Mall Jewelry Stores

[that_someone_special]

Soooo I was at the mall last night with BF doing some xmas shopping.
I LOVE looking at diamonds, so as we were walking past a jewlery store, I asked him if I could go in

I know what my engagement ring looks like and wanted to look at wedding bands. I LOVE TRYING THEM ON.
Anyways, so the sales people are helpful, and taking rings out so I can try everything on. Two things she said really bothered me.

"These diamonds are a MINIMUM of I1 I2, they look great, don''t they?"
and
"Princess cut diamonds and "Round" Diamonds are all the same. They are just as brilliant as each other"

OK, first, I am planning on buying from whiteflash, but I really like looking at stores! I like how they try to pull things over customers.

Anyways, does anyone know if they say things like that because they are told to? Like "Tell customers that i1 isnt that bad.... yadda yadda"

This post probably doesn''t even make sense, I have such a headache right now!

 

[neatfreak]

I think honestly most of the sales associates just have no clue. Just like the customers. There''s a reason we call it a "maul" store here!

 

[somethingshiny]

I think most of the sales associates think they are selling a great product. When any schmo can walk in off the street and sell jewelry, that''s what happens.

I actually have a friend who used to work in a jewelry store. When he saw my upgraded ring (a cushion cut), he said "wow, is that some new cut??"

 

[that_someone_special]

I was just so shocked that she worded it like, "The diamonds are a minimum of I1 I2" I mean... how much worse can you make them!?

I wondered how they get their jobs..... you don't think they need to be certified or anything?!?!?! Ya mean I could get a part time job schmoozing people??

 

[Kaleigh]

I go into stores just to play. I am floored by their lack of knowledge. I also blame the consumer to some degree, you have to do your research and be your own advocate. But that's asking a lot of Joe Shmo. He wants to walk in, buy and walk out thinking he got a great deal, wink wink.....

I worked for a high end jewelry store, was trained by a GIA gemologist, and learned a great deal from him. But in these stores, you're lucky to have someone that even knows what an asscher is....They will most likely pull out a princess cut... UGH.

 

[Kelli]

I do the same thing, go in to try on for fun and play dumb. I''m always astounded at how little these people know about the products they sell, in particular, the lack of quality in the products. I do love going into Mayors and Tiffanys too. They are a lot more educated, but then I just walk out laughing at the prices! CHA-CHING!!!

 

[pinkstars]

My friend worked at a jewelry store for 2-4 years. She was knowledgeable in what she sold and in what she would buy. She knew what they had wasn''t the best quality, but she was aware of what was good and bad quality. This isn''t to say that some of the people that work at these stores do know what they''re selling. But in the case of my friend and the people she worked with they all knew their stuff pretty well.

 

[arjunajane]

The worst thing I Hate though about these stores though, is when you ask an relevant question, and they behave as if you're the one with no knowledge.
Or worse, they get that glazed look in the face/eyes and change the subject, lol.
I sincerely think Most retail jewellers have an acute dislike for consumers with any kind of knowledge - its really a strange concept.


And it doesn't even happen just in maul stores. I was in an antique jewellery store yesterday, looking at pendants (new project

), and the lady handed me a necklace with a bar set diamond that was clearly an old mine cut - it had a maltese cross, random outer facets etc.. When I asked her, so this is an Old Mine cut, just mostly out of making conversation, she pursed her lips and admonished me "No, it would be a Rose Cut..". Riiigghhht...
I realized she must think all old stones are rose cut.

The next store I looked in (this time a modern store), I asked to see a bezel pendant. This time the guy couldn't even get the ct weight right, despite looking at the tag numerous times. When he got it out, I asked, "so this is, what, about 30pts?". He said "no, its 0.46....no, wait...make that 0.52"..
After trying it on, when it came to price, again "Oh sorry, its actually 0.35ct"..Huh

It was strange, I had no idea where he was pulling these numbers from !

So, moral of the story, when it comes to diamonds - there are dunces everywhere in retail

 

[jewelerman]

Most mall stores hire affordable staff and training is on the fly.Many sales associates have no clue about how to use the information given them or how to relate it to customers.Their trainers dont know how to teach gemology or customer relations because they are trained and geared toward selling and numbers only and train several people at once,never checking if information is correctly understood.

 

[that_someone_special]

Hmm see here I thought they actually knew what they were selling most of the time if not all of the time!! Ha. I never figured they were just ignorant.

Haha. BF and I were talking about this and he was like, "I feel even more qualified to work there than those people-- just through all of the diamond talk you do!!"

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/6/2008 11:30:33 AM
Author: swedish bean
Hmm see here I thought they actually knew what they were selling most of the time if not all of the time!! Ha. I never figured they were just ignorant.


Haha. BF and I were talking about this and he was like, ''I feel even more qualified to work there than those people-- just through all of the diamond talk you do!!''

He probably is more qualified than 90% of the maul store employees out there!

 

[purselover]

Date: 12/6/2008 12:16:10 AM
Author: arjunajane
The worst thing I Hate though about these stores though, is when you ask an relevant question, and they behave as if you''re the one with no knowledge.

Or worse, they get that glazed look in the face/eyes and change the subject, lol.

I sincerely think Most retail jewellers have an acute dislike for consumers with any kind of knowledge - its really a strange concept.



And it doesn''t even happen just in maul stores. I was in an antique jewellery store yesterday, looking at pendants (new project

), and the lady handed me a necklace with a bar set diamond that was clearly an old mine cut - it had a maltese cross, random outer facets etc.. When I asked her, so this is an Old Mine cut, just mostly out of making conversation, she pursed her lips and admonished me ''No, it would be a Rose Cut..''. Riiigghhht...

I realized she must think all old stones are rose cut.


The next store I looked in (this time a modern store), I asked to see a bezel pendant. This time the guy couldn''t even get the ct weight right, despite looking at the tag numerous times. When he got it out, I asked, ''so this is, what, about 30pts?''. He said ''no, its 0.46....no, wait...make that 0.52''..

After trying it on, when it came to price, again ''Oh sorry, its actually 0.35ct''..Huh

It was strange, I had no idea where he was pulling these numbers from !


So, moral of the story, when it comes to diamonds - there are dunces everywhere in retail

Of course they want their customers uneducated and that''s not just for jewelry it''s for all retail. An educated consumer is their worst customer. If every consumer was educated (which the vast majority are not) they would have to put time and money into training a staff. They would have to actually provide quality products instead of low quality that they can easily pass off as being nice to those who have no knowledge at a high mark up. It really is the consumers fault this may sounds harsh but I applaud those who can make a profit off those who are too stupid to do their homework. Retail is the business of making money and if they can get away with it why not?

 

[Amandine]

Date: 12/6/2008 2:19:37 PM
Author: purselover

Date: 12/6/2008 12:16:10 AM
Author: arjunajane
The worst thing I Hate though about these stores though, is when you ask an relevant question, and they behave as if you''re the one with no knowledge.

Or worse, they get that glazed look in the face/eyes and change the subject, lol.

I sincerely think Most retail jewellers have an acute dislike for consumers with any kind of knowledge - its really a strange concept.



And it doesn''t even happen just in maul stores. I was in an antique jewellery store yesterday, looking at pendants (new project

), and the lady handed me a necklace with a bar set diamond that was clearly an old mine cut - it had a maltese cross, random outer facets etc.. When I asked her, so this is an Old Mine cut, just mostly out of making conversation, she pursed her lips and admonished me ''No, it would be a Rose Cut..''. Riiigghhht...

I realized she must think all old stones are rose cut.


The next store I looked in (this time a modern store), I asked to see a bezel pendant. This time the guy couldn''t even get the ct weight right, despite looking at the tag numerous times. When he got it out, I asked, ''so this is, what, about 30pts?''. He said ''no, its 0.46....no, wait...make that 0.52''..

After trying it on, when it came to price, again ''Oh sorry, its actually 0.35ct''..Huh

It was strange, I had no idea where he was pulling these numbers from !


So, moral of the story, when it comes to diamonds - there are dunces everywhere in retail

Of course they want their customers uneducated and that''s not just for jewelry it''s for all retail. An educated consumer is their worst customer. If every consumer was educated (which the vast majority are not) they would have to put time and money into training a staff. They would have to actually provide quality products instead of low quality that they can easily pass off as being nice to those who have no knowledge at a high mark up. It really is the consumers fault this may sounds harsh but I applaud those who can make a profit off those who are too stupid to do their homework. Retail is the business of making money and if they can get away with it why not?

I just want to say that not every company is this way. I am a retail store manager, and we take a lot of pride in the amount of training our associates receive. When we open a new store, everyone receives a week of training, and there after I have an entire training system: books, workbooks, and computer e-learning for my staff to make certain that this level is maintained. We try to educate our customers...we want them to understand why our product is better!

 

[purselover]

Date: 12/6/2008 4:38:21 PM
Author: Amandine

Date: 12/6/2008 2:19:37 PM

Author: purselover

Date: 12/6/2008 12:16:10 AM

Author: arjunajane

The worst thing I Hate though about these stores though, is when you ask an relevant question, and they behave as if you''re the one with no knowledge.


Or worse, they get that glazed look in the face/eyes and change the subject, lol.


I sincerely think Most retail jewellers have an acute dislike for consumers with any kind of knowledge - its really a strange concept.




And it doesn''t even happen just in maul stores. I was in an antique jewellery store yesterday, looking at pendants (new project

), and the lady handed me a necklace with a bar set diamond that was clearly an old mine cut - it had a maltese cross, random outer facets etc.. When I asked her, so this is an Old Mine cut, just mostly out of making conversation, she pursed her lips and admonished me ''No, it would be a Rose Cut..''. Riiigghhht...


I realized she must think all old stones are rose cut.



The next store I looked in (this time a modern store), I asked to see a bezel pendant. This time the guy couldn''t even get the ct weight right, despite looking at the tag numerous times. When he got it out, I asked, ''so this is, what, about 30pts?''. He said ''no, its 0.46....no, wait...make that 0.52''..


After trying it on, when it came to price, again ''Oh sorry, its actually 0.35ct''..Huh

It was strange, I had no idea where he was pulling these numbers from !



So, moral of the story, when it comes to diamonds - there are dunces everywhere in retail

Of course they want their customers uneducated and that''s not just for jewelry it''s for all retail. An educated consumer is their worst customer. If every consumer was educated (which the vast majority are not) they would have to put time and money into training a staff. They would have to actually provide quality products instead of low quality that they can easily pass off as being nice to those who have no knowledge at a high mark up. It really is the consumers fault this may sounds harsh but I applaud those who can make a profit off those who are too stupid to do their homework. Retail is the business of making money and if they can get away with it why not?

I just want to say that not every company is this way. I am a retail store manager, and we take a lot of pride in the amount of training our associates receive. When we open a new store, everyone receives a week of training, and there after I have an entire training system: books, workbooks, and computer e-learning for my staff to make certain that this level is maintained. We try to educate our customers...we want them to understand why our product is better!

oops I should''ve been clearer, I didn''t mean all retail, more like most of the lower end retail like the mall jewelry stores that try to pass off bad stones, and the walmarts of the world who treat their employees poorly. They get by from people who don''t research their purchases. The more high end you go the better the employees are trained b/c of their higher prices they have to be able to explain why they''re worth it. I''m gonna guess you''re a manager for one a more high end store.

 

[Haven]

I worked for a couple huge jewelry store chains throughout my college years. It was ridiculous how little the sales staff knew. There are 13 jewelers in the mall near my work, and I went to every single one of them when DH was looking for my e-ring, and not one of them had a knowledgeable sales associate in the store. Not one.

 

[Elmorton]

Maul stores make my diamond cry. DH won''t even go in there to look with me anymore because he gets annoyed with the quality and can''t keep it in when the salespeople BS about what they have.

I think there can be a good deal found every now and then - esp. if you know what you''re buying. People HAVE come in here posting beautiful pieces found on clearance, etc, but they were educated about the purchase before they did it.

The two funniest things I''ve heard at a maul store - DH and I were walking past one, and we overheard a salesperson saying "This stone is an I2 - what you see here are the natural qualities of the stone, as you have to understand that this is a real diamond mined from the earth" -

and another time, when I looking a small pendant, I asked to see it under the loupe. It took forever for them to locate one, and while they were looking, I was chatting up the salesperson. She asked me where my e-ring was from, and I told her (a local jeweler) and she said "Yeah, when I get engaged, that''s where I''m going to get my ring. I''d NEVER want one of the rings from here as a e-ring." Love the honesty!

 

[arjunajane]

and another time, when I looking a small pendant, I asked to see it under the loupe. It took forever for them to locate one, and while they were looking, I was chatting up the salesperson. She asked me where my e-ring was from, and I told her (a local jeweler) and she said ''Yeah, when I get engaged, that''s where I''m going to get my ring. I''d NEVER want one of the rings from here as a e-ring.'' Love the honesty!

Love it El! At least you got some honestly for once, lol !

 

[Kelli]

That is too funny! I hope er manager didn''t hear her!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/6/2008 4:38:21 PM
Author: Amandine


I just want to say that not every company is this way. I am a retail store manager, and we take a lot of pride in the amount of training our associates receive. When we open a new store, everyone receives a week of training, and there after I have an entire training system: books, workbooks, and computer e-learning for my staff to make certain that this level is maintained. We try to educate our customers...we want them to understand why our product is better!

I agree that not every company is that way. There is one chain store by me that has a SA that's been there for over 14 years and she knows her diamonds. In fact she sold me a stone. The diamond looks fabulous under my H&A. Unfortunely, the only issue is that the stone I bought was about 2X what I could have paid had I purchased online. Of course that WAS 14 years ago and LONG before buying diamonds online became accessable. Now I'd NEVER buy a loose diamond in a B&M.

 

[Tuckins1]

I love listening to the dribble that maul jewelers try to throw at you! Sometimes I will just go in and look at stuff, because I like sparkly stuff.

They will tell me how great this stone is, or what a great price for the quality... Then I pull out my jewelers loop and take a good look. They just ask me why I have a loop in my purse and look at me like i''m crazy. I had one guy offer me a job selling jewelry, he was so impressed by my knowledge!

Too funny

 

[Amandine]

Date: 12/6/2008 4:53:39 PM
Author: purselover

Date: 12/6/2008 4:38:21 PM
Author: Amandine

Date: 12/6/2008 2:19:37 PM

Author: purselover

Date: 12/6/2008 12:16:10 AM

Author: arjunajane

The worst thing I Hate though about these stores though, is when you ask an relevant question, and they behave as if you''re the one with no knowledge.


Or worse, they get that glazed look in the face/eyes and change the subject, lol.


I sincerely think Most retail jewellers have an acute dislike for consumers with any kind of knowledge - its really a strange concept.




And it doesn''t even happen just in maul stores. I was in an antique jewellery store yesterday, looking at pendants (new project

), and the lady handed me a necklace with a bar set diamond that was clearly an old mine cut - it had a maltese cross, random outer facets etc.. When I asked her, so this is an Old Mine cut, just mostly out of making conversation, she pursed her lips and admonished me ''No, it would be a Rose Cut..''. Riiigghhht...


I realized she must think all old stones are rose cut.



The next store I looked in (this time a modern store), I asked to see a bezel pendant. This time the guy couldn''t even get the ct weight right, despite looking at the tag numerous times. When he got it out, I asked, ''so this is, what, about 30pts?''. He said ''no, its 0.46....no, wait...make that 0.52''..


After trying it on, when it came to price, again ''Oh sorry, its actually 0.35ct''..Huh

It was strange, I had no idea where he was pulling these numbers from !



So, moral of the story, when it comes to diamonds - there are dunces everywhere in retail

Of course they want their customers uneducated and that''s not just for jewelry it''s for all retail. An educated consumer is their worst customer. If every consumer was educated (which the vast majority are not) they would have to put time and money into training a staff. They would have to actually provide quality products instead of low quality that they can easily pass off as being nice to those who have no knowledge at a high mark up. It really is the consumers fault this may sounds harsh but I applaud those who can make a profit off those who are too stupid to do their homework. Retail is the business of making money and if they can get away with it why not?

I just want to say that not every company is this way. I am a retail store manager, and we take a lot of pride in the amount of training our associates receive. When we open a new store, everyone receives a week of training, and there after I have an entire training system: books, workbooks, and computer e-learning for my staff to make certain that this level is maintained. We try to educate our customers...we want them to understand why our product is better!

oops I should''ve been clearer, I didn''t mean all retail, more like most of the lower end retail like the mall jewelry stores that try to pass off bad stones, and the walmarts of the world who treat their employees poorly. They get by from people who don''t research their purchases. The more high end you go the better the employees are trained b/c of their higher prices they have to be able to explain why they''re worth it. I''m gonna guess you''re a manager for one a more high end store.

This is true! I''d rather not say where, but we do sell what some consider a "luxury" product. My mall does have several high end jewelry stores, like Mayors, Bulgari and Cartier. So, I am a little spoiled by eye candy during my lunches!

 

[ckrickett]

sales people don''t know sometimes. I went into a store that was having a going out of buisiness sale and they were selling a 20k (1.25 carats I believe) ring that had 2 HUGE black inclusions on it, you could see it as soon as you looked at it through the counter. I was just browsing and I mentioned it and asked about the clarity, she told me it was near colorless. I was shocked. No wonder they were going under...

 

[marcy]

I love reading these amusing stories. My favorite round was "what is the cut" "heart" "no that''s the shape" "what is the cut of the diamond like excellent, very good" "oh those things don''t matter" "good bye".

 

[arjunajane]

I just had to reignite this thread after what I was told today - this one is a winner, lol..

Anyone who has been to Perth will know the name "Rosendorff''s", which is supposed to be one of the premier jewellers here. Verrryy fancy, verryyy expensive.
Well, they should invest a lil more in education - when one of the SA''s was asked why they charge a premium for White Gold over yellow, she replied "Because they have to mine down further for the white gold"....

Man, that made me laugh !

 

[AdiS]

Date: 12/9/2008 4:27:00 AM
Author: arjunajane
I just had to reignite this thread after what I was told today - this one is a winner, lol..

Anyone who has been to Perth will know the name ''Rosendorff''s'', which is supposed to be one of the premier jewellers here. Verrryy fancy, verryyy expensive.
Well, they should invest a lil more in education - when one of the SA''s was asked why they charge a premium for White Gold over yellow, she replied ''Because they have to mine down further for the white gold''....

Man, that made me laugh !

HAHAHA!!!!
ROFL!!!
OMG, AJ, thank you for the laugh! I really needed it!

 

[Dandi]

Date: 12/9/2008 4:27:00 AM
Author: arjunajane
I just had to reignite this thread after what I was told today - this one is a winner, lol..

Anyone who has been to Perth will know the name ''Rosendorff''s'', which is supposed to be one of the premier jewellers here. Verrryy fancy, verryyy expensive.
Well, they should invest a lil more in education - when one of the SA''s was asked why they charge a premium for White Gold over yellow, she replied ''Because they have to mine down further for the white gold''....

Man, that made me laugh !

 

[arjunajane]

Ha ha, don''t thank me Adis, thank Rosendorffs,
rofl...

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 12/7/2008 8:44:05 PM
Author: ckrickett
sales people don''t know sometimes. I went into a store that was having a going out of business sale and they were selling a 20k (1.25 carats I believe) ring that had 2 HUGE black inclusions on it, you could see it as soon as you looked at it through the counter. I was just browsing and I mentioned it and asked about the clarity, she told me it was near colorless. I was shocked. No wonder they were going under...

I was told the same thing by a SA at a mall jewelery store thats going under in my area! I asked her what clarity the stone I was looking at was because it wasn''t written on the tag. She then took the ring from me, looked at the tag, and said "its a near colorless diamond." This particular store has been "going out of business" for 4 months now. After I got engaged I went in and looked at their wedding bands in case there was something I really loved. They didn''t have anything to match my e-ring but the SA did try to butter me up by saying that my ring was "very large."