Comments on: Zales : Jewelry Store - Bad Service

By: Alex More

Alex More — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:21:29 +0000

Regarding 3-7 days for sizing. HOW ABOUT 3 WEEKS. Zales has decided to drop all there local jewelers, and start using out of state huge repair shops. My friend is a manager for a Zales store. They were told that by the start of next year all stores have to send out every repair, polishing, rhodium plating. To one of 3 or 4 huge repair houses. With a 3 week turn around time! And heres the best part ! that ring you just spent thousands of dollars on, they will charge you an extra $39.95 to size. And they will only pay the repair shop $ 4.00 yes four dollars to size your ring. Tell me How good is that going to look ??? So plan at least a month ahead if you want to surprise someone! cause do you think she’ll wait 3 weeks after you give it to her. And as a closing note, All the managers were strictly told they must deny this fact if anyone asks ! So this huge jewelry retailer now wants all their employees to LIE to you ! what else do they lie about. Dont take my word for it, go ask your local store. Its already started in Dallas and the west. And even with this plan from zales, none of the jewelers after years of service will be given any notice. Thanks a great company to do business with.

By: Meg

Meg — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:08:15 +0000

I wish I had seen this blog about two years ago…before I sent my best-friend with my husband to pick out my engagement ring!
The week after I got engaged, a diamond fell out, before it even got sized. I took it in, got it fixed and sized, and the same day I got the ring ANOTHER one fell out! I couldn’t believe it! I brought it back, seriously upset, and got a date of 7 working days to get it fixed. I was engaged for a month before i had a ring on my finger!
One month later, another diamond fell out, and this time they replaced the whole set, but had to send it out to get resized…7 more working days with no ring! Got the ring back….three months later yet another one…7 more days! I called cooperate, but nothing really happened….just an apology…It isn’t like I live next to the store..it takes me 20 minutes to get there and back! All that gas I wasted could have gotten me another ring! Anyway, a two weeks ago another diamond fell out and I took it back. They assured me that it would be fixed and back to normal in 5 days, but when I went to pick it up the whole setting was messed up, the prongs were to big and bent. I, of course, sent it back, after arguing with the rude sales lady about how it is messed up, and I will not accept a flawed ring. So 7 working days later I go to pick it up, and the diamond that fell out is in the setting, but it is bent, and the prongs are bent, my ring was ugly, horrible in fact! When I told the manager about it, he said that he would exchange it, but they didn’t carry my size, so he would have to take 3-7 working days to have it sized. I opted for this option, after telling him horrible I thought their product, and customer service was. He then proceded to take a 20 minute personal call on his cell phone before getting back to me with my recipt for pick up….these people are insane! And he had the audacity to tell me that maybe I am too rough with it..I sit at a desk all day typing! Honestly, I’m too rough!
Never again will I ever shop there…I have had no problems with any of the jewlery that I have purchased at Kays or Ben Bridge, they are professionals and know how to produce quality products!This all happened in Pearl City Hawaii!!!

By: DP

DP — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:45:24 +0000

SV,

In regards to the message about my post:

My post is true. Do I know you or something? You sound like you are personally offended by what I have to say. Just because a diamond is an emerald cut, doesn’t mean it is necessarily going to have excellent color and clarity. Because it is an emerald cut you are able to see flaws easier than you would in a round for example. That particular ring ended up going to clearance, must have been exceptional huh!? And as for putting the charges on my boyfriend’s card, they post-voided the return as soon as I left the store (which means it cancelled the return). I’m not blaming the sales people; they were just listening to management. Unethical things tend to happen when your boss is stealing from the corporation and doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.

By: DP

DP — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:32:10 +0000

SV,
In regards to your post to me:

So which Zales do you work at? Unfortunately my story is true.

By: Melinda

Melinda — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:21:12 +0000

I am definitely having issues with the Kay’s at Rolling Oaks mall in San antonio Tx. My mom brought her wedding ring of 40 yrs ago into get repolished or dipped or whatever takes out the scratches, they told her it would be $30. Very reasonable, OUTSTANDING!!! The lady that was doing the paperwork, told her it was a beautiful ring, and asked if she knew what it was worth? My mom told her no, that it was priceless to her since my deceased father gave it to her and she had not had it appraised. After looking in the scope or whatever, she asked if $900 sounded fair. My mom said, that was fine. Mom signed the ring over to them or whatever and left. They called the day before it was supposed to be back and said that the ring was back but that the place didn’t do a good job, they were going to send it back and have it redone. (left a message). Then the next day, she recieves a message from the lady that she gave the “beautiful” ring to and she says “Ma’am, you can come and pick up your ring, as it turns out your diamond is not real and no work was done on it”. My mom promptly calls the store manager and he said that the lady that appraised the ring is new and didn’t know it wasn’t a real diamond looking in the scope….okay is that even POSSIBLE??? She needed to come and get her ring. It was a diamond when it went in, and now they want her to go and pick up her ring that is no longer a diamond. My mom is of course terribly upset b/c that was her wedding ring diamond that could NEVER be replaced. I think they are liable and I will be up raising hell tomorrow. I am wearing a $1800 ring on my finger from them right now, thank god the diamonds haven’t fell out yet but I”ll make sure my warranty never goes bad after hearing these stories!!! Hopefully tomorrow, I can get this issue resolved and my mom another diamond at the VERY least…and maybe that ladies JOB!!

By: Please Read Everyone

Please Read Everyone — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:14:44 +0000

I’m writing this comment not because I’m defending Zales in anyway but after I read all of the complaints on here…. here is what I have to say.
1. first of all, not matter where you shop from whether its at Zales, Kays, etc. you are going to have problems with diamonds coming out because most retail jewelry stores use similar vendors …. the problem occurs when the customer who is wearing it is either not very careful. However that is why you purchase a warranty…. because you never know whats going to happen in life.
2. Everyone should read this part….
If you have a ring sized…. you are putting stress or tension on those diamonds (especially when the diamonds are channel set)when sizing so of course you are gonna have diamonds falling out. Thats why the salespeople recommend that you have the ring special ordered… but then people get all upset when a ring has to be properly made to your finger size. When the rings are special ordered, the rings are made in that size and then they set the diamonds so there is no stress put on the diamond.From my experience, special orders normally take 6-8 weeks… from what ive been told … some of the vendors maybe overseas and thats why sometimes it takes longer.
3. I agree that its a big disappointment when the manager or salesperson doesnt call back…. thats a huge problem and potentially could cause the loss of that sale…so for all of those salespeople out there… DO YOUR JOBS!!! (especially when it comes to checking up on special orders and update your customer about their order because that keeps the customer informed and they dont feel like someone forgot about them.

So to really sum all this up…. be a smart shopper, do your homework first… if you need to have a ring sized to a 4 from a 7…. chances are you have to get something special ordered which takes time… be patient but also try to understand the circumstances too.
I know you are really excited about getting your dream ring but if you want it to last forever….you want to make sure everything is done correctly so that it will last forever…. and also dont forget to have it inspected every 6 months so that you dont have possible problems in the future.

By: Disgruntled Customer

Disgruntled Customer — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:20:41 +0000

I wish I had seen this blog 9 years ago. My husband bought my ring from Zale’s in Baybrook Mall, which is in Houston, Texas. I absolutely loved it, but there was a problem. A few weeks after we got engaged, a diamond fell out. I took it in and it was sent off with a promise that we would be called when it came in. We never received a phone call. I called them on the promise date that was on my claim ticket. It was there and I picked it up and mentioned that a phone call would have been nice. The next year, another diamond fell out, and the year after that, and the year after that and so on. The final clincher is that on Oct. 6, 2007, I took my ring in to have it repaired, because another diamond fell out. The promise date was November 15, 2007. My husband and I started calling on this date, because we knew they wouldn’t be calling us. The ring was not there. We kept calling and there was no ring. We finally decided to go in to see the manager. The manager told us that she would put a paper trail on the ring to see what happened to it. It is now January 17, 2008, and I still don’t have my ring. They can’t find it. They don’t know what happened to it. The response I got was that it got lost somewhere. I think it got lost on someone else’s finger. It is the most beautiful ring you’d ever want to see. I received so many compliments on it daily. Now I’m without it. We did ask for a refund and were told that we would be getting one. In the meantime, I have a bare finger. I am planning to go to our local news station to see if they would like to do an investigation. This will give Zale’s all of the negative publicity they need. My ring is a 3 Karat beautiful piece of work. The manufacturer doesn’t make it anymore. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I wish everyone could read this blog before they shop at Zale’s. I saw it because I was looking for the address to their Corporate Office. Our weekends are now filled with looking for a replacement ring, but that ring won’t have the same sentimental value that my original ring had. DO NOT SHOP AT ZALE’S!!!!!!!

By: sad bride

sad bride — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:32:36 +0000

I am not happy with the Zales store in Olympia, Wa. My fiance bought me a diamond ring there and he was not told or shown that the diamond has what feels like a crack on the side. I did not notice it but felt it one day with my finger nail. We took back the ring and were told that this flaw was part of the rating of the ring. -How would he know this if not shown it when he bought it? He payed a lot for this ring 6k. I feel like he was ripped off. We will never shop there again.

By: Tony T

Tony T — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:59:29 +0000

I dont have a problem with the local store I bought an engagement ring at but I sure have a problem with Zales Credit. Every month there are some trumped up charges either insurance or $9.95 fee for filling out the app. Everytime I try to contact them someone puts me through to Citibank who handles their accounts. Citibank can’t remove the charges only Zales can. But they conveniently can never be reached or as I said Im put on hold and transferred to Citibank. Their email address for the insurance division that I was given isnt even good. Ive had it with them and will never ever buy from Zales again.

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:31:24 +0000

My experience with Zales had tarnished what is supposed to be a very special once in a lifetime experience. I didn’t even get a proposal because it is now 5 months from when my boyfriend ordered the engagement ring and he finally had to tell me what was happening. Our experience is with the store in Rapid City, SD. I could write a novel about the lies the we’ve been told and bad customer service, but basically:
1. Promised by the manager a size 7 could easily be sized to a 4…lie.
2. Had to special order the ring; shouldn’ve taken 4-6 weeks. Was apparently shipped to wrong store and sold. Probably another lie.
3. Regional Managers do not call back.
4. 2nd time the ring was ordered were told their store was moving so couldn’t get it for another month or so.
5. Threatened them with giving us a refund and suddenly they could get the ring in time and at a discount.
6. Ring arrives after 5 months and center stone has a black inclusion that looks like a piece of pepper.
7. Manager attempts to pass off a yellow stone which I refused to accept. So, she promises to try to order another one from another store.
8. I call back another week later and was told she went on vacation and no one knows the situation.

What Zales has done to us is indefensible. We feel stupid for letting it go on for this long, but we keep thinking it will be worth it. Now after reading all of these complaints online I’m thinking we should not buy this ring and save ouselves the heartache of having the stones fall out!!! I think I’m gonna cry… DO NOT DEAL WITH ZALES.

By: SV

SV — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:11:25 +0000

DP, First an emerald cut diamond is all ways a better clarity and color, due to the flat table. I find it hard to believe there were visable inclusions in the one you had brought in from another store. Second, it is not possible for a sales person to put a charge your boyfriends card,
each reciept must be signed in the store, and unless they had his card number, exp date and security code on the back, there is no way that happened. As an employee you are the one that was getting the employee discount and it should have been charged on your account, not his.

By: CA

CA — Mon, 07 May 2007 23:24:13 +0000

My boyfriend bought me a promise ring from the zales outlet store in destin, fl. I think he bought it before thanksgiving 2006, and i recieved it 2 days before christmas. When i first got it i knew it had to be sent back because it was too big and he didnt know my ring size. So we went into the store and they told us that they couldnt size it down to a 4.75 because of the diamonds down the sides. So we sent it in to be special ordered, and it took 6 wks. When i got it back i noticed one of the smaller diamonds on the size was squished into the metal and looked crushed or missing and the metal on one size looked dented.Try #1… So we sent it back to be fixed and they told us they would order another one, but when i got it back, it still had the crushed diamond, and it looked like someone had tried to fill in the metal with stearling silver, and the ring was white gold. So i went in and asked why they hadnt ordered me a new ring since this one was obviously messed up to an unrepairable point and they said because they couldnt find out what was wrong with it…. (uhh hellloooo!!) (Id been dealing through a Zales store in town by now) Try #2.. they ordered a new one and i got it back but it was a size too big and the diamond fell out within a week of me putting it on my finger… Try #3.. i decided to try to order it one more time in my size and see if they couldnt get it right. I drove to the Zales outlet store 3 hours away to pick it up….When i got it back, i was semi-happy, it still a little big and the diamond was in place. Then about 3 days later, it fell out again.Try #4… so i go to the store… pissed this time, and demanded that they do it fast and right. So it takes about 3 wks and i go to pick it up and about 12 hours later, i notice the SAME EXACT DIAMOND fell out… once again… So i still have the ring as im sitting here, because i dont feel like dealing with it, but we demanded a refund, and they said yes, so as soon as i decide what i want to do, they will give him his money back, or let me do an exchange. About 6 months later…. Zales outlet sucks.

By: Shelia

Shelia — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:08:48 +0000

I purchased a $4,000 ring in December at the Zales outlet store in Round Rock, TX and was told that it could be re-sized. I don’t know if anyone is aware of this or not but at this store there are NO REFUNDS!!! One week later I took the ring in and was then told that it would have to be totally re-made as having it sized would cause looose stones and that having the ring re-made could take up to six weeks. Ok, dummy me agreed to have the rind re-made as I did not want to make countless trips to the store to have the stones replaced all the time. Well we are now going on week #9 and still no ring. I also purchased the insurance/warranty but it is no good to me because I don’t have the ring!! I called the Zales store on week 6 and again on week 8 so today I am going to may an appearance at the store to see what load of crap they hand me this time. If I don’t get a definite answer today I am calling their corporate office, filing a complaint with the BBB and writing to KVUE On Your Side to see if they are interested in doing a consumer report. I think I have been more than patient. So for Anyone out there thinking of making a purchase from this store get all the facts before you pay and sign their No Return Statement!!!!!!!!!!!

By: DP

DP — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 06:05:09 +0000

I worked at Zales while I was in college. I thought that it would be nice to stay there and get the discount when I got engaged so I stayed there for 3 years. My boyfriend had decided to let me pick out the ring and I chose an emerald cut. We got a pretty good deal and all and all it ended up being around $5,000 even with the discount. We didn’t get to see the ring until after we paid for it becuase it had to be shipped in from another store. My manager told me that if I wasn’t happy with the diamond that came in I could have another sent in until I was satisfied. I had three sent in and none of them looked good, one was yellow, one had 2 big flaws, and one was cut really bad. I decided to go with a round instead becuase I didn’t have any luck with the emerald cut. We returned the emerald cut ( that we never physically had in the first place) and we were going to purchase a round when I found the one that I wanted. I came into the store a couple days later to pick up a pay stub and discovered that the staff had put the emerald cut diamond back on my boyfriend’s card. I called him and he was not happy (rightfully so), he called the store and told the girl that was working to take he charge off of his card ($5,000!!). She said she did and I came back and checked a couple days later and it had not been done. I called the corporate office and complained, the regional manager called my boyfriend and apologized then tried to get him to exchange it over the phone instead of returning it. The nerve! My boyfriend said, “no, we will buy something when we find what we want. Why should we be paying for something that we don’t even have.” The charge was finally taken off but I found out that it was the regional manager who instructed the sales girls to do it in the first place. All of this unethical behavior just so that the store manager and regioanl manager could make bonus.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:47:14 +0000

My boyfriend bought my engagement ring on Dec 10th 2005, within the first 3 weeks a stone popped out. We brought the ring back, (the sales guy was an unpleasant ass), we exchanged it for another(it was still within the 30 days). However, once again wihin a couple of weeks a FEW stones came loose. This ime we “sent it in for repair”. It took “10 days”. I’ve had the ring back a week and the stones are all loose AGAIN!! I don’t think they ever sent it to repair, I think they just pressed the stones in, and gave it back. They have ruined what was supposed to be something very special. Now it’s past the return time and I’m stuck with a very expensive , FLAWED, ring (that spends more time in a box then on my finger!!). Don’t buy ANYTHING from them!! They are terrible. I’m going in once again today to deal with them, and will probably be in need of an attorney to help get the issue resolved!!! PLEASE DON’T PUT YOURSELVES THROUGH THIS ORDEAL WITH THIS COMPANY-THE PRODUCTS THEY OFFER MAY LOOK LOVELY, BUT THEY ARE PIECES OF CRAP!!

By: sandra

sandra — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 03:11:04 +0000

yeah, we shopped at the zales in san antonio, texas. while
we were buying our wedding set, everything is great and wonderful, when we returned to get insurance on the ring because a diamond had already fallen off, the sales lady almost slapped us with the application out of the store. no explanation or anything, when i asked for the price of a wedding band she said she would call me with the price, im still waiting a few wks later?? good service huh. the sales lady told me to call the 1-800 # on the statement to sign on, when i called the # the person on the line said that the insurance should have been explained and sign on at the
store, i was very upset because i havent had the ring for a
year i already lost a diamond, plus drove 2 1/2 hrs to take
the ring in, and i could have signed for the insurance right there and then but was informed of this now, she just
dindnt want to deal w us. i called the manager to inform him of this situation he stated that he enfisized on excellent customer service, he said that he would take care
of it himself and that i would be faxed the insurance form
within 2 hrs guess what, it took another call from me to get anything faxed and he didnt even fax it, it was faxed by another sales lady, because guess what he left on a family emergency. and thats the manager, what do you expect
from the associates