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My second article is finally done!! - What makes for a great client?

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Bravo, Strm!

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I know you worked hard on this and put a lot of careful thought into making it well-rounded. Thanks for providing a look through the eyes on the other side of the counter.

Belle, thank you for riding shotgun.
 
Congratulations Strm on a very well written and well thought out article. And kudos to belle for all her help!! Good job!!!!
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Many happy returns Strm !
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your essay makes great proof that Pricescope works...
 
Very nice post stmrdr. The vendors I have spoken with from pricescope have been so nice and upfront with information so it is nice to see what they would like to see in return from a prospective client. I will certainly keep this in mind next time I am purchasing jewelry online.
 
A very nice contribution Strm, it''s nice to see something that might provide customers with some insight into our world. We would especially like to bring attention to the comments pertaining to the need for people to be upfront about the fact that they may be just looking and not ready to purchase... Too often we receive inquiries from people who ask us to locate a specific diamond for them which we assume to be a legitimate inquiry and spend countless hours trying to find a stone only to discover when we finally do that the person is merely conducting research and has not intention of purchasing such a stone for several months if at all... It is important for people to understand that most vendors are willing to entertain inquiries "of possibility" for future purchases with the understanding that the client is conducting research and more or less checking out the various vendors, but please be upfront about the fact that you are not ready to purchase such a diamond because by not being upfront it causes the vendor to waste time and resources locating, shipping and evaluating diamonds for no real purpose. There have been many times when we have discussed not entertaining requests for specific stones for the simple reason that many of the requests are not legitimate from a perspective of the client actually being committed to purchasing a specific diamond when it is found... Understand that it is a matter of balancing time and resources, the time spent trying to find a specific diamond for one client could often be better used sifting through a single parcel of diamonds which is likely to yield diamonds (and subsequently sales) that would be of interest to several clients... Thus we''re happy to see your article and hope that consumers who read the article and this thread will benefit from the insight into how we think as dealers and we hope that people will be considerate of the time and resources of the dealers when they initiate specific requests and that they will be upfront about their ability to purchase such a stone if found or about when they will actually need it because we see the service of searching for specific stones on behalf of individual customers to be a necessity of good customer service even though it might not always be the best use of time and resources from the perspective of volume sales. One of our favorite clients at the moment is a young lady who was quite upfront about the fact that she is merely researching the price of Asscher cut diamonds and various mounting options so that she and her fiance can plan accordingly for the purchase of her ring, she informed us of her situation right from the beginning and continues to remind us that while she appreciates a response, it does not have to be immediate in the middle of what might be a very busy day... Needless to say, we enjoy responding to her questions and make every effort to provide her with prices and details on specific diamonds in an attempt to earn her future business, but we''re not burning money shipping diamonds in for physical evaluation thinking that she''s looking for a diamond "right now" and we''re able to respond in a timely manner that can fit into our busy day and possibly take a moment to eat lunch first or rather we should correctly say "for once"...

One other thing that people might not realize as being an issue because they are simply trying to get the best deal... While we can appreciate the necessity of shopping around and talking to all of the various dealers to determine who is going to provide the best service, quality and price, people might not realize just how small "our world" really is... Nothing is worse than calling a cutter for a stone that every other dealer has called on or will call on within the same one hour period... One or two dealers is understandable, fifteen is not... If you truly want to be taken seriously as a customer, pick one or two dealers and work closely with them because nothing says "I''m a problem client" or "don''t take me serious" like the cutter saying "Let me guess, your client''s name is Tim and he lives in XYZ... I''ve received fifteen inquiries on this stone (or particular custom altered designer ring) in the past hour and I''ve had it, I''ve got better things to do and serious clients to attend to..." the reality being that at this point many of the cutters don''t even want to send the stone out to any of the dealers because they perceive it as an effort of futility and our (plural "our" as in all dealers) ability to serve you as a customer is influenced by the ability to source a diamond and evaluate it on your behalf or actually obtain an accurate quote on that custom altered setting... If the cutters feel that they''re shipping the stone just so that it can wander the globe in an endless circle between various dealers being bounced off of each other by a client searching for a fifty dollar discount, the fact of the matter is that they will just ignore the inquiries and wait for a brick and mortar store with an in-store client to express and interest in the stone and then we all lose... the dealers and the customer. A short time ago we spent a week, literally a week, trying to get a copy of a lab report on behalf of a customer who inquired about it via email only to be told by the cutter when we finally reached him that he didn''t respond to the request because he received many calls for the same stone from various internet dealers in a two hour period and had already faxed a copy of the lab report to ten other dealers and that the stone would have sold by now if the customer was serious... May we recommend that before initiating requests for assistance in locating a stone that you research the various dealers here on PS, ask a few questions of them to determine their level of expertise and committment to you as a client and then decide which two or perhaps three that you feel you can work with effectively and that you don''t contact too many regarding a specific stone or quest for a specific stone because more is not necessarily better when most of us are working from the same pool of possibility when it comes to finding stones...

Another example of this concept "gone wrong" is the person who called today to ask us to aquire a specific stone for him off of the PS multiple dealer listing after he had contacted three dealers who had listed the stone and asked each of them if they could get it within a twenty minute period... "The diamond is listed by three dealers on PS and I''ve asked all of them to get it... I''d like you to bring it in and evaluate it for me to determine whether it is truly eye clean (it''s an SI-2) and then I''ll buy it from whichever of you gives me the best deal..." Honestly, there isn''t a better way to ask "not to be helped" because to begin with, we have no interest getting into a bid war with our (friendly) competition and it has a tendancy to shut the cutter down...

Please understand that this insight is in no way intended to say that we''re not interested in legitimate inquiries... All dealers are... But we hope that our comments will provide additional insight as to how we can all work better together as dealers and customers here on PS. Courtesy and honesty from both sides of the equation is key to a balanced and mutually beneficial relationship
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I have followed all the “rules” as suggested by vendors in the report and have had success only when I was prepared to buy straight away.

Instance 1: Looking to purchase a diamond immediately when the right stone came up. I was very particular about the specifications and indicated my requirements clearly. Although I was fussy, the vendor was very helpful and patient and after about a dozen certificates were emailed, when the “right” stone came up I responded within half an hour that I would like to purchase it. Success story.

Instance 2: Looking for information about a tennis bracelet. Indicated clearly that this was only a long term dream, but needed some basic information to plan. Never had a response at all.

Instance 3: Looking for information about the new princess cut diamonds. I indicated this was for my nephew as an engagement stone and that the time frame for purchase was anywhere between now (if the right stone came up) and before the end of the year when he was proposing. I was aware it may take some months to find the right stone (against my recommendations he is looking for D VVS1). After several weeks I had a reply pointing me to a stone available online, a totally irrelevant response which did not address ANY of my questions at all. In fact despite explaining clearly this stone was not for me, it was implied I was changing my mind with what I wanted by referring to a prior inquiry about a round brilliant for me. I replied, but never heard back.
Approached a second vendor with a phone call. I again posed the same questions about availability, cost etc and was told someone would get back to me. Nothing heard at all.

I understand fully that time cannot be wasted on customers who are not prepared to buy, but I am a serious buyer (have demonstrated this with my recent purchase) and surely even if the vendor if the is unable to help, some relevant response would be polite.

Despite what the vendors have said in Strmrdr’s report, I have found that unless you indicate you are prepared to buy immediately, no reasonable response is forthcoming with the online vendors I have approached.
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asblackrock,
Sorry to hear about your problems with a couple dealers.
There are a lot of dealers out there Id move on.
As pointed out by niceice how you approach them can make a difference in the responce you get.
 
Hi Strmrdr

I must have worded my request badly. I did not pursue it, as I was not personally prepared to buy on the spot and did not want to waste anyone’s time.

PS Your article was very interesting. Thankyou.
 
angela,
i hope you find a vendor that you are comfortable working with, ready to purchase on the spot or not.
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strm,
it was my pleasure! you are one kewl dude!

sir john and kaleigh,
thanks for the thanks!
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Date: 5/20/2005 10:46:49 AM
Author: belle
angela,

strm,

it was my pleasure! you are one kewl dude!
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*looks at ground and shuffles feet*

Thanks belle it was great working with you!
 
I liked this article, for those of us doign research now preparing for our first major diamond purchase it was helpful. Thanks strm! and Miss Belle for helping him.
Robin&Todd I also found your bit intreasting. I really like having a little more insight to how the other side of the counter veiws these encounters.
 
Nice article strmrdr (and Belle!) I missed your original thread so thanks for the write up.

Question to vendors: Do you try to cultivate repeat and regular business as one would with a B&M store or do you feel that your addressable market is large enough with the internet, that a sale is a sale and there are enough one timers out there?
 
Well done, Strmrdr and belle!
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Date: 5/20/2005 2:54:14 PM
Author: noobie
Nice article strmrdr (and Belle!) I missed your original thread so thanks for the write up.

Question to vendors: Do you try to cultivate repeat and regular business as one would with a B&M store or do you feel that your addressable market is large enough with the internet, that a sale is a sale and there are enough one timers out there?
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The former, by all means. For us, this is the inspiration for purchase benefit programs: Returns beyond the examination period, trade-up policies, referral gifts, etc.

The comfort level a current customer has with us, and the spoken endorsements he/she imparts to trusted friends and colleagues is important. When a client or someone he/she has referred returns we want to treat them well, since they are treating us well. It's a healthy symbiosis.

I suspect all vendors hope that new customers will be happy repeat customers.
 
Date: 5/20/2005 2:54:14 PM
Author: noobie
Nice article strmrdr (and Belle!) I missed your original thread so thanks for the write up.


Question to vendors: Do you try to cultivate repeat and regular business as one would with a B&M store or do you feel that your addressable market is large enough with the internet, that a sale is a sale and there are enough one timers out there?
Click to expand...

In the pricescope fishbowl a sale is never just a sale.
There is incredable pressure on the vendors here and those that excell under that pressure are rewarded but I bet more than a few have had sleepless nights when something has gone wrong.
 
Nicely done Strm and Belle. Good data gathering, and a good chance to think about things from the other side of the "counter".
 
Date: 5/20/2005 9:51:47 AM
Author: asblackrock

I must have worded my request badly. I did not pursue it, as I was not personally prepared to buy on the spot and did not want to waste anyone’s time.
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I can''t know for sue how many e-mails might be getting into a www diamond shop / day, but from one account the number could easily get unmanageable. It is even hard to imagine any store could serve each inquiry with the same amount of time garnered by a thread here.

Could any of those questions be answered here ?
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Strm, I am a bit more cinical than you it seems... it is hard to immagine what better could a customer do than decide ("learning" is forming a purchase decission, no ? ) beforehand that they love a certain shop's merchandise on his own and use as little as possible of the seller's time.

Of course there is nothing wrong (or new) about that, and if both parties accept the procedure as normal shopping it can only work better. It surely helps if the same seller who advocates swift and ferm buying decissions also discloses appropriate information. Pricescope's model makes it sound easy
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Just curious... Does any of the Pricescope sellers deffer undecided customers to this forum ?
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From adistance (mine) this sounds just a bit better than not answering them.
 Leonid, do the rules of Pricescope allow it ?

I surely do not have any fancy protocol in mind: those automatic reply messages that deffer inquiries to a colleague during vacations are the next of kin of what I had in mind.
 
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