JEWELERS ARE GOOD PEOPLE — most of them, anyway.
But as in any other profession, there are a few unsavory characters. And unfortunately, our readers have had some run-ins with less-than-upstanding members of the industry.
One question we asked in INSTORE’s 2017 Big Survey was, “What’s the most unethical thing a direct rival has done to you in the name of competition?”
The answers were a bit disturbing.
Don’t try this stuff at home, folks. You wouldn’t want the bad karma that’s bound to result.
➜ Our local rival once told a potential client that we were known to have cocaine problems and informed the potential customer we were engaged in unethical behavior so we could pay for drugs.
➜ Used a picture of my late husband in his Corvette in his ad, stating they pay more for gold because they don’t have a Corvette.
➜ We refer horrible customers to each other.
➜ Said that they made my wife’s engagement ring!
➜ Told people my watches were counterfeit.
➜ Stopped by my store and in the middle of a presentation of loose diamonds told my customer, “Hmm, that’s nice. But you should come see what I have at my shop.”
➜ Appraised an item and told the client that the sapphire we sold the client was too good to be real, that it must be synthetic and to demand a lab report or money. We gave the money back, got a lab report, called the customer, and he was upset because he had purchased another sapphire from the competitor’s wife and could not return it!
➜ Our color stone dealer opened a retail store across the street from us, without telling us and while we were planning an event together.
➜ Told our customer the diamond they bought from us was junk!
➜ Pretended to be me.
➜ Put our name on their website.
➜ Reported us to the IRS!
➜ Said they had never heard of our store when a potential customer walked into their location in error.
➜ Said we were crooks. My response was that we did take $50,000 of sales from them last month, so guilty as charged!
➜ Said our prices are lower because we sell stolen merchandise.
➜ Hired an ex-employee and had them send postcards to my customers.
➜ Told people I was unstable and might not be in business much longer.
The 2017 Big Survey was conducted in July and attracted more than 700 responses from jewelry-store owners around country. Look out for all the results in the October issue of INSTORE.