Reader Letters on Gold Prices, Poor Manufacturer Service and More

• We are trying to be more creative, and it takes a ton of effort and commitment! — Annette K., Stillwater, OK
• We are always getting creative, so it always motivates me to try new things with our displays, customers and employees. — Karen H., Batavia, IL
• Investing in SEO with a local company has seen an upswing in first time bridal clients. It took a couple of months to implement a system so sales staff is consistent with tracking and properly reporting these new clients from Google, but now we see it’s working! — Christina B., Glastonbury, CT
• We aren’t enjoying the historic high price for gold. It leaves our clients pensive. It makes us overthink how much material we can dedicate to making things sturdy. Our suppliers are making their pieces skimpier. I long for the good old days, say $500-$1,000 gold when the client at the counter could just buy the piece and not have to call home and do a detailed budget analysis with their spouse before a purchase. — Steven W., Chatham, MA
• As the high price of gold starts to take a bite into our products making new items, restocking, custom orders, etc., and with lab-grown diamonds going the other way on prices, it might present on opportunity. Meaning, we can create really nice jewelry using lab-grown diamonds and use the lower cost of the stones to offset the sting of the gold price while still giving customers the value they like to see and are comfortable with. — Alex W., Torrance, CA
• Buying metals has been best for long term investment to keep costs down and stay ahead of the game until the election is over. — Chris W., Prescott, AZ
• The thing that is on my mind most is security. Every day, you see all the posts about all the break-ins and robberies. We are in an industry where we must always be on guard. Always watching. No matter how much security we have, there is always a possibility that it will happen in any of our stores. — Jan C., Muscle Shoals, AL
• Service from companies is concerning. I received 20 long watchbands when the company admits I ordered standard length. I have spent weeks getting an order for $2,500 worth of bracelets; the rep has had no explanation as to why I cannot get the order through the system as my ship date gets further and further into the season. I received giftware with no retails on the bill and no catalog; I wasted time searching for prices. Merchandise is out of stock in every company, and customers are demanding because of quickness of ordering direct from companies I carry. Seems to be an epidemic. — Christine M., Boyertown, PA
• I can’t stand how entitled the American consumer has become. It blows my mind when someone buys a new piece of jewelry or watch somewhere else but brings it to us expecting us to handle the service of it item. I put my foot down on this and told a guy who bought an Omega elsewhere that I would not remove the links for him and the store where he got it should have been the one to provide that service. This guy also brought me a Breitling a few years ago because the store he bought it from in another town told him it was new and it was not. Then they told him it was pre-owned but recently serviced. It was not serviced. The watch was not running. He asked me to send into the Breitling service center for verification, so I did. They said in fact, the watch had never been serviced. Instead, the guy had me recall the watch without service and returned it to the store he bought from. Then he accepted store credit from them and never even thanked me for helping him out when I wasn’t obligated. So yeah, when he brought in the Omega last week, I told him I wasn’t helping him, and he gave me a one-star review. That is absolutely ridiculous, and unfortunately the stupidity of some consumers today. They’re too chicken s*^t to talk face to face about it but are really quick to be a keyboard critic. Unbelievable. — Marc M., Midland, TX

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