Every Time We Said Yes, She Demanded More: A $2,500 Tennis Bracelet Lesson

“[The customer] brought her mom’s old tennis bracelet to remove the diamonds to create a diamond necklace — as we often do. We did. I automatically put the old mounting in the recycle pile and gave her gold credit, as we often do. She liked the necklace but returned wanting a fancier clasp, which my assistant promised her, at no charge (why?). Then she asked for the mounting, and I told her I gave her the credit for the gold, to be melted. All of a sudden, it became her most cherished possession. I had recorded it at nine grams, but she claimed it had to be at least 20! I went looking and still found about one-third of it in our recycle pile, and was glad to show it only weighed three grams or so. She snatched it and claimed it was just a tiny section, where was the rest! Too precious a memory of her mother! She did not want the credit, she wanted the gold. OK, I gave her nine grams of gold, even though she kept the three grams. She then continued to harass us, demanding more gold or a similar mounting. My assistant of course could not find such an ancient mounting, but ordered a new mounting and paid for it. Now she rejected this. And demanded $2,500 for all her insult and injury! She loudly yelled that I was taking advantage of her, and on and on. Then she came, accompanied by a woman she identified as a lawyer. I was incensed. But my coworkers persuaded me, for fear of negative consequences, to pay and let it go! What to do? I asked Meta to draft a release letter, in a firm but personal tone, for her to sign, and … we are $2,500 poorer. I don’t know what lesson I learned. You?” — Eve A., Evanston, IL