This story is excerpted from the cover story from INSTORE’s January 2026 edition, “The Alternative Manager’s Toolkit” by Chris Burslem.
Challenge/Task: Exceptional Customer Service
Traditional Playbook: Many jewelers aim to impress and attract customers with highly personalized interactions, uncommon levels of attention and service, and just generally going above and beyond — sending thank-you notes, offering extensive support, or providing free drinks and cookies or the chance to watch the big game on their inhouse monitor. The goal is to create memorable experiences that craft loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.
The Problem: Exceptional service can be costly, inconsistent, and is sometimes unsustainable, especially for small businesses. Over-investing in customer service can also lead to inefficiencies, delays, or overly complex protocols that slow everything down. Moreover, it can set unrealistic expectations that are hard to maintain long term.
The Alternative Manager’s Fix: Instead of striving for “exceptional” in the traditional sense, focus on removing friction, both physical and psychological, so that every interaction is so smooth and effortless that customers feel pleased simply by the ease of the experience. The goal is to create a pain-free shopping journey that encourages repeat business without needing extraordinary gestures.
How to Make It Happen
- Start by mapping the customer journey to identify pain points and eliminate them one by one. (Are the best parking spots reserved for customers? Does the store signage support traffic flow? Does your website allow customers to book appointments? Do you send added email and text updates to repair customers?)
- Update the buying experience. This could include sample selling systems, emailing designs for approval before casting CAD custom orders, virtual shopping appointments, and FaceTime showings.
- Use technology wisely — auto-fill forms, chatbots, self-service portals — to make interactions quick and easy.
- Every customer starts their journey on your website. It should be where your friction free journey starts too. Provide live inventory details, client dashboards, AI autoresponders (like those installed with Podium), and be ultra transparent about information warranties, policies and prices.
- Offer financing operations to fit every budget and comfort level.
- Work to your customer’s clock, meaning being willing to work outside of conventional business hours and make house calls.
- Streamline the checkout process—minimize steps, eliminate unnecessary questions, consider tablets to close the sale at the case.
- Shorten wait periods for responses, deliveries, or assistance. Would a drive-thru pickup window improve the service in your market?
- Last but not least, manage expectations: Far better to have a reputation as a jeweler who, for example, turns around a repair within three days than one who does it overnight — because in the latter case, as soon as you fail to deliver on that tight deadline, you’ll be seen as underperforming.
The Takeaway
Such service is still “exceptional”, it just doesn’t mean doing more; it means doing less that gets in the customer’s way. A friction-free shopping experience engenders loyalty and satisfaction, often more reliably and sustainably than traditional “wow” moments.
