Dealing with a customer of a broken necklace

The customer - who had bought it on credit in the first place -
said that she was too broke to buy it anyway.... 

Well that is a different twist to it. Sounds to me like a customer
that you could do without. She has you extend her credit and then
wants you do repair it for free even though the breakage is her
fault? What’s next? Does she want you to take her child and train him
not to pull on necklaces?

These are the type of customers I can do without. And you run into
them all the time when you are a part time jeweler working out of
your house trying to get a business started. They will take
advantage of you. They are the type that tie up hours of your time
talking about design ideas only to walk away saying they’ll have to
think about it. Or bring in a bag of junk heirloom jewelry and want
you to polish it, fix it, or redesign it for basically nothing. Then
they brag about how you are there personal jeweler and start bringing
you their friends junk and probably make a cut on the transaction.
Been there; done that.

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
rockymountainwonders.com

My memory says that this was donated piece-- for a fundraiser…
Whether or not that is true, it does raise a point about donating to
auctions, etc. Not only is the time and materials (at least
partially) donated, but the winning bidder often has the expectation
that a life time of service accompanies the purchase/donation. This
seems especially true in the case of jewelry.

Andy

I agree with Hans and David and a lot of my “free service” customers
come back time and again to purchase pieces. Only last month at a
demonstration an elderly lady asked me to stretch a plain ring by 1
size which I did plus she got it back nice and shinny at no cost and
as a result I have received three commissions from her and two from a
friend of hers. Well worth the effort.

Robin Key
Clavis Jewellery
Aberdeen, Scotland

Well that is a different twist to it. Sounds to me like a customer
that you could do without. She has you extend her credit and then
wants you do repair it for free even though the breakage is her
fault? 

Or maybe that she loved it enough to buy it anyway, and wanted to
wear it all the time, and wearing it around the baby was a lousy idea
and she’s now learned better. We don’t know from the information
given.

The only way we find out the repercussions of decisions like “to fix
free or not to fix free” is by choosing, doing, and watching. In
some cases, we will pick wrong. If we have chosen our (legal)
decisions based on our own ethical beliefs, the consequences can go
hang, we’ve made the right decision.

Lauren

Maybe. And maybe he'll come back and expect you to do custom work
at a loss, too, having "learned" that if he objects to your fair
price, you'll do the work for much cheaper. This is not what I
would call going the extra mile for a customer, this is what I
would call setting a very bad precedent. 

I have to disagree Noel. I was very clear with him that I only did it
because it was his wife’s favourite necklace, and if I didn’t do it,
she would never be able to wear it again, and because it was a very
quick (less than half an hour’s work) bead stringing job. The only
reason I didn’t mind missing out on the labour charge is because it
was such a quick job - and he knows that. He was loathed to pay the
original price because the necklace had not even cost that much to
begin with.

Everyone at my husband’s work knows that I do NOT do custom work for
less money than quoted. The lady who said she’d only pay a pittance
for something I’d spent all day making for her, did not end up owning
the necklace. I gave it to another lady as a gift, and it’s netted me
a number of orders - a much better outcome I’m sure you’ll agree. The
intended customer was clearly one of those who would take advantage
given the chance, and I did NOT give her the change. Then there was
another lady who wanted me to requote for something for her
mother-in- law for Christmas, but only because what we originally
discussed was going to cost far more than what she would ever pay
for a present for her MIL for Christmas, so I changed the spec and
design of the necklace to match her budget, and she’s paid for it
today. I did not compromise and agree to do the more expensive work
for less money.

So I choose when to “go the extra mile”, and in every case it’s paid
dividends. By the way, the customer of the simple bead stringing
job, actually decided to pay me more money than we agreed (ie between
the original quote which included labour, and the second quote which
was just for materials), as he was so pleased with the result, but he
knows full well that it was a one-off thing.

Helen
UK

Another approach (which I’d think would reduce the incidence of such
nightmares) would be to include the words, “Because we value your
business and want you to experience the true meaning of the words,
“good value” of your purchase, we will include with it your first
re-sizing, or the kind of minor repair (such as a prong re-tipping)
that commonly occurs with everyday wear. Enjoy your new __, and we’ll
look forward to seeing you again on the __ of __, to repolish your
new __ and make sure it’s still as good as new! Thanks again for
shopping at __” Sure, this means that you’re on the hook for more
contact with this person, but it also firmly establishes two other
things: 1) That you’re not “just another” jeweler (because you’ve
committed to their longer-term satisfaction), and 2) That there’s a
limit to how many “freebies” they’re entitled to, and what those
“freebies” will (and won’t) be.

By following this path, I’d think you’d also dramatically increase
both your repeat business ratio and the number of referrals you’d
get from your existing clientele. What do you think?

Douglas Turet, G.J.
turetdesign.com