Any random day in the life of a jeweler provides plenty of stories to tell – whether those tales are heartwarming, infuriating, funny or odd. But once the holidays are on the horizon, those stories become more and more, shall we say, interesting. Here is a compilation of some of our favorites, culled from reports from the front lines of fine-jewelry retail. Go forth bravely this season, and bring your sense of humor!
1 During the 2016 holiday season, we were down two employees (one on maternity leave, one on medical leave). It was chaos and those of us who were working don’t remember much about it … except for meltdown lady. A client came in the week before Christmas to have us refurbish a chemically damaged ring (cracked and missing metal). We told her because of our schedule we couldn’t guarantee a Christmas delivery, and she yelled at me that she thought we were professionals. I said we would try, but again reiterated there were no guarantees. She came in two days later to pick it up (Christmas was still five days away) and we told her we hadn’t even had a chance to look at it yet. She crossed her arms, stomped her feet, and proceeded to have a toddler-style meltdown in the middle of our packed showroom. My lead jeweler volunteered to stay late to do the work if she would just pay and leave. I offered to ship it to her so I wouldn’t have to see her again. Of course, the day after Christmas she was in with the daughter because the ring was four sizes too small (we were only repairing the breaks). It was clearly our fault the ring was the wrong size and she demanded we size it up for free while she waited. I promptly told her our only guarantee was on the ring repair and not on the size — and she could pay for the sizing, pay the rush fee if she wanted it while she waited, or find the door. She left the ring, we sized it, and when she came to pick it up, she got in a few jabs about how we should have known it needed to be sized (we had never met her daughter). I told her after her behavior in our studio three times that she was no longer welcome to return. It was my first client “firing” and it felt good!!! jennifer farnes, revolution jewelry works, colorado springs, co
2 We had a customer who wanted to purchase three or four high-end rings, let his wife wear them through New Year’s and then let her keep one and bring back the others. I told him we would not take back anything that was worn. He said fine, he would shop elsewhere. I thanked him. rosanne kroen, rosanne’s diamonds & gold, south bend, in
3 We had a client tell us they needed eight ugly-sweater charms for Christmas, and it was the 21st of December. All custom made. It was an unusual request since we never saw an ugly-sweater charm before and only had three days to make up the charms. The client offered to pay more than the usual asking price because of the short notice. We made the charms, the customer came back in and was ecstatic. He ended up sending us a gift card to our local Brazilian steakhouse and a picture of everyone wearing their ugly sweater with their matching ugly-sweater charm. lyla ismael, lyla jewelers, oak lawn, il
4 A customer in her 80s is downsizing and found a gold-plated cake knife in our box, in mint condition, engraved with her in-laws’ names and 50th anniversary date. She wants to return it! cathy graves, ellis jewelers, frankfort, in
5 One Christmas season, I was wrapping an item that a female customer had just purchased. She said, “Wow, I can’t believe you still wrap!” I replied, “Yes, we will always offer to wrap for you, no problem.” She returned later that afternoon with the presents she had purchased at the mall the same day for us to also wrap! nancy carbonetti, stephen’s jewelers, wilmington, de
6 The Christmas hot seller a few years back was the Bulova Accutron watch. A man comes in looking for the “Astronaut.” I show it to him, but he just can’t pull the trigger and leaves. Next day he comes in, looks again but can’t decide. I introduce him to the assistant manager. He leaves to think about it. The man comes in several more times and finally says he will be back on Christmas Eve to purchase the watch. Fast forward to Christmas Eve, and we are closed and pulling the merchandise for the night, nearly ready to have a toast and call it a season. The man comes to the entrance and rattles the door, trying desperately to get in. The manager says, “Who the #!*# is that?” I tell him the man has come back to purchase the Accutron Astronaut. Manager lets him in and after trying it on he says … “I’ll be back after Christmas!” don delano, jl jewelers, tampa, fl
7 I was working with a customer last Christmas on an engagement ring. He wanted it for New Year’s Eve, but because we close the week after Christmas, it had to be completed Christmas Eve. It was Dec. 21 and he needed to decide on which diamond he wanted. He was running late and I told him I did not mind staying late. We closed at 7 and he arrived at 7:30. He kept going back and forth between diamonds for four hours. Finally, at 11:45, I told him he had 15 minutes to make up his mind because I was going home at midnight. Plus, I still had to make a custom setting for the ring! I will go the extra mile for a customer, but he almost went too far. It was a $24,000 sale, so I guess it was worth it. rick sanders, sanders jewelers, gainesville, fl
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We kept the store open after closing on Christmas Eve for a huge, internationally known celebrity thinking he was going to make a very large purchase. After the long season, everyone was looking forward to getting to their families and a little R&R, but we stayed (the whole crew) more than an hour in hopes that this guy was going to make it all worthwhile. In the end, he purchased a $64 pair of pearl studs. Well, at least we can say he shops with us at Christmas. Maybe next time!!? jon walp, long jewelers, virginia beach, va
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09 When I lived and had my workshop on a small farm, there was a loud knock on the front door on a wild and windy night. I open the door to find a bedraggled elderly lady holding a very fat Chihuahua. She said that her dog was about to give birth and she immediately thought of me as I had a few sheep and was used to working with small things. gordon laurie, eidos, santa fe, nm
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One fellow came in late afternoon on Christmas Eve with a complicated custom ring design. I priced it out, he agreed, then he said, “I can pick this up tomorrow, right?” When I regained my composure to answer, no, it would take us two weeks to make, he responded, “But it’s all she wants for Christmas! She gave me the design in October!” russell criswell, vulcan’s forge, kansas city, mo
11I once had a customer whom I would consider a Mr. Know It All. He was shopping for an engagement ring, and after showing him multiple diamonds, I decided to have a little fun and test his knowledge of diamonds. I showed him a larger cubic zirconia, and after examining the stone, he gave me his thoughts and pointed out what he liked and didn’t like about the stone. I then told him it was in fact a cubic zirconia. We had a good laugh and I gained his trust. He is actually now one of my best customers and a good friend. james stinson, diamond classics, mcminnville, tn
12 It’s Christmas 2011. A young man comes into the store looking at jewelry. He asks to see an $1,800 gold chain. The sales associate shows him and he decides to run out the front door with the chain without paying for it. The sales associate screams, “He has our chain!” Dress shoes and all, I go running after the bandit. Little does he know that I have been training for the past two years for a major ski trip and an upcoming 10K race. Our mailman sees what is going on as I am screaming at the chain bandit and begins to run with me. The UPS guy sees what’s going on and parks his truck in the middle of the road and helps us. After a few hundred yards or so, two young men on their bikes see what’s happening, ride in front of the chain burglar, drop their bikes and tackle the idiot. Cops show up and the rest is history. We get the chain back, he goes to jail and no one is hurt. Just another day in retail! greg raskin, raskin’s jewelers, prescott, az
13 One Christmas season, I snuck out of the shop just to run down a few doors for a soda. When I left, my associate was helping a college student pick out a gift. In the meantime, an older gentleman came in to find something, too. (Yes, I know that I left her alone while already tied up with one client … argh… I should be embarrassed, but whatever!) Anyway, the old guy that came in was upset he had to wait, yelled at her and started walking out the door. The college kid says to him as sweetly as possible, “Merry Christmas, ya A$$hole!” Sometimes those things that would feel so good to say in retail actually get said (thankfully, by someone else)! erika godfrey, hawthorne jewelry, kearney, ne
14 A customer bought his wife a Christmas gift and then bought one for his girlfriend as well. After he mixed up the packages, his wife came in, stating that he must have switched the package and given his girlfriend her gift because she would never wear the present he gave her. She ended up exchanging the gift for another piece on a slight up-charge of about $12,000. I don’t know if these people are still married, but instincts would tell me no. marc majors, sam l. majors, midland, tx
15 One Christmas Eve, a gentleman came in the front door dressed as Santa Claus. Within seconds of entering the store, he announced, “This is a stick up.” We had already called 911 before we realized that it was our local hardware store owner who had been enjoying too much holiday cheer wanting to spread a little of his cheer and trying to making a joke. No one else found his joke amusing. james sickinger, sickinger’s jewelry, lowell, in
16 The goofiest Christmas customer request I got came a few years ago when cellphones were the size of large lunch boxes. This customer called me from the center of Mille Lacs Lake while ice fishing at about 4 p.m. and said he forgot that this was Christmas Eve and would I wait for him to get to town in about an hour and a half. Needless to say, I agreed and showed no mercy when he came in. I sold him the second-highest priced item in the store (I couldn’t quite get him to buy the highest priced item). I always felt that this was fair because he published most of the phone directories in Minnesota and we all know how pushy they used to be. ed menk, e.l. menk jewelers, brainerd, mn
17 We had a customer come in at the last minute on Christmas Eve wanting to look at the prettiest pair of diamond earrings we had in the store. My staff showed him a gorgeous pair of earrings with a cost of $4,295. The customer was thrilled, had us wrap them up and proceeded to write us a check for $42.95! andrew russakoff, russakoff jewelers, skowhegen, me
18 I had a gentleman buy a ring and then marry himself to God in front of one of our mirrors. He came back the following week requesting a refund of the ring. Oh my. jill keith, enchanted jewelry, danielson, ct
19 Our favorite story from any holiday happened probably 25 years ago. Dad and I were discussing the sales of a busy December day. After a crazy discussion, we realized he and I had sold an engagement ring to two different guys within an hour apart. Each was asking the same girl to marry them. The girl was the daughter of one of my dad’s friends. She had been dating one of the young men for six years, the other for six months. She told them both no. She is still a customer, and married to a different guy. hugh harby, harby jewelers, jacksonville, fl
20 An extremely nervous groom-to-be “celebrated” his purchase with so many celebratory shots that I had to drive him home! I made a customer for life! dennis petimezas, watchmakers diamonds & jewelry, johnstown, pa
21 We had a customer who wanted to create an amazing Christmas experience for his wife here in our store. He purchased an amazing piece of jewelry then gave us directions on the special day. We have a large showroom with a staircase at the south end that leads to offices and the staff break room. He explained he wanted Santa at the top of the stairs with a bell. On his cue, Santa was to appear on the stairs ringing his Christmas bell and carrying the wrapped gift. He took his wife to lunch and let us know they would be in around 1:30. We rented a Santa costume and our jeweler became Santa. Two female associates stood at the bottom of the stairs to give Santa the cue to come down. Our customer was to let us know when Santa was to make his entrance. At the last minute he decided he wanted the girls at the bottom of the stairs to sing Jingle Bells. They were a bit panicked but agreed. The customer gave the word, the singing began and Santa came down the stairs ringing his bell. The customer’s wife was surprised and delighted. The store was very busy with Christmas shoppers. We still have customers that remind of us this amazing memory. georgena kincaid, gold casters fine jewelry, bloomington, in
22 At 4:55 p.m. on Christmas Eve, a gentleman strode in and did a power look. My friend D walked up to him at the counter with a freshly applied smile. He said, “I’m just looking.” To my surprise, D said: “No you’re not. You’re in deep trouble. Now what can I help you with?” He walked out with a box! steven wardle, forest beach design, chatham, ma
23 I was waiting on a family. The grandma really loved a pair of earrings, but they just didn’t have the $99 to buy them. We continued talking, and a few minutes later, one of our sales associates came over. She had a wrapped Christmas gift for the grandma. She unwrapped the gift and it was the earrings she wanted! Seems another client decided to be our “Christmas Angel!” She created a joyous time that touched all of us. debbie fox, fox fine jewelry, ventura, ca
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