True Tales: Fire, Fire

Published

8 years ago

November 5, 2015

True Tales: Fire, Fire

We used to burn a candle on our service counter, until the day a customer leaned over to help look for an item that had fallen into the printer, and her hair went up in flames. The poor part-timer that put out the flames will never forget it. Frankly, we have laughed about this for 10 years now. Not so funny that day. — Allison L., Rock Hill, SC

We were working hard one day when someone smelled something burning. As smoke started to fill the store, everyone was rushing around trying to locate the source of the fire, except for one of my sales associates, who was working with a woman on a watch for her husband as an anniversary gift. We called 911 and shortly after the fire crew burst in, all ready to spring into action …. It turned out a light fixture had blown a ballast although it looked like the whole store was on fire. During the whole time, our sales associate selling the watch never left her post, and neither did the customer. The firemen got the light fixture down and there was still quite a bit of smoke for some time. As the firemen were walking out, so was the customer, proudly displaying her Grogan Jewelers bag with her husband’s new watch. The associate told us later that there was no way she was going to let the lady walk. — Jay K., Florence, AL

This article originally appeared in the November 2015 edition of INSTORE.

Wilkerson Testimonials

Wilkerson: “They Feel Like Family”

Newton’s Jewelers in Fort Smith, Ark., was a true institution. But after being at the helm for most of his life, owner (and descendent of the original founder) Kelly Newton decided it was time to retire. He chose Wilkerson to handle the sale. “I’ve known the owners of Wilkerson for a long, long time. I felt at home with them,” he says. The final retirement sale was just a “blast” and the Wilkerson sales team made it so very simple and straightforward, says Newton. Would he recommend Wilkerson to others? Absolutely. “They’ve done incredible work,” says Newton. “They feel like family.”