Jewlry store suck

[Akasa]

Blaz's jewelry store thread reminded me of this story, even though they don't have much in common.

A couple years ago I had come into a nice chunk of change and decided to buy myself something nice for the first time in my adult life. I go to a local Kay jewelry store and all the staff are helping people so I stand by the section that has things I'm interested in and wait my turn.

Sure I was wearing street clothes, but I was wearing hundreds if not over $1k in jewelry. My earrings alone were worth over $350, plus a diamond ring, and a watch that was more jewelry than time piece, and my usual 3 necklaces.(2 are white gold, the other one is not real jewelry but a close friend bought it for me.)

In walks a couple who can best be described as wearing outfits from the catalog GK takes orders for and the woman is wearing obviously fake jewelry.

The staff person at the area I'm waiting for gets done with her person, and then calls THEM over. I had been waiting about 20 min at this point.

At this point I loudly "Excuse me! I was here first!" To which I'm ignored.

I go looking at everyone else's name tags to find a manager. I make a complaint against that sales person specifically, state the amount of money I was planning on dropping, and state their competitor across the street will be getting my money today.

Of course he appologized and offered to help me, but I was PISSED.

[Bright_Star]

I hope you didn't buy anything there.

[JLG]

Something like this happened to me this past weekend at Target! I decided to buy myself a digital camera for Christmas. I had to get up early that morning to take my mom to a doctors appointment and I was tired from working the previous night. I was wearing clean clothes and I took a shower that morning But I am not really into getting all "dressed" up to go shopping.

I saw the camera I wanted and there was a guy behind the counter helping some other customers so I waited and was looking at the other cameras just in case they were out of the one I wanted. He finishes helping the customers and is just standing there. Then another person comes up and he asks if they need help. I figure OK maybe he thinks I am still looking. Then I notice another lady that works there by the phones asking somebody that just walked up about what kind of phone they have blah blah.

I continue to look at the cameras deciding maybe if I want a different camera instead. Again this guy is not busy and never one time asks me if I need help. The lady is also free and she does not ask. I pick up a camera to look at it and I accidentally set the alarm off. He comes over to turn it off and I say sorry and he still does not ask if I need help. Some ladies come up to both of these workers wearing their Sunday best and immediately get help.

At this point I decide forget it and look at other stores.

[BlaqueKatt]

I once went to buy a hunting rifle at a chain sporting goods store. Waited at the counter for 45 minutes(I timed it), while all 4 staff members were looking in a catalog for a customer that was "maybe thinking about ordering it" after taxes came back(this was october-deer season starts in november). I knew what I wanted an my now ex-husband wanted to let me buy my first rifle without his help. As soon as he came up the staff ran to help him. He looked at them, said "huh, I guess boobs make a paying customer invisible, c'mon honey we'll go elsewhere to let you purchase your rifle." He also left the $200 of gear he was intending to purchase-total sales lost that day was close to $1000.00.(we were both going to get rifles and gear-and yes the manager was called the next day)

[AnqeiicDemise]

Kay Jewelers did the same thing to us when we went in there to get our wedding bands. We got totally blown off even though we were standing there and had called a lady over twice. She kept telling me she'd be with me, but helped two other before getting to me.

So I walked over to another sales lady and she blew me off too.

I then got pissed off and stormed off to the other side of the mall to talk to the Zales folk where hubby got my engagement ring.

Sure enough, as we walked into the store (sweaty and in jeans and just totally disheveled from the power walk across the mall), one of the sales girls looked up and asked us what we wanted. She also had one of the friendliest smiles *ever*. It made my anger fade.

Ten minutes later we walk out of the store with our bands in the bag. Just to be a bitch I decided to wonder over to Kay Jewelers where we found another couple looking at wedding sets. I got close to couple and said, "Oh, don't waste your time here. We wasted about twenty minutes of our lives trying to get our wedding bands but we got blown off a few times. Go down to Zales, they got a bigger selection and have sale. Plus the sales staff is super friendly."

The couple looked at each other, thanked us and left the store. The sales lady that had told me to wait just shot me a death glare and I just offered her an apologetic smile.

[ta2ooed1]

Well on a brighter note future hubby and I went to Jared's last week to get his great grandma's ring cleaned and sized for me and as soon as we walked in an associate walked up and asked if we'd been there and if we'd like a tour!

They were really cool and got the work done in a couple hours.

[Imogene]

I just offered her an apologetic smile.

Why? Just because you informed another customer about your experience? You didn't lie about it...

[Sheldonrs]

Well on a brighter note future hubby and I went to Jared's last week ...

"He went to Jareds!"


Oh! Like none of YOU were thinking that!

[Aethian]

"He went to Jareds!"


Oh! Like none of YOU were thinking that!

You just beat me too it.

I've never been in one of their places before, nice?

[Amina516]

You just beat me too it.

Beat me to it too. Lol.

I dont know what some sales people think a "real customer" looks like. Sometimes I'm ignored when im looking to purchase, other times they're all over me when I'm just browsing.

[Mamadrae]

I went into a jewelry shop once with fellow big shot wives (hubby is partner with 6 other guys and us wives all went to oogle the shinies). It was rather hilarious that I was pretty much ignored while they were catered to. The other wives kept going "Hey help her too!" while we all browsed.

Then the husbands came in and it because obvious that one of them was MINE. Suddenly the employees were all over me. I couldn't find anything I wanted though anyways.

Hubby might dress like a farmer and me a house wife, but that doesn't mean we don't have money. I know for a fact that we make more then my stepmom (who likes to try hiking Yellowstone in designer sandals, full make-up, done up hair, and glittering in gold from ear to ear) and my sister-in-law (who likes to rack up large debts so the family all look great in designer clothes the kids destroy and profitable even though they are dead broke).

Yet they wonder why I don't bother getting my son little suits he'll destroy in 5 minutes and shop at Target for clothes when I know I'm going to get them filthy, ripped, and otherwise trashed while playing with my boy.

[NightWatch]

Soo, I've never been into a jewelry store really.. Why is it that some people dress up all fancy pants to buy jewelry? I mean, if you're out with your love critter I could see being a little dressed up for that. Is it really not ok to go to these places in jeans and a tshirt? Cuz one day I will need to go to a jewelry store, it'll probably be when I'm looking at wedding bands and if I'm already planning a wedding, I can guarantee I'll be too damn frazzled to want to pull out my best outfit and get dressed to the nines...

[Ironclad Alibi]

My wife has a history of going into jewelry stores and being treated royally, with one exception. She will look at an array of diamonds and pick out the best ones immediately, upon which the clerks will bring out the good stuff to show her. After looking at and discussing the stones for a few minutes, they offer a job because of her knowledge. She has always declined.

The one exception. She went into a jewelry store near her office with a coworker to find an engagement ring for the coworker. As she was looking at one the coworked had selected, she pulled out her loupe to have a closer look. The owner immediately rushed over and demanded to know who she was. Was she another dealer? And practically pushed her out of the store. The stone in the ring being viewed had a hidden crack under a prong. The guy was selling faulty jewelry. Turns out he was the son of the original owner, who had died, and was using up the store's profits on a drug habit. They closed a short time later.

[Sauletekis]

I had a similar experience when buying my new laptop. I went to Tottenham Court Road in London, which is the place to go to buy a new bit of tech.

The first store I walked into, the Samsung/Bose store, a sales associate was with me in seconds, and walked me through all of my options laptop wise. I used to do tier 1 tech support, so I consider myself able to ask intelligent computer-related questions.

At the end, I thanked him and said I was planning on looking around as I didn't have anything specific in mind and would have felt silly heading all the way to Tottenham Court Road just to buy a laptop in the first store I walked into.

I then proceeded to pop into another 7 nearby stores. In not one of these stores, despite looking around expectantly and signalling that I wanted help, did any of the sales staff come over to help me. Maybe it was because I am a girl. Maybe because I was dressed in street clothes.

I soon found myself back at store number one, where I bought my shiny new laptop. I still am a bit flabbergasted that no one else gave me the time of day.

[blas]

I went to a few of the jewelery stores at the local mall last Saturday morning after I'd came home from work and took my makeup off and changed my shirt, shoes, and jacket. I tried to look nicer, but I really didn't feel like wearing makeup just to shop, and I'm not THAT ugly without it.

Sure enough, no one really felt like helping me at any of the stores.

I guess when I go to get my ring sized this weekend, I'll have to doll all up to be taken seriously. Or maybe it will be enough that my bf will be with me.