Customer Service

I love my job. The jewelry store is in the middle of a tourist destination, across the street from where tour buses drop people off, and rests in the midst of a renowned university. We get a lot more students in during the school year, and a lot more tourists during the summer, obviously.

Now that I've been around for both seasons, student and tourist, I must say that the locals treat our shop with much more respect. Even during very busy days in the student season, the shop does not get nearly as destroyed as when we have the throngs of tourists. The out-of-towners don't have an established relationship with the Boston area or its stores, so they don't mind discarding jewelry on a table or on the glass cases. They make much less effort in putting unwanted items back where they found them. The students and the locals, if they decide not to buy something, are far more apt to put it back where it belongs, or apologize to a staff member with, "I have no idea where I got this, I'm so sorry."

But even tourist season is fun. We get people from just about every corner of the world... Chinese, Aussies, Europeans, everywhere. And for the most part, they're normal and happy with the product. A few things always baffle my mind though.

- Some people expect me to pick out the perfect gift for their friend/family member/wife/girlfriend. I can't tell you how many times someone has asked me what they should buy as a gift but give me zero background about the person. I'm good, but I'm not good enough to give you the perfect gift idea for someone I've never met.
- Some of our necklaces come with free matching earrings. They come as sets, but we don't really sell sets, as such, so we mark those necklaces and keep the earrings behind the counter, as a surprise for customers. Most people are thrilled when they learn about this. We do, however, get people who either try to take more than their share, or take different earrings, and become perturbed when we tell them that no, they must take this pair instead, because we want to make sure everyone gets the earrings that come with their necklace.
- A person walks into the shop. The first thing they see is a table filled to the brim with necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. They say, "I'm looking for a necklace....." Nope, sorry, don't have any of those.
- Shoplifters. Really, is a ten dollar ring going to make a huge difference in your life? Probably not. So please, don't take it. It just makes my staff and me look bad.
- Our return policy. Very few people try to return the impulse buy stuff at the counter, they return stuff that they've had time time to think about it before buying. Our policy is explicitly stated in several places where you check out. We don't give cash back because we are not jewelry rental. We are jewelry SELLING. This prevents people from buying a pair of diamond earrings for an event and returning them the next day. Yet some still insist on claiming they don't want their purchase anymore and either become serial exchangers or just yell at me for a policy I didn't make.

But, all in all, I have an awesome job. I work with more awesome people (who are leaving me, tear!) AND I get a sweet discount on accessories. Best of all worlds.