Firing Clarified
The questions asked in your “Fire Drill” section are all isolated circumstances. Generally, if someone is doing wrong in one area, chances are they are up to no good elsewhere. In all situations, you need all of the evidence to terminate. Any of those could be the final excuse to take action, but alone, a termination could create even bigger problems. — Jon Walp, Long Jewelers, Virginia Beach, VA
Case Cleaned
I actually took the advice of columnist Sherry Smith and “cleaned up my jammed case” today and wow! What a difference it made to back-stock many of our alloy samples! — Jane Johnson, RM Johnson & Sons, Salem, VA
Ring Regrets
I learned a lesson the very hard and expensive way and it sucks because now I don’t trust anyone. I had a customer come in several times to look at diamonds, and when he finally picked one out, he sent his girlfriend in to stamp her seal of approval. We then had a custom ring designed through CAD, which they both loved, and he told me, “We must proceed.” I always take down payments on custom jobs, but this guy was out of town a lot for work and wouldn’t be back for weeks, and he also made it clear he wanted this done ASAP. I went ahead and approved the job, trusting his word that he’d be in within two weeks to pay for it. Well … the ring is ready and he says he’s not picking up until mid-October now. I told him that’s not how I usually do business on custom jobs and that I needed a down payment from him. He got angry and went radio silent for a week. He did call last week to find a solution to the problem after I sent him a lengthy email on why I am confused and disappointed with his approach to the custom-made ring for him. I missed his call and now have called him back twice with no answer and no call back. Guess this beautiful custom-made ring will go out in my showcase and find a new home with someone else. I also had no intentions of spending that kind of money on a project for stock. Live and you learn. — Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX
Safety First
Regardless of how you feel about the gun issue, the debate certainly does not help the jewelry business. After all, in order for people to buy and wear jewelry, they need to feel safe in doing so. I would urge our industry to be cautious about working to make people feel safe if they care about the business. Sometimes difficult since some feel safe around guns and others don’t, but either way, it affects our retail sales. — Alex Weil, Martin’s Jewelry, Torrance, CA
