TimMD
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2011
- Messages
- 267
Hello everyone, some may have read my previous excited post (see link) about my recent purchase with Whiteflash and are waiting for the followup to my proposal and handshots, that is still coming...
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/[/URL]
As I have been posting all over pricescope as any excited guy about to propose would, I had nothing but good things to say about whiteflash. They made a BEAUTIFUL ring, were responsive to my difficult situation and were very patient. I emailed the saleswoman (Traci) at least -3-4 times a week over the 8 weeks that we interacted and even felt like we were friends. So much so, that I shared with her my proposal idea, showed her the video I made, and told her the exact plan and date of plan. My proposal was overall less than ideal but I am currently in Iraq and wanted to give my fiance the commitment she deserves. You see, she is a traveling nurse, originally from FL (where all her friends and family are currently), met her at work and the rest is history. When I volunteered to come to Iraq for my second tour in 3 years, she made the decision to stay in Texas to take care of our house and dogs instead of going back to Florida with all her family, friends, and a great job that is waiting because she wanted to support me. After all these months apart, she has been INCREDIBLE and because of her commitment to me, I wanted to show her that it was all for something and give her the commitment she so much deserved and that we both wanted and do the unusual and that be a long distance proposal. I think most would agree it is not ideal but most women could appreciate my attempt to show her that there was an ultimate goal in our relationship and this time apart just sets up for a better time back together. Anyways, back to Whiteflash, so Traci and Whiteflash were all very aware of my situation and Traci VERY aware of the plan to upload a video to facebook (why facebook? because this is the avenue she communicates with all her family and friends back in Florida, so wanted to share) with a picture story of our lives with in the end, the proposal. Not ideal, but setup much more extensively than that (see my separate happy post on the details). Traci was aware enough of the plan that she wrote today "so today is the big day". This was all a surprise but my fiance knew I was looking for diamonds and "passing time" she thought and me and her both followed Whiteflash on their facebook page. So with months of planning, her mom flown across the country to take part in this, what does whiteflash post on facebook TODAY of all days?
"Word Little Blingers, Happy Friday. In the world of social media there are a lot of great ways to share information and receive it as well....but where do you draw the line? Although not a Wednesday, Roundtable topic for this Friday : Proposal via Facebook? Totally Awesome or Epic Fail? Discuss." after which several of the employees of whiteflash comment on how much of an epic failure it is, to include my very own saleswoman!!!! When I brought this to their attention (Traci failed to respond to any of my emails), I was written back that "this is merely a coincidence, sorry, no one knew", which is an absolute lie because they obviously knew because Traci emailed me that very day AND saw and commented on the post about the "big time failure" this would be. Now honestly, I don't care what you post on facebook, but what a complete slap in the face? Did they remove the feed in response to being alerted how this sabotages my plan? OF COURSE NOT! Ultimately, it doesn't matter, but my fiance (to whom is completely unaware of this pending proposal) will read this post on her facebook feed and read the slamming of the idea by the employees, all to have her "dream proposal" be exactly what they are smashing that night? That is all I am saying, show some respect for people's unusual and dire circumstances and a little compassion for a guy trying (against unusual circumstances) to share his life with the woman he loves? How unprofessional, tacky, and repulsive it was. I feel completely betrayed by a company that I have been heavily endorsing because of the beuatiful piece they made. Don't we chose a jeweler for more than just "sell me the ring"? I mean this is why we buy from companies like whiteflash for the lifetime tradein and thus lifetime relationship right? I mean not only did I buy the diamond, e-ring, and band from, because of my excitement, I followed up with 0.86 ctw ACA studs and a diamond pendant, almost 20K in just 2 months and this is the way they show me they honor my business? If it was just an "honest mistake" as they claim, why not just remove the post for the day? I mean I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but do you sabotage a guy's plan that is in Iraq helping to protect these freedoms we all enjoy? I am sorry for this long drawn out post but I just can't help feel betrayed and undermined and with a company that has nothing but glowing reviews on PS (which they should because they made a GREAT ring), I just thought I would share that even they are less than perfect. I should have not shared my plan with them, that was my mistake.
The other point of feedback is with the "full independent appraisal" they helped me lineup. Because I decided to make such a large purchase from so far away, I asked them if it was possible for them to lineup a full independent appraisal for me, which they did for a fee and I gladly paid as I was requesting the service. I asked the appraisers name and looked him up on BBB and actually here and there were multiple positive posts on this site which I greatly respect and took TONS of valuable information from and an A+ BBB rating. So i paid the money, all was done, but when I got a copy of the appraisal through email, it looked like somethings were missing. It didnt appear to be a "full" appraisal at all but just basically description of the ring and estimated replacement value. I was under the impression there would be photos and evaluations of the ring and stone and commnent of the quality of the setting/etc. I believed this because this is what I read in this very site that this appraiser offered and I requested from whiteflash they have him do the stone separate and once mounted (seems to be usual request) since the appraiser was in the same building as them and it took 6 weeks to make my custom set. When I inquired into it with whiteflash, they basically said they would look into it and then never responded. I emailed the appraiser twice and then had my bestfriend call to talk to him request him to return my email to answer my questions (difficult phone access out here) but he never replied. I take responsibility as I should have contacted the appraiser myself instead of trusting whiteflash to give me the "full independent appraisal" but as we see, the appraiser doesn't like to reply or assist his consumers anyways. So I would love to know just how "independent" he truly is. Ultimately, the ring is beautiful, I paid extra to have my bestfriend take the ring to another appraiser and all is well but again, not sure why I paid extra for something that was insufficient and I needed to repeat. Thanks to Whiteflash and Alfred Lastovica for their great customer service and responding to customers concerns. For those hoping to use Mr. Lastovica as an appraiser, just know when asked why he didn't comment on the quality of the craftsmanship, his response was "well everyone know they sell good stuff" and when specifically asked if he had any conflict of interest doing the appraisal, his answer was "NO".
Thank you for allowing me to be a sounding board and sharing this experience. Let my frustration not take ANYTHING away from such a special time and such an incredible woman in my life as I am very thankful for her and the proposal (although not ideal) was still perfect. I will be sharing the details and try to attach the video in a separate blog. The ring is gorgeous, whiteflash makes unbelievable pieces and their ACA stones are breath-taking, but I think they dropped the ball with their respect for a loyal customer this time and anyone looking to have an appraisal in Houston, BEWARE of Alfred Lastovica. I will be contacting the BBB concerning his customer service. Thank you everyone!
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/please-help-me-squelch-my-excitement.155289/[/URL]
As I have been posting all over pricescope as any excited guy about to propose would, I had nothing but good things to say about whiteflash. They made a BEAUTIFUL ring, were responsive to my difficult situation and were very patient. I emailed the saleswoman (Traci) at least -3-4 times a week over the 8 weeks that we interacted and even felt like we were friends. So much so, that I shared with her my proposal idea, showed her the video I made, and told her the exact plan and date of plan. My proposal was overall less than ideal but I am currently in Iraq and wanted to give my fiance the commitment she deserves. You see, she is a traveling nurse, originally from FL (where all her friends and family are currently), met her at work and the rest is history. When I volunteered to come to Iraq for my second tour in 3 years, she made the decision to stay in Texas to take care of our house and dogs instead of going back to Florida with all her family, friends, and a great job that is waiting because she wanted to support me. After all these months apart, she has been INCREDIBLE and because of her commitment to me, I wanted to show her that it was all for something and give her the commitment she so much deserved and that we both wanted and do the unusual and that be a long distance proposal. I think most would agree it is not ideal but most women could appreciate my attempt to show her that there was an ultimate goal in our relationship and this time apart just sets up for a better time back together. Anyways, back to Whiteflash, so Traci and Whiteflash were all very aware of my situation and Traci VERY aware of the plan to upload a video to facebook (why facebook? because this is the avenue she communicates with all her family and friends back in Florida, so wanted to share) with a picture story of our lives with in the end, the proposal. Not ideal, but setup much more extensively than that (see my separate happy post on the details). Traci was aware enough of the plan that she wrote today "so today is the big day". This was all a surprise but my fiance knew I was looking for diamonds and "passing time" she thought and me and her both followed Whiteflash on their facebook page. So with months of planning, her mom flown across the country to take part in this, what does whiteflash post on facebook TODAY of all days?
"Word Little Blingers, Happy Friday. In the world of social media there are a lot of great ways to share information and receive it as well....but where do you draw the line? Although not a Wednesday, Roundtable topic for this Friday : Proposal via Facebook? Totally Awesome or Epic Fail? Discuss." after which several of the employees of whiteflash comment on how much of an epic failure it is, to include my very own saleswoman!!!! When I brought this to their attention (Traci failed to respond to any of my emails), I was written back that "this is merely a coincidence, sorry, no one knew", which is an absolute lie because they obviously knew because Traci emailed me that very day AND saw and commented on the post about the "big time failure" this would be. Now honestly, I don't care what you post on facebook, but what a complete slap in the face? Did they remove the feed in response to being alerted how this sabotages my plan? OF COURSE NOT! Ultimately, it doesn't matter, but my fiance (to whom is completely unaware of this pending proposal) will read this post on her facebook feed and read the slamming of the idea by the employees, all to have her "dream proposal" be exactly what they are smashing that night? That is all I am saying, show some respect for people's unusual and dire circumstances and a little compassion for a guy trying (against unusual circumstances) to share his life with the woman he loves? How unprofessional, tacky, and repulsive it was. I feel completely betrayed by a company that I have been heavily endorsing because of the beuatiful piece they made. Don't we chose a jeweler for more than just "sell me the ring"? I mean this is why we buy from companies like whiteflash for the lifetime tradein and thus lifetime relationship right? I mean not only did I buy the diamond, e-ring, and band from, because of my excitement, I followed up with 0.86 ctw ACA studs and a diamond pendant, almost 20K in just 2 months and this is the way they show me they honor my business? If it was just an "honest mistake" as they claim, why not just remove the post for the day? I mean I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but do you sabotage a guy's plan that is in Iraq helping to protect these freedoms we all enjoy? I am sorry for this long drawn out post but I just can't help feel betrayed and undermined and with a company that has nothing but glowing reviews on PS (which they should because they made a GREAT ring), I just thought I would share that even they are less than perfect. I should have not shared my plan with them, that was my mistake.
The other point of feedback is with the "full independent appraisal" they helped me lineup. Because I decided to make such a large purchase from so far away, I asked them if it was possible for them to lineup a full independent appraisal for me, which they did for a fee and I gladly paid as I was requesting the service. I asked the appraisers name and looked him up on BBB and actually here and there were multiple positive posts on this site which I greatly respect and took TONS of valuable information from and an A+ BBB rating. So i paid the money, all was done, but when I got a copy of the appraisal through email, it looked like somethings were missing. It didnt appear to be a "full" appraisal at all but just basically description of the ring and estimated replacement value. I was under the impression there would be photos and evaluations of the ring and stone and commnent of the quality of the setting/etc. I believed this because this is what I read in this very site that this appraiser offered and I requested from whiteflash they have him do the stone separate and once mounted (seems to be usual request) since the appraiser was in the same building as them and it took 6 weeks to make my custom set. When I inquired into it with whiteflash, they basically said they would look into it and then never responded. I emailed the appraiser twice and then had my bestfriend call to talk to him request him to return my email to answer my questions (difficult phone access out here) but he never replied. I take responsibility as I should have contacted the appraiser myself instead of trusting whiteflash to give me the "full independent appraisal" but as we see, the appraiser doesn't like to reply or assist his consumers anyways. So I would love to know just how "independent" he truly is. Ultimately, the ring is beautiful, I paid extra to have my bestfriend take the ring to another appraiser and all is well but again, not sure why I paid extra for something that was insufficient and I needed to repeat. Thanks to Whiteflash and Alfred Lastovica for their great customer service and responding to customers concerns. For those hoping to use Mr. Lastovica as an appraiser, just know when asked why he didn't comment on the quality of the craftsmanship, his response was "well everyone know they sell good stuff" and when specifically asked if he had any conflict of interest doing the appraisal, his answer was "NO".
Thank you for allowing me to be a sounding board and sharing this experience. Let my frustration not take ANYTHING away from such a special time and such an incredible woman in my life as I am very thankful for her and the proposal (although not ideal) was still perfect. I will be sharing the details and try to attach the video in a separate blog. The ring is gorgeous, whiteflash makes unbelievable pieces and their ACA stones are breath-taking, but I think they dropped the ball with their respect for a loyal customer this time and anyone looking to have an appraisal in Houston, BEWARE of Alfred Lastovica. I will be contacting the BBB concerning his customer service. Thank you everyone!
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