Not a positive experience thus far...

[hot4teacher]

Konnichiwa!

Well, our custom engagament ring from Whiteflash came in on Monday. We're a little dissappointed, I suppose you could say. While it is a beautiful ring

, there was one discrepancy that has let us down. The head on it "leans" to one side, noticeable even to an amateur like myself.

Overall, I can't say this has been a very positive experience. Maybe reading all of the positive reviews on PS gave me a false sense of how the experience was going to be. We worked with Bob Hoskins from the beginning. I can't say I got that "warm fuzzy feeling" inside that I was a valued customer with our emails.

I think the one part that really disappointed me was when the ring was finished and shipped without any notification or pictures of the finished product. Granted I live in Japan (I work for the DOD), and live 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard time, I was very much surprised of what happened.

I was notified that the ring had been shipped and was given a tracking number. You could imagine after waiting several days to see pictures of the final product, this email was pretty shocking. I had emailed Bob and asked how it could have been mailed without me receiving pictures. To make a long story short, I was told that since they had not heard from me after they sent the email, they assumed everything was OK. That was another "whammy" of an email. I don't think that is a practice most vendors use; no return email means everything must be good to go. (On a side note, even it was sent to a junk email folder or had never arrived at all, would it still be fair to proceed with no acknowledgement from the buyer? FWIW,I checked my junk email folder and there were no emails...

)

The other disturbing part is how long WF waited before when it was "finished" and when they shipped it. I don't think it could have been more than a few hours. Now, even if I lived in the states, I don't think it would be fair to give someone a few hours after an email and expect a reply. Add that I live 14 hours ahead of EST, and if the email had arrived, it would have been around midnight perhaps. Let's say they waited 5 hours before shipping it, that brings me to 5am. Maybe I don't fit the norm, but I don't check email at 530am before my hour+ commute to work. (Part of me felt like since they weren't looking for a reply, that I would get what I get and that's the end of the purchase).

That brings us to Monday and we get the ring. I emailed Bob twice and had at least thought I'd get a "sorry you weren't satisfied, what can we do to correct the situation...", but instead I only got an email from Leslie with a return authorization number and helpful directions on shipping it back to WF.

The bright side is hopefully they can fix the tilted head on the ring, we get it back safely, and life goes on. But wouldn't have it been great to be able to reflect back and look at each other and say, "that was a great experience and we can't wait to tell everyone how exciting this journey was."

We do love the diamond and without the discrepancy, I think the ring would have been perfect. I just can't say this was a positive experience...especially for something so special that would be celebrated for a long time. I now have stronger feelings that having a positive experience is a major part of overall product satisfaction.

Dana

 

[jaz464]

Hmm, I think it is very strange that you didn't get any pictures sent. I would think that is standard practice. I remember when my e-ring was sent out (from WF), I knew they were finishing up the ring the day it was shipped. It seemed they finished it, took pictures, and got it in the mail immediatly. I thought nothing of it. In fact, I was glad it happened so fast. But the head on my setting is not crooked either. I am curious as to whether it is standard practice for WF to await approval of the pictiures before the ring is shipped out. That was not the case for me, or you but it seems like it should be. Did you ever get the pictures? Can you see the tilt in them?

 

[hot4teacher]

Hi Jazmine,

It took two or three emails to get pictures. Unfortunately, there were no side views like I had received for the wax setting pictures. I did look on the website just now and found this:

"Minor changes can be made to the wax but the customer needs to know that the fine details of the design will need to be made in the metal, not the wax. All engraving work is done on the finished ring. Once the wax has been approved we cast and finish the piece and e-mail pictures of the finished product. When the final piece is approved, final payment is collected and the item is sent by FedEx for next day delivery."

I''m hoping all can be remedied when it is returned. Now I''m trying to get it insured before it takes the 5,000 mile journey back to Texas.

Dana

 

[onedrop]

All I can say is that I am sorry that you had this experience. Hopefully everything will be corrected and your ring will be returned to you in good quality ASAP. I guess every company has a bad day, but that is of little comfort when it happens with something as important as your engagement ring.

 

[Lorelei]

I am so sorry things didn't go as well as you might have wished, but I know WF will go out of their way to fix it. They do take their customer satisfaction very seriously, and I know they will pull out all the stops to make this right for you.

 

[Maisie]

Thats two people in the space of two weeks who have complained about their setting not being done properly by WF. I wonder whats going on over there.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/8/2007 8:50:30 AM
Author: Maisiebelle
Thats two people in the space of two weeks who have complained about their setting not being done properly by WF. I wonder whats going on over there.

true, at that''s just 2 that we know of. I know the company as a whole is growing incredibly quickly but I do hope they will slow down a bit if things like this are getting missed. I hope it doesn''t turn into a pattern.

hot4teacher, I am very sorry for you less than positive experience. I do know that WF will fix it for you but would be very frustrated with the whole thing as well, and living on the other side of the world just makes it worse

 

[Ellen]

Date: 2/8/2007 9:16:05 AM
Author: mrssalvo


true, at that''s just 2 that we know of. I know the company as a whole is growing incredibly quickly but I do hope they will slow down a bit if things like this are getting missed. I hope it doesn''t turn into a pattern.

I hope not too.


And what troubles me just as much, if not more is the less than satisfactory response these individuals have initially gotten.

For me, if I''m upset about something, a heartfelt "We''re/I''m very sorry, etc." will go a long way with me...

This is a prime example of the real downside to online buying. It''s such a hassle if a piece isn''t right, and online company''s must know this, you''d think things would be scrutenized thoroughly before shipping.


hot4, hope things work out for you.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/8/2007 9:33:44 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 2/8/2007 9:16:05 AM
Author: mrssalvo


true, at that''s just 2 that we know of. I know the company as a whole is growing incredibly quickly but I do hope they will slow down a bit if things like this are getting missed. I hope it doesn''t turn into a pattern.

I hope not too.


And what troubles me just as much, if not more is the less than satisfactory response these individuals have initially gotten.

For me, if I''m upset about something, a heartfelt ''We''re/I''m very sorry, etc.'' will go a long way with me...

This is a prime example of the real downside to online buying. It''s such a hassle if a piece isn''t right, and online company''s must know this, you''d think things would be scrutenized thoroughly before shipping.


hot4, hope things work out for you.

I hope this isn''t a pattern as well. I hope your ring is fixed and back to you soon!!! Keep us posted!!

 

[lumpkin]

I am sorry as well. I hope WF fixes your ring pronto and provides you with good customer service in the meantime.

 

[Harriet]

My setting is off too, but I'm getting great service. I'll see if John Pollard aka John Quixote can put you in touch with the right people. My sales rep is Katie, and she couldn't be more helpful.

 

[Lynn B]

Ohhhhhh, Dana, THAT is a bummer and a half. I am soooooooo sorry.

I am sure WF will make it right in record time for you (although being half a planet away unfortunately won''t help with the "timeliness" of it

)

Please keep us posted... and don''t forget to post lots of pictures when you get that beauty back!

Lynn

 

[belle]

Date: 2/8/2007 9:33:44 AM
Author: Ellen

And what troubles me just as much, if not more is the less than satisfactory response these individuals have initially gotten.

For me, if I''m upset about something, a heartfelt ''We''re/I''m very sorry, etc.'' will go a long way with me...

This is a prime example of the real downside to online buying. It''s such a hassle if a piece isn''t right, and online company''s must know this, you''d think things would be scrutenized thoroughly before shipping.


hot4, hope things work out for you.

absolutely ellen. i think many underestimate the power of those words.


dana, i''m sorry this happened. i hope you get your ring back in perfect condition and that you are able to look past this disappointing inconvenience and enjoy your ring.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 2/8/2007 4:27:42 AM
Author:hot4teacher
Konnichiwa!

Well, our custom engagament ring from Whiteflash came in on Monday. We''re a little dissappointed, I suppose you could say. While it is a beautiful ring

, there was one discrepancy that has let us down. The head on it ''leans'' to one side, noticeable even to an amateur like myself.

Overall, I can''t say this has been a very positive experience. Maybe reading all of the positive reviews on PS gave me a false sense of how the experience was going to be. We worked with Bob Hoskins from the beginning. I can''t say I got that ''warm fuzzy feeling'' inside that I was a valued customer with our emails.

I think the one part that really disappointed me was when the ring was finished and shipped without any notification or pictures of the finished product. Granted I live in Japan (I work for the DOD), and live 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard time, I was very much surprised of what happened.

I was notified that the ring had been shipped and was given a tracking number. You could imagine after waiting several days to see pictures of the final product, this email was pretty shocking. I had emailed Bob and asked how it could have been mailed without me receiving pictures. To make a long story short, I was told that since they had not heard from me after they sent the email, they assumed everything was OK. That was another ''whammy'' of an email. I don''t think that is a practice most vendors use; no return email means everything must be good to go. (On a side note, even it was sent to a junk email folder or had never arrived at all, would it still be fair to proceed with no acknowledgement from the buyer? FWIW,I checked my junk email folder and there were no emails...

)

The other disturbing part is how long WF waited before when it was ''finished'' and when they shipped it. I don''t think it could have been more than a few hours. Now, even if I lived in the states, I don''t think it would be fair to give someone a few hours after an email and expect a reply. Add that I live 14 hours ahead of EST, and if the email had arrived, it would have been around midnight perhaps. Let''s say they waited 5 hours before shipping it, that brings me to 5am. Maybe I don''t fit the norm, but I don''t check email at 530am before my hour+ commute to work. (Part of me felt like since they weren''t looking for a reply, that I would get what I get and that''s the end of the purchase).

That brings us to Monday and we get the ring. I emailed Bob twice and had at least thought I''d get a ''sorry you weren''t satisfied, what can we do to correct the situation...'', but instead I only got an email from Leslie with a return authorization number and helpful directions on shipping it back to WF.

The bright side is hopefully they can fix the tilted head on the ring, we get it back safely, and life goes on. But wouldn''t have it been great to be able to reflect back and look at each other and say, ''that was a great experience and we can''t wait to tell everyone how exciting this journey was.''

We do love the diamond and without the discrepancy, I think the ring would have been perfect. I just can''t say this was a positive experience...especially for something so special that would be celebrated for a long time. I now have stronger feelings that having a positive experience is a major part of overall product satisfaction.

Dana

this has happened before, and considering WF has said again and again that they wish to learn from this stuff, it might be in their best interests to follow up with a phone call if there is no reply via email.

It''s a WONDERFUL thing that they are so willing to fix their mistakes... but I don''t think they used to make as many mistakes. Something''s getting rushed in their process to be quick and this is exactly why I hesitated to use them even though I know in the end what I would get would be nice. The two week turnaround both tempted me and scared me off. I do hope that in the end all you think about is your lovely ring...

 

[Mara]

sorry to hear about the ring troubles!! it's really odd there were no pictures sent out as i also thought that was standard practice.

i have to say that as experienced as Bob is reputed to be (i personally have not worked with him) that i have heard from others that sometimes his 'bedside manner' leaves something to be desired. he is not warm and fuzzy and he doesn't hand-hold either. he expects you to trust him and his expertise and that is that. for some people that really works...but i don't think we could ever work together (kinda like me and leon mege most likely). i do know that some people really love that 'no nonsense' style though and some rave about him, so it can also be a case of just not *clicking* with your sales rep (and i would just also throw out here and encourage anyone who does not feel that click with their sales rep or contact at ANY company to ask to work with someone else because different personalities can come into play and i do think it's important to work with someone who 'gets' what you are talking about and will be the right FIT for your buying style).

in any case, WF will definitely make it right but cehra you have a wonderful point about 'gosh this shouldn't be happening so often'...maybe we heard 2 of the only cases, maybe not....but they do have some work to do it seems. it does not shake my confidence in them personally based on my numerous experiences, but custom rings can be daunting and yes i do think that in general they probably deserve more attention and personal care than sometimes they get.

good luck in getting things worked out to your satisfaction!!! if you have not already, i highly recommend contacting John Pollard at WF as he is the customer care advocate there and would definitely assist you.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 2/8/2007 4:27:42 AM
Author:hot4teacher
Konnichiwa!


Well, our custom engagament ring from Whiteflash came in on Monday. We''re a little dissappointed, I suppose you could say. While it is a beautiful ring

, there was one discrepancy that has let us down. The head on it ''leans'' to one side, noticeable even to an amateur like myself.


Overall, I can''t say this has been a very positive experience. Maybe reading all of the positive reviews on PS gave me a false sense of how the experience was going to be. We worked with Bob Hoskins from the beginning. I can''t say I got that ''warm fuzzy feeling'' inside that I was a valued customer with our emails.


I think the one part that really disappointed me was when the ring was finished and shipped without any notification or pictures of the finished product. Granted I live in Japan (I work for the DOD), and live 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard time, I was very much surprised of what happened.


I was notified that the ring had been shipped and was given a tracking number. You could imagine after waiting several days to see pictures of the final product, this email was pretty shocking. I had emailed Bob and asked how it could have been mailed without me receiving pictures. To make a long story short, I was told that since they had not heard from me after they sent the email, they assumed everything was OK. That was another ''whammy'' of an email. I don''t think that is a practice most vendors use; no return email means everything must be good to go. (On a side note, even it was sent to a junk email folder or had never arrived at all, would it still be fair to proceed with no acknowledgement from the buyer? FWIW,I checked my junk email folder and there were no emails...

)


The other disturbing part is how long WF waited before when it was ''finished'' and when they shipped it. I don''t think it could have been more than a few hours. Now, even if I lived in the states, I don''t think it would be fair to give someone a few hours after an email and expect a reply. Add that I live 14 hours ahead of EST, and if the email had arrived, it would have been around midnight perhaps. Let''s say they waited 5 hours before shipping it, that brings me to 5am. Maybe I don''t fit the norm, but I don''t check email at 530am before my hour+ commute to work. (Part of me felt like since they weren''t looking for a reply, that I would get what I get and that''s the end of the purchase).


That brings us to Monday and we get the ring. I emailed Bob twice and had at least thought I''d get a ''sorry you weren''t satisfied, what can we do to correct the situation...'', but instead I only got an email from Leslie with a return authorization number and helpful directions on shipping it back to WF.


The bright side is hopefully they can fix the tilted head on the ring, we get it back safely, and life goes on. But wouldn''t have it been great to be able to reflect back and look at each other and say, ''that was a great experience and we can''t wait to tell everyone how exciting this journey was.''


We do love the diamond and without the discrepancy, I think the ring would have been perfect. I just can''t say this was a positive experience...especially for something so special that would be celebrated for a long time. I now have stronger feelings that having a positive experience is a major part of overall product satisfaction.


Dana

I am so soory to hear this is happening Dana. I can FULLY sympathize with you and what you are feeling. We are going through the same thing with WF right now and it has most certainly put a damper on the experience. I feel like our stories are VERY identical and disturbing in fact.
We also had issues with our setting being tilted and off kilter . . . if it makes you feel any better, the pictures may or may not have displayed the problem, so even if you got pictures you might have not noticed the problem till it arrived.

WF is currently in the process of remaking my ring and I am hoping the end result will be great but the experience of the let down and the shipping back and forth and the waiting with anticipation is more stress than I like or feel up to dealing with.

I will also STRONGLY suggest to WF that they retrain some of their sales reps to speak and interact with their customers in a more professional manner. I also never got the "warm fuzzy" feeling from my sales rep . . . from day 1 I felt that I bent over backwards to generate a prefessional "relationship" with my sales rep and always felt like he spoke "down" to me and made no real effort to give me a feeling of comfort or joy in the process. The enthusiasm of the long time PSers on here is what kept me going down the WF road. I will say again here as I have said before that my diamond is GORGEOUS and I wouldn''t change that for anything but had I to do it all over again, I would have bought the setting somewhere else.

Coming back to the rude sales rep. His first response to my indicating that there was a problem with the setting was to yell . . . and I do mean yell . . . over the phone at me and this is what he said "There is NOTHING wrong with that ring and I don''t know what your boyfriend is talking about. IS he looking at that ring through a MICROSCOPE? "
I practically dropped the phone. I am a really non-confrontational person, I was brought up in a culture where as a woman I was conditioned to not raise my voice and even though I am VERY americanized as my parents would say . . . I still have a tough time with rudeness and defending myself in a situation that is unfair (the whole turn the other cheek thing). Anyway, long story short, the woman at the front desk who answered the phone at WF did SUCH an AMAZING job helping me feel like they would fix it and were SORRY and the sales rep undid that in a matter of seconds.

I feel for you, Dana and I hope we both have a satisfactory resolution to our ring issues.
BTW, the folks here did a good job helping me stay calm during the worst of the process.

-hikerchick

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 2/8/2007 11:23:57 AM
Author: Mara
sorry to hear about the ring troubles!! it''s really odd there were no pictures sent out as i also thought that was standard practice.


i have to say that as experienced as Bob is reputed to be (i personally have not worked with him) that i have heard from others that sometimes his ''bedside manner'' leaves something to be desired. he is not warm and fuzzy and he doesn''t hand-hold either. he expects you to trust him and his expertise and that is that. for some people that really works...but i don''t think we could ever work together (kinda like me and leon mege most likely). i do know that some people really love that ''no nonsense'' style though and some rave about him, so it can also be a case of just not *clicking* with your sales rep (and i would just also throw out here and encourage anyone who does not feel that click with their sales rep or contact at ANY company to ask to work with someone else because different personalities can come into play and i do think it''s important to work with someone who ''gets'' what you are talking about and will be the right FIT for your buying style).


in any case, WF will definitely make it right but cehra you have a wonderful point about ''gosh this shouldn''t be happening so often''...maybe we heard 2 of the only cases, maybe not....but they do have some work to do it seems. it does not shake my confidence in them personally based on my numerous experiences, but custom rings can be daunting and yes i do think that in general they probably deserve more attention and personal care than sometimes they get.


good luck in getting things worked out to your satisfaction!!! if you have not already, i highly recommend contacting John Pollard at WF as he is the customer care advocate there and would definitely assist you.

Mara, you have made an EXCELLENT point here that I would like to second. I REALLY should have asked for a different sales rep, I didn''t click with my sales rep and I had a bad feeling from the start but felt it would be rude on my part to request another sales rep but now in hindsight, I wish I had and will NEVER make the mistake of trying to make an uncomfortable situation better again. Instead of asking for a different sales rep I BENT OVER BACKWARDS during my conversations with him to be super sweet and accomodating and thankful to the point where I began to resent the fact that I was doing the his work, my fault entirely because I should have just switched reps . . . however, there is a BIG difference between different personalities and just plain rude and I think it would be in WF''s best interest to make sure their sales reps and all excellent with customer service (a really important need when dealing with this online)

Secondly, my ring was NOT a custom piece, I specifically chose NOT to go custom because I had that woman''s intuition thing that made me reluctant that WF would be able to provide a custom piece I would be ahhpy with . . . I chose for this reason one of their "stock" pieces . . . however, I still had a problem so I don''t think really this is a custom work issue but truly a "rush" job where rings are being sent out without a final inspection (Which shocks me). My rep even said to us that he "didn''t see the ring before it was shipped" . . . which sends up red flags right away.

Just my $0.02

 

[kenny]

Ouch.
Can you imagine how some WF sales folks feel about this forum?

Imagine if there was a Home Depot forum where you could complain about "Tom" at the Dallas Home Depot.
Tom's boss would read the forum and take action.
What a different world it would be for customer service.

I'm not saying don't complain here.
That is one of the beauties of PS.
PS brings WF business, but it also holds their feet to the fire from time to time.

We are very lucky to have this resource.

 

[E B]

Date: 2/8/2007 10:16:29 AM
Author: Harriet
My setting is off too, but I''m getting great service. I''ll see if John Pollard aka John Quixote can put you in touch with the right people. My sales rep is Katie, and she couldn''t be more helpful.

I second trying to contact John Pollard. When I had my hiccup with WF, he came to the rescue and was very kind.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 2/8/2007 12:01:08 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 2/8/2007 10:16:29 AM
Author: Harriet
My setting is off too, but I''m getting great service. I''ll see if John Pollard aka John Quixote can put you in touch with the right people. My sales rep is Katie, and she couldn''t be more helpful.

I second trying to contact John Pollard. When I had my hiccup with WF, he came to the rescue and was very kind.

I''ve already forwarded this thread to him. Good luck!

 

[bosoxbw]

Date: 2/8/2007 12:01:08 PM
Author: EBree

I second trying to contact John Pollard. When I had my hiccup with WF, he came to the rescue and was very kind.

While I do not doubt John Pollard is extremely helpful, not all problems at WF should have to go far up the chain of command to get addressed. It does seem that at least a few of the sales reps have a very defensive attitude towards customer concerns/complaints, and at some point, as helpful as the higher ups can be if you complain enough, you have to wonder why those same people do not seem to be instilling good customer service skills in their employees.

 

[E B]

Date: 2/8/2007 12:52:07 PM
Author: bosoxbw

Date: 2/8/2007 12:01:08 PM

Author: EBree


I second trying to contact John Pollard. When I had my hiccup with WF, he came to the rescue and was very kind.

While I do not doubt John Pollard is extremely helpful, not all problems at WF should have to go far up the chain of command to get addressed. It does seem that at least a few of the sales reps have a very defensive attitude towards customer concerns/complaints, and at some point, as helpful as the higher ups can be if you complain enough, you have to wonder why those same people do not seem to be instilling good customer service skills in their employees.

I absolutely agree, as I had the same problem. Several reps at WF see this board (and will no doubt see this thread), so hopefully something will be done about recent issues with customer service. Until then, I was just trying to recommend who I felt was the most helpful at WF for hot4teacher's problem.

 

[Mara]

this forum is a total double edged sword ... i agree!! it gives WF hugely positive press but yes when something goes wrong, that same public airing and dissection happens as well.

however for the most part, if WF was smart (and i know they are), they would take what is constantly brought up on here (aka customer service, training, quality control (huge)) to heart and address things (and i know they do)...and really for the sales reps, what is a little constructive criticism from those you are there to help? i would imagine this kind of feedback IS overall very helpful. if i were WF i might even send out a little 'how was your experience' survey after the fact to really see who the shining stars are there and who might need a wee bit of improvement. it's never a BAD thing in my opinion to get that constructive feedback.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Dana,

First, if you did not hear “I’m sorry” I hope you’ll accept our apologies now; both for the inconvenience and for not having heard that immediately, when we shipped without your go-ahead. I know Lesley has thanked you for your patience and I'll do that again here. I want to be sure you were told that we did send photos before shipping (they were time stamped 12:33 CST on 1/22 in our system) and I'm sorry you didn’t receive them. Regardless, we should never have sent the ring without your approval.

When we resent photos on 1/24 Dana replied “the ring looks great” (it was still in transit) so the issue of concern is not something she would have seen in the images apparently. Regardless, the customer should have had the opportunity to reply before it was shipped and she did not. We dropped the ball.

From our side on custom rings; once we receive approval of the wax photos the process is intended to expedite the final product.Clients usually approve the photos quickly and our shipping people jumped the gun here.We can learn from this experience; it’s a good idea on overseas orders to be sure that we delay the wait-time for approval by a day.

We will address this concern as soon as we receive the ring and can inspect it.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Profile and ''finger'' view.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/8/2007 1:04:42 PM
Author: Mara
this forum is a total double edged sword ... i agree!! it gives WF hugely positive press but yes when something goes wrong, that same public airing and dissection happens as well.

however for the most part, if WF was smart (and i know they are), they would take what is constantly brought up on here (aka customer service, training, quality control (huge)) to heart and address things (and i know they do)...and really for the sales reps, what is a little constructive criticism from those you are there to help? i would imagine this kind of feedback IS overall very helpful. if i were WF i might even send out a little ''how was your experience'' survey after the fact to really see who the shining stars are there and who might need a wee bit of improvement. it''s never a BAD thing in my opinion to get that constructive feedback.

I think that''s a great idea.

 

[luckystar112]

For what it''s worth it is a BEAUTIFUL ring.

I''ve seriously been begging my boyfriend to set an appointment at whiteflash. He works ONE FREAKING BLOCK AWAY. He could WALK there. ERRRRR.
Some guy told my bf that he got a diamond ring at Diamond Cutters Int''l for a great price and now he''s telling me he might want to look there. Needless to say I''ve been freaking out, and not in a good way. Why don''t boys listen?

I''m way off topic...when my mind starts running it starts runninnnng yaknowwhatimean?

Anyway, it is a beautiful ring and I wish it was on my finger. I hope they fix it for you! I think it sounds like some of the sales reps need a stern talking to, and I think that maybe there should be someone (of if there is already someone, someone else) in charge of making sure the ring is perfect before shipment. Even if they have to use a level! lol. I wonder if it is the same person who does all the custom work?

 

[rockzilla]

I would say this forum is just as valuable for WF as it is for consumers. It appears that PS represents their "core" customer -- someone who wants a high quality, well cut stone and someone who is pretty darn picky about the workmanship of the jewelry itself. WF is catering to the PS community, and it shows (Idealscope images, the Bellerina pendant, etc).

How many other merchants have access to the kind of immediate feedback that WF does? How many times have you gone to a restaurant, the food or the service was mediocre/bordering on bad, but you didn''t say anything? Granted, an important ring is a bit different than a meal out, but if the management of the restaurant was aware of his/her unsatisfied customers, they could make changes that would benefit the business in the long run. WF has the advantage that their customers are willing to speak out on this forum about the good and the bad...and if they''re smart they''ll use this information to their benefit.

RZ

PS I''ve noticed a few times where customers who had issues with WF had their ring photos posted on here by the WF staff later in the thread...I want to say I hope they are getting the customer''s permission before doing this. Even though someone on PS is most likely going to post the photos themselves, I think it is bad form for the vendor to "show the world" without the OK of the customer...just makes them seem a bit defensive if they do.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 2/8/2007 1:11:18 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 2/8/2007 1:04:42 PM
Author: Mara
this forum is a total double edged sword ... i agree!! it gives WF hugely positive press but yes when something goes wrong, that same public airing and dissection happens as well.

however for the most part, if WF was smart (and i know they are), they would take what is constantly brought up on here (aka customer service, training, quality control (huge)) to heart and address things (and i know they do)...and really for the sales reps, what is a little constructive criticism from those you are there to help? i would imagine this kind of feedback IS overall very helpful. if i were WF i might even send out a little ''how was your experience'' survey after the fact to really see who the shining stars are there and who might need a wee bit of improvement. it''s never a BAD thing in my opinion to get that constructive feedback.

I think that''s a great idea.

Me too.

 

[onedrop]

Well this seems to be a clear example where the pictures don''t tell the whole story. I don''t see the "leaning" myself. I am not questioning the fact that the head is leaning IRL, it''s just that I am surprised at how you don''t see that in pics. In any event I hope the problem is corrected ASAP.

Also wanted to concur about resorting to going up the chain of command to get something corrected. John Q., as wonderful as he is, can''t and shouldn''t have to resolve every issue. And as Mara said, it would be nice for WF and any other vendor to take the missteps and turn them into ways to improve customer service.