told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRRRR

[marchesa6989]

so i've been shopping around for the diamond for a while and, having taken advice from pricescope, had a list of things to ask about each diamond that looked promising on paper. things like whether its eyeclean, if it has fluorescence how does it affect the stone, idealscope, how the stone performs etcetc.

now i knew things were already off when this particular PS vendor was reluctant to give me much information, instead telling me that the certificates were all there and if i don't like the stone i can just return it. but i kept pressing the point because their prices were cheaper and i thought that if i searched hard enough i'd find a good one. every time they came back with a stone that wasn't eye clean or had some other problem, of course i'd try search for another one and ask the same questions about that. seems logical right?

well i narrowed it down to 3 stones, which they then sent me pictures of, but one had very strong blue fluor, and the other 2 looked more like I1s to me than Si2 and had numerous black inclusions. i wanted to know if the first stone was milky and if the other 2 were prongable and what they looked like in real life. the person i spoke to said it would be hard to find out and again repeated i should just buy one. WELL after asking and continuing to call/live chat they finally told me that yes, the stone was completely milky and one of the other stones "looked black" and the other one "looked yellow with a bit of a hole in the table"

now if i had taken this person's brilliant advice and bought the stone i would've been presented with something that is the complete opposite of what i want and quite frankly sounds disgusting.

however what came next really made my blood boil. so after the 3 on my shortlist were proven to be not good, i then asked whether there were any more suggestions within my budget and fitting to my specifications. at which point i was told "LOOK we work on a small profit margin and you're already taking up too much time with one sale. we have people buying things from us everyday with no problem. i'm going to send you the link to one more stone and if you don't like it well then that's it."

WHAT??? WHAAATTTTT????

to say i'm angry is an understatement. maybe i'm not buying the biggest, most expensive diamond in the world but this means a lot to me. getting engaged is a big deal and to be so disrepectful, unhelpful and rude is beyond me. what happened to customer service? really the whole experience was unpleasant and i'm glad now to have moved on to another vendor who does charge more but is so lovely that it more than makes up for it.

i also at one point asked the rude vendor about a particular setting and whether it was possible to set the stone a bit lower and make the prongs smaller. NOPE! take it as it is, or take nothing at all.

well guess what...i'm taking nothing at all and taking my business elsewhere!

*end rant*

anyone else had a horrifying experience like this?

 

[yssie]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Eep! Time for a new vendor!

 

[marchesa6989]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Eep! Time for a new vendor!

exactly. i'm now working with union diamond, who are FANTASTIC!

i can't believe this other company would think that it's plausible to suggest i just fork out thousands of dollars on something i can't see without asking any questions. what sort of idiot do they think i am?

i truly have a sound mind to file a complaint.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

My guess is that you were dealing with a drop shipper that doesn't even have access to the stones. They have copies of the certs and that is probably it. When you deal with vendors such as Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin,etc., you are dealing with companies who have a stock of stones they have selected. If you are interested in knowing something about that diamond, they just get it out and examine it for you. Yes, they may cost a little more than some of the drop shippers. But on the other hand, they provide information than drop shippers can't easily provide. If you want to order a VS stone or above and understand what to look for in cut, you could be pretty safe ordering from one of these kinds of vendors. But not so much when you are trying to find a good SI2.

Yes, they were very rude and should have told you from the outset that they couldn't provide the kinds of answers you needed. But different vendors offer different levels of service depending on what kind of business they are operating,

 

[Imdanny]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Hi, is the part in quotes an actual quote or a paraphrase?

 

[marchesa6989]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

actual quotes unfortunately (give or take one or two words...i was too angry to record down the whole phone conversation)

i don't understand why they would affiliate themselves with PS and then provide that level of service. don't they know what it is we do on here? i stupidly assumed that because they were listed as a featured sponsor they would understand what people look for in a diamond.

 

[tuffyluvr]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

YUCK!!! Take your business elsewhere. It's actually probably a blessing that they were rude--you don't want to give those horrible people your hard-earned money in exchange for a crap stone!

 

[slg47]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

definitely time for a new vendor!

 

[Karl_K]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

There is never reason to be rude.
However with razor thin margins on internet diamonds something has to give if you want the absolute lowest price.
In this case it was good customer service where they would be willing to spend a lot of time with you.
I am not surprised it happened.
Move a bit upstream and get better service but it will cost a bit more.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Who is this vendor? Vendors that advertise here aren't equal .. I honestly believe that is why we continue to only recommend a handful.

 

[Laila619]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Who is this vendor? Vendors that advertise here aren't equal .. I honestly believe that is why we continue to only recommend a handful.

Yes, could you please share with us who it is? I think it would be really beneficial for other shoppers to know. That's the point of PS, to help other consumers.

I'm so sorry for your bad experience. That's horrible customer service!

 

[MissStepcut]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Honestly it sounds like they did the right thing: they didn't want to work with a discriminating customer so they ended the relationship. Better to know that before you proceed with a transaction!

 

[jewels2]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Who is this vendor? Vendors that advertise here aren't equal .. I honestly believe that is why we continue to only recommend a handful.

Yes, could you please share with us who it is? I think it would be really beneficial for other shoppers to know. That's the point of PS, to help other consumers.

I'm so sorry for your bad experience. That's horrible customer service!

I second this please

 

[tyty333]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Honestly it sounds like they did the right thing: they didn't want to work with a discriminating customer so they ended the relationship. Better to know that before you proceed with a transaction!

+1 There are certain vendors we recommend a lot because they have all the information that we need to make a decision.
Do they cost a little more? Yes. Sounds like you were working with more of a drop shipper that cant easily answer all
the questions we have here on PS. Time to move on.

 

[Enerchi]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

That is vile behaviour for a vendor to treat a potential customer in that manner.

Even if you were looking at a $1 diamond (yeah... right...cuz there are a ton of them available! ) it wouldn't matter. They put themselves on the internet to attract consumers and with that, comes customer service. Oh, wait --- clearly a class they skipped that day in "how to run a profitable business 101"

They may not know they lost you as a customer (yet), but if there is anyway you can post their business name/link/website, it may help others learn from your experience and then they end up losing a lot of potential customers.

As mentioned earlier, best to stick with the PS recommended vendors... Here's hoping your next experience is a much more favourable one!

 

[mrssalvo]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

I think you were asking them to do something they just aren't capable of doing. I think they did the right thing by telling you to look elsewhere, the way the went about it wasn't the best though and I'm sorry for that. I remember Leon turning down potential clients in the past too, for whatever reason. Just b/c a vendor is a PS vendor does not mean they are the cream of the crop. The one's that get their name repeated on here time and time again is because they have earned their reputations. Some vendors just cannot provide some of the info that GOG or Brian does b/c they do not have the tools nor the stones available to use. I'd suggest going with someone who at least has stone's in-house and the equipment to be able to tell you everything you'd want to know. Time is money and I can see where it's just not worth it for them to spend X amount of time hunting down things for you when their profits are small. It sounds like it was a good decision for them and hopefully it will work out better for you in the long run with the next vendor you choose.

 

[ruby59]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

JMO, but be happy that you saw the true colors of this vendor before you wasted your hard earned money. If he is acting like this now before the sale, can you imagine what it would be like if there was a problem after he had your money.

When I shop, be it inexpensive or costly, I expect a minimum amount of respect. And I refuse to pull teeth in getting my questions asked. If this is the way he conducts business, he will eventually implode. Small profit margins means nothing if he is trying to pawn off an inferior product and giving you attitude to boot.

 

[Circe]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

I think they were being honest - but completely tactless. A better salesperson might have regretfully indicated an inability to find you what you were looking for within your budget, and said they'd keep searching and get back to you. Phrasing it the way they did? Dumb.

That said, I sort of want a link to your milky stone, because I've had two vendors searching for THAT for ME for over three months with no luck. Where is the justice, I ask you!

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

I agree with the above to take it as good news that you discovered this is not the vendor for you before you got deeper into it. They have lots of competiton and you can surely find what you want elsewhere. Thank them for their time, wish them good luck in their future business, and move on without looking back.

 

[Mrs.W 514]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Ahh I know the feeling! That is completely uncalled for and really when they describe the stones like that do they actually expect you to buy something A few weeks ago I brought my e-ring back into the store I bought it from because the filigree on the bottom of the ring was cracked and ready to fall off!! The jeweler told me, and I quote, "Focus on the big things in life and stop obsessing about minute details" I was shocked and asked him "aren't you a jeweler? Don't you spend your entire day obsessing over small details? Isn't that your chosen career path, small details!!!"

In my opinion if you are going to drop thousands of dollars on a piece of jewelry, especially an e-ring, you deserve to have all of your questions answered no matter how numerous and invasive. Seriously they should know what pricescopers are like if they don't want to deal with people who know at least as much as they do about diamonds they should open a maul store and sell there frozen spit chunks to people who have no idea what they are buying.

Good luck with your new vendor and let us know if we can help

 

[madgenius]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

I hope that you choose to post the name of the vendor you were working with. If they think their profit margins are small now I wonder how small they will be when word gets out how they REALLY treat their customers. Given that they can only afford to spend so much time with a customer in order to remain profitable there were better ways to handle that situation (as others have already pointed out). If they are wise, perhaps they will take it as a teaching moment and use the feedback to improve the training of their salespeople and thereby INCREASE their business. Many good business do this. You also may want to consider that sending an email to the owner of the company you were dealing with explaining your customer experience and why you are taking your business elsewhere. Don't be mean of malicious about it but write it in the spirit of helping management to better understand what attracts and/or drives away customers so that they can improve their process. Either way, many of us would appreciate it if you would share the name of the vendor so we can also make decisions as informed consumers.

 

[kenny]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Please add my name to the long list of consumers who would like to know the name of this vendor.

PS admin has been very clear that being allowed to advertise on PS is not an endorsement.
If the vendor's behavior is egregious enough they can lose their sponsorship.

You are not slandering the business.
You are doing the world (and likely this vendor) the biggest favor you can.

If you are one of those if-you-can't-say-anything-nice-don't-say-anything-at-all people let me say this . . .
Your silence is not being nice; in fact it is rewarding this vendor for not being nice and ensuring he will continue to be not nice to future customers.

Telling us the vendor's name is being nice.

 

[marchesa6989]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

sorry for the late reply everyone (time zone difference)!

i greatly appreciate everyone's input and i agree that telling me that they can't provide what i need is fine, but the manner in which it was done so is just so offensive.

i will name the vendor, only to prevent other people from having the same experience, especially if they are making a special purchase. it is B2C jewels.

and thanks for the kind sentiment about finding something else...i have found something AMAZING and it's in the works so look for a new thread soon

 

[kenny]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

. . . i will name the vendor, only to prevent other people from having the same experience, especially if they are making a special purchase. it is B2C jewels.

Thanks for helping future customers.

I looked at B2Cjewels site and they do appear to be just a NYC diamond district drop shipper of the same virtual inventory available to others.

There are no actual pics of diamonds for sale.
Even the few stones they said they bought (even the ones with a "B2CJewels Grading Report" instead of a GIA or EGL report) only have sample image pics posted (though they DO provide a magnifying tool so you can look more closely at a diamond you are not considering buying. Hahahaha! )
There are no Idealscope pics and no ASET pics.

How can they compete?

 

[Gypsy]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

They may be a vendor that advertises on here but they aren't a Pricescope Vendor.

I would bring this issue to the attention of Andrey, he needs to know this.

 

[kenny]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

They may be a vendor that advertises on here but they aren't a Pricescope Vendor.

What's the difference?

 

[mastercut]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Absolutely unacceptable behaviour
I am always answering all the questions even if the customer asks the same question 20 times in 3 days Regardless whether it is a 5.000 or a 500 dollars stone.
Simply can´t understand this behaviour.

 

[madgenius]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Marchesa6989, thanks for sharing. I hope that B2C takes this as an opportunity to improve their business. Pricescopers may be demanding customers, but I believe we are also high value customers in that many of us spend more (some of us MUCH more) than the average consumer in this space. If B2C wants to continue to attract this type of customer I hope that they choose to work to shore up their challenges in the customer service area.

 

[Enerchi]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

Thank you Marchesa6989 for revealing the name of the vendor you had issues with. I do hope that moderators may be able to deal with this at the appropriate level.

Sadly, there really are a lot of people who hang on coat tails to gain glory and recognition - be that friends, coworkers, retailers...

At least the situation ended well for you and you have now started working towards a new purchase with a new retailer - very excited to see what your project looks like!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: told off by a vendor for asking too many questions...GRR

They may be a vendor that advertises on here but they aren't a Pricescope Vendor.

What's the difference?

They are a paid advertising PS vendor BUT not a vendor endorsed by the PS consumer community.

There are really only a handful of PS endorsed vendors and several of them don't even pay for advertisement on PS (ex. BGD, JbEG, Steven Kirsch, Victor Canera).