My Upsetting Brilliantly Engaged Experience

[diamondseeker2006]

Gypsy was referring to Maytal Hannah and Steven Kirsch.

If you want, start a new thread when the current jeweler send the CADs and we can give you some extra input.

 

[luckyblackcat]

Mailin, I just wanted to add my sympathies! What an absolute nightmare with BE!!! I hope they realize how shameful it is that they are trying to publicly blame you while you have shown them nothing but patience and civility. I'm so sorry what should've been a special experience has turned into so much stress for you. On the plus side, Montana sapphires are so beautiful!!! Please keep us posted on your ring!

 

[kenny]

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

Yes I realize people vary, and it often goes well.
Still, it's a gamble.

It never ceases to surprise me that some people see it as zero-gamble, and get so surprised then things go haywire.
Sure, they have my sympathies, but it is the nature of this type of project that is just asking for things to not go your way.

Person X wants something but person Y has to make it happen.
When two people with different expertise and interests are involved, communication can only take you so far.
That's it's an e-ring that it's expensive, that there is usually a time issue, that the buyer does not know that challenges the bench faces all exacerbate the problem.
Misunderstandings are inevitable.

I think many people see these projects as a sure thing ... as long as you find that special guru of a jeweler.

Again I'd NEVER commission jewelry!!!
If I did I'd accept that the odds of being 100% happy with the results are low.

 

[SunnyDelta]

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

Yes I realize people vary, and it often goes well.
Still, it's a gamble.

It never ceases to surprise me that some people see it as zero-gamble, and get so surprised then things go haywire.
Sure, they have my sympathies, but it is the nature of this type of project that is just asking for things to not go your way.

Person X wants something but person Y has to make it happen.
When two people with different expertise and interests are involved, communication can only take you so far.
That's it's en e-ring that it's expensive, that there is usually a time issue, that the buyer does not know that challenges the bench faces all exacerbate the problem.

There are two people involved, hence misunderstandings are inevitable.

I think many people see these projects as a sure thing ... as long as you find that special guru of a jeweler.

Again I'd NEVER commission jewelry!!!
If I did I'd accept that the odds of being 100% happy with the results are low.

You are so right Kenny.

I had not thought of the commissioning of a custom piece a gamble before you mentioned it, but that is exactly what it is. More moving parts = greater potential for errors.

For the record, I feel the OP has been mowed over by the vendor, and is in no way at fault, but custom projects unfortunately can and do sometimes go awry. This situation is just awful.

 

[flyingpig]

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

Yes I realize people vary, and it often goes well.
Still, it's a gamble.

It never ceases to surprise me that some people see it as zero-gamble, and get so surprised then things go haywire.
Sure, they have my sympathies, but it is the nature of this type of project that is just asking for things to not go your way.

Person X wants something but person Y has to make it happen.
When two people with different expertise and interests are involved, communication can only take you so far.
That's it's an e-ring that it's expensive, that there is usually a time issue, that the buyer does not know that challenges the bench faces all exacerbate the problem.
Misunderstandings are inevitable.

I think many people see these projects as a sure thing ... as long as you find that special guru of a jeweler.

Again I'd NEVER commission jewelry!!!
If I did I'd accept that the odds of being 100% happy with the results are low.

+1

 

[tracylt]

Sure, miscommunication can happen.

I just find it upsetting that they promised to communicate and ask for his approval before moving forward, but then he was "ignored" for 16 days, just to find out the ring had been made without his approval. That is not miscommunication, it is being tricked/trapped.

 

[Tekate]

Very wise words Kenny, also I would add that emails sometimes just lose the importance and feeling of a person's desires. Having had a ring made 2x for my engagement ring I have learned the downside to having custom done... say the prongs on this person's ring, the thinner the better and show more creativity on the part of the designer/maker but yet the OP found her prongs not pleasing. I've been much happier with buying a setting I have looked and and felt... but i'm old

Peace.

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

Yes I realize people vary, and it often goes well.
Still, it's a gamble.

It never ceases to surprise me that some people see it as zero-gamble, and get so surprised then things go haywire.
Sure, they have my sympathies, but it is the nature of this type of project that is just asking for things to not go your way.

Person X wants something but person Y has to make it happen.
When two people with different expertise and interests are involved, communication can only take you so far.
That's it's an e-ring that it's expensive, that there is usually a time issue, that the buyer does not know that challenges the bench faces all exacerbate the problem.
Misunderstandings are inevitable.

I think many people see these projects as a sure thing ... as long as you find that special guru of a jeweler.

Again I'd NEVER commission jewelry!!!
If I did I'd accept that the odds of being 100% happy with the results are low.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I agree that custom can be very risky, with the exception of when you are either having a ring made exactly as the vendor has made perfectly many times or when there is an excellent designer that works with the CAD artist to get the design perfect (with high quality, realistic CADs) with customer approval before the ring is ever cast. I venture to say that most/all ringmakers have had unhappy customers for various reasons. Not everyone is cut out for custom, that's for sure. It always makes me a little nervous, because it is certainly a costly endeavor and hard to commit to paying for something you have not seen. But I will say, I have been fortunate to have had very excellent outcomes with the couple of custom projects I have done, and I wouldn't have anything close to the quality of those pieces had I not done custom.

 

[Skhii]

MY BRILLIANTLY ENGAGED EXPERIENCE​

...
Hope you enjoyed this in depth review,
-Mailin

Thank you for taking the time to share your Brilliantly Engaged experience. I am very sorry you have had to go through so much trouble, and admire how patient and courteous you remained even when it was clear Mark and Chris were not listening to you at all. I wish you the best on your engagement; may you and your fiancée finally get the ring of your dreams!

 

[Elepig]

Custom can be risky but in this case, it never really got off the ground. The project forged ahead with little approval or communication.

 

[aac2013]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience. I applaud you for remaining so composed throughout the e-mail exchange. Like many others, I am just floored by the vendor's responses and inability to really own the fact that they messed up. Sadly, I see multiple opportunities where the vendor could have brought this experience back on the right path even after everything veered off course.

I wish you best of luck moving forward with a new vendor and hope you will post your ring when it is complete.

 

[yssie]

This thread is a credit to Mailin's courtesy and patience.
This thread is frankly a disgrace to BE's professionalism. Chris, your response did you/BE no favours - the continued avoidance of responsibility merely highlights your former customer's troubles.

I would have thought the fact that every single consumer who has responded in this four-page thread has echoed those sentiments would have indicated there's probably good reason for them

 

[sonnyjane]

Yikes. Just read everything to catch up.

Hey, at least Chris admitted in his response here that he DID receive the OP's deposit, so hopefully you can get that refund speedily...

 

[Gypsy]

This thread is a credit to Mailin's courtesy and patience.
This thread is frankly a disgrace to BE's professionalism. Chris, your response did you/BE no favours - the continued avoidance of responsibility merely highlights your former customer's troubles.

I would have thought the fact that every single consumer who has responded in this four-page thread has echoed those sentiments would have indicated there's probably good reason for them

I have to agree. And I am generally a fan of BE. But there's really no defense. And the fact that Chris/BE are refusing to just say, "we're sorry, we dropped the ball, what can we do to make it right for you"-- which is what I would expect a vendor of such high caliber to ALREADY HAVE DONE- let alone wait till this thread to do so (and then not do so) is a HUGE problem for me.

EVERY vendor screws up sometimes. The good ones FIX IT and we never hear about it. OR if we hear about it before the opportunity for resolution the FIRST thing a GOOD vendor does is say, "mea culpa" and then work on making the customer happy.

To say "we've never screwed up" is just... BS. I actually know of one instance (told to me in confidence) that BE dropped the ball EXACTLY LIKE THIS before. The customer ended up liking the ring despite the deviation from the work order, so the problem went away. But the fact remains that they have had this issue before. I'm sure EVERY vendor on here has missed something on a work order and had to either: refund, or remake, or hope the customer accept it with their apologies.

The big problem here -- no, I'm sorry the HUGE problem here-- is the BE refusal of personal responsibility.

I am extremely disappointed. What sets the excellent vendors apart from the pack is their customer service and personal responsibility. And BE apparently has decided that their pride is worth more than their customer's satisfaction. That is unacceptable for me.

 

[fofolala]

What sets the excellent vendors apart from the pack is their customer service and personal responsibility. And BE apparently has decided that their pride is worth more than their customer's satisfaction. That is unacceptable for me.

well said

 

[jinshil]

OP, I applaud and respect the patience and professionalism you retained during this entire experience and now still.

I hope you don't mind if I share my story although it was with a different PS vendor. Steven Kirsch (someone recommended him to you on this thread) was wonderful to work with. Ironically, he and I had a miscommunication and a different setting was hand forged (double edge halo vs. single tilted halo). However, the very 'moment' I pointed this out after viewing the pictures he emailed after working hours on a weekend, his simple and straight forward response was, "...I will remake the ring for you if you want." I trusted his words and decided to check out the 'wrong' setting before taking up on his offer and fell in love with it the instant I put it on my finger so I actually ended up keeping it. The point is, SK didn't drag on and on about who miscommunicated what. He simply offered to fix it right then and there. Even after a miscommunication happened (neither of us dwelled on who dropped the ball when), I continue to be a huge SK fan and will go back to him with no reservation due to how he handled our situation. As other PSers have already mentioned, everyone makes mistakes but how it's handled is what matters.

Best of luck on your third try, hopefully third time's a charm!!

 

[msop04]

OP, I applaud and respect the patience and professionalism you retained during this entire experience and now still.

Steven Kirsch (someone recommended him to you on this thread) was wonderful to work with. Ironically, he and I had a miscommunication and a different setting was hand forged (double edge halo vs. single tilted halo). However, the very 'moment' I pointed this out after viewing the pictures he emailed after working hours on a weekend, his simple and straight forward response was, "...I will remake the ring for you if you want." I trusted his words and decided to check out the 'wrong' setting before taking up on his offer and fell in love with it the instant I put it on my finger so I actually ended up keeping it. The point is, SK didn't drag on and on about who miscommunicated what. He simply offered to fix it right then and there. Even after a miscommunication happened (neither of us dwelled on who dropped the ball when), I continue to be a huge SK fan and will go back to him with no reservation due to how he handled our situation.

Best of luck on your third try, hopefully third time's a charm!!

...and this is how it should be.

 

[artdecolover71]

just wanted to say after learning my lesson, even with big, well known vendors, I did something different when I had my first piece by CVB made and maybe I can help someone. I first had it cast in sterling silver before platinum. Having a resin done does not help me enough! After my sterling silver cast was on my hand, I had CVB do the platinum. Best decision I made and to this day, I LOVE every detail!

 

[msop04]

just wanted to say after learning my lesson, even with big, well known vendors, I did something different when I had my first piece by CVB made and maybe I can help someone. I first had it cast in sterling silver before platinum. Having a resin done does not help me enough! After my sterling silver cast was on my hand, I had CVB do the platinum. Best decision I made and to this day, I LOVE every detail!

Wow!! That's a great way to ensure it's what you want! Kudos to CVB for doing that for you!

 

[tracylt]

OP, I applaud and respect the patience and professionalism you retained during this entire experience and now still.

I hope you don't mind if I share my story although it was with a different PS vendor. Steven Kirsch (someone recommended him to you on this thread) was wonderful to work with. Ironically, he and I had a miscommunication and a different setting was hand forged (double edge halo vs. single tilted halo). However, the very 'moment' I pointed this out after viewing the pictures he emailed after working hours on a weekend, his simple and straight forward response was, "...I will remake the ring for you if you want." I trusted his words and decided to check out the 'wrong' setting before taking up on his offer and fell in love with it the instant I put it on my finger so I actually ended up keeping it. The point is, SK didn't drag on and on about who miscommunicated what. He simply offered to fix it right then and there. Even after a miscommunication happened (neither of us dwelled on who dropped the ball when), I continue to be a huge SK fan and will go back to him with no reservation due to how he handled our situation. As other PSers have already mentioned, everyone makes mistakes but how it's handled is what matters.

Best of luck on your third try, hopefully third time's a charm!!

Steven just got one more potential customer. And free voluntary advertising from me! Thank you for sharing your story!

I read this after already decided to go with James Allen for my custom order. It's risky, I know, but I am SO glad I went with them. Although I haven't received the final product yet, the communication has been spectacular. They emailed me CAD 3 times in total to adjust the design according to my requests, and waited for the final approval from me before getting into production. I can't imagine if they would just "vanished" for 16 days, and suddenly showed me the ring which I never approved for. What a nightmare! I'm sweating just thinking about it...

OP, best of luck with your next journey! I still have faith that there are more vendors with integrity and accountability like James Allen and Steven Kirsch than vendors who would do anything to deny their responsibility like Brilliantly Engaged.

 

[Mailin]

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

...

For the record, I feel the OP has been mowed over by the vendor, and is in no way at fault, but custom projects unfortunately can and do sometimes go awry. This situation is just awful.

--- The thing is, there are safeguards in place to get the design as desired. IE. Cad Renderings and Plastic Mold - When the designers skips these steps though, issues such as mine can arise. I do understand small discrepancies happening, especially if the person wanting a ring made isn't very detail oriented and or knows exactly what they want.

Sure, miscommunication can happen.
I just find it upsetting that they promised to communicate and ask for his approval before moving forward, but then he was "ignored" for 16 days, just to find out the ring had been made without his approval. That is not miscommunication, it is being tricked/trapped.

--- Did they design this ring how they wanted because it is something they had laying around that happened to meet my desires (except basket), so they pushed this upon me and expected me to just "give in" since the ring was made? I want to of course think this wasn't the case and it is just me trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together lol. Even after all this, I can not bring myself to believe my conspiracy theory.

Thank you for taking the time to share your Brilliantly Engaged experience. I am very sorry you have had to go through so much trouble, and admire how patient and courteous you remained even when it was clear Mark and Chris were not listening to you at all. I wish you the best on your engagement; may you and your fiancée finally get the ring of your dreams!

--- The entire time I had issues with the emails and what was going on. I was unsure if they were reading my emails and ignoring my request. Or if they were reading my emails and not comprehending what I was requesting (like, as if English was not their first language and text was being lost in translation). I thought that for both Chris and Marks email conversations. Then the logical side of me says, well I spoke to Chris on the phone and he spoke fluent English with no noticeable accents and they make rings for a living... So they should know what I am asking for.

Yikes. Just read everything to catch up.

Hey, at least Chris admitted in his response here that he DID receive the OP's deposit, so hopefully you can get that refund speedily...

--- Shortly after making this thread, I received an email from Chris stating Mark was back in town and that the deposit was now refunded. That was, I think a week ago but no deposit has been actually posted on my credit card as of yet. At this point though, it is not worth communicating anymore than I have to with them. I will let me credit card company handle it.

OP, I applaud and respect the patience and professionalism you retained during this entire experience and now still.

I hope you don't mind if I share my story although it was with a different PS vendor. Steven Kirsch (someone recommended him to you on this thread) was wonderful to work with. Ironically, he and I had a miscommunication and a different setting was hand forged (double edge halo vs. single tilted halo). However, the very 'moment' I pointed this out after viewing the pictures he emailed after working hours on a weekend, his simple and straight forward response was, "...I will remake the ring for you if you want." I trusted his words and decided to check out the 'wrong' setting before taking up on his offer and fell in love with it the instant I put it on my finger so I actually ended up keeping it. The point is, SK didn't drag on and on about who miscommunicated what. He simply offered to fix it right then and there. Even after a miscommunication happened (neither of us dwelled on who dropped the ball when), I continue to be a huge SK fan and will go back to him with no reservation due to how he handled our situation. As other PSers have already mentioned, everyone makes mistakes but how it's handled is what matters.

Best of luck on your third try, hopefully third time's a charm!!

--- That bolded section is literally all they needed to say. I do not care who's fault it was, or where it went awry. I want the ring I desire and only that. Not sure if I included the email where Mark said "I was going to knock 500$ off the price". Like, he simply did not get it. It isn't about the money at all when it comes to this engagement ring to me. If I had to spend 5$ or 10,000$, it will going to be made the way I wanted it. Blah


Thanks again everybody for you to take time from your day and wish me best. It is greatly appreciated and once I get the new CAD renderings in, I will be posting them on Rocky

 

[packrat]

just wanted to say after learning my lesson, even with big, well known vendors, I did something different when I had my first piece by CVB made and maybe I can help someone. I first had it cast in sterling silver before platinum. Having a resin done does not help me enough! After my sterling silver cast was on my hand, I had CVB do the platinum. Best decision I made and to this day, I LOVE every detail!

Wow!! That's a great way to ensure it's what you want! Kudos to CVB for doing that for you!

That's a pretty slick idea-I might see if Caysie will do that for me too, just in case.

 

[mrs-b]

--- Shortly after making this thread, I received an email from Chris stating Mark was back in town and that the deposit was now refunded. That was, I think a week ago but no deposit has been actually posted on my credit card as of yet. At this point though, it is not worth communicating anymore than I have to with them. I will let me credit card company handle it.

Holy cow...this is worth noting. Please let us know if/when the deposit is refunded. This has become a debacle of epic proportions; inconvenience is one thing, but money is money, and they really need to give you back yours.

 

[sonnyjane]

--- Shortly after making this thread, I received an email from Chris stating Mark was back in town and that the deposit was now refunded. That was, I think a week ago but no deposit has been actually posted on my credit card as of yet. At this point though, it is not worth communicating anymore than I have to with them. I will let me credit card company handle it.

I HOPE for your sake that's true. It can technically take as long as 7-10 business days for a refund to fully post to your account, but I'm not feeling incredibly optimistic for you. I hope I'm wrong though!

 

[gm89uk]

All the best OP. Your succinct and elaborate responses, and calm but accurate highlighting of issues are reflected in the overwhelming support you've received here. I hope you eventually get the ring you love.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

I applaud you ability to keep calm, cool. and collected under such circumstances. I know I would not be so if I were in your shoes . I hope everything gets resolved and you have an exquisite engagement ring at the end. Please do keep us posted!

 

[susief]

My sympathies OP. There's nothing that annoys me more than the "well, no-one else has complained" school of customer service. Puts me right off.

Good luck with the new CADs and keep us posted.

 

[rainydaze]

Yikes! They clearly outlined their process step by step for you, then disregarded it. And now refuse to recognize how they went wrong, when it couldn't be more simple and obvious. I'm dumbfounded (although not surprised, I had a poor experience with ERD though not to the level of yours).

It's a testament to your character how you handled this straight through. I hope your new attempt is the opposite and you finally have the ring you set out to make for your partner, with a pleasant experience to go along with it!

 

[Niel]

Yikes! They clearly outlined their process step by step for you, then disregarded it. And now refuse to recognize how they went wrong, when it couldn't be more simple and obvious. I'm dumbfounded (although not surprised, I had a poor experience with ERD though not to the level of yours).

It's a testament to your character how you handled this straight through. I hope your new attempt is the opposite and you finally have the ring you set out to make for your partner, with a pleasant experience to go along with it!

You had a bad experience too! Oh now the list is up to "only" 4 lol

 

[kenny]

IMO custom jewelry projects are VEEEEERY risky.

I would never take such a risk on such an expensive, important and emotional purchase!
Never! Never! Never!

...

For the record, I feel the OP has been mowed over by the vendor, and is in no way at fault, but custom projects unfortunately can and do sometimes go awry. This situation is just awful.

--- The thing is, there are safeguards in place to get the design as desired. IE. Cad Renderings and Plastic Mold - When the designers skips these steps though, issues such as mine can arise. I do understand small discrepancies happening, especially if the person wanting a ring made isn't very detail oriented and or knows exactly what they want.

Granted, BE screwed up.
My point was, with custom there are more opportunities for dropping the ball on than off-the-shelf.

I'm not giving BE a pass or blaming you.
I'm just saying going custom carries higher risk and some people don't have the temperament for such risk on such an important and expensive project.
I won't even hire anyone to remodel, or even paint, our house.

I also admire how kindly your correspondence was with BE considering the circumstances.
Hope your next project goes smoothly.