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James Allan major dissppointment...is this normal for online retailers?

just an fyi 4ct settings are special order at stuller also and can take a couple weeks.
That will be the case pretty much anywhere.
 
flyingpig said:
Plus, I disagree that someone's order moves up in queue just because the person spent 20k+. Every engagement ring is important, and should be processed on a first come first serve basis.
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This. How would you feel if they told you your order got bumped for a $30k order? Retailers should function on a first come first serve basis. Either way this is a big (and emotional) purchase regardless of the actual $$ amount spent.
 
ABKIS said:
This. How would you feel if they told you your order got bumped for a $30k order? Retailers should function on a first come first serve basis. Either way this is a big (and emotional) purchase regardless of the actual $$ amount spent.
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It is the opposite. He was led to believe his 30k ring got bumped and the sale rings jumped in the queue ahead of him.

The bottom line is that his ring got there before the sale started, so he expected (and the about two week email confirmed to him) that his ring was in the queue BEFORE the rings bought during the sale.

But when he called, he was told his ring was delayed BECAUSE of the sale, which seemed to indicate that the rings for the sale were placed in the queue before his ring.

He was not told about special times needed for his ring because of the stone size.

He was not told where he was in the queue, or even if he was in the queue at all.

He was told that his ring was delayed BECAUSE they were busy from the sale. We have heard complaints about this before.
 
Reading your story I can understand how you got upset and maybe (?) had a knee-jerk reaction. I guess they could have said we can't do 24 hours, but your business is very important to us and how about 1 more week. Anyhow, have you given any thought to just taking a deep breadth and recontacting them and asking what true deadline can they absolutely stick to for you? I do NOT think someone with a $500 purchase should be delayed on your account, but maybe for a $23K purchase there could be some sort of hoop jumping. JMHO. Best of luck with getting a ring and getting engaged.
 
I am very limited in what I can say in this thread but in the diamond world 23k is not a large sale or very unusual.
I would not do business with a vendor that treated it any different than a $500 sale.

One going theory right now with customer care is that when it gets to the point that someone mentions a refund just to do the refund if possible because the relationship has deteriorated to the point it is better for both parties to bail.

To the OP I am sorry your experience turned sour for you.
 
stonewell said:
I beg to differ... I've placed several orders with JA and the order tracker clearly states the ship dates are estimated. So, unless a CSR promised a specific completion date, I don't know what more you want. Ready made is very likely your best option.
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Sorry I'm just catching up on this thread so someone else may have already said this.

Stonewell is correct. All dates are estimates. Things happen. Castings fail, metal can end up being porous. A ring may not pass quality control at the very last minute. Flexibility is key.

Additionally, I'm going to go with a 4ct center likely required more time as that's not a standard size. 1ct stones are standard so that probably would have been turned around faster. I don't understand why there was a need for a concrete time line. I'd rather wait a few days and get something that's up to my standards versus rushing something just for rushing's sake. (If I missed why there was a reason for a concrete deadline, please disregard my comment).
 
whitewave said:
It is the opposite. He was led to believe his 30k ring got bumped and the sale rings jumped in the queue ahead of him.

The bottom line is that his ring got there before the sale started, so he expected (and the about two week email confirmed to him) that his ring was in the queue BEFORE the rings bought during the sale.

But when he called, he was told his ring was delayed BECAUSE of the sale, which seemed to indicate that the rings for the sale were placed in the queue before his ring.

He was not told about special times needed for his ring because of the stone size.

He was not told where he was in the queue, or even if he was in the queue at all.

He was told that his ring was delayed BECAUSE they were busy from the sale. We have heard complaints about this before.
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Hello Whitewave,

I actually did not read it that way so I apologize. The way I understood his post was that it was bumped due to a sale meaning that there was a sudden influx of work going all at the same time. I would imagine that would cause a slight delay all the way around. I agree they should perhaps extend the estimated wait time to three or four weeks when they run a sale just in case. Better to underpromise and over-deliver. At the very least, they should have told him if the center size required more time in order to manage expectations.
 
whitewave said:
It is the opposite. He was led to believe his 30k ring got bumped and the sale rings jumped in the queue ahead of him.
The bottom line is that his ring got there before the sale started, so he expected (and the about two week email confirmed to him) that his ring was in the queue BEFORE the rings bought during the sale.
But when he called, he was told his ring was delayed BECAUSE of the sale, which seemed to indicate that the rings for the sale were placed in the queue before his ring.
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I think Mark's belief that JA didn't launch a sale until after he ordered the setting & sent the stone back to JA may be mistaken. My recollection is that JA first had a July 4 holiday weekend sale ('cause I remember thinking there's no obvious tie-in between Independence Day & engagement/wedding rings). Mark ordered the stone on about July 9 & was disappointed that it didn't arrive until more than a week later than he'd expected. rockysalamander alerted a prospective purchaser on July 20 that JA's current 25% sale on settings was ending on July 23:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-needed.232201/#post-4190814
although it was then extended through the end of the month.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...louds-that-are-not-shown.232451/#post-4195918

So I'm thinking it's entirely possible that there was a flurry of sale orders already in the pipeline before Mark's diamond got back to JA. Of course, that doesn't negate the reality that we see spates of such complaints here on PS (and elsewhere on the 'net) in the wake of seemingly every big JA sale (and re Xmas-New Year orders).
 
I still don't feel JA is absolved of fault here, not that anyone is really saying that. No matter what, JA communicated poorly relative to the timelines here. JA knows that most buyers don't know the intracacies of the diamond buying and setting business, as said by others. Imagine the OP believed the system and had made an elaborate engagement plan based on that. Maybe a bad idea, but JA should not set an expectation that they cannot meet. Beyond a certain size stone, the system should promt a customer service person to have to enter in an actual date with some kind of realistic expectation.

There are posts like this occuring on other boards too, for modest sized stones and JA stock settings. Lots of unhappy people. That means lots of poor expectation setting.
 
Too bad to lose such a gorgeous diamond!
 
rockysalamander said:
I still don't feel JA is absolved of fault here, not that anyone is really saying that. No matter what, JA communicated poorly relative to the timelines here. JA knows that most buyers don't know the intracacies of the diamond buying and setting business, as said by others. Imagine the OP believed the system and had made an elaborate engagement plan based on that. Maybe a bad idea, but JA should not set an expectation that they cannot meet. Beyond a certain size stone, the system should promt a customer service person to have to enter in an actual date with some kind of realistic expectation.

There are posts like this occuring on other boards too, for modest sized stones and JA stock settings. Lots of unhappy people. That means lots of poor expectation setting.
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I agree that JA should have given the OP more information when they apologized for the delay. I don't think they are totally innocent in the matter at all. There could have certainly been better communication, as well as adjusted ship dates. I always think it's better to "guesstimate" on the longer side. If the shipment arrives later than expected (from the shipper, not the ETA given to the consumer), then the vendor is covered and the recipient is none the wiser... and if the shipment arrives sooner than expected, then the recipient is pleasantly surprised. Win-win.
 
Always better to under-promise and over-perform...


;-)


[/filthy mind]

lol
 
When I recently (within the past 4-5 months) purchased my ring I was looking at James Allen. Overall, I decided not to go with them in part because of their customer service. I would ask questions on live chat and would get a different answer each time and felt like they really couldn't be bothered. I don't need to be wined and dined but it's such a big, personal purchase and I wish they cared more (or pretended to at least).
OP I would have done the same thing you did ~ if I don't feel like my business is appreciated I will take my business elsewhere....even if it means finding a different diamond. IMO ~ Things always tend to work out exactly the way they are meant to......
 
Wow! This is pretty shocking. I work in a jewellers and I know that jewellers can get snowed under with jobs but a ring of this value would be number one priority for anyone. I can only image the person who you were dealing with clearly has no regard for the company or yourself for that matter. I hope all worked out for you in the end.
 
And you're "up set" because they didn't beg for your business?

I am glad they didn't think you were that special because of the amount of money you were spending.

No expectations. No disappointment.
 
JoJa12345 said:
* * * OP I would have done the same thing you did ~ if I don't feel like my business is appreciated I will take my business elsewhere....even if it means finding a different diamond. IMO ~ Things always tend to work out exactly the way they are meant to......
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I fear, however, this may be an example of (to use my grandmother's phrase) "cutting off your nose to spite your face." Mark hasn't been back in the past week to happily report he was able to re-purchase the 4 ct stone from JA or was able to source it, or a comparable one, from one of the vendors suggested to him in this thread. But perhaps he's hit upon a fabulous alternative -- maybe even a non-jewelry gift -- to commemorate their 25th anniversary.

i-heart-diamonds said:
Wow! This is pretty shocking. I work in a jewellers and I know that jewellers can get snowed under with jobs but a ring of this value would be number one priority for anyone. I can only image the person who you were dealing with clearly has no regard for the company or yourself for that matter. I hope all worked out for you in the end.
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James Allen is a much bigger operation than your jewelry shop. But no matter what the size of the enterprise, I'm one of those who would be appalled by if people's place in the queue for the fabrication of an e-ring, wedding band, or anniversary ring depended on the purchase price.

On a fun note: although "girl" has me rolling my eyes (she's young, but not that young), I love this very entertaining James Allen ad; as one of the guys who commented on the YouTube page said, "This is a Super Bowl-level ad." So for those who've not already seen it, voila!
 
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