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At Halloween, Beware of ‘Vampire Customers’ in Your Jewelry Store

Here are some tips for recognizing and dealing with them.

Published

1 year ago

October 29, 2023

David Blitt

AT THIS TIME of year, some clients seem to come out of nowhere to haunt us.

In this case, they are called “vampire customers.” They literally suck the lifeblood out of staff. And even with all the “Shane Deckerisms” applied, they waste time and never buy.

How it starts is a simple contact such as an email or in-person visit. These customers do not leave a door open to starting a relationship, they don’t react to open-ended questions, and they typically avoid anything but the pursuit of staff’s knowledge. Staff can try to show the value of dealing with the store, but inevitably, these clients go back to their lair to think of new questions. It’s apparent that they will never buy from us and want the information so they can then make their own “informed” decision of what to buy online.

Staff will persist in helping, hoping that this client will be an exception, yet this client continues to ask more and more. At a certain point, the staff get paler and paler as their blood is sucked out of them.

This client has some tell-tale signs:

Asks questions about almost every aspect of a product, from ratios to millimeter sizes.
Asks to see different items on their hands to compare.
Takes lots of pictures of the product, from the top, side, even bottom.
Will come back in or ask for email follow up, followed by more questions, and more follow-up.
Often forgets who they are talking to and may have a few retailers sacrificing blood at the same time.
Has great expertise in jewelers “phishing” and “ghosting.”
May ask for some designs to be sent or even CAD ideas shown to them.
Never puts a dollar on the table for any service.
Enters the store looking pale and gaunt but leaves looking flush from sucking the blood out of staff.

Some things to try that may work:

Hang garlic wreathes at the store entrance.
Keep email to no more than three bullet points and suggest a physical visit, then hope point No. 1 helps.
When they start taking pictures, note the hands to see if they are withered and bluish from a lack of fresh blood.
Keep silver jewelry nearby to hand to them, to see if it burns their flesh.
Try to allow for lots of sunlight in the store.
If they cover their head and use sunglasses, do not look into their eyes directly as they may overcome you.
Be prepared. They are everywhere, and with shorter days they have more time to shop.

Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”