James Allen possibility

[About2ask]

Hey everyone. I just got a response back from James Allen with a diamond in question. Here is the diamond...

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI-1-Ideal_Cut-Round-Diamond-1193887.asp

I requested them to hold the diamond and to get an IdealScope image. I never got an IdealScope image, but I did just got a response saying that he, Darin Grimes, would like me to give him a call during this week. He also said that he can hold the diamond for 24 hours. My question is, shouldn''t they be the ones trying to get my business. I mean, I don''t mean to sound arrogant, but everyone else''s e-mails seem to show that the company is going for THEIR business. Should this be a yellow flag, as to them not being serious to me? Sorry if this sounds paranoid, but I want to be taken serious since this is serious.

 

[JulieN]

I'm not sure where you're reading that they're not taking you seriously, other than not sending you the IS. This oversight/mistake is not a serious mistake, and should not be taken as a slight... simply ask again.

 

[swingirl]

I''d say if he is asking you to call him he must have something he wants to talk about regarding this or another stone. A personal conversation is always better than an email and usually takes longer. It might be a simple thing like he wants to recommend a better stone. I wouldn''t be offended at all.

 

[Mrs W]

i have to agree withthe other girls, if he didn''t want to talk to you he wouldn''t tell you to call him.....

 

[deepblue2]

Hi,

I have to say I thought it was just me.

I am experiencing exactly the same problems with both the same Sales Advisor and the Idealscope images which
although it states on their website I should receive within two working days,
have still not seen over a week later!

At this point in time I am not impressed with their service at all and thought
it would be a very different experience.

I even tried to call them although was informed that the sales advisor was out and would call me back. There was no return call.

I have also been informed that the sidestones I am after are not certificated and
will be based upon their own gemologist reports...is that normal?

The response I received when I asked for a ''hearts image'' was ...
''love to photograph the hearts, but our camera cannot capture the reflector image upside down. Rest assured, however, the hearts are perfect. I know because I personally checked every diamond!''

How should this effect my decision on whether to go with them?

I am a little anxious as time is not on my side and I made that clear to the Sales assistant from the beginning so the idealscope delay is causing me problems.

I am normally a pretty patient guy though feel the sales service is testing me alittle on this occasion!

Not impressed at this point

'');" alt="Insert smilie

" src="http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/33.gif" align="absMiddle border=0"> but am hopeful things will change.

 

[strmrdr]

My universal answer is if a vendor will not provide enough information in a reasonable manner and time frame to make you comfortable with a sale then find another vendor who wants your money more and is willing to work for it.
There is no excuse for a weeks delay in images when someone is told 2 days.

My universal answer is if a diamond is sold as h&a then heart images should be provided.

Neither one of those answers is vendor specific and applies to all vendors.

When I recommend a JA round I base the recommendation on face up optical symmetry which is not as precise a requirement as h&a and most of the time JA's pricing reflects that.
Lacking heart images it is automatically discounted as not h&a to me, but excellent face up optical symmetry at a fair price is often a good deal which is why I do recommend them.

 

[beach]

I would pass. Plenty other vendors that would work hard for your business....

 

[jeffw47]

I had the same problem with JA. MAtter of fact in an earlier post, they had sent me the same Idealscope picture for two different diamonds.
Luckily Honey22 caught it. Even the owner of the company said there was something wrong and said I would get the right pictures. Never did, even
after two phone calls and numerous emails, I finally just gave up.

Like the previous post, there are several vendors which still try and believe in customer service.

I''m not trying to bash them, but my experience has not been pleasant considering I am was trying to spend over $8000 for diamond and setting. JMHO!

 

[YoungPapa]

Good morning guys! I saw this thread this morning over breakfast and figured I best jump in and try to clear up a few of these issues.

To start, Darin is our newest addition to the customer service team and is trying his best help everyone of our clients make the best selection possible. His invitation to talk on the phone was nothing more than an attempt to get a verbal dialogue in place, since a five minute phone conversation is often more helpful (and informative) than a series of back and forth emails. It''s also a chance to establish a rapport with our potential client while we wait for the New York office to complete the Idealscope request.

As to the sending out of Idealscopes, I''ll be the first to admit we''re running a bit behind. With that said though, I know for a fact that jeffw47 was sent all of the corrected images last week and that deepblue2 was sent his idealscope request *twice*. The fact that you guys say you''re not getting our emails is disturbing, as I know that they were sent.

As to deepblue2, it was me (James Allen Schultz) that emailed you directly last night to try and figure out why you weren''t getting Darins emails and Idealscopes. As I mentioned in my email, we have tried calling your number, but you are overseas and we have failed to connect to the number provided. We will certainly try again today, and I will send you that Idealscope directly from my email again. I said that I''ve checked every H&A because it''s true. I''ve been traveling back and forth to New York almost weekly for the last month, inspecting each of our latest shipments. I accept Storms criticism that "no picture = no hearts", but I stand by the voracity of my word and my brand. Getting those heart images on the website is something I very much hope to accomplish next year, but until then we will continue to do our best to provide the other information that Pricescope buyers like deepblue2 find helpful.

At the end of the day guys, all I can say is that we are really trying to do our best. If you aren''t getting the information you need, pick up the phone and call me directly. If my staff aren''t doing their job I''ll kick them in the pants. If we''re having email problems, we''ll figure out a way to get that fixed. In short, we''re here, we care, and we will do *everything* we can to earn your business.

All the best,

 

[YoungPapa]

Sorry - One last thing.

DeepBlue2 - Here is the idealscope that we''ve been trying to send you.

 

[DLFB]

same thing happened to me with James Allen and GOG. both promised to come up with images, etc but never got back to me despite the emails I sent after the request had been made. very unprofessional.

I just went with some other online retailer that was willing to answer my question/requests - I have the diamond in possession right now.

 

[Phoenix]

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I've bought from JA twice and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Jim answers my questions promptly (99.99 % of the time) and if he doesn't, he will tell me why. He's very honest, trust worthy and I trust him to be my "eyes" - he will tell you something exactly as he sees it. It is hard to buy online sight unseen, esp. for those that are not so used to internet transactions (like me), so trust is everything, I'd say.

JA doesn't provide as much infor as GOG or WF does (or at least that's what I think), but this is reflected, I feel in their lower prices. My perception (again, rightly or wrongly) is that you do pay a premium for the extra information, like all the images provided on GOG, as someone has to spend time taking pics of these and then posting them on their website. Having said this though, numerous and I stress numerous times I asked Jim to bring in diamonds for me from the suppliers and he willingly did so without charging me extra, which I thought was really awesome (and I personally intend to make that up to them - but they have never asked me to do so). Jim also did me some other favours too. The lack of Idealscope images or microscopic images of the inclusions does not bother me, but I appreciate everyone is different in what they want in terms of the infor they'd like to have before making the commitment to purchase. Again, however, if you ask for Idealscope images, I am sure JA will glady oblige and as Jim said if his staff were not doing their job, I am sure Jim would be the first to kick them!

All I can say in summary is please be a little more patient, if you can. Jim tries extremely hard to please, their prices are hard to beat and Jim is totally trustworthy.

Good luck anyway with your purchase.

ETA: I agree with the other posters, pls call them. Emails are quite hard and it's much better to communicate and clear what you want with them over a phone call or two. Again though, having said that, I only had to call Jim in total a couple of times. He knows me very well by now and can almost always anticipate what I want with just a simple email. But first time, best to call and talk to them directly, ask for Jim.

 

[stone-cold11]

Bottomline, call them. Makes everything clearer and faster.

Sounds like maybe there are some problem with the internet in NY with both JA and GOG based there.

 

[strmrdr]

Hi Jim,
One suggestion, upload the IS images to the diamonds page.
Tell the customer to check back there for it and send an email when it is up.
If the email doesn't get through then they still get the image and if the diamond isn't purchased by them because they are say comparing 2 diamonds and buy one the image is up for the next customer.
It also helps us when trying to help for them to be able to post a link to the stone and us get all the relevant information.
I know you have done this in the past for some stones.
You standard diamond images are considered by me to be the best single images for evaluating diamonds remotely of those provided by vendors here.
More IS images available right from the diamonds page with no wait will help your sales even more.

I am glad to hear you are working on providing heart images and are personally inspecting them.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/2/2008 9:17:07 AM
Author: James Allen Schultz
Sorry - One last thing.


DeepBlue2 - Here is the idealscope that we''ve been trying to send you.

Nice looking IS image. Thumbs up to that diamond.

 

[kmklos]

I had a similar experience with James Allen regarding not getting Idealscopes. However, then I realized that their emails to me always get filtered out by my spam filter. It didn''t matter who from James Allen emailed me (Ashley, Josh, etc). It always got sent to a spam folder that I never check.

That might be something to look into.

 

[deepblue2]

Jim,

Thank you for responding to this thread.

I appreciate your comments and to say the least was disappointed that I felt compelled to raise this as an issue on PS. As I mentioned earlier, I consider myself a patient person and as I am under time pressue (my own fault admittedly) to get the best for my intended proposal, I needed to understand whether my siutation was normal.

Having dealt with GOG previously I was spoilt for information and Darin''s communication to me,although polite etc,was possibly a little more ''laid back'' than I was expecting especially after dealing with yourself.

I would have appreciated greatly being informed of the fact that JA was running alittle behind with sending out Idealscopes. Especially after I made repeated requests and despite you sending it ''twice'' I did not receive it.

I of course also used my earlier opportunity on PS to query other aspects of information, such as the lack of a ''hearts image'' and certification of the sidestones, as I had not come across this before and wanted confirmation from other sources as to whether this was normal.

There are lots of pitfalls in this environment so I was just treading carefully.

As a customer I appreciate we can be quite demanding etc. (politely put) however in this arena we are often spending alot of money so have
high expectations.

To me it is all about communication and providing the customer with the reassurance that you have their best interests at heart and will go that extra mile. The more information you can provide, the more confident the customer feels!

I will no doubt discuss this with you further, and have utmost faith in James Allen providing both great pre and post sales service.... at which time I will make a point of telling everyone on the PS forum and beyond.

P.s Please consider the advice of strmrdr and uploading of IS images.. may have prevented this?

P.P.s Please don''t kick your staff in the pants.

 

[JoeNewbie11]

I''ve received excellent service from JA on multiple diamond purchases, both for my fiance and myself. I think their combination of providing diamond pictures & IS, great service, and low prices makes them a great PS vendor.

 

[YoungPapa]

Hey guys - just a few updates/comments:

Storm - Great advice. We are working to get all of the IS images on the website and should have 90% of the H&A diamonds done by weeks end.

Deepblue - I hear you and Darin spoke by phone and we''re working to get some of your other requests done by end of day.

About2ask - Darin is emailing you the IS image for 1193887. Please let him know when you get his email. I''m attaching the image here as well (just to be safe).

 

[About2ask]

James, thank you so much for your personal response. I know the holidays are always a crazy time, as Darin explained. I just figured that it was one of those automatic emails that are sent, that''s what got me concerned. Anyway, I was very busy today, but I do look forward to speaking with him tomorrow.

As for the other PSers out there, what do you guys think of the diamond with this IS image?