Tiffany''s has made me so angry

[glitterata]

Here''s another idea to confuse your wife: order catalogues from Zales, Cartier, Harry Winston''s, etc. etc., so she won''t know where the ring will be coming from.

 

[Kaleigh]

I''m glad she took your complaint seriously and look forward to what she has to say once she gets back to you.

 

[britboy]

Well Tiffany''s called back. I''m not sure how i feel about the offer.

The have offered to pay for the anniversary dinner (I have a table booked at a local restaurant here in Minneapolis).

They are checking out why this mistake happened and how it can avoided in the future - although a little late for my situation.

Damn - I just wish this had never happened in the first place. I would much rather see a genuine surprise on my beautiful wife''s face than a free meal. Ugghhh.

 

[Maxine]

WOW.....personally, I think Tiffany''s could do a lot more.......just my opinion....as you said, it''s not so much the $ aspect of the whole thing.........

 

[Kaleigh]

I still think there is a way to solve this. Why not as people have suggested earlier give her something from Tiff''s at dinner, and then present her with the real present when you get home. Maybe you could get the manager to spring for the free gift from Tiff''s. Could be from their silver collection or a beautiful chrystal vase, etc.... Just a thought.

 

[Maxine]

I was thinking.....how about an upgrade(on them) to whatever you got - now or in the future ...they could surprise you / her with it!

 

[ame]

I think dinner is not really a good reimbursement, I agree with the tiffany silver gift. Especially if you were taking her to a really expensive restaurant.

 

[EZ]

Date: 7/27/2005 5:28:25 PM
Author: glitterata
Here''s another idea to confuse your wife: order catalogues from Zales, Cartier, Harry Winston''s, etc. etc., so she won''t know where the ring will be coming from.

I like it.

Even if Tiffany''s comes up with something great - this is another twist to the plot and, as mentioned, women seem to love a good mystery...

 

[Joane]

Date: 7/27/2005 6:39:44 PM
Author: kaleigh
I still think there is a way to solve this. Why not as people have suggested earlier give her something from Tiff''s at dinner, and then present her with the real present when you get home. Maybe you could get the manager to spring for the free gift from Tiff''s. Could be from their silver collection or a beautiful chrystal vase, etc.... Just a thought.

Sorry this happened, britboy but I do like kaleigh''s idea. It brings the element of surprise back into it. In fact, it''s an idea you could have done to good effect even if the slip-up hadn''t happened.

 

[FireGoddess]

This situation is unfortunate, but she doesn''t know exactly WHAT you got her at Tiff''s does she? It does somewhat dampen the surprise that she is getting something from the store at all...but I would still want the item, especially if I didn''t know what it was! Sometimes, there IS something about opening up that little blue box, I don''t care what anyone says otherwise.

I''d personally take the gratis dinner and give her the gift...maybe throw her off the scent by getting an empty Tiffany''s box and putting something else in there...and then giving her the real Tiffany''s gift later in the evening when she''s not expecting it cuz she thinks she''s already gotten it, as others have mentioned.

 

[twinkletoes]

If I had an inkling that I might be getting something from Tiffany''s (and even if I didn''t) and on the night of the dinner received some small silver gift as my 10 yr anniversary present... I''d be a little dissappointed.

If she doesn''t know what you bought for her, it''s still a surprise! I understand why you are upset, but not all is lost. Maybe get her some small silver Tiffany piece to present to her first (before dinner)...and then give her the *KABOOM* big present and the end of dinner.

apertif & digestif! can''t go wrong with that!

I''m actually impressed by Tiffany''s offer to pay for your anniversary dinner. I''d say take it gracefully and enjoy the evening with your wife. What else can they do? What happened happened, they listened to your complaint, apologized to you, made and offer and are looking into what went wrong to prevent such things in the future. What more can you expect/ask?

Why do you believe your wife won''t be genuinely surprised with whatever it is you bought for her? TRUST ME, she''ll light up!!

 

[rosy]

You should have Tiffany''s pay for the dinner & the little gift to give during the dinner. Afterwords you can take her for a stroll & propose. Don''t forget to order the most expensive things on the menu & a lot of appetizers & desserts !!!!

 

[MissAva]

What about a monogramed keychain? Something small that she can carry with her everywher? Tiffanys does lovely hand engraving (I think it is about 10$ a letter) and they have some really spiffy keychains. Perhaps you could do that for her as well. I am sorry you are feeling unstatisfied with their offer. However if you come back to them with soemthing reasonable I cannot imagine them saying no.

 

[EZ]

Reasonable is key. They have offered to pay for dinner and depending on the resturant, course, drinks, dinner wine, dessert, tip (don't forget to include a nice tip!) that can easily run over the $200 range. If you want to try and bargain the dinner off on something like a bracelet or necklace remember that your original complaint was about the surprise and atmospnere - not the monentary value.

Nothing can relace your expectations of the surprise but I think that, given the comments here, you can still have a great surprise and a (dare I say it) "free lunch". It will just be a surprise that was diffrent from the one you were expecting. This can still be a win-win. (Oy, has anyone used that term in the last five years?)

bon courage britboy

 

[britboy]

Well here are my thoughts after sleeping on the issue and I would appreciate your feedback:

1) Tiffany''s screwed up and totally spoiled my planned 10th anniversary surprise

2) When I expressed how upset and angry I was Tiffany''s (the sales manager, at this point) handled the situation very sympatheically, took ownership of the issue and expressed, I feel, genuine concern about the situation.

3) The manager called me later that afternoon to offer paying for the anniversary dinner

I think I like the idea that a lot of you mentioned of giving a "decoy" gift, such as a bracelet or earings, at the beginning of the dinner and then surprising her with the ring towards the end of the meal. This way there would still be a genuine surprise.

Another idea I had, and this might be a bit silly - so help me out here, is to ask Tiffany''s to provide a breakfast for us on the anniversary morning at the store (just before they''re open). This would also provide a surprise and would be quite a unique experience. BTW I have never seen the movie, so I''m not sure if Audrey Hepburn even has breakfast at Tiffany''s.

I can understand that any business of any kind can make a mistake - though i''m still angry that this mistake happened the way it did - but I do accept that these mistakes can and will happen. I feel that this is how a reputation is put to the test, when things don''t go right, how does the company treat the customer.

I believe at this point Tiffany''s is trying to do the right thing...but I think I was expecting something a little more on the inventive side than just financial renumeration. I thought there were a lot of good idea''s on this board...maybe some of you guys should work for Tiffany''s... you certainly seem to know your stuff!

Thanks for all your help and support!

-matthew

 

[Kaleigh]

I haven''t seen the movie either but love the idea of having breakfast there before the store opens. They could really do a great job and all would be well again. I say go for it!!!!

 

[Maxine]

Wow!!! Breakfast at Tiffany''s!!! Great idea.............(saw the movie, but it was soooooooo long ago...)

 

[ammayernyc]

I think the breakfast sounds like a wonderful idea, but it''s never going to happen. A business will not close themselves, or even open early, just for you. They made a horrible mistake by sending you something when they promised you they wouldn''t, but I seriously doubt that they will put themselves out like that for such an incedent.

Here is my suggestion:

They offered to pay for your dinner. Make sure that doesn''t have a price limit and includes everything. Give your wife a small engraved thing before the dinner and tell her the dinner is on them because they misspelled her name the first time. Have a fantastic dinner and then surprise her with the ring after dessert.

 

[widget]

Breakfast at Tiffanys would be fabulous fun, but I wonder if asking them to open the store early and provide a catered meal isn't a bit much....unless of course you're buying a $50,000+ bauble from them!

I think their offer of buying your dinner is actually very nice. I'd take it.

JMO
widget

PS: Audrey didn't actually eat breakfast at Tiffany's. It was sort of metaphorical...like PSers gobbling up eyecandy...

 

[heart prongs]

...please tell us about the ring!!!

 

[MissAva]

Honestly if I were Tiffanys I would turn you down flat. Breakfast there is waaayy to much to ask for in my opinion. You would have had to bought something that was well over 7 figures to even get me to mildly consider that reasonable. I think their offer to treat you to dinner i smroe then fair. You say it isnt about money but think about all the money and time they would have to put into a breakfast for you. Also opening the store before Mall hours....all the people it would cost them a ton. It is your choice of course, but I think that if you come across as greedy that they will get annoyed.

 

[laughinggravy]

Woah AmandaPanda that is a really nifty idea!!! Verrrrry creative and plausible! You''re goooood!!!

Britboy the dinner idea might sound a little mundane but if it''s a nice restaurant and you have all the trimmings (and I like the point about a good tip) then it could work out to be quite generous. But maybe you wanted to pay for the meal and you''re looking for something more like a replacement '' surprise'' , as it were? I can totally understand but that''s very hard to think up. The freebie silver thingy is a good idea as a divertionary tactic!

What about they pay for an activity/event: hot air balloon ride, concert tickets? Something of that kind?

She''s going to be delighted you know. Don''t let their cock up distract you from the main thing, however it pans out, she''ll be delighted! That''s the most important thing.

Congrats for thinking up her surprise and buying something so special.

Abi

 

[finerthings]

and.....you forgot to tell us about the ring!!!!

 

[EZ]

Keep the ring under wraps until your wife gets to see it first. Let everyone here anticipate the surprise too!

btw - I thought the Breakfast idea was truly classy! I didn''t realize it might cost so much myself until I read on in the post. At the minimum the store would need the manager (or her representative), a caterer, and security. They would probably need to call in a rider on their insurance and it all starts adding up. Still - it was a truly classy idea!

 

[twinkletoes]

I''m not a big fan of the Breakfast and Tiffany''s idea. I would feel totally awkward having a meal inside a retail store. Anyways, it wouldn''t happen and I feel it''s way too much to ask.

Regardless of the amount of money spent I just think their transgression wasn''t that great. Yes, they sent mail to your home but they did NOT ruin the surprise. You still have your secret bling-ring, you still have your nice dinner (paid for now), and you still have 10 wonderful years with your wife to celebrate! I think as a man you think competitively and feel your plans were ruined when in fact you still have everything except for the inkling that *maybe* you got your wife something from Tiffany''s. It could be a silver bracelet, toasting glasses, pearl earrings, diamonds, an eternity ring, a keyring, yellow gold, white gold, platinum, etc. It''s still a surprise! I mean, we at price scope all know you got her something from Tiffany''s and look at all the "what did you get her?" responses you received! We''ll be surprised even with the knowledge that it''ll come in a little blue box. Your wife still has no idea! It will be a great surprise! I say put your worries away and focus on all that you have to celebrate.

Congrats on your anniversary btw!

 

[FireGoddess]

I'm not a big fan of the breakfast in the store idea either. Actually, in the movie, Audrey Hepburn eats a donut and drinks a coffee outside the store, gazing into the store windows...that's all. Not a very good movie either, IMHO. But that's beside the point. Honestly, I'd take the free anniversary dinner offer and run. That's the best scenario at this point, IMO.

 

[Mara]

Date: 7/28/2005 10:20:59 AM
Author: EZ
Reasonable is key. They have offered to pay for dinner and depending on the resturant, course, drinks, dinner wine, dessert, tip (don''t forget to include a nice tip!) that can easily run over the $200 range.

I saw this and was like..$200? That''s it!?

Wine itself can be $200!

Our most expensive dinner to date was in NYC and it cost a whopping $700 when all was said and done!

 

[ame]

Jesus #$^#! $700?! What the heck did you EAT?!

 

[MissAva]

In NYC there are some places where you can have salad and no alchol and spend 600-700 dollars per person. It is all in knowing where to go.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/28/2005 10:20:02 PM
Author: ame
Jesus #$^#! $700?! What the heck did you EAT?!

champagne & caviar.