Funny experience at Jared''s Galleria of Jewelry

[tygerlily]

Hi All,
I had a funny experience at Jared's today. Recently I've been thinking of resetting my Asscher cut in something new. My husband and I decided to go look at Jared's just to see what they have, not really to buy. When we got there we told the salesperson we were looking for settings with baguettes or step cut trapezoids. He showed us his baguette settings, none of which we really liked, and told us he didn't think he had any step cut trapezoid settings in the store but he would look through his catalog. At this point he asked the store manager if they happened to have any step cut trap settings in the store he didn't know about and the manager responds with "well first, what is a trapezoid and what does it look like?" I wanted to laugh out loud. Another saleslady overheard our little conversation and she comes over and tells us "I think you mean a trillion". We informed her that, no, we were indeed looking for a trapezoid, to which she shrugged and then walked off. Anyways, I just thought this was a funny example of how knowledgeable some of the people working at big jewelry stores can be.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

That is funny! I had a similar experience with a "jewelry designer" here is Dallas who shall remain nameless. I took him my 1.05 ct. Jubilee cut diamond to see if I might like him to design a setting for it. First of all, he had no idea what a Jubilee cut was and asked me if I had paid about $3900 for it (an insult). I told him "something like that" coz I figured it was none of his d--n business. Then he asked me if it was GIA certified, and I said "No, it is GCAL certified". Well, of course he had no idea what GCAL was. I told him they do diamond certs for Christie''s auction house. He was so clueless (and obnoxious!). And he calls himself a jewelry designer!

I cracked myself up all the way home picturing him furiously googling GCAL, Jubilee cuts, and GoodOldGold after I left!!!!

 

[JSM]

I''ve never been to Jared, but I imagine they''re not particularly knowledgeable.

I heard an ad on the radio yesterday - Jared is apparently now selling "ideal" cut diamonds. I looked it up on the net and, sure enough, their "peerless" diamonds are advertised AGS ideal cut, polish, and symmetry.

I bet they''re selling for FAR more than we could find online, though!

 

[jewelerman]

The jewelry trade has many stores that have employees at several levels of training and knowledge.It can take years to be fluent in many areas of the trade.A salesman is required to know the basics about his stock and its quality but not many chain stores are going to carry cuts like the jubilee or trapezoids in large enough numbers to give in depth training on these not so common cuts.It is expected that people in the trade should know about certifications like G.I.A OR A.G.S.But the additional certification on a gem from the Gem certification and assurance lab(GCAL)is not as common in the trade because customer concerns about light performance analysis and verification of origin from conflict free zones are new in the trade and not everyone can be expected to be aware of them.There are many very good jewelry designers that have no clue about grading or cut and many fine graduate gemologists who have no clue how to design the ring or size it.Instead of having a good laugh at these peoples expense maybe a little sharing of new found jewelry knowledge would make for a more positive experiance and more interesting to read about on this knowledge sharing forum.

 

[honey22]

Date: 5/15/2008 2:34:07 AM
Author: jewelerman
The jewelry trade has many stores that have employees at several levels of training and knowledge.It can take years to be fluent in many areas of the trade.A salesman is required to know the basics about his stock and its quality but not many chain stores are going to carry cuts like the jubilee or trapezoids in large enough numbers to give in depth training on these not so common cuts.It is expected that people in the trade should know about certifications like G.I.A OR A.G.S.But the additional certification on a gem from the Gem certification and assurance lab(GCAL)is not as common in the trade because customer concerns about light performance analysis and verification of origin from conflict free zones are new in the trade and not everyone can be expected to be aware of them.There are many very good jewelry designers that have no clue about grading or cut and many fine graduate gemologists who have no clue how to design the ring or size it.Instead of having a good laugh at these peoples expense maybe a little sharing of new found jewelry knowledge would make for a more positive experiance and more interesting to read about on this knowledge sharing forum.

I think folks around here are slightly cynical as some of us have be treated horribly by the profession. The mark-ups, lies and dirty tricks to get us to purchase inferior quality, over-priced stones is incredible. Excuse us if we don''t want to share our knowledge with these people whose one aim is their bottom line, and they are deliberately misleading their customers!

Not to mention the rudeness some of us have encountered. The amount of times I have heard a PSer tell the story of being ''told off'' for buying online, being made to think we have bought inferior goods, or been totally ripped off. I have had jewellers scoff at me for buying from ''overseas on the internet''. All the while trying to push their crappy piece of frozen spit.

I understand your point and in general this forum is positive and educational, but it''s also a play where we can share our little ''in jokes'' - like the one about the sales assistant who tried to pass off a RB stone as ideal cut, with a 68% table..............
Yep, this happened to me, and a whole lot of other horse manue fed to me in the two days I spend diamond shopping in B&M stores, all the while pretending to know nothing about diamonds to see where I could get honest advice and service.

I had gone into a B&M and requested to see an ideal cut RB stone. She shows me one with a 68% table and horrible crown and pavillion angles and tells me this is an ideal cut. I say politely, no it''s not, I can tell from the cert that''s it not. And she argues with me and gives me a lecture in cut grading and laboratories etc. This particular sales assistant was almost booted off her chair by the manager when I listed (from memory) the ideal cut specs I meant when I asked for an ideal cut diamond, table, depth, crown and pavillion angles. He was in such a hurry to try and gain back some respect and hopefully make a sale, it was laughable. And horrible for the poor sucker that''s going into that store after me, being blinded by the shiny lights and sparkly diamond and being sold that aircraft carrier.

 

[tygerlily]

Date: 5/15/2008 2:55:17 AM
Author: honey22

Date: 5/15/2008 2:34:07 AM
Author: jewelerman
The jewelry trade has many stores that have employees at several levels of training and knowledge.It can take years to be fluent in many areas of the trade.A salesman is required to know the basics about his stock and its quality but not many chain stores are going to carry cuts like the jubilee or trapezoids in large enough numbers to give in depth training on these not so common cuts.It is expected that people in the trade should know about certifications like G.I.A OR A.G.S.But the additional certification on a gem from the Gem certification and assurance lab(GCAL)is not as common in the trade because customer concerns about light performance analysis and verification of origin from conflict free zones are new in the trade and not everyone can be expected to be aware of them.There are many very good jewelry designers that have no clue about grading or cut and many fine graduate gemologists who have no clue how to design the ring or size it.Instead of having a good laugh at these peoples expense maybe a little sharing of new found jewelry knowledge would make for a more positive experiance and more interesting to read about on this knowledge sharing forum.

I think folks around here are slightly cynical as some of us have be treated horribly by the profession. The mark-ups, lies and dirty tricks to get us to purchase inferior quality, over-priced stones is incredible. Excuse us if we don''t want to share our knowledge with these people whose one aim is their bottom line, and they are deliberately misleading their customers!

Not to mention the rudeness some of us have encountered. The amount of times I have heard a PSer tell the story of being ''told off'' for buying online, being made to think we have bought inferior goods, or been totally ripped off. I have had jewellers scoff at me for buying from ''overseas on the internet''. All the while trying to push their crappy piece of frozen spit.

I understand your point and in general this forum is positive and educational, but it''s also a play where we can share our little ''in jokes'' - like the one about the sales assistant who tried to pass off a RB stone as ideal cut, with a 68% table..............
Yep, this happened to me, and a whole lot of other horse manue fed to me in the two days I spend diamond shopping in B&M stores, all the while pretending to know nothing about diamonds to see where I could get honest advice and service.

I had gone into a B&M and requested to see an ideal cut RB stone. She shows me one with a 68% table and horrible crown and pavillion angles and tells me this is an ideal cut. I say politely, no it''s not, I can tell from the cert that''s it not. And she argues with me and gives me a lecture in cut grading and laboratories etc. This particular sales assistant was almost booted off her chair by the manager when I listed (from memory) the ideal cut specs I meant when I asked for an ideal cut diamond, table, depth, crown and pavillion angles. He was in such a hurry to try and gain back some respect and hopefully make a sale, it was laughable. And horrible for the poor sucker that''s going into that store after me, being blinded by the shiny lights and sparkly diamond and being sold that aircraft carrier.

I was in no way trying to belittle or call their employees stupid, I just thought it was funny that the manager didn''t know what a trapezoid was. According to the one employee who helped me, they usuallly carry them. I guess I felt like if you are trying to sell me something and you are the manager of a jewelry store, I expect a certain amount of knowledge. My first engagment ring stone was bought online and like honey22, I had been scoffed at for buying online by b&m stores, to the point that I stopped telling them when asked where I got it from. Oh, and I did try to educate one of their employees, who thought we were looking for a trillion. After my explanation of what a trap looked like, she shrugged and walked off, as if to say we were the ones who didn''t know what we were talking about.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

There is no excuse for any salesperson looking down upon any consumer, whether the consumer knows his stuff or not.

On the other hand, we should not expect all salespersons to know all shapes and details about them. Myself, I have to search hard on my personal hard-disk to retrieve my memory about a trapezoid-cut. And where I do know a Jubilee, when seeing one, I might make a mistake in naming it.

Still, it is a pity that many salespersons are under-trained for their job. I think that this is one of the key-factors in a retailer''s future success.

Live long,

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/15/2008 2:34:07 AM
Author: jewelerman
The jewelry trade has many stores that have employees at several levels of training and knowledge.It can take years to be fluent in many areas of the trade.A salesman is required to know the basics about his stock and its quality but not many chain stores are going to carry cuts like the jubilee or trapezoids in large enough numbers to give in depth training on these not so common cuts.It is expected that people in the trade should know about certifications like G.I.A OR A.G.S.But the additional certification on a gem from the Gem certification and assurance lab(GCAL)is not as common in the trade because customer concerns about light performance analysis and verification of origin from conflict free zones are new in the trade and not everyone can be expected to be aware of them.There are many very good jewelry designers that have no clue about grading or cut and many fine graduate gemologists who have no clue how to design the ring or size it.Instead of having a good laugh at these peoples expense maybe a little sharing of new found jewelry knowledge would make for a more positive experiance and more interesting to read about on this knowledge sharing forum.

I tried to "share and educate" the other day when I was in a local shop and the man behind the counter enquired after my ring, as they have started selling ideal diamonds and recognized mine as one.
After inspecting it for about 5 mins with the loupe, he conceded it was a great rock and congratulated me. Very nice.

Then, his partner asked what i paid, seeing as I mentioned I purchased o/seas. Once I told him, he immediately started to yell at me! Saying "Oh, it must be fracture filled, its probably fake, it fell off the back of a truck. blah blah!!"" needless to say, I was astounded by his rudeness and ignorance. I tried to explain the differentiation in price - eg. they are in NY, they have bigger buying power etc.. To which he responded "I have my face in magazines in New York, I think I know what the diamond prices there are!" huh???

Despite his colleague conceding in front of him that it was a great buy and congratulating me, he didn''t want to hear it.

I am not one to take that sort of rubbish from sales people, so i politley told him "And your attitude and lack of customer service skills, sir, is exactly what is forcing customers like me to send our money overseas" and promptly left.

As Honey said, excuse us if we don''t like to try to educate these people sheesh

ps. Sorry for the vent, this is in no way directed at you personally. I have yet to meet someone in a jewelery store that is gracious about buying from o/seas. Just my experience.

 

[denverappraiser]

Training employees is a problem for jewelers (and everyone else) and there’s never a justification for being rude but it’s easy to get unreasonable expectations of sales people. They are supposed to know every detail about every item, whether they sell them or not, and be able to communicate this clearly to people who are often incredibly unclear themselves. This is ‘free’ advice coming from someone who’s working at a low paying job at the mall for heavens sake. I wouldn’t expect a sales associate in a store that doesn’t sell trapezoids to know what they are. I might not even expect an associate in a store that DOES sell them to know what they are. He tried to find what you wanted out of the store inventory and asked his manager when he couldn’t find it. What would you have him do differently? The manager didn’t understand what you wanted and asked for clarification. What’s wrong with that? The other saleslady probably should have stayed out of it unless she was asked to assist by the manager but she was just trying to help so I would even cut her a bit of slack. She didn’t understand what you wanted either but she did nothing that was misleading.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Lorelei]

edit

 

[tygerlily]

Date: 5/15/2008 8:54:58 AM
Author: denverappraiser
Training employees is a problem for jewelers (and everyone else) and there’s never a justification for being rude but it’s easy to get unreasonable expectations of sales people. They are supposed to know every detail about every item, whether they sell them or not, and be able to communicate this clearly to people who are often incredibly unclear themselves. This is ‘free’ advice coming from someone who’s working at a low paying job at the mall for heavens sake. I wouldn’t expect a sales associate in a store that doesn’t sell trapezoids to know what they are. I might not even expect an associate in a store that DOES sell them to know what they are. He tried to find what you wanted out of the store inventory and asked his manager when he couldn’t find it. What would you have him do differently? The manager didn’t understand what you wanted and asked for clarification. What’s wrong with that? The other saleslady probably should have stayed out of it unless she was asked to assist by the manager but she was just trying to help so I would even cut her a bit of slack. She didn’t understand what you wanted either but she did nothing that was misleading.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

Actually if you read my original post, I never said I wanted them to do anything differently, I just personally found it amusing. I really did not know that trapezoids (and Jubilee''s for that matter) were that rare of a cut. I had asked for traps in other stores and never had anyone ask what they were. I guess I assumed that if I, who hasn''t worked with diamonds or in the jewelry business, knew what they were that a manager who runs a jewelry store that claims to have the largest selection of semi mounts and loose cut diamonds, would know at least what they were especially since they do sell them, if that is completely unreasonable for me to assume, then so be it. One of the salesmen knew what I was talking about and I did appreciate that, the lady who was in my opinion slightly rude didn''t even bother me. In my profession I am expected to have a certain amount of knowledge about what I do, and my manager is expected to know an even greater amount. I did not ask them specifics about numbers or designing a ring, it was simply about a cut that they do carry.

 

[strmrdr]

Personally I don''t even try and have a discussion about diamond cut anymore in most Jewelery stores.
Not worth getting annoyed over!
That makes both the sales people and me feel better and I don''t need 3 tums after I leave!

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I wanted to add that I have bought several settings for center stones (but not the center stones themselves) and Levian pieces at Jared and have been really happy with them. However, I don''t think my salesperson really knows that much.

My point about the designer not knowing about Jubilees or GCAL is, how hard is it to be knowledgable about your field concerning information that is easily obtained on the Internet? Which is where I found it?!?

 

[zerj]

Date: 5/15/2008 8:54:58 AM
Author: denverappraiser
This is ‘free’ advice coming from someone who’s working at a low paying job at the mall for heavens sake. I wouldn’t expect a sales associate in a store that doesn’t sell trapezoids to know what they are.

I think that is perhaps the problem. I certainly don''t expect a minimum wage worker at the mall to be able to give me the nutritional information on my corn dog. Or even be able to tell me if this pair of jeans will shrink. However these are all low dollar items. I absolutely expect somebody to be able to tell me some useful facts about the new Laptop/Television I am buying and be able to tell me the difference between different models and have some knowledge of the industry.

If I am buying a diamond ring that costs as much as a used/new car you had better be able to inteligently converse with me, otherwise it''s a waste of both or our times.

The reasons why I would be willing to tolerate the higher markup of a B+M is 1) convience and 2) expert advice. If a store doesn''t specialize in getting those two things accomplished I don''t why they should stay in buisness.

Still the funny part of the story to me was not knowing what a trapezoid was. Heck I haven''t thought about geometry in 20 years (9th grade I believe) and I still remember what a trapezoid is.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/15/2008 7:25:39 AM
Author: arjunajane

I tried to ''share and educate'' the other day when I was in a local shop and the man behind the counter enquired after my ring, as they have started selling ideal diamonds and recognized mine as one.
After inspecting it for about 5 mins with the loupe, he conceded it was a great rock and congratulated me. Very nice.

Then, his partner asked what i paid, seeing as I mentioned I purchased o/seas. Once I told him, he immediately started to yell at me! Saying ''Oh, it must be fracture filled, its probably fake, it fell off the back of a truck. blah blah!!'''' needless to say, I was astounded by his rudeness and ignorance. I tried to explain the differentiation in price - eg. they are in NY, they have bigger buying power etc.. To which he responded ''I have my face in magazines in New York, I think I know what the diamond prices there are!'' huh???

Despite his colleague conceding in front of him that it was a great buy and congratulating me, he didn''t want to hear it.

I am not one to take that sort of rubbish from sales people, so i politley told him ''And your attitude and lack of customer service skills, sir, is exactly what is forcing customers like me to send our money overseas'' and promptly left.

As Honey said, excuse us if we don''t like to try to educate these people sheesh

ps. Sorry for the vent, this is in no way directed at you personally. I have yet to meet someone in a jewelery store that is gracious about buying from o/seas. Just my experience.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 5/15/2008 10:13:49 AM
Author: zerj

Date: 5/15/2008 8:54:58 AM

Author: denverappraiser

This is ‘free’ advice coming from someone who’s working at a low paying job at the mall for heavens sake. I wouldn’t expect a sales associate in a store that doesn’t sell trapezoids to know what they are.

I think that is perhaps the problem. I certainly don't expect a minimum wage worker at the mall to be able to give me the nutritional information on my corn dog. Or even be able to tell me if this pair of jeans will shrink. However these are all low dollar items. I absolutely expect somebody to be able to tell me some useful facts about the new Laptop/Television I am buying and be able to tell me the difference between different models and have some knowledge of the industry.


If I am buying a diamond ring that costs as much as a used/new car you had better be able to inteligently converse with me, otherwise it's a waste of both or our times.


The reasons why I would be willing to tolerate the higher markup of a B+M is 1) convience and 2) expert advice. If a store doesn't specialize in getting those two things accomplished I don't why they should stay in buisness.


Still the funny part of the story to me was not knowing what a trapezoid was. Heck I haven't thought about geometry in 20 years (9th grade I believe) and I still remember what a trapezoid is.

I agree, this is the root of the problem. I agree that the knowledge base of some full time jewelry people, even jewelry store owners, is appalling. I just didn’t see it in this story. The extent to which recent high school graduates understand basic geometry is a whole different discussion.

Perhaps I’m more cynical. I would not rely on a car salesman with detailed questions when I buy my car either although my wife tells me I interrogate salespeople mercilessly. I also wouldn’t rely on a realtor to accurately and completely describe a house I was considering buying.

I can say this from experience. Trained sales associates who understand their products, their offers and their competitors really do sell more and really do have more satisfied repeat customers. Stores are making a serious mistake if this isn’t a management priority.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I have a feeling that the jewelry industry at large needs to offer their salespeople seminars entitled, "What to do if a Pricescoper comes into your store."

Paul, I have been looking on your site. I like your diamonds!!!

 

[DiamondGirly]

Threads like this amaze me a bit. If someone came on and wrote something similar about an experience with a GOG or WF employee everyone would jump down their throat for making generalizations about the company etc etc.

 

[zerj]

Date: 5/15/2008 11:52:31 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Perhaps I’m more cynical. I would not rely on a car salesman with detailed questions when I buy my car either although my wife tells me I interrogate salespeople mercilessly. I also wouldn’t rely on a realtor to accurately and completely describe a house I was considering buying.

I can say this from experience. Trained sales associates who understand their products, their offers and their competitors really do sell more and really do have more satisfied repeat customers. Stores are making a serious mistake if this isn’t a management priority.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

Oh I''m pretty cynical as well. I don''t rely even the knowledgable sales staff. I do however find this information useful in gauging what the merchant''s reaction might be if there is a problem down the road. If I am dealing with a braindead employee when purchasing it probably also means I would be dealing with a braindead employee if something goes wrong.

 

[purrfectpear]

Date: 5/15/2008 12:50:32 PM
Author: DiamondGirly
Threads like this amaze me a bit. If someone came on and wrote something similar about an experience with a GOG or WF employee everyone would jump down their throat for making generalizations about the company etc etc.

Not really. If someone wrote something like that about WF or GOG we''d say "you must be mistaken because they don''t have anyone working there that is that stupid"

I was only 16 when I had my first job in a jewelry store that my boyfriend''s parents owned. I studied all the GIA correspondence courses so I wouldn''t be just another dumb salesclerk behind the counter. It''s just not that hard to become knowledgeable (and that was before the internet made education so much easier).

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Date: 5/15/2008 12:50:32 PM
Author: DiamondGirly
Threads like this amaze me a bit. If someone came on and wrote something similar about an experience with a GOG or WF employee everyone would jump down their throat for making generalizations about the company etc etc.

Yes, you would get that type of reaction because vendors like GOG or WF know their stuff, sell top quality merchandise, have excellent customer service, and are knowlegable about what they are selling and the jewelry industry in general.

My point in describing the "jewelry designer" that I visited is not just that he was not knowledgable, but that he had an attitude. Jewelerman said, "But the additional certification on a gem from the Gem certification and assurance lab(GCAL)is not as common in the trade because customer concerns about light performance analysis and verification of origin from conflict free zones are new in the trade and not everyone can be expected to be aware of them." True as far as consumers go, but the "jewelry designer" told me that I should have my GCAL-certed Jubilee cut diamond RECERTIFIED by the GIA because the GIA is the premier diamond certifying company in the industry. I didn''t even ask, "What about the AGS?"

This is basic information, folks. Stuff that every day people like me can find freely on the Internet. I personally did not feel comfortable having my ring designed by someone who thinks that the GIA is the only reputable diamond cert. company and who insulted me by saying that my diamond, which was a cut he had never heard of, must have cost so-and-so (lowball)amount. That is as bad as arjunajane''s salesperson telling her that her diamond must be fracture-filled, fake, or it fell off the back of a truck. Sheesh! I would never get away with talking to my customers like that!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/15/2008 12:50:32 PM
Author: DiamondGirly
Threads like this amaze me a bit. If someone came on and wrote something similar about an experience with a GOG or WF employee everyone would jump down their throat for making generalizations about the company etc etc.

actually we have had a pretty good laugh at something boneheaded sales people at both companies have said a few times.
The response was the same in both cases .. We will work on the training in the mean time OP talk to our top expert(Jon(gog) and Brian(wf)) and they will help you. but they likely worded it better :}
They are trianed that if they dont know something to say I have to check, do so and follow up.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 5/15/2008 12:26:32 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
I have a feeling that the jewelry industry at large needs to offer their salespeople seminars entitled, ''What to do if a Pricescoper comes into your store.''

Paul, I have been looking on your site. I like your diamonds!!!

Thank you. Just the energy boost that I needed.

 

[mafer]

Hi all,

I do agree B&M stores should better have their employees trained. And if they dont realize that this is the only way they will stay in business in the internet generation, have them at least lurk on pricescope where you have all info at one great place.

thats just what i did

(no i dont work in a B&m store, I just serve them as i work for a wholesaler and i can realy tell when salesperson calls if they know what they are talking about or not. And good news, quite alot mall stores do have educated sales people , its just you gotta find out who they are.

maybe start a forum something like: B&M stores worth to deal with, or something like that

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/15/2008 12:50:32 PM
Author: DiamondGirly
Threads like this amaze me a bit. If someone came on and wrote something similar about an experience with a GOG or WF employee everyone would jump down their throat for making generalizations about the company etc etc.

Why do they amaze you?

I''m sorry I''m not sure I understand your post..

 

[jewelerman]

After posting and then reading more responses on this thread I think there is confusion about the jewelry stores that are ripping off customers and those that are honest but dont have a great deal of knowledge.I do agree that managers should know what a trapezoide cut is or that they should have the communication skills to find out what the customer needs.A company should take the time to train their new employees and they also need to pay experianced employees enough to keep them on staff.The jewelry trade dosnt pay exceptinally well at first or give decent medical benifit packages so stores have a hard time getting and keeping experianced employees.A serious shopper needs to be aware of this and ask for experianced help from the beginning of the presentation in a store.If after that, a salesperson claims to be trained and gives bad information,tries to belittle the customer or tries to over charge on price then the customer has every right to be upset and have a good laugh at their expense and even be written up or fired for mis- conduct.I have been in the trade for 25 plus years and have been in a postion of management and training for jewelry companies and know how hard it is to train even one person in basic jewelry knowledge or to care for the customer let alone a whole staff.I know of well trained jewelry sales people who have certification from G.I.A.,have extensive knowledge in design and repair,mining,appraising,and antique jewelry identification.They are honest and customer service oriented but work at mall stores because they are paid just enough and have enough tenure that allows for decent vacation time and medical insurance.In these economic bad times many stores are closing or laying off their trained staff and hiring affordable replacements.I recently left a jewelry company that is well known nation wide because they refused to hire additional staff after enlarging their store,and even when they lost 23 people in seven months they replaced them with only 6 untrained young trainees.It is a rough time in the jewelry trade and for people wanting quailty service.

 

[arjunajane]

maybe start a forum something like: B&M stores worth to deal with, or something like that

nice idea!

 

[MoonWater]

I don''t think many of these sales people want to be educated by us, the mere customer. I too have said things and used terms they have not recognized (like fishtail!!). I have also been "corrected" when they felt they were supposed to be more knowledgable (surely *I* must be wrong). The last time I went into a B&M a woman tried to convince me that a Princess was a Cushion! She essentially said they were the same cut except the cushion didn''t have sharp corners.

 

[mafer]

Date: 5/15/2008 3:14:01 PM
Author: MoonWater
I don''t think many of these sales people want to be educated by us, the mere customer. I too have said things and used terms they have not recognized (like fishtail!!). I have also been ''corrected'' when they felt they were supposed to be more knowledgable (surely *I* must be wrong). The last time I went into a B&M a woman tried to convince me that a Princess was a Cushion! She essentially said they were the same cut except the cushion didn''t have sharp corners.

Well, I would suggest next time you bump into those ignorrant sales people, just dont try to educate them on the spot, for if they got some kind of self dignity they would not listen for its too insulting that they dont know,, and it really is a big shame. so just skindly suggest they should do research, like in your episode have her google on diamond shapes.


if store owners dont educate employees, customers have to do it

it really is terrible and unfortunate

 

[denverappraiser]

This is an area where the independent jewelers tend to do far better than the national chains. In part that’s because the owners are usually present and they’ve got their entire life’s savings tied up in the business, which tends to focus your attention towards understanding what you’re doing. Partially I think it’s because they tend to put a higher value on the personal relationships with employees and the customers. Employees last longer, they’re generally better paid, don’t have to work the horrendous hours required by the malls, and they’re generally older and more settled in the idea of what they want to do when they grow up. Personal connections is how they get their customers instead of TV advertising and this is far more sensitive to BS. The Internet seems to be an interesting combination. Most of the successful players are run out of a single location with a management team that really knows their market and their products and who is only a half step away from every deal but there are thousands where you can’t talk to the man behind the curtain because he’s not there. It’s a hollow shell.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver