hearts on fire only cut that shows full rainbow of colors? PART II

[Lula]

Last week I posted about my experience with my local HOF rep.

To make the long story short, he told me that HOF were the only diamonds cut to show the full spectrum of the rainbow. I did not admit to him that the ring I was wearing was an ideal-cut Infinity and when he scoped my diamond under the H&A viewer, he could obviously see the arrows. He asked me where I got my diamond, and I lied and said "Japan." Okay, so I was playing him.

But I did post his claim about rainbow colors and HOF on PS and a lively discussion ensued.

previous post

Anyway, the post ended with me saying I was going back to the store to ''fess up about where I got my stone and what it was, and to try to get beyond the sales pitch with this SA.

So I went back and things started out okay, the SA was gracious about my little lie and looked at the information I brought in about Crafted by Infinity, and he seemed interested in it and was not dismissive about my internet buying experience. We talked about grading and cut parameters and his training, etc. I thought we were getting beyond the pitch. I agreed to let him call in a 3/4 HOF eternity band in platinum so I could see it. But when I was getting ready to leave, he slid back into his sales pitch and repeated the statement that other ideal stones don''t display all the rainbow colors that HOF does! Before I could challenge him on this, another SA told him he had a phone call (saved by the bell, I guess) and I was late to meet my husband for dinner, so the conversation ended.

I went on HOF''s main web page to see if this statement was listed anywhere -- where is he getting this? -- and I didn''t see anything of the sort. I saw that HOF has a link called "ask the wizard" where you can submit a question to Maarten de Witte if your question isn''t addressed in the HOF FAQ section. So I sent in my question telling the wizard that a SA had told me that HOF was the only diamond cut to show the full spectrum of rainbow colors and was that true.

I am done with this SA and this store. You know, it''s hard enough to justify spending the money on jewelry in these economic times, and I can''t even tell you the number of hours I''ve spent educating myself on this forum so that I don''t get swayed by the "pitch," so this just bothers me.

I''ll let you all know if Maarten e-mails me. I don''t think it''s the brand; I think it''s this SA''s wrong-headed take on his training.

 

[arjunajane]

lol sarap, looks like someone was only listening on day 3 of his training or something..

But seriously, I wonder why he likes that part of the pitch so much, especially to the point of losing a potential sale? strange..

pls follow up here on whether you hear back from the HOF site, that would be v. interesting!

 

[bright&shiny]

I admire your pluck.

After a long series of visits to various B&M''s in our state (RI), I''ve given up. Even if we meet a sales agent who is willing to listen - or perhaps (gasp) learn about some of the basics, frequently their store manager interferes with the information we receive by providing alternate pitches. They have conducted the classic ''bait and switch'' by trying to sell us something they insist is ''better'' but is inferior to the specifications we''ve requested.

By no means am implying all B&M''s are this way - just the unfortunate majority if all you have available is chain stores in your area as we do in our state. Clearly, the PS vendors that have B&M''s are fantastic, as are others I''ve heard referenced on this site. However, I can''t remember any chains being mentioned as PS worthy, but I haven''t read every thread

Anyway, I admire your tenacity. They have lost a great opportunity to work with such a dedicated and patient customer. They also missed a great opportunity to learn - and move in the direction of what I hope will be the new trend: cut-educated consumers.

 

[Maplecustom]

Wow, even though he has no hard evidence to prove what he is saying, I think he keeps pushing that line because of the huge commision he will to get if he sells one of those diamonds. Most uneducated consumers would probably fall for it. I did but that''s because I didn''t know any better at the time

. Let us know what Marteen says. He seems like an honest guy on the video interview here on PS.

 

[jet2ks]

Sorry to hear that your experience did not end well. Are you planning on contacting the store manager to let them know of the lost sale and reason for it? Even if you don''t want to go back, the SA needs to hear about how he is driving away potential customers.

 

[Ellen]

Sadly, this doesn''t surprise me. But good on you for trying!

 

[Lula]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.

I was disappointed in his response because I was hoping to be able to find a new wedding band locally. While I understand that he is trained to sell his brand, HOF, and that he is entitled to be enthusiastic about it, I really felt like we couldn''t get beyond the "pitch" and this made me lose trust in him.

The sad thing is that I liked the HOF eternity band -- it was really pretty and I''ve read good things on this forum about the quality of the HOF pave/melee settings! -- but I don''t want to "reward" this SA! So, yes, Jet, I am going to tell the manager why I''m not purchasing the ring from them.

I''ll let you all know what Maarten says. At the very least, he should know that there is some part of the HOF training that''s gone horribly wrong with this SA!