Ritzy Fifth Avenue jeweler Tiffany & Co. failed to ship Chris’ grandfather a bracelet for his wife in time for Christmas. We expect a certain level of service from high-end stores, but Tiffany’s extravagant amends caught us by surprise.
My grandfather ordered an engraved Tiffany silver bracelet as a surprise Christmas gift for my grandmother. He had custom engraving put on the bracelet, and had arranged for the bracelet to be delivered to my house about 2 weeks before Christmas. Two weeks after the order (when we should’ve received the bracelet), there was no bracelet. We gave it another week, and the my grandfather emailed Tiffany customer support. He received an automated response stating that because of the overwhelming Christmas rush, he needed to contact customer support via their 800 number. Of course, the 800 number was impossible to get through to also.
My grandfather, being the laid back man that he is, wasn’t really angry, but he wanted to know what was going on with the bracelet. Tiffany customer service ended up calling him on the Friday before Christmas. As luck would have it, he was out fishing, and my grandmother talked to them, thus ruining the surprise. When he returned home, he was able to actually get through to the rep who called him earlier. She informed him that because of a Christmas rush they were not expecting, the bracelet would not be arriving before Christmas. To make up for the fact that they had ruined the surprise and would not be getting the bracelet to my grandfather before Christmas, they would be giving him the order FREE. He asked to clarify, asking if they just meant the shipping or the engraving free, but no, the ENTIRE COST of the order was FREE. Of course, he was blown away (after all, this is a $255 bracelet, plus the cost of engraving and shipping).
Tiffany ended up shipping the bracelet on Saturday, overnighting it to my house where I received it on Monday. There was no invoice or such in the box, so we were still wondering IF the bracelet was actually going to be free (with the final call coming from the credit card bill). Sure enough, when the credit card bill came that would’ve contained the charge, there was absolutely no charges from Tiffany.
So, it’s nice to know that there are indeed some companies who want to keep their reputation that treat their customers well.
Sometimes you get the service you intended to pay for. For Tiffany, which stocks $210,000 bracelets, $255 isn’t much to keep the customer happy and willing to consider larger purchases.
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Long story short-I wanted the black titanium ring when it first came out and my boyfriend tried to get it for my birthday in the beginning of December. There was a snafu but I got it in mid-December only to realize that I had asked for the wrong size. I waited until I went to visit my parents for the holidays where there was a Tiffany’s nearby. I returned the ring to the store only to find out that there were TWO in the entire country left at an actual store in the size I needed. I gave the girl my address and hoped for the best. The system wasn’t real time so there was a chance those rings could have been gone.
I got my ring a couple of days later and I am pretty sure she called me to let me know it was going out. I was very impressed by the customer service.
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MANICPANIC AT 07:14 PM
This is exactly what I am talking about. Titanium is one of the most abundant metals on earth. You can get it for $3 an ounce. It has wonderful properties but when Tiffany can put the Tiffany logo on a product and sell it for $350 (a casual glance at the online catalog for Titanium rings) you are paying more than $300 for the Tiffany name and cachet. I’m just saying, pay for the actual value.
@xtc46: Exactly! A truly good consumerist rewards excellent service with loyalty, and spends as little money as possible at places with crappy service. We vote with our dollars.
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Would you buy that Tiffany ring if you knew that each and ever $30 ring came with a $300 service contract?
This is exactly why I shop at stores like Nordstrom’s, Tiffany, etc.
I spend a little more, but I can be sure that nearly every aspect of the shopping experience (including problems) will be handled in a way that doesn’t leave me frazzled and distracted.
Life is too short to pinch every penny. When I die, my net worth might be a hundred thousand lighter than it would’ve been if I banished high-end retailers, but so what? I would’ve spent my whole life hating shopping, instead of enjoying it. Bad trade.
As for people who believe that Tiffany is nothing but a name, I’d point out that the margin information is easily available.
Tiffany current runs on approximately 50-60% gross margins. Interestingly, this is almost identical to down-scale jewelers like Zales, Caldwells or Bailey Banks and Biddle.
If you want more bang for the buck, you really need to hit the online retailers like Blue Nile (or on the low-end, Bidz). But there, you lose the ability to see the pieces in person prior to purchasing. Both of them run on 20% gross margins (lower overhead allows it, obviously).
but the idea that Tiffany is pure mark-up is a falsehood. I say that as a satisfied Tiffany’s shopper, and as a TIF shareholder.
BY IHATEAUDITIONS Firstly, Tiffany DOES run 50-60% if you add in their multi million dollar pieces and all merch across the boards. Their low end merch is WAY over priced. And if I died spending $100K that I save from unnecessary markups on everyday purchases on a second vacation home, that would suit me just fine as well. Go buy some bottled water.
People, people…
Unbelievable. The middle class verbally/literarily annihilating each other over how much a luxury retailer values their money! Did you know that Tiffany raised their prices on their cheap bracelets this past holiday season because there were alarmed that 13 year olds everywhere were hawking them? They are quietly seeking ways to price out wannabe aspirational shoppers that really can’t afford them in the first place. Tiffany does not want to become the “Coach” of jewelry. A true luxury brand is not accessible to Homer & Marge Simpson.
You should buy jewelry at the diamond district in downtown L.A. But that’s really a gamble, right? ha ha ha OK, carry on.
@chandler in lasvegas: Your comment would be a lot more impressive if you did a few things:
1) if you used realistic examples. You cited a $330 ring and claim it should cost $30. A quick check of comparables showed far simpler rings (single-metal, no design) selling for $100 at pure discount retailers.
This (at a minimum) indicates that you’re exaggerating the issue by a rather huge amount.
2) if you weren’t rude. “Go buy some bottled water”? Give me a fucking break.
3) If you took people’s arguments seriously. I’ve done the financial analysis and shopping at shitty stores won’t make any measurable difference in my quality of life, at all, assuming that my career doesn’t completely crash and burn.
It won’t mean a vacation house, a college education, or aynthing else like that. If I shop at shitty stores, and hate it all, my sole reward will be a slightly larger number in my bank account when I die.
(And for what it’s worth, I’m a CFA, so it’s not like I’m simply failing to understand the value of money.)
@chandler in lasvegas; @ihateauditions: As a former Tiffany employee, I know mark-ups on their lower end jewelry are only 30%, not the 50-60% some claim it to be (it’s quality of materials and the extensive labor involved in making the item that drives the price up).
I’m surprised they gave anyone an item for free, it is very rare and unlikely for them to do so (usually in these cases they send out a new one if there is a problem with shipping and file a claim with UPS, with the intention of getting the merchandise or the price back).
The commission for sales associates, even the fine jewelry ones, does not top 2%.
If a sales associate ever gives you a rude or chilly reception, let the manager know. The company HATES that anyone would leave Tiffany’s feeling marginalized, and knows happy customers are more likely to return. The employees are trained to give the best experience possible, even if you are not buying (however… Christmas rush is an entirely different story, it gets HECTIC very quickly and it’s hard to accommodate everyone involved).
I realize that this is not a popular thing to say considering the popularity of the bluish box, but my Tiffany experiences have been off and on. However in the end they manage to do the right thing.
I do hope people realize what you are paying for when you go to Tiffany’s – nothing more than the guarantee that they will have a high quality of product and look after your interest more than others. This is the premium that you pay for and realize that it is LIMITED. Their return policy is no great shakes (and is certainly not L.L. Bean) and states -
“Articles are accepted for credit or exchange in the U.S. if returned in saleable condition within 30 days, accompanied by a sales receipt. Returns may be sent to our Customer Service Center, or you may take your return to any of our retail stores in the U.S.
A refund will be made to the purchaser upon request if payment has been received. Gift recipients are entitled to a nonrefundable merchandise credit. To return or exchange your gift selection, please follow the instructions included with your package.”
Unless you are going for a trademarked look, or buying the image you can get a larger diamond or better things other places for the same price.
[www.diamond.info] is a good forum for educating yourself so that you can tell quality. I particularly like their negotiation primer which points out things like:
“What does a new car, expensive jewelry, and a home have in common? Their respective transactions all involve a large sum of money… and in any such transaction, it is worth the seller’s time to try to “tailor” each deal to maximize the amount of revenue that can be extracted out of every individual buyer. Economists call this “price discrimination” and it simply means that you will pay more if the salesperson detects:
1. strong emotional affinity for the product (e.g. you’re in love with a particular ring)
2. desperation (e.g. you’re planning to propose tomorrow but still don’t have the ring)
3. price insensitivity (e.g. you’re rich),
4. lack of education on the purchase at hand. “
Tiffany’s customer service is truly unbelievable. A friend of mine was given a $7,000 Jean Schlumberger ring as an anniversary gift last fall. Less than two weeks later she lost the ring in an airport (the ring still needed to be properly sized and fell off her finger, unknown to her). Embarrassed at her carelessness, my friend ended up returning to Tiffany to buy a replacement ring rather than admit to her husband that she lost it. A week later, when my friend returned to pick up the new, properly sized ring, the sales person who was helping her throughout the process told her that Tiffany wished to make a gift of the ring to her, and wished her a happy anniversary.
Now that is customer service!
@seeldee:
However this is not always the case, when a friend of mine was returning a ring when I was with her b/c it was given to her with scratches on it. (I know for a fact the box was not opened before being given to her and they knew it was a gift), Tiffany’s:
1. Would not return it,
2. Asked if the customer would like to speak to a manager (a no brainer), and
3. The manager explained that they could not take it back b/c it had scratches on it and they would never sell something of that quality and she must have done it – insinuating that my friend intentionally damaged the ring and then pulled out their return “policy” to justify their actions for not returning it.
I found this utterly insulting considering she just wanted an exchange for a non-damaged item and had everything in order.
While Tiffany’s finally did make it right they only did so because I pointed out that they were not only insinuating that my friend was a liar (and almost causing her to cry), but also that I would not back down till they made it right and they had the responsibility to make it right.
What I learned:
1. Tiffany’s values their reputation. I simply don’t think that a customer has to state loudly that Tiffany’s has a certain reputation to uphold in order for they to uphold it – though I do give them credit that they thought that their reputation was important.
2. Tiffany’s applies their standard sometimes only if they will be embarrassed by it.
3. Tiffany’s can do the right thing.
4. As they stated to me when they saw I was becoming angry when they would not honor a routine rejection of goods upon inspection exchange – “We are like every other jewelry store our responsibility ends when it leaves the store.”
@ Curiosity – man, that sucks! I am sorry to hear that your experience was so negative (and cruel!). I’m no spokesperson for Tiffany, just relaying a friend’s very positive experience, and know that even the best retailers can sometimes give shitty help and poor resolutions to simple-to-solve problems…
I, too, have shopped at Tiffany here in Toronto a few times and have had only very pleasant experiences with sales clerks. Perhaps the level of service is dependent upon the location? Still, it sounds like you guys got the shaft, for sure. If I had that experience, I’d avoid shopping there, without a doubt. I’d also probably write a letter to head office afterwards.
It’s too bad those bracelets are very 2002 and oodles of 14 year olds get them as gifts (after whining and crying, of course), as well as single 40 year olds who buy them for themselves. I always had to chuckle when someone would proudly show off their bracelet. “Yeah, I’ve never seen ANYTHING like that before! It’s super!”
If you’re going to spend on Tiffany’s, make sure it’s not a dead-common item… Otherwise, nice story
@seeldee:
Despite the fact that I am a lawyer I just don’t think you need to to assume people mean poorly, or people should start off (or finish) rude without trying to understand a situation and come to a win-win situation. Professionals should be just that – professional.
I was just noting that personal experience differs and that Tiffany’s is far from consistent in how they treat their customers. I am not saying that they are a poor company, but that testimonies hold limited value (good and bad).
I admittedly had far better customer service at Marshall Fields (extinct) and L.L. Bean than at either Tiffany’s, Nordstroms, or other highline stores, but then I am not overly impressed by “pandering” or sucking up when I do not get what I am (hopefully reasonably) asking for.
I have bought low-end (Silver) items from Tiffany a few times in my life. Always treated well in the store. My favorite experience with Tiffany was when I went to buy a silver bracelet for myself because it matched a ring I’d been given as a gift and I really wanted the bracelet to go with it. Totally self-indulgent–I was embarrassed to be doing it.
The sales associate was super helpful and friendly, said lots of nice things about how well-suited the ring I’d been given was to my hands. When I bought the bracelet, she insisted on wrapping it in the blue box with the white ribbon even though it was for me because that little feature is such a nice experience. I love some of their stuff and will continue to shop with them. (This actually WAS San Francisco Union Square.)
I got horrible, snobby customer service at the Scottsdale store (I wanted to buy the $600 Peretti Bone cuff). I wrote a letter to corporate detailing the experience and praising the one man who helped me.
In return I got a “sorry ’bout that” ho-hum response from corporate and to this day, the “good” employee at the store hasn’t heard any praise from his manager or gotten any word about the glowing letter that was written about him.
Way to go, management….
Sorry folks but Tiffanys has always been a great experience for me. I mean i’ve traveled as far as Guam and went into the Tiffanys there and was very impressed with the service. There was even a tall guard at the door who greeted me with a smile and that is rare to find in any high end business.
I found in interesting to find this posting today – not so much because of the proximity to Valentine’s Day, but I was just commenting about the high customer service I had received at Tiffany’s compared to an incident this weekend at Jared. I have been able to return and exchange jewelry I have received as gifts to Tiffany’s with out any sort of receipt and nothing other than the box it came in to state it was from Tiffany’s. While I now the items I returned were authentic, they never questioned the items. I will keep my disgust with Jared from this discussion and will just say I will never return to their business.
I have had nothing but flawless service from always. when I was looking for a ring for my wedding, they flew a $2000 ring from Chicago to Miami for me to “look at” and when I did not like it in person and told them I would not be buying it there the sales clerk smiled at me in the same way as If I had just bought 20k of gems from her. They are the real deal.
I ordered a $400 watch charm from Tiffany & Co, because I can’t make it myself at home. I lost it 4 days later off my Tiffany bracelet. I called customer service in tears, and they sent me a new charm, free. Excellent customer service. The watch is now soldered onto my bracelet.