He Went To Jared (And They Lied To Him)

Yes, yes, I know the commercials are kind of annoying, but I think I’d never actually seen one of them before I’d visited Jared for the first time. Cynthia had gotten jewelry at Jared (The Galleria of Jewelry!) in the past, and been happy with them, so that’s where I went.

I got Cynthia some jewelry at Jared as a gift. They were friendly, and helpful, and I gave no more thought to it beyond that.

Then, last year, Cynthia lost the jewelry. It was just an accident, these things happen. I’ve certainly lost my share of things and I know how frustrating it is. I felt bad for Cynthia feeling bad more than I was bothered that she lost something I got her. Regardless, it is always heartbreaking to lose something with sentimental value.

So, I called Jared’s customer care. Explained the situation, asked if they had a replacement. They said this:

Jared: We’re showing that item as having been discontinued. It shows in our system as being recalled and returned to the vendor [that made them for Jared].
Me: Ah, well OK, so at least maybe they still exist, can you contact the vendor and see if it’s possible to still get one from them?
Jared: No, I’m sorry, if they’re marked as being recalled, we can’t do that.
Me: Oh well, can you at least let me know the vendor and I’ll see if I can work something out with them? I can certainly get other jewelry for my wife, but I’d like an exact replacement, if possible.
Jared: I’m sorry, it’s our policy to not disclose our vendors to customers.
Me: I see, so there’s no way for me to get a replacement, even though it’s reasonable to assume that one exists somewhere?
Jared: I’m sorry, I can’t help you.

Grargh! That’s a stupid policy. I tried calling a couple times, and tried going up the chain to managers, but didn’t have any luck. I can understand, as a middle-man, not wanting to give away business, but this was ridiculous.

So, that was frustrating, but well, it’s their policy, there’s nothing I could do about it. It’s a stupid way to treat a customer, but it’s their right.

<time passes…>

Months later, in mid-December, I thought, “well, maybe I’ll give it one more try…” I contacted customer care, and I got Dennis, who was the total opposite of the blockading folks I had talked to previously. Things went way better this time. I explained my story, and he put me on hold for a bit. When he came back, he had this to say:

Dennis: So I know it shows as recalled, but I do actually see 1 left among all our stores. Usually this is just because someone didn’t update inventory right, but I called the store, and they actually have it! Now, in Customer Care we can’t initiate a transfer ourselves, the stores have to request it. But, they are going to do so and have it sent to your local Jared in Cary. Since the holidays are coming up, they may get a little slammed, try giving them a call next week to see if they got the transfer request, and they should let you know when it comes in.

SCORE! He took my number, and assured me that the item would have my name on it, and the store should be able to call me when it got in. (ominous music starts…)

I let it sit over the weekend, and called the local Jared the next week. They said they didn’t have the item in yet, but they would contact me as soon as it did. They reiterated what Dennis said, that during the holidays things get pretty busy, but transfers usually come through in a week or two, often sooner.

<a little more time passes…>

Needless to say, between the holidays, a server crash at work that took a week to repair, and some other emergency stuff that came up, it wasn’t until this week that I even had a thought to talk to Jared. I gave the local store a call yesterday, asking if it had gotten in yet, and they said… (ominous music comes to a crescendo…)

Jared: Oh, that? Uhh… It got here on December 16th, and sat here since then. We got a request two days ago that it was needed for a customer service issue in Florida and sent it to them. We don’t have it anymore.

WHAT?!?

You (customer care and Cary Jared) assured me it had my name on it, and that you’d contact me as soon as it’s there. WHAT THE F**K!?

Needless to say, I was pretty much speechless. I pushed them for more details, but they didn’t really have more. The guy I spoke to was a salesperson, not the one who deals with transfers, so he didn’t know much. He did say he would try to find a photo of it and see if he could find the same thing in their special order catalogs, since sometimes they’ll get a different vendor to make the same items.

I still had Dennis’s extension, so I hung up with the local Jared and called him instead. His demeanor was entirely different this time around, much more like the first time I talked to Jared customer care. He told me it was too late, that the item was “lost,” and that there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He said they may be able to make it as a custom item, or if I wanted to go to the store and flip through their catalogs for special orders (ie, what the guy at Jared Cary was doing for me), there might be a match there.

In other words, if I want a replacement, I can have one custom made.

*sigh*

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January 7, 2012  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Personal

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