Getting annoyed with James Allen

[BeachGirlG]

So, here's the story...

My fiance purchased my ring at JA. He wanted it before our vacation. At first, it was not going to be a problem. Then he was told that to get the head I wanted (5 prong + v-tip) that they would have to make it with a 14k white gold head on the platinum ring to meet the deadline and that we could return it after we got back from vaca and they would make it in platinum.

He emailed the woman that he was dealing with and she didn't return his email so he contacted someone else. That person said that he couldn't understand why they put a 14k white gold head on the platinum ring and doing it right the first time should not have taken any longer. (The woman called him back 4 or 5 days later, saying she was busy and forgot to call him, but by then he already made arrangements with a new rep)

He sent the ring back on 6/1. (They use overnight for your purchase, but 2-day shipping for repairs...grrr). They receive the ring on 6/3 and it is supposed to go to "production" by the end of the week. They said it would ship back to us on 6/11. To me, that seems like an awful long time to change a head on a platinum tiffany repro, but whatever...

So, my fiance contacts JA today to see if the ring is ready to ship out as promised. Well, the rep tells him that there was a "misunderstanding" with the work order and the ring is not ready. He actually read the work order that says "replace white gold head with a platinum head" ....seems pretty straight-forward to me, but the rep wouldn't say exactly what the misunderstanding was. So, now my ring is supposed to ship on Friday which means I should get it Monday 6/17. To me, that seems pretty ridiculous for such a small job...how long does it take to replace a head????

I am also worried because one of the prongs did not touch the diamond, the diamond was tilted back in the setting, and the v-tip was off center. I really hope they do a better job with the new head. I know everyone on here always says that if they could've done it right the first time, they would have...and I actually contemplated having someone else set it, but I know they are a trusted vendor on here and I'm trying to have faith. My son is ready to buy a ring from them, too, but I want to see how they handle this before he pulls the trigger.

So, I know the communication has been bad...I don't think anyone would dispute that. But what about the time frame? This is not a handmade work of art like a LM or SK...it's a plain solitaire that needs a new head.

 

[Christina...]

Being without our rings sucks!! So I totally understand your frustration, I would be too. That said, let me attempt to be the voice of reason. I'm not sure what happened that the head was made with the wrong alloy, but it seems that rather than automatically change your ship date that JA gave your FI the option of receiving the ring on time, allowing him to proceed with any proposal plan he may have had and return the ring to them later for repairs. Your FI evidently decided to proceed this way, and I think that it was a thoughtful gesture that JA had the foresight to consider those plans. Many vendors would have emailed their apologize and explained that the ring was delayed in production. Likely if FI had decided to not receive the ring until the correct head was placed you would have had the ring by now and not needed to return....but like I said that may have delayed other plans FI had which might have been equally frustrating.

I've had JA replace a head for me too and the turnaround time was 10 days, but remember 3 of these days is spent in shipping and likely another receiving and inspecting the ring for damages before being sent to production. I don't think that 5 or so business days is a long time to expect a company to change a head. Of course you local jewler may have been able to do it faster, but that would have voided any warranties on the ring and the stone would have to be insured before any jeweler would consider setting and unsetting a stone that they didn't sell. Now all this doesn't explain the 'misunderstanding' with the ring and the added delay, and you have every right in my opinion to be frustrated that the head has obviously been done incorrectly two times now but at least in was caught and is being corrected so that you don't have to deal with timely returns yet again. I'm not making excuses for them, I would be annoyed as well, and I'm really sorry that this has happened to you.

Oh, and I have no doubt that JA is capable of making you a head and setting the stone beautiful. I'm looking forward to your SMTB! Congratulations!

 

[BeachGirlG]

Thanks for responding, Christina, but I think you missed an important fact...

The second SA said that there was no reason to make the head in 14k WG in the first place and that it would have taken the same amount of time to make it in platinum...so, basically, they could have met the deadline with platinum.

With that said, I think they should have made a better attempt at making things right (overnight shipping, quick turnaround, etc). And when exactly were they planning on telling my fiance about the new "misunderstanding" that was causing a further delay???? He had to contact them because it was supposed to ship yesterday. And I really don't like that they wouldn't tell him what this "misunderstanding" is and why it's causing another delay.

I don't know...I guess I just expected more. The communication has been like pulling teeth. And if we don't include the shipping time, they will have my ring for 9 business days to change the head...that seems excessive to me, especially if they could have made it in platinum and still met the deadline in the first place.

 

[dragonfly411]

Hi Beachgirl! I wonder if perhaps the ring designer had run out of platinum heads for some reason? I know that sounds like a stretch but just offering ideas. I'm sure you're frustrated and I hope this resolves quickly! Can't wait to see your ring!

 

[YoungPapa]

Hi BeachGirl,

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I hope to add a little clarity to the thread that may hopefully make you feel less annoyed.

The ring design you selected is usually fitted with a 'finding', which is a die-struck set of prongs that we can purchase on the market and simply attach to the ring. You'll hear these findings by other names such as peg-heads, and they are fairly ubiquitous in the jewelry industry.

For the the size/shape/prong arrangement you requested, a platinum finding was not available, but a 14kt white gold finding was. To that end, we offered to use the 14kt prongs to get you the ring quickly, then replace with platinum prongs later on.

In order to replace the prongs, we have to do a casting in-house. This is much more time and cost intensive, but we're willing to cover those expenses to make the ring the way you requested. The root of the misunderstanding is that the CSR's you spoke with didn't understand the details of what was being done to get you the ring exactly the way you wanted, and that the process would take a bit longer than simply swapping out one set of prongs for another.

As to communication delays, any time a shipping date is changed an email is sent. We also try to let customers know up-front that all dates are estimated. I apologize if those things weren't made clear from the beginning, but am confident that the ring will be done shortly and up to standard.

Hope this helps.

 

[WillyDiamond]

I hear your frustration, I guess you will have to wait until Monday to get the ring, looks like no way around that. You will have it for a long time to come so a few extra days will be a very small wait when you look at the big picture.
My concern in your post was that one of the prongs was not done right, since Mr. Schultz chimed in, you might want him to over see the project to get it right, and to examine the finished product before it is shipped to you. I would also have your son hold off on any orders until you are 100% happy. Best of luck.
One other thought............it was very nice of JA to redo the head at their expense so you could initially have a ring on time.

 

[yssie]

Hi BeachGirl,

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I hope to add a little clarity to the thread that may hopefully make you feel less annoyed.

The ring design you selected is usually fitted with a 'finding', which is a die-struck set of prongs that we can purchase on the market and simply attach to the ring. You'll hear these findings by other names such as peg-heads, and they are fairly ubiquitous in the jewelry industry.

For the the size/shape/prong arrangement you requested, a platinum finding was not available, but a 14kt white gold finding was. To that end, we offered to use the 14kt prongs to get you the ring quickly, then replace with platinum prongs later on.

In order to replace the prongs, we have to do a casting in-house. This is much more time and cost intensive, but we're willing to cover those expenses to make the ring the way you requested. The root of the misunderstanding is that the CSR's you spoke with didn't understand the details of what was being done to get you the ring exactly the way you wanted, and that the process would take a bit longer than simply swapping out one set of prongs for another.

As to communication delays, any time a shipping date is changed an email is sent. We also try to let customers know up-front that all dates are estimated. I apologize if those things weren't made clear from the beginning, but am confident that the ring will be done shortly and up to standard.

Hope this helps.

On reading Mr. Shultz's explanation the longer timeframe seems perfectly reasonable, and the offer of a 14k head as an intermediary measure to meet a deadline - and then replacing the head with an in-house cast at JA's expense - is very generous.

I can, however, see why BeachGirl is annoyed. To be dealing with different people from the same organization who are all saying different things must be extremely frustrating! I'd wager that if BeachGirl and her SO had received this explanation at the beginning this thread wouldn't have been started. As an outsider, it seems that some sort of intervention such that in the future CSRs aren't specifying details without fully understanding the situation would benefit both vendor and client..

 

[diamond-enthusiast]

Looks like a case of misunderstanding in communication. Hopefully things end up well for you beachgirl.

 

[BeachGirlG]

Well, that is definitely NOT what the CSRs were saying. Thanks for clearing that up.

I do wish that the original CSRs just said that the specific platinum ring does not have a matching platinum pear-shaped head and offered other options that do.