Is this bad service or is it just me?

[sigep611]

I''m a bit irritated. Mabye it''s just the anxiety of getting this done, but I don''t know. I asked about a couple diamonds on Friday. The rep wanted me to call, but I couldn''t. He offered to call in the evening or weekend. I told him the weekend would be fine. I was never called. I called when they opened on Monday. He was going to check on the availability of some diamonds for me, knowing I would be unreachable after noon. I hadn''t heard from him by noon. I was able to call and check at 4. He told me my diamond was sold 45 mins before. So I went to plan C (b was gone too). That was worked out late monday. I was hoping to hear from him tuesday, but I knew it could take until Wed. So today, I was sure I''d hear from him about how the diamond looked in person. I finally emailed at about 10

0. I got a reply that I should see pics early in the afternoon. At about 3:30 I called and was told he would check on it. At 5 I was emailed the pics. I got the email at 5:30. I immeadeatly tried to call. First I got a message saying either all were busy. I left a message with my number for him to call me back, and I emailed him. I called again at about 5:47 and was told "I don''t konw if he''ll answer but I''ll transfer you" He didn''t answer, so I left another message.

Does this seem like poor customer service to you? This is from a company many on these boards use, and from a rep I''ve read many good things about. Am I over anxious...or is this not so good?

 

[elbardo]

I''ve had the same thing happen today...I think everyone is just really busy today...I''ve been playing phone-tag with two companies all day, by both email and phone...I think you need to give them a chance to respond, because sometimes things really do get that busy. Try to call again tomorrow, and see what happens.

As for some of my other experiences at local stores that have never called back (over two months ago), when they confirmed that they would...that is bad service.

 

[belle]

well, it is another crazy jewelry holiday time with mother''s day being on sunday, maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[Kaleigh]

No it''s not just you. Seems everyone is really busy. Some vendors respond quickly to emails, others it''s best to call. See what happens tomorrow, call them first thing in the morning and if they aren''t available leave your phone number. If they don''t get back to you by 2-3

0, call them back. let us know how you make out, it''s frustrating I''m sure.

 

[sigep611]

I there would have been a perfect time to get engaged this weekend, and from what I was told I friday..I could have had it Wed! Now, I''ll be lucky to get it by Sat. Oh well.

 

[DiamondExpert]

You're playing it FAR too close...vendors are busy, there are important Holidays going on, and those who don't actually own the stones you are trying to get info on sometimes can't get the info they need from their suppliers.

You should be working weeks, if not months in advance of such an important decision...it's "safer" for you and better for everyone concerned.

Good Luck!

 

[sigep611]

I think what bothered me most is what I was being told. I was told they would call they didn''t. I was told I could have it by Wednesday, but I don''t and I wont thursday and even if I arrived Friday, I couldn''t get it. I was told I''d hear from him early afternoon...I heard from him when I called closer to 4. It''s not the biggest deal, but when you are spending a few thousand on something, I kind of expect them to follow the times they set.

 

[Kaleigh]

This is a very busy time for vendors and jewelers. You have Mothers Day, graduations, people like you getting engaged, etc... Give them a reasonable amount of time to get back to you. If they promised you something and did not deliver, then that is a shame. Call them and keep on them until you get the answer you are looking for. This is a long process and should not be rushed, IMHO. HTH.

 

[DiamondExpert]

Well, there are two ways you can interpret their responses - either they couldn''t get the info in a timely fashion and therefore were not ready or able to respond to you, OR they are trying, for whatever reason, to discourage your further pursuit of their services.

 

[perry]

Gary:

You forgot the third possibility.... That they are so busy that they do not have time to return every call and inquiry at the moment.

The sad fact is that people in the store, and people actually ordering things online, take priority over inquiries.

Perry

 

[justpar]

Gary,

It''s hurtful

to think that there might be time when vendor doesn''t want to do biz with customer, so they will try to discourage customer by breaking promise, or ignoring call, email. So that customer will feel bad, and go away.

sigep611,

I think your vendor might be very busy due to Mother''s day holiday. Anyhow, if you feel like you have been treated poorly, or service that you''ve been received from this vendor is way below your expectation, no matter what other happy customers said, I suggest you spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. Good luck.

 

[movie zombie]

personally, i think you don''t have much room to complain. your urgency is due to your lack of planning. if you want something special, it takes time in advance to make that happen.

and before people beat up on me on this one, my husband and i were guilty of this. who knew it would be so hard to get matching wedding ring bands on the day we decided to get married?! forget the matching mokume gane rings we originally wanted....we were lucky to get two 2 mm wedding bands!

peace, movie zombie

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/4/2005 11:35

7 PM
Author: justpar

if you feel like you have been treated poorly, or service that you''ve been received from this vendor is way below your expectation, no matter what other happy customers said, I suggest you spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. Good luck.

Yep just move on.
There are a enough great dealers here that you dont have to deal with someone that isnt living up to what they said they would do.

 

[The Joker]

I don''t always agree with Storm (fancy brown diamonds), but I sure agree with his and Justpar''s advice this time. It''s time to find another dealer. You need to find someone who follows through with what they say they will do. If Sigep611 had been kept informed, Sigep611 wouldn''t have been upset. IMHO it was a poor way to conduct business (busy or not).

Joker....

 

[strmrdr]

I want to clarify my position a little.
There is a lot of blame to spread around here unrealistic time frame is a major issue here and a lesson to be learned.
But that doesnt excuse the dealers lack of follow up when they said they would.
I fight at times to stay on top of things when dealing with customers so I see the dealers side of this also but when I dont follow up it is my fault and I cant blame the client for being unhappy.
There is a lesson here for the vendors also.
Follow up when you say your going too and if its a problem tracking it then you need to address the problem and find a solution.

 

[sigep611]

"There is a lot of blame to spread around here unrealistic time frame is a major issue here and a lesson to be learned."

I had no expectations going into it. Expectations (more like hope) were born when statements were made. When the statements were made, I was talking to two vendors and the rep knew that. I had emailed his company before and didn't see a reply for over a day so I emailed them again and another company.

They are not all bad, and are working hard. It is easy to get anxious when you are told you will be emailed or called in a certain time frame and are not.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/5/2005 9:19

9 AM
Author: sigep611


''There is a lot of blame to spread around here unrealistic time frame is a major issue here and a lesson to be learned.''


I had no expectations going into it. Expectations (more like hope) were born when statements were made. When the statements were made, I was talking to two vendors and the rep knew that. I had emailed his company before and didn''t see a reply for over a day so I emailed them again and another company.


They are not all bad, and are working hard. It is easy to get anxious when you are told you will be emailed or called in a certain time frame and are not.

Thanks for the clarification on the time frame.
Even if they are the best dealer in the world they still need to keep their word and get back to clients when they said they would.

It is ultimately your decision on what course of action you take you have my 2c :}

 

[fire&ice]

This type of dissatisfaction happens w/ relative frequency. Vendors seem to NOT get it. It''s not the service persay. It''s the EXPECTATION of service. If you can''t deliver information in a timely manner, SAY SO. Don''t promise something you can not.

As consumers, all we ask is to be kept in the loop.

 

[sigep611]

Thinking about it with less anxiety today...it wasn''t a big deal. All that was needed was a message or two saying, things are a bit backed up and taking longer than normal. That way I wouldn''t have spent four hours waiting for pics of the diamond so I could see if it were time to send payment.

 

[sigep611]

"BTW, Sigma Epsilon?? You wouldn''t be a frat boy would you??"

Used to be. But I graduated long ago.

 

[Diachi]

It sounds like he was busy if you ask me! I deal with a lot of Customer Service in my job and it can take me a while to get to what I need to do with 100 other things going on...Not saying he shouldn''t have called you back when he said he would, but you were not exactly easy to get a hold of either. A lesson learned and if you have a sour taste in your mouth from the experience-move on!

 

[sigep611]

I need to let this die, but I''ve been available by email nearly 100% of the time. For the one evening I wasn''t, there was phone contact. But it''s no big deal. I was upset yesterday when I couldn''t get a call answered 30mins before closing time. All the anxiety added up! I think the company is great, and the rep probably is too. If it were me, I would make contact when I said I would, even if the info I was supposed to have isn''t available....but that''s just me.

 

[bopitaddict]

i''m sorry to hear about your experience so far... and i think i might have an idea of who you''re dealing with... yah, making promises and then not following through is always a not so good thing. maybe if you still wanna work with that company, ask to work with someone else? or just go somewhere else... good luck.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 5/5/2005 10

1

1 AM
Author: fire&ice

This type of dissatisfaction happens w/ relative frequency. Vendors seem to NOT get it. It's not the service persay. It's the EXPECTATION of service. If you can't deliver information in a timely manner, SAY SO. Don't promise something you can not.

As consumers, all we ask is to be kept in the loop.

This hits the nail squarely on the head - couldn't have said it better myself.

If you are busy, then you shouldn't be promising me a response by Friday. Tell me Tuesday, and if that's not soon enough for me, I'll tell you that and we can come to an agreement. That's how life works.

But don't tell me you'll get back to me by Friday and then blow it off entirely with no reply. UNACCEPTABLE. If something happens and you don't have enough information on Friday, call me and tell me "I don't have the information yet, but I expect it by Tuesday."

Then I'm not sitting there thinking you've forgotten me/don't care about my request, etc.

This isn't rocket science - it's basic, simple, COURTEOUS, care-about-your-business service.

 

[dastewar]

I think the OP got poor service. All the comments about mother''s day and people being busy don''t hold water.

It''s not unreasonable to assume that jewelers have experience and some sense of the spike in demand during mother''s day, and they should plan accordingly. They could hire some temporary help to deal with the mundane/admin stuff (admittedly, perhaps not realistic). Or they could let customers know that although they ususally get back to you in XXX hrs, it will have to be XXX + YYY hours due to the holiday. Maybe they just say I''ll get back to you in 2 days, with no justification/excuses given.

The one thing they shouldn''t do is act like it''s an ordinary day and say we''ll email you at 3pm and never do it. I think this is an easy way for a consumer to screen out some of the myriad of dealers, regardless of their glowing pricescope rep (which I am sure they earned on other occassions, but not this one).

 

[Mara]

I entirely agree re: expectations being set by the vendor...if they tell you they are going to get back to you the next day with a quote or a price etc....THEY NEED TO DO IT. Or at least touch base with email or phone and let you know they are working on it and UPDATE THE TIMELINE.

Do not tell consumers that you will get back to them, return an email or get them a quote or pricing and then sit on it for weeks making the customers come to beg for a response from you. As the vendor, if you want the business, it's your responsibility to make it yours.

Excuses about being too busy on the holidays and the like don't hold water with me at all if promises were made. Set a reasonable expectation. Keep the lines of communication open. Sure this original poster was scrambling for time, but the vendor told him that they could make his timeline. However, it seems that is not necessarily the case after all. Again, his expectations shattered and now he is really scrambling.

Vendors need to understand that consumers will not wait around for them to *remember* their clients. It's not just about the product they sell, service is part of that equation as well.

I would take your business elsewhere...at this point everyone WILL be very busy with the holiday, but at least you may find a vendor who sets reasonable expecations and sticks to what they say. Good luck!

 

[viscera912]

hey sorry to hear bout your experience...so where does the story stand now?

jason