And now back to our regularly scheduled posts…
Don’t you just hate pushy salespeople? We do, too.
As a customer of engagement rings and bridal jewelry prior to accepting my position here at Blochers, I have experienced my share of pushy salespeople in the diamond industry. With each jewelry store my boyfriend and I entered, we braced ourselves for the barrage of sales tactics to be tried on us. We prepared ahead of time with tactics of our own. Greeting lines prepared, body language to emulate our distaste of conversation. “We are JUST LOOKING to get an idea of what we like.” “We are not ready to make any commitments yet, we’re just curious.” “We’re doing some research now and just want to look.” Avoid eye contact. Meander around the store first giving everything some attention, then happen to find yourself at the engagement ring counter. Always avert the eyes! All while the sales staff lurked like vultures. As an introvert, I went to great lengths to avoid conversations with pushy staff. Nothing makes my skin crawl more than a salesperson following me around the store and pulling out every piece in the case my eyes might happen to fall upon. In the end, I probably looked rather suspicious and I ended up listening to the sales shpeels anyway.
I had a very, very particular style in mind. I was NOT interested in the latest trends. I did NOT want to see what the celebrities were wearing. And I certainly did NOT want to try on the same few styles that every other soon-to-be bride was wearing. Despite explaining this, I still experienced a few jewelry stores (names not to be mentioned) pushing ring after gosh-awful gaudy ring onto my finger. It was tiresome and not enjoyable. Perhaps I was placing too much emphasis on the jewelry (as I usually do) and I was expecting too much out of the name brand cookie-cutter stores selling their cookie-cutter rings that looked just like everyone else’s cookie-cutter styles.
There were a very select few jewelry stores who took the time to listen and understand my vision of an engagement ring. Blochers, of course, was one of them. One characteristic defined these well-behaved sales teams from the rest: they worked for independently owned jewelers. Now on the inside of one of those awesome jewelry stores, I asked Mary about her sales tactic. Here it is, revealed:
Listening is key. You must listen to each individual who comes in looking to buy anything. Watch for their reactions when they describe something or when they see something in the case. Figure out what it is exactly that they are searching for, through verbal or nonverbal language. Make them feel special because they truly are. This is a serious occasion and change in life that engagement ring-seeking couples are about to make. In the end, it is all about matching the perfect ring with the individual. The reward is knowing you were key in making that connection to the perfect piece of jewelry.
Mary believes that every customer is valuable and deserves to see the best item in the store. Nothing should be “off-limits” and reserved only for the richest or the best customer- everyone is valued for simply taking the time to step in her store.
So that is also the story of how I came upon my dream engagement ring. My boyfriend and I simply took the time to visit Blochers. We sat down with Mary as she listened to me explain what I wanted in a ring. She worked with us until we found the ideal setting and the perfect diamond.
If you come into the store just to look, we respect that. We’re not going to force you to try on jewelry you don’t want or like. If you want some help picking something out, we’ll be there for you. If you have questions, we’ll do our best to answer them. We love it when you walk in the door, so we want to make it the best experience possible for you every time.
Are we living up to these standards? Leave a comment and let us know how you think we are doing! We love feedback. You know we’ll listen and do our best to accommodate.