Commentary: The Business

Illinois Store Owner Talks Christmas COVID Bingo, Funny Customer Questions and a Record-Breaking December

She also relates two heart-warming client stories.

Published

3 years ago

January 18, 2021

Denise Oros Instore February 2021 Issue

“Our last full working day of the season is Christmas Pajama Day. I buy super soft jammies for my staff every year. If we hit our store and personal sales goals along with delivering all custom items, we close Christmas Eve, which is a huge incentive to get the job done.” — Denise Oros

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT 2020, the crummiest year on record, yielded our very best December ever! Breaking records and achieving our personal best was a well-deserved victory for my team.

This year, working on a Christmas Bingo Card was full-on fun. Thank you, Jewelers Helping Jewelers, for the inspiration. Here are just a few of the squares we filled:

Changing watch batteries in nasty, germ-ridden watches.
A customer tracking up the whole floor only to buy silver earrings.
A man buying for his wife and girlfriend.
A finger-licker.
Finding old earring holes.
Customer: “Could you just polish these? I’m giving them as gifts” and “Could you wrap her other gift in the Linnea paper too?” Oh sure, I can polish these for you while you look around for something sparkly to add to your wish list. But we do not give our boxes out unless the items were purchased here, I’m sure you understand????
Customer: “I recall that this rebuild/repair/custom job was estimated cheaper!”
Customer: “I need my finger sized for a ring I bought on the internet.”

But there were feel-good stories, too:

One of my best customers succumbed to cancer in November. On her death bed, she told her daughters to tell me, “I love her and she always brought me so much joy.” The daughters came in right before Christmas with their mom’s signature, which we incorporated into gold rings. When they picked the rings up, there were laughter, tears and joy.

Second story: Customer had emergency heart surgery for a rare affliction. Once the family was notified that he was probably going to die, they gathered around his bed, held hands with him and prayed. Against all odds, he recovered fully. The family saved the seven wires that had held his chest together and brought them to me to make into a cross. It took weeks to come up with a plan: I had limited material and I had to create it, then wrap it in a border of white gold and laser it in place.

There is a joy, a peacefulness and a satisfaction that’s difficult to put into words, but every goldsmith knows that feeling.

We are part of an amazing industry that shares the most intimate life moments with our customers.

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

Retirement is never easy, especially when it means the end to a business that was founded in 1884. But for Laura and Sam Sipe, it was time to put their own needs first. They decided to close J.C. Sipe Jewelers, one of Indianapolis’ most trusted names in fine jewelry, and call Wilkerson. “Laura and I decided the conditions were right,” says Sam. Wilkerson handled every detail in their going-out-of-business sale, from marketing to manning the sales floor. “The main goal was to sell our existing inventory that’s all paid for and turn that into cash for our retirement,” says Sam. “It’s been very, very productive.” Would they recommend Wilkerson to other jewelers who want to enjoy their golden years? Absolutely! “Call Wilkerson,” says Laura. “They can help you achieve your goals so you’ll be able to move into retirement comfortably.”