinking they were my friends – they’ve just tried to be friendly professionals – a big difference. One thing I don’t believe is that they’re out to get you in particular. This seems like an unfortunate mistake at the very worst. And as you say – to err is human, to forgive is to give it a rest.
gemgirl|1295901826|2831686 said:I for one, enjoyed Richard's addition to this thread and I applaud him for having the nerve to post it. Having read through this entire thing, I also suspected that there's some vindictive need for revenge here. Tim, you said you were very happy with the stone and the ring and so was your girlfriend. Primary mission accomplished! You said that you've cancelled your two future planned orders with Whiteflash and they've obliged by accepting the cancellation. You said that fees for the appraisal you were unhappy with were offered to be reimbursed to you, which I am sure you will accept. Really, what more do you want? I've always wondered why some people feel the need to play out a saga of extreme life altering dissatisfaction on our pages when everything that could be done to help in a particular situation has already been done.
There's one thing that we seasoned PSers accept when we are working remotely with one of our vendors, and that's that sometimes, occasionally, some little detail goes awry or some email could be lost or not answered in the most timely of fashions, or that some tiny detail of our personal creation might be misinterpreted, but we also *know* that ALL of the very reputable people working at all of our preferred vendors want to make us, as picky Pricescopers- happy. I've used three of our vendors myself and have beautiful jewelry pieces to prove it. Did everything go swimmingly all three times? No, but was my voice heard and were my concerns honored? A resounding yes. Each order/creation was to my satisfaction because we worked it out together. I felt no need to play out my temporary dissatisfaction on our pages. Exactly what more do you want and expect of Whiteflash?
risingsun|1295903775|2831730 said:gemgirl|1295901826|2831686 said:I for one, enjoyed Richard's addition to this thread and I applaud him for having the nerve to post it. Having read through this entire thing, I also suspected that there's some vindictive need for revenge here. Tim, you said you were very happy with the stone and the ring and so was your girlfriend. Primary mission accomplished! You said that you've cancelled your two future planned orders with Whiteflash and they've obliged by accepting the cancellation. You said that fees for the appraisal you were unhappy with were offered to be reimbursed to you, which I am sure you will accept. Really, what more do you want? I've always wondered why some people feel the need to play out a saga of extreme life altering dissatisfaction on our pages when everything that could be done to help in a particular situation has already been done.
There's one thing that we seasoned PSers accept when we are working remotely with one of our vendors, and that's that sometimes, occasionally, some little detail goes awry or some email could be lost or not answered in the most timely of fashions, or that some tiny detail of our personal creation might be misinterpreted, but we also *know* that ALL of the very reputable people working at all of our preferred vendors want to make us, as picky Pricescopers- happy. I've used three of our vendors myself and have beautiful jewelry pieces to prove it. Did everything go swimmingly all three times? No, but was my voice heard and were my concerns honored? A resounding yes. Each order/creation was to my satisfaction because we worked it out together. I felt no need to play out my temporary dissatisfaction on our pages. Exactly what more do you want and expect of Whiteflash?
I had not planned to enter this discussion, but after seeing gemgirl's post, I changed my mind. I am in agreement with gemgirl. I realize that your proposal felt "flawed" due to the subject matter on the WF FB page. I cannot imagine that it was done purposely as a slight to you. Proposals don't always go as planned. Weddings don't always go as planned, either. Things happen that are out of our control. If you knew Allison, as well as some of us do, you would accept the sincerity of her apology. You can choose to think of this as a terrible event or you can look at it as a mistake, albeit an unpleasant one. As Robert Burns said, "The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry." According to the information posted in this thread, I don't see what else WF can do to make things right with you, other than what they have already done. The next step is up to you.
diamondseeker2006|1295923426|2832148 said:Did all of you see the FB posts? Those of us who did were pretty much in agreement with Tim that it was in very poor judgment and not a good business move regardless of Tim's situation. I do think he had every right to mention the sales associate. This is what the forum is for..to give feedback on our experiences with vendors, good and bad. The thing is, only a few people at WF were the cause of the problem. Allison addressed it as well as she possibly could and Mr. Eber replied late on a Saturday night to try and resolve the situation. It seems like when I was on the WF FB page I saw a blog that said Debi Wexler is out of the country, so that may be why she hasn't been involved. WF needs to talk to employees about building good business relationships with customers, and the WF FB page definitely needs some oversight. And I think we are the ones dragging this out because Tim isn't the one who is keeping this going!
(And Tim, I do find it rather interesting that 2 people's first posts just happened to be on this thread.)
diamondseeker2006|1295923426|2832148 said:Did all of you see the FB posts? Those of us who did were pretty much in agreement with Tim that it was in very poor judgment and not a good business move regardless of Tim's situation. I do think he had every right to mention the sales associate. This is what the forum is for..to give feedback on our experiences with vendors, good and bad. The thing is, only a few people at WF were the cause of the problem. Allison addressed it as well as she possibly could and Mr. Eber replied late on a Saturday night to try and resolve the situation. It seems like when I was on the WF FB page I saw a blog that said Debi Wexler is out of the country, so that may be why she hasn't been involved. WF needs to talk to employees about building good business relationships with customers, and the WF FB page definitely needs some oversight. And I think we are the ones dragging this out because Tim isn't the one who is keeping this going!
(And Tim, I do find it rather interesting that 2 people's first posts just happened to be on this thread.)