With the amount of scammers out there in the jewelry industry, it's VERY important that you know who you're dealing with before entrusting them with your valuables.
Two weeks ago my husband dropped off my 2+ carat invisible set diamond ring, with 3+ carat center stone, 18K gold band. Our dog knocked it off the counter and put his tooth through one of the diamonds, and scratched the band.
My husband had been to this store before for little things; fixing a clasp, setting a stone, etc. He liked one of the men that worked there, so decided to take my ring somewhere local so we'd get it back quicker. He was told it would take a "week or so", and would be around $300. Having a solid background in this industry, I knew that this wasn't an easy task, and was actually surprised when my husband came home and said they told him it would be "no problem".
Low and behold, two weeks in, and we're leaving messages with no return call. Finally we get a message on our voicemail saying, "we need a few more days".
No problem. So we wait another 3 days.
Today I get a phone call from the owner, Mohammad H. Alnajafi, (this wasn't the gentleman my husband had originally spoken to, by the way) looking for my husband. I tell him I'm his wife, so he can talk to me. Let me just tell you, there are some people in the world that make your skin boil the minute they speak, and this was one of those people. He was instantly rude and abrasive, as if being a female I was inferior to him. In a VERY thick accent, he tried to advise me he was DOING ME A FAVOR (unbelievable!) by telling me my ring was going to be very difficult to fix, and they needed an 'indefinite' amount of time to fix it. INDEFINITE? What a joke! They'd already had over two weeks!
Ok, this isn't some piece of costume jewelry! This is my engagement ring!!! I asked him politely, "are we talking a week, two weeks, or 2 months? I need some kind of indication." Very rudely, he avised he couldn't give me an estimate, and that he was AGAIN doing me a favor by telling me if I didn't like it, I could come pick up the ring. Of course, let's not forget his long story about having to cut the diamond, and none of the ones he ordered would fit, and how it wasn't what they told us it would cost, on and on. In my world, (and ironically the state of California) when someone tells you they will do something, in a certain timeframe, for a certain fee, they have made a verbal contract with you. Failing to follow through is a breach of that contract. If these jokers couldn't fix my ring, they never should have accepted it in the first place. Or when they had it for a week and STILL couldn't fix it, they should have called me then, apologized, and given the ring back. Making multiple excuses, saying you need to keep it indefinitely, and then verbally assaulting a consumer is unacceptable!
What is the world coming to when you walk into a store, entrust them with thousands of dollars, you obtain a promise of service from them, they BREAK IT, and then tell you they're doing YOU a favor by letting you know?
So point blank - don't entrust what is precious to you with these people. I can't even fathom buying something from them, if this is the kind of abuse you have to endure once money exchanges hands. You will be sorry!!! |