I’ve been to a number of jewelry shops lately, searching for something antique. The experience wasn’t very good and I didn’t see anything that closely matched what I was looking for. One of the jewelry proprietors was just like the character Delores Herbig (brown eyes) on Dead Like Me, which was amusing, but her store didn’t have what I wanted, either. And she spoke sotto voce to her employee right in front of me about “educating” me (about fine jewelry), based on nothing. “There’s no need for that,” I said.
I hated the thought of going into any more jewelry stores, but all of the web storefronts devoted to antique jewelry were amateurish and incomplete. Some were condescending. Most of them show a limited number of items online, and want you to call or come in to see the items they haven’t bothered putting up on their site. If they’re not around the corner from me (even if they are), I can’t be bothered. My email to one New York proprietor who sells antique jewelry wasn’t answered and still remains in the ether, two weeks later.
My limited patience with jewelry stores and with antique jewelry storefronts had reached its short end. At this point, I had given up on the antique piece I was looking for and started looking at new pieces from large chain retailers, on the web. I mistakenly thought that the impersonal nature of a retail conglomerate would eliminate some of the bullshit-laden buying process. And if you think I should have gone with a struggling mom-and-pop store because they give individual attention and personalized service, fine, but the thing is, they don’t. In my experience, individually-owned stores are no more likely to treat you better or to follow-up with their customers than any large chain. And individual attention is not always the good kind.
I found an item I liked on the Macy’s site. Then I found a Macy’s Savings Pass (on their site) that was supposedly good for 11% off at any Macy’s store in the U.S. The pass excluded “cosmetic and fragrances, furniture, area rugs and mattresses.” Seems like an exhaustive list, right? It also said “offer not valid on…leased departments and services.” It didn’t mention what departments and services may be.
I had already looked at the item in the Macy’s State Street fine jewelry department. I went back with the coupon voucher in hand, which said to redeem it in the store. The woman at Macy’s Express (some sort of info desk) asked if I was visiting Chicago and if I was staying at a hotel. She told me to go up to customer service on floor 7. The woman on floor 7 was incredibly condescending when she told me that the coupon wasn’t good for jewelry. She added that it was for people visiting the area, and that you had to have an out-of-state license. The Savings Pass stated “with a qualifying identification.” It didn’t say “for people with an out-of-state license who are visiting Chicago.” And the coupon was not just for Chicago — it was good at “any Macy’s nationwide.” So I’m pissed that I wasted my time. I leave the coupon at floor 7 and go back to Macy’s Express, where I ask to see a manager.
The manager states in a matter-of-fact tone that the Savings Pass excludes jewelry, as if it were a universally-known fact, even though there’s nothing about jewelry on the Savings Pass. Three people told me the coupons always exclude fine jewelry: the woman at Macy’s Express, the woman at customer service and the manager. They said, “Oh, they always exclude fine jewelry,” as though it was written on the wall when we came in. As though it was completely obvious and we were crazy to ask. But today I found a coupon on the web site that specifically says “take an extra 20% off regular and sales prices in…Fine Jewelry.” And the Macy’s North Michigan fine jewelry department said they would take it.
When a dying retailer’s coupons and promotions are wrong, they position it as your fault as the customer, and this is exactly what Macy’s did. I’ve bought from the J. Crew store and website for years, and have never had a problem using any of their promotions, but I go to buy one thing at the always-sparsely-populated Macy’s State Street (for the first time since the Marshall Field’s changed to a Macy’s) and the experience at various points was repellent.
Apparently, the Macy’s State Street jewelry department is a space they lease to a small jewelry company (going back to “leased departments and services”). The department said they would honor the price I found on the web, but couldn’t reduce the price any more with a Savings Pass. They said the item was the last one, which may be true, but I’m not inclined to believe it. And even though they’re leasing space, you would think they would bother to ask why I was considering making a fine jewelry purchase there, since the store is “doing badly,” but they didn’t.
On a related note, the State Street store is running a survey, as mentioned here. They have two posts on the first floor, and apparently one on the basement level. Each time you take the survey, you get a big box of Frango chocolates. The survey is adequate but unlikely to produce anything of extra value for them. Surveys that study a customer’s purchase intentions are notoriously bad. I would be more interested in the simple question of what you buy at Macy’s and what you don’t buy at Macy’s, as opposed to what you may buy if conditions A and B were true. You’re more likely to get accurate responses, rather than “If we offered this, would you buy it?”
I walked away from Macy’s State Street with two boxes of free Frango mints and even warmer feelings toward Amazon, where I ended up making my fine jewelry purchase.
Ironic note:
Department store steps up effort to placate customers
This sounds similar, but the savings pass I had was good for five days, not just Sunday and Monday. “The savings pass is one of the initiatives Macy’s is introducing after watching sales disappoint for months at the former Marshall Field’s and other regional department stores.” Well, Macy’s, your savings pass and your condescending employees wasted my time, pissed me off, and lost you a high-ticket sale.
