Sunday, a friend Mr A, dragged me and SO to help shop for a wedding ring.
A wanted to surprise his gf so he just brought along a silver ring of hers for size comparison.
The first shop we was went to P** H**. They were having this 20% sale on certain design collections.
So after gazing for a while at their display windows, we did saw a few that we like and trooped into the store.
We asked to see a few designs of wedding rings and then A popped the question. "I did not bring my gf, can i use another ring of hers as comparison for size?"
That's when the sales lady said....NO...Blah...blah...then she continue to say how each ring size is different for different ring material. For example, a ring size for silver would be different for that of gold, or platinum or whatever. Hence to ensure a close fit, they would need a ring size of exactly the same material.
The next question we asked was ...can the ring be altered?
The sales lady said...the rings cannot be altered or made bigger or smaller after it is manufactured cos it is customed made and made according to size to fit exactly.
After hearing the lot of crap, we just said ok...and left the shop.
Oh please! We recognised crap when we heard it! What a whole load of crap and bullshit!
You know when someone gave you a load of crap and it sounds just like crap only and could be nothing else but crap. Well, that's what was coming out of her mouth.
Oh please, this is not the first jewellery shop we have been in! We having been shopping for wedding rings for weeks and had visited quite a few jewellery shops.
This is the very first time we heard crap like this.
All the other shops we went to said it is okay if you bring a similar ring for size comparison and that it is possible to alter the size, should the ring dun fit.
So what the hell is she talking about? Does the sales assistant even know such simple product knowledge?
Such load of crap really turned customers off, regardless of how nice their designs are or how cheap or classy their products are! And this is a very established chain of jewellery store! Gosh....what they do for product training!
Well, frankly, i see it as a sort of excuse NOT to serve customers like us. Frankly, the rings we saw are not cheap either....both pairs cost above $1200....Maybe it was just that something about us made her dun think we would buy the rings?
---------------------------
The next shop we went to was located across the mall. Frankly, we did not intent to step into this store cos they were not having any sales and their products are known to be on the pricey side.
However, this store, L** H**, has some amazing diamond wedding rings. However, the ones that we really like, each ring costs about $1000 and above. So a pair would set aback about $2000 plus plus. Especially the Destinee collection.
So we settled for a cheaper range. And we got the assistant manager to show us a few pairs of rings.
We asked the same questions we asked at the first store. And the sales staff said no problem, we could use a similar ring for comparison. And yes, the ring could be altered , made bigger or smaller.
That's when we really really knew the first sales lady at the first shop had really really snubbed us with crap!
The rings that A was looking had to be simple....nothing fancy, no elaborate patterns, the diamonds must look presentably big though, not just some tiny shiny dust specks in the metal.
While we were there, we were offered some warm tea. Something floral?
Anyway, after a few minutes of browsing, A settled for a simple diamond ring with matt finish.
Well, however, SO and i did thought the ring looks ...eh...uneventful. Too simple? And the diamond looks a bit small and pathetic? And a bit dull and lack luster?
So we suggested to A that we walked around the mall and consider the designs before coming back to the shop again to make the purchase.
Immediately, i could sensed a change in the face of the sales staff. Was that a moment of fleeting displeasure that i sensed in him?
Well, we were not there for very long..about 10-15 mins at most, so we did not take up very much of the guy's time at all! To earn a business of $1000 plus for just 15 mins work is very good money.
And i do know that such sales staff depends on sales commission and they do have a monthly quota to fulfill.
Anyway, we thanked the guy, got the ring model number and said we would like to think about the designs for a while.
And we were off to have dinner at a food court a few train stations away.
---------------------------
After dinner, we walked around the mall and saw another branch of the first store we visited today. We did like the designs and decided to give the shop another chance.
So we trooped into the store and pointed to a few designs of wedding rings. This time, we were served by this delightful young sales girl, Serene. She was polite, bubbly, giggly and warm.
We asked the same questions about using another ring for comparison and about alteration. And both times, she said...no problem...sure....possible.
Why the difference in such product knowledge? They are from the same chain of jewellery stores and yet they responded differently to the same questions!
Anyway, after about 20-30 mins of browsing and trying on rings, A finally decided on the 2 sets of rings from their "Amore" wedding rings collection.
The first set was this simple design with parallel lines on both sides of the ring cirumferences.
The 2nd set was this design with this 2 lines meeting at the center and the diamond encrusted in the center like an eye shape centre.
And then there was this set of rings made of white and yellow gold. It definitely look good on paper. However, in real light, the white and yellow gold seems to blend into one lump of yellowish metal, hiding the diamond from view.
Personally I preferred the first design cos it looks more simple, classy and classic. However, SO and A prefer the 2nd design. They like the unique design.
So in the end, A bought and paid for the 2nd design of rings. He paid a 50% deposit of the ring cost of $990.
The ring size for A is 27 whereas the other ring is for size 16. For ladies ring, the size ends at 15. For guy's ring, they start at 15 onwards to 23.
Anyway, to measure the ring size, the sales lady took out this metal wand thing. She slided the ring A brought and confirmed the ring size to be 16. Then she took out this chain containing a series of metal rings of various sizes and asked A to try a few sizes on his finger.
A was caught between size 26 and 27. 26 was a bit close fitting ad 27 was a bit looser. However A preferred to have a looser ring. The sales girl did said that in air con places, the finger tends to shrink a bit as compared to when out in the open area. Hence she recommended the bigger size of 27. And if it is too loose still, there is still room for alteration.
A still had to pay $30 more to custom made the ring for a bigger size, though.
We did think this was very reasonable. Cos at another established store (T** P**) we went to last week, they quoted us an extra $300 to custom made the ring a bigger size. At that store, the total cost of both rings after 10% is $1500 plus.
We did like the rings but we were in no hurry so we decided to shop around some more.
So lucky, we did not get the rings last week.
This week, the rings were so much cheaper. Even after custom make a bigger size, the final bill for both rings comes only to $990! A saving of more than $500! Gosh and the diamonds looks sparkling! Though still small! Ha!
Anyway, the rings would be ready for collection in 4 weeks time. And engraving would take 20-30 mins and can be done after the final fitting!
Can't wait to see the real rings!
A wanted to surprise his gf so he just brought along a silver ring of hers for size comparison.
The first shop we was went to P** H**. They were having this 20% sale on certain design collections.
So after gazing for a while at their display windows, we did saw a few that we like and trooped into the store.
We asked to see a few designs of wedding rings and then A popped the question. "I did not bring my gf, can i use another ring of hers as comparison for size?"
That's when the sales lady said....NO...Blah...blah...then she continue to say how each ring size is different for different ring material. For example, a ring size for silver would be different for that of gold, or platinum or whatever. Hence to ensure a close fit, they would need a ring size of exactly the same material.
The next question we asked was ...can the ring be altered?
The sales lady said...the rings cannot be altered or made bigger or smaller after it is manufactured cos it is customed made and made according to size to fit exactly.
After hearing the lot of crap, we just said ok...and left the shop.
Oh please! We recognised crap when we heard it! What a whole load of crap and bullshit!
You know when someone gave you a load of crap and it sounds just like crap only and could be nothing else but crap. Well, that's what was coming out of her mouth.
Oh please, this is not the first jewellery shop we have been in! We having been shopping for wedding rings for weeks and had visited quite a few jewellery shops.
This is the very first time we heard crap like this.
All the other shops we went to said it is okay if you bring a similar ring for size comparison and that it is possible to alter the size, should the ring dun fit.
So what the hell is she talking about? Does the sales assistant even know such simple product knowledge?
Such load of crap really turned customers off, regardless of how nice their designs are or how cheap or classy their products are! And this is a very established chain of jewellery store! Gosh....what they do for product training!
Well, frankly, i see it as a sort of excuse NOT to serve customers like us. Frankly, the rings we saw are not cheap either....both pairs cost above $1200....Maybe it was just that something about us made her dun think we would buy the rings?
---------------------------
The next shop we went to was located across the mall. Frankly, we did not intent to step into this store cos they were not having any sales and their products are known to be on the pricey side.
However, this store, L** H**, has some amazing diamond wedding rings. However, the ones that we really like, each ring costs about $1000 and above. So a pair would set aback about $2000 plus plus. Especially the Destinee collection.
So we settled for a cheaper range. And we got the assistant manager to show us a few pairs of rings.
We asked the same questions we asked at the first store. And the sales staff said no problem, we could use a similar ring for comparison. And yes, the ring could be altered , made bigger or smaller.
That's when we really really knew the first sales lady at the first shop had really really snubbed us with crap!
The rings that A was looking had to be simple....nothing fancy, no elaborate patterns, the diamonds must look presentably big though, not just some tiny shiny dust specks in the metal.
While we were there, we were offered some warm tea. Something floral?
Anyway, after a few minutes of browsing, A settled for a simple diamond ring with matt finish.
Well, however, SO and i did thought the ring looks ...eh...uneventful. Too simple? And the diamond looks a bit small and pathetic? And a bit dull and lack luster?
So we suggested to A that we walked around the mall and consider the designs before coming back to the shop again to make the purchase.
Immediately, i could sensed a change in the face of the sales staff. Was that a moment of fleeting displeasure that i sensed in him?
Well, we were not there for very long..about 10-15 mins at most, so we did not take up very much of the guy's time at all! To earn a business of $1000 plus for just 15 mins work is very good money.
And i do know that such sales staff depends on sales commission and they do have a monthly quota to fulfill.
Anyway, we thanked the guy, got the ring model number and said we would like to think about the designs for a while.
And we were off to have dinner at a food court a few train stations away.
---------------------------
After dinner, we walked around the mall and saw another branch of the first store we visited today. We did like the designs and decided to give the shop another chance.
So we trooped into the store and pointed to a few designs of wedding rings. This time, we were served by this delightful young sales girl, Serene. She was polite, bubbly, giggly and warm.
We asked the same questions about using another ring for comparison and about alteration. And both times, she said...no problem...sure....possible.
Why the difference in such product knowledge? They are from the same chain of jewellery stores and yet they responded differently to the same questions!
Anyway, after about 20-30 mins of browsing and trying on rings, A finally decided on the 2 sets of rings from their "Amore" wedding rings collection.
The first set was this simple design with parallel lines on both sides of the ring cirumferences.
The 2nd set was this design with this 2 lines meeting at the center and the diamond encrusted in the center like an eye shape centre.
And then there was this set of rings made of white and yellow gold. It definitely look good on paper. However, in real light, the white and yellow gold seems to blend into one lump of yellowish metal, hiding the diamond from view.
Personally I preferred the first design cos it looks more simple, classy and classic. However, SO and A prefer the 2nd design. They like the unique design.
So in the end, A bought and paid for the 2nd design of rings. He paid a 50% deposit of the ring cost of $990.
The ring size for A is 27 whereas the other ring is for size 16. For ladies ring, the size ends at 15. For guy's ring, they start at 15 onwards to 23.
Anyway, to measure the ring size, the sales lady took out this metal wand thing. She slided the ring A brought and confirmed the ring size to be 16. Then she took out this chain containing a series of metal rings of various sizes and asked A to try a few sizes on his finger.
A was caught between size 26 and 27. 26 was a bit close fitting ad 27 was a bit looser. However A preferred to have a looser ring. The sales girl did said that in air con places, the finger tends to shrink a bit as compared to when out in the open area. Hence she recommended the bigger size of 27. And if it is too loose still, there is still room for alteration.
A still had to pay $30 more to custom made the ring for a bigger size, though.
We did think this was very reasonable. Cos at another established store (T** P**) we went to last week, they quoted us an extra $300 to custom made the ring a bigger size. At that store, the total cost of both rings after 10% is $1500 plus.
We did like the rings but we were in no hurry so we decided to shop around some more.
So lucky, we did not get the rings last week.
This week, the rings were so much cheaper. Even after custom make a bigger size, the final bill for both rings comes only to $990! A saving of more than $500! Gosh and the diamonds looks sparkling! Though still small! Ha!
Anyway, the rings would be ready for collection in 4 weeks time. And engraving would take 20-30 mins and can be done after the final fitting!
Can't wait to see the real rings!
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