WF sales...help!

[emiliana]

Hello everyone,

Please help me decide what to do with my situation.

For the last few months I have been looking for a diamond to replace the one I lost.
Since we are stationed overseas, my husband is in the armed forces; I decided that I would shop online for my new diamond. After reading many positive buying experiences, from PS forum members, I decided to go with WF.

With a budget of $10000, I called WF. Initially, I chose a 1.26 I VS2 a “cut above” for $7150. I had questions about settings but the sales lady was very vague with the answers. With a feeling of uneasiness, I went ahead and selected a pave 4-prong setting. This happened last Friday.

Over the weekend, after reading more on pave, I felt that I made a bad choice on the setting. I am very rough and clumsy and I am always hitting my hands on things. I did not think that pave would be the type of setting for a person like me.

I e-mailed and called her back on Monday. I explained to her my concerns with the setting, and told her that I would like to change it. She said that they had started the work and that I would be charged 20%( $350.00) for the restocking fee.

I really did not want to pay the restocking fee, so I asked to speak to someone else about the setting. I was transferred to another lady. I expressed my concerns with the setting. She assured me that I had nothing to worry about, but I should go with one I felt comfortable with. We also talked about the size of the diamond and we BOTH thought that I might like a bigger one since the one I lost was bigger. This other one was a “cut above” 1.70 J VS2 for $10998. I was transferred back to my original sales lady to make the changes.

Since I decided to spend an extra $3800, I asked if they would wave the $350.00 restocking fee if I chose another setting. I was told they would. I was feeling good because I could start from the beginning and make a better decision on my setting. This happened yesterday afternoon, by the way.

Later in the day I called her with questions on some settings. At that time she said that I had to find one right away because they had started my order already. How is that possible? I thought I had a whole new order since the diamond and setting were going to be changed. Also, she was still unable to provide me enough information on some of their settings.

This is so stressful! I am NOT having a very pleasant experience. I don’t want to be rushed into choosing a setting I am not sure I want. That''s what started this whole mess to begin with. I was hoping to get the same help and service most of the members wrote about. I know this is entirely my fault and I don not blame the sales lady at all. I feel very bad writing this, but I just don''t know what to do.

Sould I just cancel the order? Should I pay the $350 and go with another vendor? Should I request a different sales person? Someone more experienced? Please recommend someone. I don’t have money to throw around, so I can’t keep making mistakes like this one.

Thanks,

Em

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/6/2006 5:27:01 AM
Author:emiliana


Later in the day I called her with questions on some settings. ... Also, she was still unable to provide me enough information on some of their settings.

What were the questions? There are lots of settings from Whiteflash talked about on this forum and as many owners. Maybe the info is here anyway.

It is crystal clear that your shopping was not all that pleasant... and being rushed into ''blind'' decisions can''t possibly be so. It may be more difficult to feel differently about purchases online.. and well, who knows. I hope things turn out great in the end. IMO, it would be a shame to pass on a good deal for a matter of miscommunication - if only every jewelry shop would be exactly as good with words as with their jewelry!

 

[Lorelei]

Emiliana welcome to PS

I am sorry this is turning out to be so stressful for you, but WF do have an incredible rep here and will do everything they can do make things right for you. I am not familiar with their restocking fees or policies with this sort of thing, but our dear John Quixote ( Pollard) who posts here and also works for WF may see this and advise you more.

Best of luck - I am sure this will go well for you, contact WF again and express your concerns so you and them are exactly on the same page. They will do all they can to help you!

 

[just_looking!]

Hi,

I''m also overseas (middle east) and have dealt with Bob Hoskins and Vera Wages on my 10 stone 2 pointer ring and more recently with Bob Hoskins and Lesley Harris on my new pendant.

I hate using the phone so have been emailing back and forth instead. I''ve found this an easy way round the time difference and means that my questions and answers are all there on file.

I hope that you get to a satisfactory conclusion!

Are you planning to pick up the new ring or have it shipped out? Whiteflash use Fedex and the courier deals with the import duties. For reference, Bahrain typically charge 5% for luxury goods.

 

[jcrow]

don''t feel bad for writing about your experiences....

did you request to have the ring done by a certain day- is this maybe why the rush? i definitely would express to them that you need some time to make the best choice for you. i don''t see how they should see this as a problem.

we also dealt with WF and had some bumps in the road. if we were to do it again, i think we would communicate less with email and more over the phone.

 

[Gonzodogg]

WF is experiencing what they like to call "growing pains". I also had a few problems like yours (mostly with miscommunications) but in the end, that is all they were, and it was clear that they were going to do everything they could to make me happy.

If I were you I would stick with WF but ask to deal only with Lesley (the director of sales). Explain to her what has happend and that you are a little uneasy about your purchase. She will stick with you until you are satified.

good luck

Mike

 

[strmrdr]

I second calling and asking to talk to Lesley and have her straiten it out.
In the very odd case that dont work out there are other vendors out there.
Some clients arent a good fit with a vendor and when dealing with this kind of money you have to have a ton of trust in the people you are dealing with and the company.

 

[indecisive]

We have been dealing with Renee at WF and she hasn''t rushed us at all. We have actually taken forever with everything and she has been very cool about it. It takes a little while to get all the answers on the settings we asked about because she would have to ask Leon a lot of them but we did get everything answered. I think my bf talked to her everyday for two weeks! I hope things go better for you and good luck with your ring!

 

[emiliana]

Thank you for all your responses. It seems that the person to go to is Lesley. From what I read in the forum, many people are very happy with WF after dealing her.

I will contact her today and see if she can help me with the situation. I will keep you posted of any news.

Thanks!

Em

 

[Mara]

I''d call and speak to Lesley or Renee. Both are seasoned and I think WF has some new sales staff who may not be quite up to par just yet.

Haha so it was you who snapped up the 1.7c J VS stone...my girlfriend was considering it and last nite she emailed me and cried out that it was gone! hehe stuff moves fast around here that is for sure!

Good luck...I''d tell them YOUR timeline for wanting to have this done, aka I want a week to look into the setting etc...they may be under the impression since your other setting was already being worked on that there was a more urgent timeline than could be..etc. Communication is key and make sure that you are communicating clearly with them your wants and expectations...they are not mind readers. Lastly, I do agree that email is a great way to get ''details'' down so that you are covered, I personally don''t like working on the phone much at all.

Have fun!!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Some people prefer email (especially analytic people or those who know precisely what they want), others are more comfortable/effective over the phone (like those who enoy input or brainstorming). It's important to find the balance that's right for the client and the company. EM, by now I know you have been contacted again and I hope all is well. I appreciate all who responded here. I even received an email while in my morning meetings about this thread. Thank you PS.

By the way EM - as Mara alluded - you 'snagged' a diamond that had a LOT of lookers.

 

[emiliana]

Well, I went ahead and contacted Lesley. Evidently she was already aware of my situation. I guess some of the people from the forum contacted her about my situation.

Wow, she was WONDERFUL! She told me that I had nothing to worry about and not stressed out about getting a setting right away.

She will work with me for a couple of days and then Bob will take over because she is going to be out of the country. That is just fine with me!

Who ever alerted Lesley about my post here really helped me out, and I appreciated it very much.

I will be sure and let you let you all know about the progress with my ring.

Mara, I am sorry your friend did not get that stone. But, lucky for me that I was quick

Thanks,

Em

 

[portoar]

Hi, welcome to pricescope! Can you send us a link to the stone you bought? I for one would love to take a look at it . . . and am glad everything is being straightened out for you!

 

[Kaleigh]

I''m so glad this got resolved. Lesley is wonderful. Can we see a pic of the stone?? Welcome to PS!!!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Lesley does seem very nice...I was doing work in my hotel room at 11:30 last night and emails from her started to pop up. She obviously works very hard!!

I realized working with online vendors that I have to set my expectations realistically. (btw, this isn''t directly related to your initial comments emiliana, meaning I am not assuming your expectations are unrealistic). I asked Bob about my diamond and his answers were things like "it''s very very pretty and has lots of fire." I trust his eye, so I am going to bring in the stone to check out. However, "very pretty and lots of fire" seemed kind of vague to me at the time. But what did I expect him to say? "Well, if you tilt the stone 90 degrees to the right, you''ll get a flash of green on two facets." Hee hee.

 

[iceprincess]

Welcome to PS Em! I''m glad you spoke to Lesley and got everything straightened out nicely. I was going to post that you speak with her, but everyone beat me to it.
I''ve been working with Lesley recently on an earring and a custom pendant project and she''s a great pro, detailed and helpful. She wanted to make sure my order was clear to those who would be helping while she''s away next week so that it would be smooth progress forward. I asked about timeframe and gave her my own timeline. Lesley''s words were that they would do their best to complete it by xx amount of days, but that they didn''t want to rush so that the job would fall below my expectations.
My own experience has taught me to communicate by both phone and email so that if there is a misunderstanding or miscommunication I can just go back to old messages and catch them to clear them up if need be.
Good luck with your new ring! I remember looking at the stone you just bought (I can dream of a future upgrade, can''t I?) on WF''s website- man is that a sweet stone!

 

[emiliana]

Hello,

I sure hope everything turns out okay. I sent an e-mail to Lesley asking her to have Bob look at the stone to make sure it is a good one.

The stone I lost was a D VS1 2.02CT "a very good cut" from GIA. Since I had not updated my appraisal, my insurance company was quick to send me a check. The stone was worth a LOT more than what is was insured for. The sad thing is that I had upgraded to this stone about two years ago.

I know that the color grade and clarity is lower than what I lost, but since it is an ACA, I figured that it will look even better than what I had before. Plus, I will be able to save a lot of money by buying this one. I will keep what I have left and save it for something else.

Yes, please, look at the diamond and tell me what you think. Here is the item #AGS-7114603.

https://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-2362062.htm

You all have been very wonderful...thank you!

 

[indecisive]

Looks yummy to me!! ACA AGS000!!

 

[Jelly]

Lesley is fantastic! I''m glad that you are working with her now. I can''t wait to see the final project, i hope you end up getting something both durable and stunning! good luck!

 

[Small]

Looks beautiful

Can''t wait to see the finished project. And glad you got everything straightened out!

 

[Shay37]

You made a beautiful choice. Congrats on getting everything taken care of.

shay

 

[strmrdr]

kicken diamond, congrates!!

 

[Kaleigh]

It''s gorgeous, congratulations!!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

that''s a gorgeous stone...

 

[MissAva]

That is a lovely stone and that IS is drool worthy!

 

[emiliana]

I am still working on the setting. Lesley was very buy and was not able to get back to me with the questions I had on their settings. I guess I have to wait until she gets back to continue with my order. Does any one know when she is comming back?

*Matatora, I read what happened to your stone...I am so SORRY! The god news is that you are getting another beauty

*Justlooking, I am in Germany. I will be using my APO for the delivery. I don''t know if I have to pay duty charges since the product is going to NY first. I hope I don''t get hit with the charges.

Have a good day!

Em

 

[MissAva]

Lesley will be out of town for the next two weeks, you might try emailing John to see who can take over for her while she is away.