Lost Opportunities

I had occasion to do business with one of the national jewelry retailers this past week – although there may have been a difference of opinion on that. I needed a small repair taken care of, and while this company is primarily into selling things (and airing really sappy television commercials), their directory listings indicate that they do, in fact, handle repairs. Since you’re reading about these events here you probably already realize that the situation did not end well, but what makes this case unusual is that it didn’t have to. There was a way they could have resolved the situation to my satisfaction without any cost to themselves, but they didn’t try. In fact, they didn’t even ask. Now, instead of an occasional low-end customer, what they’ve got is a consumer who will never do business with them again – and who will tell at least two dozen people (plus anybody who reads this blog) about the episode. That isn’t much by itself – but if you do it enough times it will start to add up…

The story began simply enough. I had some repair work I needed a jeweler to take care of, and there was a mall near where I was going that day that had a couple of national retail jewelry chains in it; I checked and one of them claimed to do repairs, so I went to see them. The project I needed wasn’t very complicated, and the clerk I spoke with gave me an informal estimate of $20 and a week to ten days, but had to send the item off to their central workshop to get a formal quote; she said someone would call me back by the end of the week. When no one called me by Sunday, I called them on Monday and asked for the quote – which turned out to be $80 and 25 working days (about six weeks at this time of year). Needless to say, I was a bit underwhelmed…

I might have gone with twice the informal estimate, and two weeks would have been all right, but four times the cost and six times the time didn’t sit well with me. I pointed this out to the person manning the phone at the store, and she suggested that since it was only an “informal” estimate they had their backside covered (which they did) and that if I paid them the 400% increase I would, at least, get my repair done. I told them to forget it and just have the workshop sent my property back. When I went in to pick it up I asked to speak with the manager on duty, who apologized for the situation and told me that her guess was that their repair people had assumed that I wanted something much more complex (and expensive) than what I actually requested, and that’s why the estimate was so high. When I pointed out that I’d never asked for any such thing, that the work order didn’t say any such thing, and that the price was absurd given what I actually did want, she apologized again and then ended the conversation…

Now, I wasn’t thundering at them, calling them bad names, or threatening legal action (civil or criminal); I was polite all the way through, and never raised my voice in the slightest. Moreover, there was a way they could have resolved the whole situation without any cost; in fact, I would have paid them. All they had to do was complete the original job I’d asked them to do, at or around the original price. In fact, if they’d gotten anywhere close to the original estimates, I’d have paid for the work, and if they’d taken care of the assignment in a timely fashion I might even have done business with them again. I don’t expect people or companies to be perfect, but I do expect managers to solve problems and make things right when they go wrong – and this one couldn’t be bothered to try…

I’m not going to post the company or the location, because as previously noted, I’m not really the litigious type; if you’re interested in knowing the details leave me a comment here and I’ll get back to you. I’m just going to note that this company lost a customer today; not just for a small repair project but for any future transaction any member of my household might ever have done with them. And if they keep losing opportunities to make friends and gain customers, they’re not going to like the result…