What''s going on with Rockdoc?

[LesleyH]

R/T:

I second that - having known Rockdoc for years, we can vouch that he is a good man with good intentions.

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Third that.

 

[pricescope]

Let's refrain from any speculations on this subject until reliable information will become available.

 

[aljdewey]

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On 4/21/2004 11:58:13 PM niceice wrote:





Rock Doc wouldn't just vanish and stop returning phone calls unless something was wrong. We agree with Garry, people need to relax and stop worrying about the return of a diamond or two, we send diamonds to Bill all the time and wouldn't worry in the slightest if we weren't able to get a stone back from him for a week or two or even three while he sorted out something in his personal life or recovered from being ill. We spoke with Bill recently and he 'really' was not feeling very well, we're privy to the information regarding his illness, but we are NOT going to get into it here beyond saying that Bill could probably use our support and our prayers right now and certainly does not need people thrashing his excellent reputation in public over nothing. Please leave tracking down Bill and determining his current state of affairs to people in the trade who know how to reach him and start expressing some wishes for his improved health instead of instigating unwarranted attacks against his good name. Do you see 'any' of the vendors or the other independent GIA Graduate Gemologists expressing concern about the diamonds? Is Jonathan up here freaking out over his stone? No - so drop it. This thread is an embarrassment to this forum and it should be 'erased' and replaced with a Get Well Soon - We Hope That You're Feeling Better thread if anything at all...

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Thanks for saying (much more directly) what I was thinking. You said it much better than I.

This man has spent a lifetime building a business and a reputation. If he is not getting back to vendors, there is something *seriously* wrong.....not just that he doesn't *feel* like getting back to someone.

The first thing that ran through my mind is a medical emergency. Do you have *any* idea how easy it is to be out of commission for a few weeks? (Several come to mind.....car accidents, strokes, heart attacks, chemotherapy, serious illness, gravely ill spouse, etc.....there are SO many things that could *easily* put someone out of commission for 3-4 weeks or more.)

I emphatically add my voice to those supporting R/T's comments.....how about a little compassion? This man's reputation has earned him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[princesshunter]

Please don't take my postings the wrong way - I am very concerend about Rockdoc and his current situation. And I ONLY wish the best for him and his health. And I know that Rockdoc has a stellar, well-deserved reputation - none of this is in dispute. Clearly, Rockdoc has earned the trust of the diamond community. The ISSUE is that it does not appear that, as a business, some sort of backup provisions are in place for this kind of situation - the ability to get stones returned, update concerend customers and vendors, etc. THIS is the concern. And this is something that, quite franky, a business needs to have in place. Without it, yes, consumers and vendors may have second thoughts about dealing with that business. This has NOTHING to do with skills or capabilities.

Think about this. You have a car that needs some basic work done - should have the car back in a week. It's one of the best repair shops in the country. But after three weeks, it's not ready. They aren't returning your calls or emails. You can't even see your car. Would you go back to that repair shop after that experience? Or if you are a car dealer, would you recommend it to your valuable customers, or have them go to another top notch repair shop?

Unfortunately, when someone may be out of commission for quite some time, life for the rest of us still goes on. Our timing needs, plans, nonrefundable financial outlays, etc., don't disappear.

 

[moremoremore]

I can't believe this. This thread is an "embarrassment"....? Princesshunter needs to "lighten up"....? Are you kidding me? He sends a stone to someone three weeks ago and doesn't get phone calls returned and he's supposed to lighten up? And NO ONE said Roc Doc was running away with the stone Diamond Expert. No one. But are you kidding me-that if I buy a stone, send it for appraisal and don't get calls returned for three weeks I'm supposed to lighten up? You have GOT to be kidding me. I think I'm done with this thread. Princess hunter- you did NOTHING wrong. I hope the stone gets returned shortly!

 

[moremoremore]

And just a note: I really hope the gentleman is ok. I really do.

 

[aljdewey]

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On 4/22/2004 8:25:03 AM princesshunter wrote:











Please don't take my postings the wrong way -

The ISSUE is that it does not appear that, as a business, some sort of backup provisions are in place for this kind of situation - the ability to get stones returned, update concerend customers and vendors, etc. THIS is the concern. And this is something that, quite franky, a business needs to have in place. Without it, yes, consumers and vendors may have second thoughts about dealing with that business. This has NOTHING to do with skills or capabilities.

Unfortunately, when someone may be out of commission for quite some time, life for the rest of us still goes on. Our timing needs, plans, nonrefundable financial outlays, etc., don't disappear.
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Mark, are you kidding? Please don't take your postings the wrong way? What other way is there to take them?

Look, I understand your frustration totally. Yes, there should be a back-up plan, but apparently, there isn't one RIGHT NOW. Nothing can be done about that at *present*, it can only be addressed going forward.

I, too, would be equally frustrated if I couldn't put my hands on my stone, and I don't take issue with expressing your dismay and frustration at being unable to recover the stone. If it stopped right there, I wouldn't be commenting at all.

What I DO take issue with are the remarks you made:

"Had he mentioned that it would be unlikely he could do the appraisal, I would have had it sent to someone else. But this is crazy!"

The implication in your statement is that he KNEW in advance that he couldn't do it and didn't disclose that (i.e. being deceitful). If the man had a medical emergency, he wouldn't have known that when he agreed to do the appraisal.

"This is really ridiculous."

"Unfortunately, I have a feeling that all of this could really harm Rockdoc's business. It's one thing to make customers concerned and unhappy, but it is another thing to have jewelers not trust you due to reliability, or just wondering if they will see their stones again."

Suggesting that someone isn't "reliable" based on ONE incident you're having with him, suggesting that vendors can no longer TRUST him, suggesting they may never see their stones again? I'm sorry, but those are inflammatory and unsympathetic comments.

If you want to express your dismay that there is no back-up provision in place, that's a valid complaint. But ATTACKING his reliability/trust/integrity is out of line and is a disproportionate response. Such comments won't get your stone back any quicker, so what's their purpose if not to disparage?

Please be a little compassionate and not stretch to trashing the man's personal integrity just because you're frustrated.

 

[moremoremore]

aljdewey- I ask innocently- I'm pretty new here...are you a consumer or vendor? It just seems the consumers (unless you are one too!

) have a very different opinion than the vendors regarding this matter....interesting...anyhoo- didn't I say I was going to stop replying to this post- slap hand...

 

[Mara]

I can definitely see both sides of the story.




PrincessHunter has every right to be freaking out. He is NOT a vendor who has positive history with RD, and he is also new to the forum...he is trusting in the whole online virtual thing with thousands of dollars of his money, and RD is not responding to anyone re his stone. I would be freaked out too if I was a new customer as well and my appraiser was MIA with my stone that I probably took months to find.




When PH first posted, I thought that RD was just swamped as usual with his workload, having read the previous DT thread on how he had one guy's stone for something like a month, and communication was spotty during that transaction...so I have seen the 'haven't heard anything from him' line before from other customers. It didn't raise a red flag for me other than in speaking on customer service skills.




But now that no one seems to have heard a thing from him in some time, and an illness is being noted..it is quite possible something is very wrong. I have been emailing with Nancy Stacy the last few days re: going in to get our final pieces appraised next week and I know she is very good friends with him. I told her of the concern on the board and she emailed me today to say she has joined in the search.




Hopefully only the best news will come out of this...it's a hugely unfortunate circumstance ANY way you slice it. If he's ill and cannot respond...if he is not ill and is too swamped to respond, both are non-desirable situations, and I don't see a win/win here at all.




My prayers are with Bill...R/T, please keep us posted on any news.

 

[aljdewey]

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On 4/22/2004 12:35:49 PM moremoremore wrote:





aljdewey- I ask innocently- I'm pretty new here...are you a consumer or vendor.
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More.......I'm a consumer, and nothing more. But honestly, I don't see why that should matter.

Again, I fully support Mark's being frustrated and upset that he cannot get his stone.....and I support his right to express that frustration here. However, his criticism should be confined to that issue.

If someone doesn't answer his business phone....AND doesn't his vendors....AND his machine is set to the auto-voice.....AND people know he's been sick.....AND no one can reach him, that kind of says to me that he is in distress of some sort.

Maybe I'm sensitive to it because I've been on the other end.....not the vendor end, but on the distress end. I've watched as my close friends sat by their daughter's bedside for a MONTH because she was in a coma after having been in a car accident. Honestly, their business was the last thing they thought about.

So I can easily envision that if RockDoc is in the ICU or something, perhaps he's unable to make arrangements with someone to return phone calls. There are times when stuff is just beyond one's control, but that shouldn't put their entire integrity and/or livelihood in question.

 

[niceice]

We see both sides of the dilemma as well, we just want to see the speculation and criticism come to an end because we have a really good idea of what the situation is likely to be. One thing to realize is that many of the appraisers are single person operations and in Bill's case there really isn't anybody else to step into his operation if something goes wrong other than an elderly aunt, so patience please people while the vendors and appraisers figure out what is up with Bill. We feel for the plight of the people who have stones sitting there awaiting evaluation and we understand that "life goes on" but in the scheme of things we're simply asking for patience while things get sorted out instead of watching everybody get more and more wound up in speculation

 

[fire&ice]

All I can say is I hope someone can step in to help. My thoughts are to RocDoc. We butted heads a few times; but, I have the upmost respect for his work.

I've been thinking about this as I'm basically a one-man show. I've got some people who got my back. I just hope the jewelry trade has some similar "friendships". If not, well, you should.

 

[jay3]

I'm currently have a diamond being appraised by the RockDoc. I got an e-mail from him on 7 Apr that "My car got hit by a truck.. Back & neck are bruised." Hopefully he will be ok.

 

[Nicrez]

I think that's why people like Jonathan and various other jewelers and cutter here in NYC have family as their "backups" Hard to trust an average joe...

I hope he is OK, and I am sending my best wishes and prayers out to him as well. What a sad unfortunate thing to happen to all involved!

 

[dpe49]

Its not the average joe that you should worry about. Wall Street is a prime example of this.

 

[AGBF]

Well...this thread shocked me. I had no idea rockdoc wasn't around.

I don't want to say anything that's not nice to anyone. I agree with Todd that we here on Pricescope who have been around for a few years should be thinking of rockdoc. On the other hand, poor Mark just happens to be the consumer who loses track of his stone at the one moment when rockdoc disappears! I think it's unfair to expect HIM to think of rockdoc first rather than his stone; he doesn't even know rockdoc!

When one of you in the business learns something about where and how rockdoc is, please post the information.

Deborah

 

[moremoremore]

THANK YOU AGBF...I've been trying to find the right words with each post....but you nailed it.

 

[aljdewey]

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On 4/22/2004 5:01:18 PM AGBF wrote:





On the other hand, poor Mark just happens to be the consumer who loses track of his stone at the one moment when rockdoc disappears! I think it's unfair to expect HIM to think of rockdoc first rather than his stone; he doesn't even know rockdoc!
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I can only speak for my posts. I don't expect Mark to think of Bill first......I don't even expect him to be happy about the turn of events. He has every right to be unhappy that he cannot get his stone, which is very important to him....as it would be to me.

Exactly how, though, is it helping Mark to get his stone back by slandering someone's "reliability", integrity, and suggesting that Rockdoc knew he couldn't get the appraisal done and just didn't tell Mark that?

How does that help Mark's situation? In my eyes, it doesn't. It won't help him get his stone back any faster.

EDITED TO ADD: My comments aren't personal, Mark. I DO understand your frustration. I just think it could be handled better by limiting the frustration to the actual problem, that's all.

 

[princesshunter]

It would certainly be good to know anything I can, at the very least, to reduce my concerns and frustrations. Obviously, many of you in the biz know him well and may have an idea what is going on. But for those of us who just know him as a good appraiser with a BrillianceScope, having an idea what is happening / how he is doing / when he'll be back to work, or at least able to return stones would be reassuring and greatly appreciated.

As a first time diamond buyer, the whole process is new to me. Unlike many of you, I don't have any experience dealing with appraisers, etc. My decision to use Rockdoc was based soley on all the positive things I heard and read about - his reputation for being thorough, fast, and a good communicator. Do I think he ran off to Hawaii with the diamonds of his clients? Of course not! I have to assume he had some sort of major medical emergency. Unfortunately, for those of us in the dark, dealing with him for the first time, this situation is unnerving.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 4/22/2004 5:53:59 PM princesshunter wrote:

Do I think he ran off to Hawaii with the diamonds of his clients? Of course not! I have to assume he had some sort of major medical emergency. Unfortunately, for those of us in the dark, dealing with him for the first time, this situation is unnerving.


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Yes, it can be unnerving. I understand your frustration. I'm sure it will work out in the long run.

 

[moremoremore]

OMG....SLADER? Gimme a break. OK- last post, I promise...this is out of control....Poor Mark just wanted some info...He did nothing NOTHING wrong. If anyone disagrees, that's fine- I have no problem with a diff of opinion.

 

[moremoremore]

I lie all the time...THIS is my last post...LOL...I just think your best bet Mark is to keep on GOG....they have the connections and the best ability to get in touch with RC...

 

[Hest88]

I agree with AGBF. I feel really sorry for the OP and agree he has every right to be frustrated. I'm also worried about Rocdoc and hope he's okay. He always seems to be in such poor health.

 

[pricescope]

Please, guys! There is no reason to argue. I suggest to lock this thread until we'll get more information about Bill. Hope he'll be all right...