Hello!

The other day I was reading some Google+ reviews consumers had posted about one of our jewelers. After scrolling through several very positive comments I came upon one that really surprised me. It’s from a young man named Jordan:

“I walked into their store with great expectations because of the reviews that I found here. To say the least, I was not dressed in the best of clothing at the time. However, I was planning on finding a ring for about 5k. I walked around for about 15 minutes with no one trying to help me or even saying hi. I am extremely dissapointed with these people that I could not even get a hello. I will never go back here again.”

He gave my client a “0” grade….wow! My first reaction was “oh this is not good”, I was actually a little irritated and defensive, but as I thought about it I realized Jordan’s post was awesome! As hard as we work to make customers happy every day we often don’t really know whether we are doing a good job or not right? Consumers rarely actually tell you how they really feel. If they make a purchase we assume that they must be happy right? What about those who don’t buy? What about those who don’t even give us a chance? Aren’t the opinions of those who don’t buy just as important as those who do? On line reviews of your store are a great resource that you must pay attention to because they tell you the good, the bad and the ugly in real time!

And what was our store’s great sin? Fifteen minutes in the store and no one even said hello! It’s not like this guy set a really high bar…he just wanted someone to acknowledge him. Isn’t that what we all want? He came to buy, to spend $5000 on a diamond ring  and walked out because no one even said hello to him. I don’t blame him. What is the most important  thing we offer as jewelry retailers that on line store can’t? It’s human interaction. It’s the opportunity to talk to real people who might help me through the complicated emotional and financial decision of buying a $5000 diamond engagement ring! To this you may be thinking…well this would never happen in my store. You are wrong. This happens even in the best stores.

Let me tell you exactly what Jordan was thinking…” I love her so much…I have to buy a diamond ring…a perfect ring….yea…at least 5K. She’s worth everything to me but thats all I can spend! That’s all I got! I’ve got to do this…but I really don’t know anything about diamonds…help! Ok, I know a little…but 5K worth? I don’t want to mess this thing up! It’s got to be perfect! I need someone who really knows…someone on my side…someone I can trust! I don’t trust anyone. Oh wait…these guys look good, I’ve heard of them for years…I’ve heard them on the radio…yea…good reviews on line…maybe they will help me…Ok…let’s do this…I feel like they might care….”

And we didn’t even say hello. Folks we are not in the jewelry business…we are in the people business. As I say, we are in the “love business”. We sell love. Now I know, having worked retail jewelry for over 20 years, it’s a long, hard, busy , sometimes frustrating day. It’s even tougher with family. The phone, the internet, the paperwork,  the inter-office conversations about everything but business, they go on in every store. We are selfish, stupid fools. I know it’s hard to be great all the time, to be up and positive, but we have to be to win don’t we? If we really cared…if we really loved every customer who walked in our store…wouldn’t Jordan have gotten what he came for? We could have gotten a customer for life. Instead we broke his heart.

Jordan comes in your store every day…