Zales...Sheesh!

[beebrisk]

Just thought I''d share a little experience I had at Zales today.

Now, I''ve been a PS-er for awhile, so I''m aware of the reputation, quality and overall yuckiness of these "big box" jewelry chains. I just didn''t know QUITE how bad they can be

I was out doing a little Xmas shopping today in NYC. I was strolling past Zales on Lexington Avenue and decided to take a spin around. Of course, I went straight to the ER''s.

I was greeted by a young man behind the counter and he asked if he could show me something. Having just gotten my ER from ERD (Mark Turnowski) this past September, I''m constantly comparing it to everything else out there...from checking all the stores, to long sneaky lurks at strangers'' hands!

I always walk away feeling so great about my choice, and about how beautiful my ring is compared to the "generics" you see everywhere. Indeed, a little PS education goes a long way!!

So I first asked if I could see a few pave wedding bands...They were okay...nothing to write home about, but seemed way expensive for what they were.

But then I asked to see a round solitaire. Out comes a .75 carat in a simple 4-prong setting. Immediately, the salesman takes this odd, little, digital thingie out of a drawer, and touches the tip of it to the diamond. I asked what that was for and he told me "it tests diamonds" I asked "tests diamonds for what?" He responded with "it just tells you this really is a diamond"

HUH?? You mean you''ve got a ''diamond'' in the case and you have to test to see if it''s real?? I sooo didn''t get that part, but okay...whatever.

THEN I asked "Who certified this? "Don''t know...I''d have to get the cert...the color is probably D-E and the clarity is SI."

Probably D-E????
SI what--27 ????

Then I asked if it was white gold or platinum and was told "18K White"...But when I looked at the little tag that was affixed around the shank it clearly stated "14K". And oh yeah,it also said: "Made in India".

I was dying to take it over to the window to see it in ''natural'' light, but I just didn''t want to string the poor sales guy along any more. Those stores must spend more on their special spotlights than they do on the jewelry in the cases...Amazing how those "probably D-E" stones can twinkle under the right lighting!

I walked away feeling really good about the beautiful ring on my finger, but feeling really badly for the schnook who walks in there today all excited to buy his FFI an ER for Christmas.

I think all PS-ers should gather round these storefronts and conduct "interventions" for the unassuming souls ready to plunk down good cash for a rock they have to test with a digi-thing first!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 12/16/2007 5:41:02 PM
Author:beebrisk
I think all PS-ers should gather round these storefronts and conduct ''interventions'' for the unassuming souls ready to plunk down good cash for a rock they have to test with a digi-thing first!

Now there''s an idea!

 

[sera]

Date: 12/16/2007 5:41:02 PM
Author:beebrisk
I think all PS-ers should gather round these storefronts and conduct ''interventions'' for the unassuming souls ready to plunk down good cash for a rock they have to test with a digi-thing first!

Sign me up for that!!!

 

[mintve]

I know what you mean. I was at Target the other day and there is a Friedman''s next door. I went in an look a peek at their e-rings. They were so bad. I think the kid working there was wprking there as a seasonal job and if may have been 19 at the most. The place was packed, so I suppose there were people buying stuff, but I could tell that, even in the case, under the bright lights, that the diamonds were not very good.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

That is too funny he pulled out the diamond tester. I have heard of places tested it before they put it back in the case (to make sure the customer didn''t switch it) but before

 

[Lynn B]

I'm honestly not really that surprised.

Like I have said before, to most of the masses, a diamond is a diamond is a diamond. Most people don't know or care two bits about cut, color, or clarity. So for them, their perceived greatest fear is getting ripped off -- i.e., buying a stone that ISN'T really a diamond. So if the sales person can "prove", right before their very eyes, that it is indeed "really" a *diamond*, that's about all that's really necessary. MAYBE spew out a few vague, obscure numbers and letters that the customer doesn't know or care about, and $$ cha-ching cha-ching $$, they might just have a sale!

 

[beebrisk]

Ha!...Lynn B, I think you got a point there...
Are you a VP at Zales, or something??

 

[Anna0499]

Haha some of those salespeople are AWFUL! My boyfriend and I went into a store at the mall and when my boyfriend told him our budget was going to be $20k and asked if we could see what that could get us the man replied "No...you don''t expect me just to get out a $20k ring for you to see, do you?" What else is he there for?! We were not dressed to the nines but we weren''t in scrub clothes either - not that it should matter anyway...I was outraged...I''m just glad PS has shown me the light!

 

[jewelerman]

I can understand members of the forum wanting to share their less than stellar experiences with each other about jewelry stores in malls...and I know that there are many young and untrained sales people out there who don''t know what they are doing...but...members of the forum cant just lump all mall jewelers into a category of inept and uncaring fools who only want their money.I have worked in the trade in many capacities and also in management and I know many individuals who work in mall stores that are trained professionals who work hard for their clients. It is difficult to find quality people who want to make jewelry their career because the hourly pay is low and people don''t want to work mall hours, weekends or nights and the threat of robbery or personal injury is a daily concern. Many stores have to hire young untrained college students to work shifts so the trained and experianced people can have days off or be at home a few nights a week with their familys.It would be impossible to afford a full staff of gratuate gemologists.It takes time to train a new person in the art of customer and product service.Most of the time these young students quite when they graduate and find a better paying job with better heath and retirment benifits. I would suggest that when entering the store that you ask right off if there is an associate with gemology training on shift before you look so you know what level of service you can expect while you look.I do agree that the quality of jewelry in many of these store are lacking but the quality is not the fault of the sales associate .The larger a chain gets the the lower the quality of jewelry must be so prices are more compeitive with other chain stores.The increasing cost of diamonds, precious metals and the high cost of rent for a good location are factors that controll what quality a store will keep in stock.Most people are price and size driven and even with the proper gem education they will pick the largest stone they can affort regardless of its quality.I have friends who hate selling promotional quality jewelry but they need to make a living and this is what the majority of their clients are requesting.

 

[hearts-arrows_girl]

Date: 12/17/2007 1:20:40 PM
Author: jewelerman
I can understand members of the forum wanting to share their less than stellar experiences with each other about jewelry stores in malls...and I know that there are many young and untrained sales people out there who don't know what they are doing...but...members of the forum cant just lump all mall jewelers into a category of inept and uncaring fools who only want their money.I have worked in the trade in many capacities and also in management and I know many individuals who work in mall stores that are trained professionals who work hard for their clients. It is difficult to find quality people who want to make jewelry their career because the hourly pay is low and people don't want to work mall hours, weekends or nights and the threat of robbery or personal injury is a daily concern. Many stores have to hire young untrained college students to work shifts so the trained and experianced people can have days off or be at home a few nights a week with their familys.It would be impossible to afford a full staff of gratuate gemologists.It takes time to train a new person in the art of customer and product service.Most of the time these young students quite when they graduate and find a better paying job with better heath and retirment benifits. I would suggest that when entering the store that you ask right off if there is an associate with gemology training on shift before you look so you know what level of service you can expect while you look.I do agree that the quality of jewelry in many of these store are lacking but the quality is not the fault of the sales associate .The larger a chain gets the the lower the quality of jewelry must be so prices are more compeitive with other chain stores.The increasing cost of diamonds, precious metals and the high cost of rent for a good location are factors that controll what quality a store will keep in stock.Most people are price and size driven and even with the proper gem education they will pick the largest stone they can affort regardless of its quality.I have friends who hate selling promotional quality jewelry but they need to make a living and this is what the majority of their clients are requesting.

Jewelerman, point taken. I guess there will always be the "them against us" thing going on in the world of diamond e-ring buying. I think most people here just find it amusing to see a Mall salesperson "just doing there job", which for them is to eek out a living, but to the educated buyer it seems like an attempt to sell them junk. Isn't the basis for a sales job, to make money? Not to become a customer's advocate. Although those few special well-trained professionals may be willing to work very hard for the customer, it is usually a well informed customer that requests things that make it necessary to go the extra mile. It's human nature to take the path of least resistance, so if someone comes in and picks a really bad diamond, far be it from the sales person to say "Hey, don't get that one, let me spend 3 weeks finding you another one, so I can not make a sale today, and not pay that bill I owe". That's why people need to educate themselves before buying, ANYTHING. Unfortunately, in the case of the traditional "diamond" ering, most people, quite frankly can't or won't spend the kind of money that PriceScope people know is necessary to get a quality diamond. Alot of people I have met really don't care about the 4 C's, like you stated, only cost and size. I have asked several girls what their center stone is and they usually don't know, or say "I think it is a....". So, please don't take offense at these postings. It appears to me as though everyone was just stating the obvious, even you mirrored some of their thoughts when you mentioned that there were indeed, young uninformed sales associates at times. I don't know of too many people that would be aware of the "stand-in associate" policy you described to cover for the trained one's days off, so they would think if they are there representing the jewelry shop, they must know their stuff. In my opinion, I think it is up to the consumer to be well educated before shopping. Bottom line, a sales associate is there to do just that... make the sale, thus the job title. The good ones are willing to help you, but in the end it is our decision. They figure we as shoppers know what we want, and we should. This whole topic was just a fun sharing of how some Pricescopers view the average "Mall Jeweler",
Beebrisk, I found your post a very accurate description of my "Zales" experience!

 

[beebrisk]

JewelerMan,

In no way was my post meant to demean the salesperson in anyway...

I''m a former buyer for a large department store chain. When I walk into a store (especially a big corporate chain like Zales) I can''t help but evaluate what I see from a retailer''s perspective.

In this case I was a bit shocked that a company whose focus is to sell fine jewelry (diamonds!) can entrust their bottom line to a sales staff that''s clearly uneducated and uninformed about the product they are selling. I''m sure some are better than others, but my personal experience didn''t speak too highly about how Zales caters to their customers.

Not to sound condescending, but this Zales was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. There are plenty of uneducated diamond buyers around, just like anywhere else, but I suspect there are also many more savvy and sophisticated jewelry shoppers in the neighborhood.

After all, there''s Cartier, Tiffany, Harry Winston, H.Stern, Christie''s, Sotheby''s and more--just within walking distance of this Zales branch.

You''d think they''d employ only their BEST salespeople, and stock the store with some really special pieces. I just think it''s a little odd that the store is in an area where the potential customer can probably run circles around the sales help with regards to jewelry knowledge.

Trust me, I''m not one of them, but I see women walking around that block all day long with some SERIOUS jewelry goin'' on. (lucky ladies!) I''ll bet they can SMELL the difference between white gold and platinum!

So please, no offense was meant here...I was simply relaying my experience in the store and, well, okay--feeling just a wee bit smug about my recent PS education!

 

[jewelerman]

Beebrisk,
There is no offense taken!I very much understand you point of view...I once was in charge of training new hires for a jewelry company in customer service and basic gem and metal knowledge and it is was a really difficult job!I am a perfectionist when it come to selling quality and seeing what many mall and department stores are selling for outrageous prices is really disappointing to me.I can''t go on vacation without visiting jewelry stores and I end up correcting the sales associates product knowledge mistakes or walking out frustrated when i hear misinformation that is meant to be a deception.Its sad that Zales has the reputation it has today...35 years ago it used to have a superior reputation for selling only high grade (vs-g)wed sets and jewelry,but the growing prices of diamonds and precious metals in the late 70s and early 80s made it harder for them and alot of better jewelers to keep standards high and be competitive.I worked for a jeweler in the early 90s that went from manufactoring and selling one-of-a-kind jewels to carrying mass production I-1 clarity--J Color /10kt goods.I lasted about 6 months before leaving and they went out of business only 6 months after 5 of their 8 staff members left to work for other jewelers.
I never intended to take any satisfaction away from you and the fact that you educated yourself on pricescope and now have a nice quality diamond at a fair price...hearts and arrows girl is right...everyone must educate themselves before purchasing quality jewelry.Thanks for letting me share on your thread.