I only gave them one star because giving them zero stars was not an option.
I was raised in Washington. I don't live there now but I went to Altemueller's because I remember the name from growing up. I expected decent service because it's been a long-standing business. Boy was I wrong. I have worked in customer service for over 30 years. I have taught customer service at the local community college. I am past president of ICSA, the International Customer Service Association. The extremely rude and condescending staff at Altemuellers, specifically Carrie, did everything wrong according to my service experience.
I came into town for a family funeral. My mother and I dropped off a religious bracelet to have it sized and hoped to receive it in time to wear for the funeral. The Altemueller's sales staff didn't even bother measuring my mother's wrist but just decided how much to shorten it by wrapping it around her arm Even though we were very clear on how we wanted it to fit.
We came in the following day to pick it up and a) it was the wrong size, b) they took the length from on one side of the bracelet making it uneven from the center to the clasp, c) didn't give back the extra precious metal links, and d) tried to blame it on my mom saying she wasn't clear on what she wanted. They wanted to charge her again to do it over! Carrie was very rude and hostile when I challenged her, so we took the bracelet and left so we weren't late for the funeral.
I called Altemueller's the following morning and spoke to Carrie again. I apologized for being testy. She offered no apology for her attitude or poor service. She did say that they would readjust the bracelet again at no charge so I went back into the store again.
Carrie left us standing at the counter for a VERY long time while she whispered to another woman about the situation. She then left the sales floor for another 10 minutes. I have no idea where she went or what she was doing. She came came out with the bracelet and then (and only then) tried to measure my mom's wrist. Then she walked away from the counter again. At this point it was very clear to me that she was punishing us by making us wait a ridiculous amount of time without explanation.
I took the bracelet and left, never to return.
It's pretty apparent why this store has only a two star rating. They may have pretty things but heaven help you if you ever need a personal touch or some kind of service, Their staff is not well trained, argumentative, blaming and generally unkind. Especially Carrie who has a huge chip on her shoulder.
I know this is a long review, but there is good news. Right across Highway 100 over by Orscheln's is an amazing store called Brune Jewelers. There is an amazing guy named Craig who took the bracelet had it fixed within two hours, gave back the extra links, and didn't charge me. I bought a pair of diamond earrings while I was in there.
Hopefully the owners of Altemueller's will see this and retrain their poor-attitude staff or at least put Carrie where she doesn't have to interact with the public.
What comes around goes around and I'm nowhere near done telling this story. read more