UCLABelle
Ideal_Rock
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Not a positive experience thus far...
- Thread starter hot4teacher
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I hope people read your post, Antique-Diamond Gem. Because I believe you hit the nail on the head (and I did understand Brian''s point). While I believe Dana should receive excellent customer service in the case of her complaint (and then this thread might have never started), I also believe there is a fundamental misunderstanding on this forum about handmade versus cast jewelry. Handmade will always have slight imperfections. It is like a great work of art compared to a photograph! The hand creates from an image in the mind''s eye as opposed to an actual photo. It will not be quite as realistic EVER as the photograph is. So all those who found terrible flaws in the Tiffany Legacy ring need to probably stay with cast jewelry. And y''all can send me that Legacy by overnight delivery because I would adore it! (A far second to one of your stones ADG, but I can''t figure out who you are!!! I wish you''d post a photo of your wife''s ring!)
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I agree with this, too. I think a phone call is appropriate when an email is not returned. I have certainly had an email buried and neglected to reply myself. That is unfortunate but it happens. It can''t be considered deliberate. I juat hate to see a thread turn into a listing of every complaint anyone can think of.Date: 2/10/2007 8:10:05 AM
Author: rjdodd
Does anyone else forget things? I''m in a relationship business, where I do alot of work over the phone, responding to incoming calls and often dealing with people with little patience. Sometimes I forget to call people back, or lose messages (you do not want to see my desk) - it happens. I can''t remember the last time this resulted in someone refusing to do business with me - and I''m in a very competitive market.
I understand a lot of the issues where poeple are not happy with a product, but raking people (WF or others) over the coals for forgeting to return a call for some reasons is a little extreme to me. Yes we all want perfection, but it just isn''t going to happen. I''m not picking on aztec22mm in particular it jsut brought up an issue that has come up time and again. It gets up my nose since it hits close to home for me.
Just venting.
For what it''s worth I sent an email to Tim at GOG the middle of last week, and he hasn''t gotten back to me. It''s the week before valentine''s day - he may be a little busy. I''ll follow up with him later (I''m not looking to a valetines present), I''m not immediately going to switch choice of vendor because he forgot (or was too busy, or misplace my email) to get back to me.
jennalyns
Shiny_Rock
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- Oct 28, 2004
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- 266
I haven''t read the entire thread, but I just wanted to comment on the above. I don''t know about the UK, but in Japan you have to pay the import tax every time, even if you have the receipt and can prove it''s not a newly purchased item you''re receiving. I paid the 10% tax the first time I received the ring, and then paid it again after I sent the ring back to the US for repair, even though I had proof that I paid it the first time. I ended up paying over 20% of the price of the ring in import duties.
You make a good point - I didn''t mean anything by naming names. I''ve edited my post now.Date: 2/10/2007 9:42:15 AM
Author: crown1
hi rjdodd! i am not disagreeing with the content of your post at all. given the message i do wonder why you could not have just said another vendor instead of naming the person and their business who you will get in touch with later.
For what it''s worth I''ve had custom work done by WF that I''m happy with - so no issue there.
Skippy123
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Mara
Super_Ideal_Rock
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crown, i found this comment somewhat odd. what does it matter if another poster names another vendor, not in a negative way at all? PS is not about being anonymous for vendors. honestly when people come in and say 'i worked with a well known vendor but i won't post the name' then they post their pictures all over (and we all know whose pictures they are by now!)...it's like just say who it is. it's really not a big deal to name vendors or names as long as it's respectful.Date: 2/10/2007 9:42:15 AM
Author: crown1
hi rjdodd! i am not disagreeing with the content of your post at all. given the message i do wonder why you could not have just said another vendor instead of naming the person and their business who you will get in touch with later.
rjdodd said that GOG didn't get back to him BUT he wasn't going to hold it against them. to me that's a perfectly fine statement to make and it totally underscores his point. i personally agree hugely with him in general re: people and expectations. i was in sales for a few years and heck yeah i forgot things sometimes. but if someone really wanted to get in touch with me, they'd call me or write me more than once. no one is perfect. if they didn't want to work with me, they'd move on. probably best for everyone in that scenario.
anyway, sometimes the nitpicking over what's right or wrong in these threads and what people or vendors should or shouldn't do and reading into actions or words seems a bit much (i'm sure i can do it too!). let people just say what they think without censoring as long as it's not rude, graphic, vulgar, and doesn't upset the admin!
strmrdr
Super_Ideal_Rock
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baloney, quality is quality.
How they are made has next to nothing to do with it.
If I want average quality I will get a stuller setting and have a diamond thrown in it.
If I pay several hundreds more than that it had better be more than average quality.
Far as that goes I have rings made with stuller settings that with a little work by my bench are above average.
Consumers should not accept shoddy workmanship with the excuse that its custom.
If anything the quality potential is slightly lower with cast than handmade because each part can be polished apart then put together.
And since the ring in question was cast anyway what does cast vs handmade have to do with it?
When a consumer is ordering custom they have the right to expect certain quality levels for any given price point. (WF can meet that, I''m not saying they cant/wont this post isn''t about them but in general)
The quality level can and should be higher in a $1500 ring than a $150 one.
hikerchick
Brilliant_Rock
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- Nov 29, 2006
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Maybe . . . except sometimes when I look at a picture and something doesn''t look 100% as far as a "tilt" or "lean", I feel that I can never be sure if it is the ring or the angle of the picture. Once the ring is in hand, it is much easier to find the flaws in the picture based on the flaws in the ring. Just my own personal take on the question based on how things went down for us.
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I''m sorry, Storm, but I did not find the Tiffany Legacy ring to be unacceptable in quality. I think the people who did will never find a ring they like. And you are right, of course, that there are various qualities of cast pieces as well. I do worry a bit that we have expectations that far exceed the norm. I bought a pair if studs with cast settings in Dec. and was very unhappy with the quality under a loupe. I ended up returning them due to the fact I found another pair that was exactly what I wanted, and those cast settings were very nice under the loupe.
And this whole subject is really not the issue of this thread, as far as I am concerned. The issue was that Dana did not receive prompt and courteous service for her concerns about her setting. I cannot see anything in the photos personally, which is probably why WF is confused. But regardless, they should have asked for the ring back so that they could inspect it again if it bothered her that much. I do worry a bit that we have expectations that far exceed the norm. I bought a pair of studs with cast settings in Dec. and was very unhappy with the setting quality under a loupe. I ended up returning them due to the fact I found another pair of diamonds that was exactly what I wanted, and those cast settings were very nice under the loupe. But where to draw the line is going to be subjective and a pain in the neck occasionally for vendors.
decodelighted
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Mara
Super_Ideal_Rock
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please, don't be sorry. i just found it to be ODD. my opinion...and i don't think it was out of line the way the original poster phrased it (nor would i have changed it were i him/her).Date: 2/10/2007 1:30:12 PM
Author: crown1
mara, i agree on the nitpicking. so why are you doing it? i gave my opinion and the person i addressed it to understood it. i am sorry your don't.
as for understanding it, that was never in question.
Mara
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Wow. Anyone for flintlocks at thirty paces.
I changed the post since I felt it could be taken the wrong way - negative of WF and trying to direct people to the ''other vendor''. I would have not problem doing that if that''s what I meant to do, but it wasn''t in this case.
Anyway, after I changed the post I got an email from Tim - he''d seen the post and my previous email. He had responded to my email, and it had been caught by my spam filter - and I hadn''t caught it, though I did this time (when again, it was caught by my spam filter). If you don''t get a reply from someone make sure to check your filter.
So, double reason to change my post because it was my fault, not anybody else.
I changed the post since I felt it could be taken the wrong way - negative of WF and trying to direct people to the ''other vendor''. I would have not problem doing that if that''s what I meant to do, but it wasn''t in this case.
Anyway, after I changed the post I got an email from Tim - he''d seen the post and my previous email. He had responded to my email, and it had been caught by my spam filter - and I hadn''t caught it, though I did this time (when again, it was caught by my spam filter). If you don''t get a reply from someone make sure to check your filter.
So, double reason to change my post because it was my fault, not anybody else.
It seems to me that there would have been far fewer problems with most of these situations if the response from the reps was compassionate and appropriate to the level of stress their clients can experience after a sufficient amount of emotional, mental and financial stress.
i do think the level of neurosis can go a tilt (haha) toward excessive here, and in part it is due to the unrealistic expectations set by marketing the perfection of diamonds and high-end jewelry in the first place. the other part might be due to OCD, boredom or a true obsession!
So i think it''s not as much about perfection vs. flaws - but more expectations and relationships...which we all can work on improving throughout our lives huh?!
i do think the level of neurosis can go a tilt (haha) toward excessive here, and in part it is due to the unrealistic expectations set by marketing the perfection of diamonds and high-end jewelry in the first place. the other part might be due to OCD, boredom or a true obsession!
So i think it''s not as much about perfection vs. flaws - but more expectations and relationships...which we all can work on improving throughout our lives huh?!
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I''m certainly not in favor of shoddy or imperfect workmanship but you folks would not believe the quality of
many castings that appraisers see on a daily basis. i.e. crooked prongs, prongs not touching the stone, porosity,
solder marks, uneven shanks, etc. My point is that folks have already purchased the item totally unaware of these
faults. Even after we point out the faults, sometimes they still don''t see them. Just an observation. I''m neutral regarding
this particular thread.
www.metrojewelryappraisers.com
many castings that appraisers see on a daily basis. i.e. crooked prongs, prongs not touching the stone, porosity,
solder marks, uneven shanks, etc. My point is that folks have already purchased the item totally unaware of these
faults. Even after we point out the faults, sometimes they still don''t see them. Just an observation. I''m neutral regarding
this particular thread.
www.metrojewelryappraisers.com
hot4teacher
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2006
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- 32
I couldn''t disagree more. Are you saying that customers that walk into B&M''s are less critical of their purchases than customers online? I would be embarrassed to show a customer in ''my'' store (hypothetically speaking) the same product as I received. No matter what processes occurred before the customer saw the ring, it still falls on the sales representative to make sure the BEST quality product was turned over to the customer.Date: 2/9/2007 1:27:47 PM
Author: BrianTheCutter
We want to thank and acknowledge those who have participated here. The strength of Pricescope is that it allows people to express opinions. Some we agree with and others we do not.
We owe many thanks to the members of this forum for the reputation we enjoy. We are one of the largest online manufacturers of custom jewelry in the world and without your feedback we would not be where we are. There is a reason our company is highly recommended: We’ve operated for more than seven years and over time less than 1% of our daily production has resulted in customer concerns (how would we be measured in the real world with this success rate?). This is no easy task. Unfortunately that does not make it right for customers who fall in the other position, but in those cases we hope to create trust through commitment and our willingness to help them.
There are different personalities on a team. Bob has great expertise but a personality which some like and others do not. There are people who do not mix so well with me either. We apologize if any one of us fails to convey the spirit of the company in an interaction. Hopefully it will not hinder our goals to provide you with quality products or resolve concerns.
We are a company of balance. As I am committed to visual balance in my diamonds, the Whiteflash team is committed to handling concerns in a balanced and fair manner. We assess incidents individually, on their own merits. As lovers of quality our own expectation are considerable. Still, for perspective, here is an example of a ring made by a premier manufacturer. If this ring was put out by Whiteflash I believe we’d be raked over the forum coals due to inconsistencies seen in the photo (it’s happened before). This was scanned from a full-page ad featured in popular magazines as a national advertising campaign for its parent company. With the power to see everything at huge magnifications we must temper expectations with reality: Jewelry is an art and even the strongest companies create with human hands.
As internet e-tailers we realize our customers want their pieces quickly and examine them with greater scrutiny than other markets. To this end there are custom jewelers who refuse projects when they sense a client is very detail-oriented. We’ve always accepted that challenge. Those who criticize us are welcome to do so. It is an open forum.
We believe the measure of a company is not whether concerns arise, but how they are followed-up when they do.
There are two things Whiteflash will always do.
Continue our ongoing commitment to quality.
Work to make things right on an individual basis when there are reasonable concerns.
Perhaps another reason every product should be inspected by the sales representative, instead of them giving customers the false sense that they''ve seen it in person and that there were no discrepancies.
Dana
hot4teacher
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2006
- Messages
- 32
I would disagree again. Maybe it''s just me, but my policy would be to do it right the first time. To the jeweler and customer service department, I guess that would be called ''job security'' if the follow-up is more important.Date: 2/9/2007 1:27:47 PM
Author: BrianTheCutter
We want to thank and acknowledge those who have participated here. The strength of Pricescope is that it allows people to express opinions. Some we agree with and others we do not.
We owe many thanks to the members of this forum for the reputation we enjoy. We are one of the largest online manufacturers of custom jewelry in the world and without your feedback we would not be where we are. There is a reason our company is highly recommended: We’ve operated for more than seven years and over time less than 1% of our daily production has resulted in customer concerns (how would we be measured in the real world with this success rate?). This is no easy task. Unfortunately that does not make it right for customers who fall in the other position, but in those cases we hope to create trust through commitment and our willingness to help them.
There are different personalities on a team. Bob has great expertise but a personality which some like and others do not. There are people who do not mix so well with me either. We apologize if any one of us fails to convey the spirit of the company in an interaction. Hopefully it will not hinder our goals to provide you with quality products or resolve concerns.
We are a company of balance. As I am committed to visual balance in my diamonds, the Whiteflash team is committed to handling concerns in a balanced and fair manner. We assess incidents individually, on their own merits. As lovers of quality our own expectation are considerable. Still, for perspective, here is an example of a ring made by a premier manufacturer. If this ring was put out by Whiteflash I believe we’d be raked over the forum coals due to inconsistencies seen in the photo (it’s happened before). This was scanned from a full-page ad featured in popular magazines as a national advertising campaign for its parent company. With the power to see everything at huge magnifications we must temper expectations with reality: Jewelry is an art and even the strongest companies create with human hands.
As internet e-tailers we realize our customers want their pieces quickly and examine them with greater scrutiny than other markets. To this end there are custom jewelers who refuse projects when they sense a client is very detail-oriented. We’ve always accepted that challenge. Those who criticize us are welcome to do so. It is an open forum.
We believe the measure of a company is not whether concerns arise, but how they are followed-up when they do.
There are two things Whiteflash will always do.
Continue our ongoing commitment to quality.
Work to make things right on an individual basis when there are reasonable concerns.
Dana
hot4teacher
Rough_Rock
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- Oct 22, 2006
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- 32
hot4teacher
Rough_Rock
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- Oct 22, 2006
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Just as others has concluded, this discrepancy was observed with the naked eye, 12" away. However, using a 10x loupe, it was noticed that 2 of the melee stones had discrepancies too. One was lop-sided in the setting and the other was resting much higher than the others. I felt that was "splitting hairs" under magnification.
Dana
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