Call the complaint line
By Bianca Mangion
Being a jeweller is a difficult job. It can involve dealing with people’s emotions and cherished family possessions. And there is often confusion given that much of jewellery is subjective. Along the way there is the occasional disgruntled customer. From the serious to the downright absurd, the JAA receives many complaint calls each year. BIANCA MANGION reports.
In 2008/2009 (June to July), the industry's peak body, the Jeweller's Association of Australia (JAA), received approximately 500 consumer queries and complaints, 63 of which required formal intervention. According to JAA marketing executive Megan Young, not a day passes without a consumer phoning the complaint hotline with a concern about a jewellery product or service.
A consumer who has a complaint generally contacts the relevant State Office of Fair Trading, whereupon they are referred to the JAA to see if the association can resolve the issues.
“We have advised government departments in each state (Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs, etc.) they can pass our contact details onto consumers who have jewellery or watch-related complaints,” Young says. “Most JAA members also know we offer this service and advise consumers to contact us.”
The JAA aims to help with the problem by getting both sides of the story then making a recommendation. The JAA only involves itself in technical issues, not legal issues.
When a disgruntled customer calls, the JAA checks to see whether the complaint involves a member store. If so, the JAA will approach that store to get the retailer’s side of the story. Paired against the consumer’s evidence, a recommendation can usually be reached.
“Initially, the member’s first reaction is defensive,” says Young, who usually answers the complaint line. “Often there’ll be differences in the story which makes it very hard to draw any conclusions. If they’re a little defensive, we say ‘we’re just investigating; we’re not saying you’ve done the wrong thing, but we’re interested to hear what both sides have to say’.”
If there’s a discrepancy, the JAA tries to reach a resolution by offering advice to both parties. The association may suggest it’s in the store’s interest to refund the customer, for example, or that the customer has no basis for complaint.
The JAA endeavours to reach an unbiased conclusion, based on both sides’ point of view, and on observation of the product in question. In many instances, this resolution is accepted by both the consumer and the company.
“The consumer is not always right!” Young says. “The JAA offers an unbiased service to members and consumers to settle any differences. Consumers will often accept a JAA ruling that goes against them more willingly, than if they are told by the retailer.”
Product fault occurs in around 70 per cent of the cases the JAA considers, according to Young, but blame can be hard to attribute.
Complaints about poor customer service are mostly unprovable, for example: “We can’t be expected to call a retailer and say ‘look, this person thought you were rude’,” Young says.
Ultimately, any unresolved disputes are referred by the JAA back to the Office of Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs, and the customer is provided with a report stating the JAA’s findings from the case.
Complaints cover a range of topics. What follows are some typical scenarios:
Vexing valuations
One topic of complaint relates to valuations. In some cases after the sale has been made, the customer takes the item to be valued by an independent valuer who values it at a lower ‘value’ to that advised by the original seller.
“The customer might take it to one valuer who says it’s worth $10,000; another says it’s worth $8,000,” Young says.
In these cases, the matter is referred to the National Council of Jewellery Valuers.
To make matters worse, the receipt for the jewellery often doesn’t contain any information about the diamond’s grade: “The receipt usually just says ‘1-carat diamond solitaire’, for example,” Young says. “This is a big issue in the industry – if receipts had diamond grades on them, consumer confidence would be much higher.”
Hand-make heartache
A common complaint concerning hand-makes is when a customer orders a piece of handmade jewellery but claims it looks nothing like their design when it is finished. This is a tricky situation for the JAA to adjudicate upon, according to Young.
“We often ask to see the original drawing that the jeweller or customer drew, and a picture of the finished piece, in order to reach a decision as to how close they resemble each other. We then comment upon whether it is a close enough representation,” Young says.
Loose under the loupe
A sales assistant was inspecting a ring to be cleaned when the diamond dislodged. The customer rang the JAA reporting that the jeweller had offered to fix it for free but asked, “How do I know they won’t swap my diamond?”
The woman said she didn’t trust the jeweller. The JAA advised that she should pick up her ring and leave it with someone she trusted.
“But I don’t think I should have to pay,” the woman retorted. Needless to say, it was a no-win situation for this consumer.
Young believes laser inscribing is the answer to this problem: “If jewellers encouraged customers to get their diamond laser-inscribed, it would eliminate any uncertainty that the jeweller could swap the diamond.”
Watch out
In more humourous example of a customer complaint, a male customer purchased a watch for himself, only to realise it was actually a woman’s watch, afterwards.
He called the JAA to complain that the sales assistant failed to mention this to him, but there wasn’t much the association could do, according to Young: “He wanted a refund because he didn’t like any of the other watches.”
In another watch scenario, a customer rang the JAA in a “massive rage,” according to Young, when the shop assistant wouldn’t set the technical watch he’d bought.
“The customer was really upset about it, but I couldn’t do anything,” Young says. “I advised him to read the instructions.”
Ring return
A customer purchased a $3,000 ring from a national chain store that was not a JAA member. The store offered a full refund if the customer changed her mind within 30 days of the purchase – but the ring had to be in “as new” condition when returned.
“When the customer tried to return the ring for a refund, the store manager told her that the ring was scratched and the best she could hope for was a credit note,” Young says.
The customer then brought the ring into the JAA where it was examined by a qualified jeweller. There were no scratches on the ring and when the store manager was advised of the conclusion she refunded the money.
Wear and tear
A customer purchased a $9,000 diamond ring from a jeweller. After three months, the diamond dislodged and disappeared.
On examination of the ring by two qualified jewellers, it was determined that the grooves holding the diamond were too shallow. The retailer disputed this finding, and the matter is now going to the Fair Trading tribunal.
“Many cases involve the gold of the jewellery being dented or squashed,” Young says. “This is usually due to excessive wear.”
Whether wear and tear or a faulty product, the JAA knows mistakes are made, and there will be faults: “While we hope the majority of jewellery being sold is to a high standard, we have to accept that there are pieces out there that are not, and that the customer is not always at fault,” Young says.
She advises retailers to protect themselves by giving ample information on purchase, hand-make and repair receipts – something she finds many jewellers don’t do.
While the customer is not always right, it does help for retailers to try to make them happy, regardless of the circumstances.
“The really customer-orientated retailer never lets a situation develop to the stage where the customer decides to call the complaints line,” Young says.
Posted September 01, 2009