Tiffany customer service :(

[jennalyns]

Hello! I just need to vent a bit, I''m pretty frustrated. I have an 18K white gold ring from Tiffany, it''s the stacking ring with two baguette green tourmalines, .20 ctw. A few days ago, I was washing my hands in a public restroom (hence why I didn''t take it off), and it fell into the sink. One of the stones cracked internally- no damage at all to the top, but basically the underside of the stone completely fractured. I took it to the store, and the lady said that because it was less than a year old, they could *probably* fix it under warranty, no guarantees, but she would put in a request. Yesterday I get a repair quote from them- for $200! The stone is like 2x4mm, and it''s a GREEN TOURMALINE, not a diamond or sapphire or something... I called customer service this morning and I made a point to be very professional and polite... and the guy was pretty rude to me right off the bat, which was completely unexpected because I''ve had nothing but incredible service from my local store. He said it wouldn''t be covered because it was dropped, but he would call my store and let them make the decision about the warranty because of what my lady had said. I mentioned that I was surprised it basically shattered from falling 2-3 inches, and maybe it was defective in the first place, and he snapped back at me that "even if it was defective, which it probably wasn''t, an impact wouldn''t help." He didn''t call back after an hour even though he said he''d call me right back, so I tried to call again and they said he was waiting to talk to my store.... I finally called again like 4 hours later, he said he''d just talked to the store and the lady told him she''d never even mentioned the warranty!! How would I have even known about it?? And, she made it sound like it was the repair center''s call, and then the repair guy said it was the store''s call.

I understand that I dropped the ring. I just don''t expect a thousand-dollar ring to fracture from falling 3 inches into a sink... And I just seriously felt like I was getting the run-around today. When I finally pressed him on breaking down the repair cost, he admitted that the labor was "much more expensive than the part," and wouldn''t tell me how much it was. He also told me that if the ring was bent or something, it would be covered (!), but said that people send their rings in that have been run over by cars and expect them to be covered.... I just felt insulted. The ring is in otherwise perfect condition- not a scratch on it- and I baby my rings, especially that one, because it was a sentimental gift. I understand that stones can break if they hit just right, but it didn''t chip on the outside, and the stone is completely protected, you can''t even clean the bottom of it where it broke.

I''m having them send the ring back to me and I''m sending it to Wink, I know he''ll be able to fix it just as well as they can for hopefully a lot less. I''m just frustrated that I even have to do that, and that they were so rude, it was ridiculous... I mean, really, has that guy never dropped anything in his life?? The whole situation just makes me sad and upset, and I know you all would understand!!

 

[jennalyns]

Here''s a picture of the ring:

 

[beach]

Ask for a manager and tell them how upset your are with their customer service. However, in the end you did drop the ring, but you never know what they will say after you tell them how you were treated.

Regardless of how much you spent, a Tourmlaline is always going to be a risk in any ring setting. Especially when dropped on a hard surface like a sink. The shock absorbed even at 3in is plenty to do damage to a Tourmaline with that kind of cut in that kind of setting. If it was not a direct hit, the shock alone can carry through the ring and into the stone. Tourmalines are not warrantied to take that kind of shock. Even if you had a princess cut diamond, a 3in drop into a sink may chip the girdle. Good luck

 

[jennalyns]

Thanks. I wish I had known tourmaline was that fragile, I would have gotten the sapphire one instead. I know I dropped it, and it''s not even so much that they won''t cover it, but just the rudeness of the phone rep. I''m going to talk to my store''s manager when I go to pick it up, even if they won''t do anything I still feel it''s unacceptable to be treated that way. I mean, to me half of the point of buying from a B&M, especially one like Tiffany, is supposed to be service after the sale and repairs and all that....

 

[Diamond*Dana]

What a shame, I am sorry that you were not treated as you would have hoped. That is a pretty ring though, hopefully you can find a more inexpensive way to fix it.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/5/2009 5:51:54 PM
Author: jennalyns
Thanks. I wish I had known tourmaline was that fragile, I would have gotten the sapphire one instead. I know I dropped it, and it''s not even so much that they won''t cover it, but just the rudeness of the phone rep. I''m going to talk to my store''s manager when I go to pick it up, even if they won''t do anything I still feel it''s unacceptable to be treated that way. I mean, to me half of the point of buying from a B&M, especially one like Tiffany, is supposed to be service after the sale and repairs and all that....

It can be really frustrating to get such crappy customer service! Make sure someone knows how rude they were to you.

But just FYI-no stone is immune to chipping/cracking. Even diamonds can chip or crack when dropped even from a few inches.

 

[Imdanny]

I hope you get the customer service that you expect and deserve from Tiffany & Co.

But in the mean time, may I say that you have a beautiful ring! What a beautiful ring! What a beautiful color the stones are! I've only seen this ring on the website. The website doesn't do it justice. Thanks for showing it to us!

 

[Indylady]

Boo! I am so sorry to hear about your experience with Tiffany! I have even heard of someone that had entirely broken their ring in half(I''m pretty sure it was someone on Pricescope, with one of the gemstone Frank Gehry torque rings) and Tiffany replaced it entirely for free.

It seems you''re upset on two counts: 1) easily cracked tourmaline 2) bad customer service.

I understand tourmaline is delicate...but..it sounds as if they are being pretty wishy washy about it all. If each of the reps had the same exact thing to say, or if they had an "all sales final" kind of policy, I might understand, but in this case I don''t. I have a few items for Tiffany, and I continue to buy from them partially because of their great customer service. I''m kind of a stickler for customer service, and it is so sad to hear that don''t seem to be taking you seriously. I would email other customer service reps at Tiffany with your problem. If you don''t get a response, try to see if you can speak specifically with someone familiar with the Elsa Peretti line/your ring specifically and see what they have to say. I wouldn''t judge a whole company based on two people, (both of which are discussing the situation with each other)...but I would be upset if you make further complaints about their poor customer service and it seems that there is no attempt at an apology. Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[arjunajane]

bah - bugger them. You'll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.
If you'd like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!

ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff's CS are not the best quality too..

 

[CravingDiamonds]

That really stinks. I hate when you get customer service like that. I guess the saying "the customer is always right" no longer exist. They could of at least been nice to you. I can''t believe that it will cost $200 to fix the ring. Hopefully you can get it fixed for cheaper.

 

[Imdanny]

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM
Author: arjunajane
bah - bugger them.
You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.

If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!


ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

That must be British for "wish them a nice day."

 

[icekid]

jenna- what a pretty ring! I''ve never seen it before. Tourmaline is on the softer side, but as you''ve learned, all gems are fragile if you hit them the right way unfortunately. However it gets done, I hope your ring is fixed and back on your hand ASAP.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 6/6/2009 4:13:10 AM
Author: Imdanny

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM

Author: arjunajane

bah - bugger them.

You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.


If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!



ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

That must be British for ''wish them a nice day.''

tee hee - danny, it''s aussie in this instance - but something like that

 

[Maisie]

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM
Author: arjunajane
bah - bugger them. You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.
If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!

ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

Hehe, I love you AJ!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/5/2009 5:51:54 PM
Author: jennalyns
Thanks. I wish I had known tourmaline was that fragile, I would have gotten the sapphire one instead. I know I dropped it, and it''s not even so much that they won''t cover it, but just the rudeness of the phone rep. I''m going to talk to my store''s manager when I go to pick it up, even if they won''t do anything I still feel it''s unacceptable to be treated that way. I mean, to me half of the point of buying from a B&M, especially one like Tiffany, is supposed to be service after the sale and repairs and all that....

I am surprised that it broke from such a small drop, that indicates to me that the stone was under some stress already. I have sold many many tourmalines in my career and in no way do I consider them a fragile gem. Fairly soft, yes, but not particularly fragile. Did you go up the food chain and speak to a manager? I would think that you might yet wrangle proper treatment by them if you keep asking to speak to the next person up the chain.

Eventually you should reach someone who is willing to man up and do it correctly, the adverse publicity alone is going to cost them WAY more than doing the right thing. I am honored that you are sending it to me, but I will be much happier for you if they would do it the way it should have been done without all the hassle.

Wink

 

[partgypsy]

That sucks. I hope this gets resolved with minimal cost to you. I know an internal crack like that would bug me to no end.

 

[strmrdr]

sometimes strange things happen when crystals come in contact with ceramics and porcelain that will make them shatter where the same drop on something else will not.
I have had topaz shatter from a very light drop onto a sink.
The same drop onto anything else I am positive would not have damage it.
The scientific explanation is resonate frequency, it literally sets up an osculation in the stone that breaks it apart.
It could have also had a fracture either from when it was cut or another hit and this was the straw that broke it.

Being rude was inexcusable but the facts are you dropped it and warranties only cover defects in workmanship.
You would have a very very hard time(impossible) proving it was defective.
This type of thing is what insurance is for but this one is below the deductible.
It would be nice if they fixed it for free but I don't see how legally they are required to.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 6/6/2009 11:03:22 AM
Author: Wink

I am surprised that it broke from such a small drop, that indicates to me that the stone was under some stress already. I have sold many many tourmalines in my career and in no way do I consider them a fragile gem. Fairly soft, yes, but not particularly fragile.

Wink

In some ways I agree with Wink but I just cant discount the 1 in million hit that can explain it.
It could just have hit the right material in just the right way and shattered.
I don''t see how that is tiffs fault.
I dislike Tiffany and would love to say they are evil but I don''t see it here.
The cs rep being rude about it however I can knock em for that.

 

[jennalyns]

Thanks all, I really appreciate the support. Like I said, I know they''re under no legal obligation to fix it, and I''m not even upset so much that they won''t cover it, it was the rudeness and giving me the runaround that had me so upset. If they had just nicely said something to the effect of, sorry but we can''t cover it because it''s our policy, then it would have been fine, but there was the rudeness and all this confusion about checking with the store and passing the buck as to whose decision it was whether to fix it. I''ve sent an email to the wonderful saleslady I always work with and requested that she fwd it to the appropriate manager, I wasn''t sure who to talk to, since I have no problem with the store, it''s just the rude phone rep.

Thanks AJ, I agree, bugger them! I basically just posted on here to vent, since my local friends are all, it''s just a ring, why are you so upset?? I do understand that I dropped the ring, it just seemed really weird to me that it broke so easily, I must have hit just the wrong spot or something... and I knew you all would understand my frustration and how upsetting this has been, it''s a very sentimental ring and I felt like they were just blowing me off. I''m really glad that Wink will be able to fix it, and I actually trust him more than I do them to fix it correctly, but what would someone do who doesn''t know about PS??? Thanks again, I''ll keep you all posted on how it turns out!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/6/2009 12:25:32 PM
Author: jennalyns
Thanks all, I really appreciate the support. Like I said, I know they''re under no legal obligation to fix it, and I''m not even upset so much that they won''t cover it, it was the rudeness and giving me the runaround that had me so upset. If they had just nicely said something to the effect of, sorry but we can''t cover it because it''s our policy, then it would have been fine, but there was the rudeness and all this confusion about checking with the store and passing the buck as to whose decision it was whether to fix it. I''ve sent an email to the wonderful saleslady I always work with and requested that she fwd it to the appropriate manager, I wasn''t sure who to talk to, since I have no problem with the store, it''s just the rude phone rep.

Thanks AJ, I agree, bugger them! I basically just posted on here to vent, since my local friends are all, it''s just a ring, why are you so upset?? I do understand that I dropped the ring, it just seemed really weird to me that it broke so easily, I must have hit just the wrong spot or something... and I knew you all would understand my frustration and how upsetting this has been, it''s a very sentimental ring and I felt like they were just blowing me off. I''m really glad that Wink will be able to fix it, and I actually trust him more than I do them to fix it correctly, but what would someone do who doesn''t know about PS??? Thanks again, I''ll keep you all posted on how it turns out!

LOL! No pressure here.

Actually, it is one of the things I love about Pricescope, every vendor is held to a high standard, no slackers allowed!

Wink

 

[jennalyns]

Date: 6/6/2009 12:28:59 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 6/6/2009 12:25:32 PM

LOL! No pressure here.


Actually, it is one of the things I love about Pricescope, every vendor is held to a high standard, no slackers allowed!


Wink

Haha, I meant that I would keep posted on what their managers say about the whole situation. I know that the repair from you will be fabulous, as always!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''m sorry your stone cracked. I didn''t realize Tiffany was under obligation to replace a broken stone.

When my silver chain broke, they charged $20 to fix it because it broke after being pulled on. It wasn''t normal wear-and-tear. I wouldn''t blame Tiffany for that happening.

Dropping a ring on a hard surface isn''t considered, IMO, a reason Tiffany should replace the stone.

I hope you''re able to find another vendor who will find you a pretty stone at a great price.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 6/6/2009 10:15:57 AM
Author: Maisie

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM

Author: arjunajane

bah - bugger them. You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.

If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!

Hehe, I love you AJ!

you too Maisie my dear

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/6/2009 4:13:10 AM
Author: Imdanny

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM
Author: arjunajane
bah - bugger them.
You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.

If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!


ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

That must be British for ''wish them a nice day.''

we do say bugger. A lot.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 6/7/2009 4:35:04 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 6/6/2009 4:13:10 AM
Author: Imdanny

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM
Author: arjunajane
bah - bugger them.
You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.

If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!


ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

That must be British for ''wish them a nice day.''

we do say bugger. A lot.

Speak for yourself.. gutter mouth

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/7/2009 8:15:38 AM
Author: Maisie

Date: 6/7/2009 4:35:04 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 6/6/2009 4:13:10 AM
Author: Imdanny

Date: 6/5/2009 11:27:02 PM
Author: arjunajane
bah - bugger them.
You''ll be able to get a new, much nicer tourmaline and have it set by on of the PS vendors (like Wink perhaps) for less than their repair cost.

If you''d like to go that route, head over to the coloured stones forum and the folks would be glad to help you!


ETA: btw, tourm is not *that* fragile. I have a couple of loose gems that I have dropped onto concrete and metal all the way to the floor while standing up (trying to take photos

), and neither sustained damage. Admittedly, yours is a baguette which is likely a lil more fragile, but I have heard quite a bit about how Tiff''s CS are not the best quality too..

That must be British for ''wish them a nice day.''

we do say bugger. A lot.

Speak for yourself.. gutter mouth

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/6/2009 12:28:59 PM
Author: Wink


LOL! No pressure here.

Actually, it is one of the things I love about Pricescope, every vendor is held to a high standard, no slackers allowed!

Wink

Yeah, too bad someone from T&Co doesn''t hang around here!!!

 

[jennalyns]

Good news! I sent an email to my salesperson at my local store, describing the situation. I didn''t ask for the ring to be covered, just asked for clarification on the warranty policy and said I was upset by the rude treatment from the phone person. She spoke to her manager and they said it was a grey area because chipped stones aren''t usually covered, but that they would cover half of the repair cost because it did break so easily and because they felt the phone person was inappropriate and she said "that is NOT how we operate." The store people have always been fabulous, I was really clear in my email that I was totally happy with them but I just didn''t know who to contact about the phone person... but it was really nice that they went out of their way to try to make it right, especially since it wasn''t their fault and technically they weren''t obligated to do anything about it. It should be done in a few weeks, I just wanted to thank you all for your support and letting me vent about all this!

 

[motownmama]

good news!!! I''d be in trouble - I drop my jewelry all the time - I''ve been lucky I guess!