Ring sizing...how should a sales consultant size a client?

[yeyejessi]

Hi guys.. I do employee training for a small jewelry company. I''m looking for a good technique for sizing a client for a ring. I''m looking for that special touch that really makes a customer feel special....

 

[belle]

i may be in the minority but i don't want anyone to use a 'special touch' to make me 'feel special' during RING SIZING.
getting the ring sized right will be special enough for me. no extra 'special touches' needed.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 10/15/2007 6:11:53 PM
Author: belle
i may be in the minority but i don''t want anyone to use a special touch to make me feel special during RING SIZING.

getting the ring sized right will be special enough for me. no extra special touches needed.

Hahaha! I agree with belle wholeheartedly. I don''t know if you''re trying to be creepy or not, but a "special touch" during ring sizing sure sounds that way.

 

[denverappraiser]

Calibrate your sizers to the mandrels that your bench workers are using. Measure every single one. They often are off by as much as a ¼ of a size when you buy them and it’s worth the trouble to be picky as hell because any error in the tool will get repeated on every customer until you finally get frustrated and throw the thing out.

Keep the ring sizer clean and replace them when they get worn. Don’t reach into a drawer full of junk to fish it and then hand it to the customer the way the guys at the garage do with a ballpoint pen (by the way, don’t do this with pens either). Store it somewhere reasonable. If you want to look high end, use individual rings stored in a compact display instead of one of those things with 20 samples strung together onto a hoop.

Don’t ask people to read those little labels and pick which one is right. '5-' in microscopic type means that it's a little bit less than a 5 to anyone but a jeweler (to the jewelers that means 5 1/2). Ask what size they think they are or make a guess if they have no idea, hand them the appropriate ring and tell them specifically what size it is as you give it to them. Watch them put it on and take it off and give your advice. Don’t try to do it for them.

Don’t use the cheapest sizers you can buy. The more expensive ones really are better. They look better, they aren’t as sharp and they provide more accurate and repeatable results.

Practice with each other and a variety of people so you get good at getting the right answer. Like many things, it’s not as easy as it seems at first glance and you shouldn’t be using customers for practice. They should be good at it before they hit the sales floor. Rings fit differently on fat fingers, on men, on children, on arthritic knuckles, etc. Practice in advance.

Have a bottle of windex and some tissues handy to help get it off if they cram on one that’s a little too tight. Don’t wait until they scrape the skin off of their knuckles before you offer it.

Nothing says that you're taking your customers seriously more than providing the right answer every time.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

 

[swingirl]

Please don''t hand me a metal loop with thick ring samples that are only in half sizes. And don''t look bored or annoyed that I''ve only come in to get a ring sized and not buy a $40,000 ring from you.

 

[KED75]

I''m normally only a lurker - but I just HAD to chime in on this one. Whatever you do, don''t do what Tiffany & Co. did to me recently. The sales associate, here in Seattle, told me that "to size the ring to your finger would stress the metal so much that it would be impossible." He then informed me that I would have to have the ring (A Legacy e-ring, if it matters) custom made, which, considering all the work that would have to be done to set the tiny side diamonds and whatnot, would be so expensive he was sure it was impractical. Mind you, he gave this speech in reaction to my friend saying that since I liked the ring, I should have him take it out of the case and let me look at it. So, basically this was his declination to do so. I did not get to see the ring, and I had the added bonus of being humiliated about my gigantic fingers in front of a whole bunch of other customers.

I wear a size 9.5 ring, which I know is somewhat large, especially by Pricescope standards, where everyone has tiny fingers, but I have to say I was MORE than a little taken aback. My two friends were in there with me...we were just having an impromptu ring-ogling session, so I have witnesses to this whole fiasco.

On the up-side, thanks to Pricescope we just had my engagement ring custom made by Brian Knox with a diamond by Whiteflash, and they were both awesome and wonderful to work with. I was going to post pictures of that (when I get it) as my first post, but this was too delicious of a story not to share.