Archive for December, 2008

Service Worth Paying For

December 28, 2008

Today, Seth Godin posted an article about great customer service and how much this is worth. In his post, Seth mentions being stuck in an airport trying to figure out how to transfer your seat home from one airline to another (especially appropriate this holiday season!). The question he poses is, "Would you pay $20 to talk to a competent,
empowered agent who answered on the first ring?" (Read the article
here.)

My staff and I pride ourselves on the level of customer service and knowledge that we offer our customers. We have taken our three generations of jewelry expertise and successfully moved it to the world of the Internet. We like to say that we offer the same service to our customers whether they live in our home town of Scottsdale, AZ, or anywhere in the world.

But, as Seth states, today's dilemma is, "Increasingly, the web makes pricing cutthroat. And service suffers, because it's expected for free."

Everyone knows that superior service is not free, it costs plenty to attract, train and maintain qualified individuals who not only know their stuff, but can successfully communicate and work with customers to help them with their needs. And, fine jewelry is not a simple widget-type product to work with, it's very complicated. You cannot take a person who was selling mens socks one day and move them into the loose diamond or custom jewelry design departments the next day.

So what is this level of service worth and how does it fit in with the 'cutthroat' nature of the web today? What is it worth to be able to get on the phone with a real, live, knowledgeable professional to obtain product information, to gain peace of mind about a major purchase like jewelry, or to troubleshoot an issue should one arise? I encourage you to give our customer service oriented online business a try and see for yourself what a difference good old fashioned customer service can make.

Posted in Custom Jewelry Designs, General Jewelry Info, General Moissanite Info, Jewelry Education and Advice

Custom Jewelry Designs – Another Customer Testimonial

December 21, 2008

We always love to hear back from our customers, especially when we do a good job! Here is a custom design ring we made using black diamonds and ??? (we can't say what else)! This particular ring involved making a computer rendering first (CAD) which the customer was able to approve before hand. Enjoy!
 

"Hello, thank you for the ring, sorry it took so long to get back
with you  but i just wanted to say Annah loves the ring and she wears
it with pride everyday. It turned out better than we hoped and everyone
she talkes to about it wants to know more about it; nobody expects it
to not be a real diamond. so great job on the ring and keep up the good
work."

Posted in Custom Jewelry Designs, Custom Moissanite Jewelry, Customer Testimonials, Fancy Color Diamonds

Custom Cut Blue Sapphire For A Custom Engagement Ring

December 18, 2008

A customer came to us with a request for a custom made engagement ring. She also wanted a custom cut sapphire to set into it. Well, here is the results of the Chatham sapphire, cut to our customer's specifications! The stone is a cushion cut with a beautiful, deep blue color and weighs 4.42ct. We'll post an image of the ring when it's finished.

Posted in Custom Jewelry Designs, Diamond Engagement Rings, Fancy Color Diamonds, General Jewelry Info

A $30,000 Rhodium And Diamond Ring For Barack Obama’s Wife Michelle????

December 2, 2008

Yesterday's rumor was that President Elect Barack Obama was buying his wife Michelle a rhodium and diamond ring as a 'thank you' for her support over the past two years. Well, it appears from today's statement this is not true. (See the article here)

We thought it interesting that the ring was made from rhodium, the world's most expensive metal. If you're not familiar with rhodium, it is the substance that most white gold jewelry is plated with to give it the bright white platinum-like color. Rhodium is a very rare metal that as recently as 6 months ago cost $10,000/oz. (Currently, it's trading for under $1,000/oz!). We at Joseph Schubach Jewelers would love to custom make a ring made from rhodium. So, if you're interested in something unusual like this, give us a call!

Posted in Custom Jewelry Designs, General Jewelry Info