This Client Asked the Owner to Lie for Him … But Should the Owner Have Said Yes?

A FTER ALL THE YEARS she had spent working at a chain store in the mall, Maria Sanchez was more appreciative of her current environment than most. She had very much enjoyed the six years she’d spent as the sales manager of Kerrigan Jewelers, and she looked forward to many more. She felt as though she had a very solid relationship with the Kerrigan family, and she knew that they were pleased with her performance.

Maria loved the Kerrigan store location. She loved the building’s original architecture and lovingly restored interior. She loved the brick sidewalks and benches that made up the downtown pedestrian mall. Mostly, though, she loved the customers. This was a different type of shopper than she knew in the mall. Maria was especially pleased with the number of other downtown merchants and shop owners who entrusted their special occasion purchases to Kerrigan — and to her. Many had started as business associates — colleagues on the downtown council or on the organizing boards of various charity events — before becoming customers and ultimately friends.

Such was the case with Philip and Grace Jerome, owners of the contemporary fine art gallery in the next block. The Jeromes were pillars of the downtown community, much like the Kerrigans, and members of their family had been customers of the store since the days of the previous generation. Grace Jerome had taken a liking to Maria with their first interaction, and both she and Philip had quickly become regular, personal trade clients.

Maria knew that the Jeromes were very well off, and that the gallery was a successful enterprise for them. It came as no surprise then when Philip came to the store one day and asked Maria to find a special piece for Grace. He explained that they had seen a stunning ring in a shop window during their last trip to Brussels — a large, fancy yellow diamond with white diamonds on each side. It was soon to be their 20th anniversary, and he thought it would be the perfect surprise gift. He knew that he wanted at least 2 carats in the center, and it had to be a bright, dazzling yellow — not one of those ‘mousy ones’, as he described it — and definitely no imperfections that she could see — even with one of those little eyepiece things. After bringing in several different diamonds for Philip to see, Maria finally found one that was, in her opinion, a real show stopper. It was a 2.05-carat, fancy intense yellow cushion cut with a VS2 clarity. Philip loved the diamond and Maria had no trouble matching 1-carat G color cushions for the sides. Philip chose a simple platinum mounting for the ring — one that would be custom made to fit the diamonds. Maria brought John Kerrigan, the store owner, in on the negotiation and John agreed to sell the diamonds and the mounting to his friend for a total of $45,800. The diamonds were handed over to Kerrigan’s in-house craftsman and after three weeks, Grace’s magnificent new ring was ready for delivery.

Needless to say, Philip came in to see the ring as soon as Maria called to let him know it was ready. He loved it, and told Maria that he would like to surprise Grace by having the ring placed in the store’s front window — just like the one they saw in Brussels — the following Saturday, when he planned to bring Grace by on their way to an anniversary lunch at the restaurant next door.

Saturday morning, Philip called Maria with an unusual request. He was certain that Grace would want to know the price of the ring, and wanted Maria to agree to tell her it was a “steal at $25,000.” He insisted she would not know the difference, but that with things tighter than usual at the gallery lately, she would have an absolute fit if she knew that he had spent over $45,000 on a piece of jewelry. He promised to hand Maria a separate check (discreetly, of course) for the difference before they left the store with the ring.

Maria was uncomfortable with the request and went to John Kerrigan for advice. John was no happier with the situation than Maria, and after thinking it over, decided that it was not his place — or Maria’s — to lie to Grace about the price of the ring. John called Philip back himself and told him that he would do his best not to discuss money in front of Grace and could easily demonstrate the value of the ring, but that he would not tell a direct lie about the price — and neither would Maria.

Philip was very upset. He tried every persuasive tactic he knew, but John wouldn’t budge from his position. Finally, in a fit of anger over what he called his “high-minded inflexibility,” Philip told John that the deal was off — and that he’d never see him or Grace as customers again.

The following Monday, as John and Maria revisited the situation in their weekly management team meeting, they wondered what they might have done differently. Word of mouth was a powerful tool in a small town, and John wondered how much collateral damage he would suffer as a result of his decision.

Expanded Real Deal Responses

James L.New York

I would have suggested that Philip come in earlier with the additional amount and pay for that portion of the ring, leaving a $ 25,000 balance that he could pay in front of his wife. If he chose to tell her the truth after the purchase, that would be his business and the store would not be involved. When asked what he owed, the store could truthfully say $25,000. This happens frequently and we as sellers need to know how to handle it without losing a customer — good or otherwise.

Donna P.Dunn, NC

I would have honored the customer’s wishes. He just didn’t want his wife to know the full price. I’ve done this several times, but it’s the women who ask me not to tell their husbands the regular price.

Wynn F.Joliet, IL

My response to this fictional story is that any jeweler with any common sense would have received at least half down for the ring before even setting the stones, regardless of the fact that they might have been “friends,” and contracted to receive the balance upon completion and delivery of the ring. Otherwise, the deal would be null and void from the beginning. Nobody does “handshakes”; that is just plain dumb.

Dennis P.Johnstown, PA

We have had identical scenarios several times over the years. We refer to them as “conspiracies of happiness.” We have never had an issue result from the creativity. We do note the “irregularity” in appropriate documents.

We have a similar situation always around the holidays that has resulted in various degrees of temporary headaches, but always ends on a high note: a boyfriend comes in with his girlfriend and chooses a ring the girlfriend “loves.” We are asked to put it on “hold.” Later, the boyfriend comes in alone and purchases the ring to be given as a surprise. He asked us to “fib” to his girlfriend if she happens to come in to see it again or show the ring to a girlfriend and to say it was accidentally sold. We’re the “bad guys” until she actually receives the gift, but then we become heroes when everything works out. It helps create a special bond with the customer.

Ernie C.Lawrence, KS

Only the truth, always the truth. It’s the customer’s responsibility to deal with personal matters like the price. I think it’s pretty simple. Maybe he should have bought a $25,000 ring instead. Wouldn’t worry about the bad review, because the cause of the review will be worse for the customer in the long run. Management was spot on. Pretty simple.

Andrea R.El Dorado Hills, CA

Though we hate not telling people the truth, we’ve had dozens of customers do this. We’ve also seen a trend of brides-to-be coming in and paying a fairly large deposit on the ring they want and then asking us to tell the other party in the couple that the ring costs less.

A woman, good customer, nice person, came into my store, and chose a ring from the window. A $25,000 ring. I reduced the price by 25 percent and quoted the price of $15,000 plus tax. She wrote a check to my store for $10,000 plus tax. The deal was to be that we tell the groom-to-be that the ring price was $5,000 plus tax. We did it and I still can’t look the guy in the eye. But I’m glad we got the business instead of our competitor down the street. And they are both still good customers. Their finances are none of our business as long as they pay their bills to us. In the end, the other party ends up knowing.

Michael J.Port Charlotte, FL

Two options for me could be: simply take $20,000 plus tax as a deposit today and the balance due ($25,000 plus tax) when they pick it up. The verbiage would be something along the lines of, “The balance on this piece is $25,000.” I am unsure Grace would even catch on to the phrase because she’d be so enamored with the ring. The second option would be for John to excuse himself along with Philip to take care of the payment while Grace shows off her new ring to everyone in the store. Chances are that Grace will find out in the end anyway, unless she and her husband don’t have joint accounts!

Laura C.Woodbridge, VA

I would take her hand and smile at her, saying, “This is a gift; I’m not supposed to share those details.”

James D.Kingston, NH

Really, you want me to underprice the ring so you can forget to “slip Maria a check for the balance” and then claim the sticker price was as the final price? Talk about a scam artist! Trust me, that could very well happen. Imagine a 50 percent-plus price reduction on a custom piece; I’ll take two please. The nerve of some people, especially knowing their gallery was going through lean times … the whole thing smell like last week’s fish. Sure, they were good clients in the good times, but now it appears they want the flash without the cash. I say it is time to weed their client list and be grateful if they only have to eat the mounting (though they could replace the diamonds with colored stones and market it, maybe nice yellow and white sapphires). A reason I take a non-refundable deposit with any custom order. Honesty is always the best policy.

Corrina H.Houston, TX

They did the right thing. I would ask the customer to pay for the difference first and give him a receipt as layaway. When his wife comes in to buy it, then tell her the price that he requested.

Marcus M.Midland, TX

Are you kidding me?!? Do what your customer is requesting and sell that biscuit! It’s a little white lie that would only get Philip in the doghouse (a small one at that) with his wife. And who knows if she’d even ask about the price. He was willing to spend the money and all they had to do was throw a little shade on the price. Big deal! What he spends is between him and his wife, not you. Now Kerrigan’s is out a nice sale. I get it, you want to stay true to your values, but they made an issue out of non-issue with this one. Not only did they lose the sale, but who knows how the repercussions will play out through word of mouth. Philip wants to spend some money on a special occasion and you wouldn’t play ball because you felt wrong about a simple request. All you had to do was not put a price tag on it, let her see/love it and then let him quietly pay.

Marc F.Houston, TX

Give the customer what he wants. If he wants to split a transaction in two payments, so be it. I never discuss price with a client receiving a gift — that’s a big no-no! How about the guy that wants you to tell the fiancée it’s a diamond, not a CZ?? You just don’t have conversations with gift receivers; it’s their “real deal,” not ours!

Alexis K.Kennett Square, PA

Why not have the customer pay the full amount prior to “window shopping” so the financials aren’t an issue. You don’t want the transaction to ruin the moment!

Mike B.Kennesaw, GA

The store handled the request exactly as they should have. If the condition of making the sale was to be complicit in a lie to the customer, then walking away is the best thing. No business is better than bad business.

As far as the customer bad-mouthing the jeweler, then so be it. If the jeweler has been in the community that long and has a strong reputation in the community, then they should feel secure that one client’s bad-mouthing will not have much of an impact. If anything, other customers will understand the professionalism that the jeweler has and how they will not bend their beliefs just to make a sale.

Al H.Livingston, MT

Would have told the buyer that we would not misrepresent the price to his wife if she asked — but if she did ask about price, we would tell her that that was between her and her husband.

Glyn J.Victoria, TX

I fully agree with John and Maria about not lying for Philip. Let him know that the salespeople and the owner were Christians and do not and would not lie to save a sale. Let him know if he wanted to lie to Grace about the price of the ring, that would be up to him. If it caused the loss of a sale, then so be it, and your honesty would be upheld. Let Philip know if word gets out about what he wanted to do, let Philip know the truth would be made known to your clients about the situation.

Mary A.Peoria, IL

He should have gotten a deposit, and then when finished, asked him to pay the balance. Then they can place it in the window for her to see and pick up as a “surprise” already purchased. That way her husband could tell her whatever he likes about the price.

Christine P.Green Bay, WI

I would have suggested he come in and pay for it beforehand, then there is no sneaking around. Leave the price off the tag and show her the ring. Say it hasn’t been priced out yet, such a special custom piece, etc.