I am not often in need of expensive jewellery (ok, never) but this time I'm willing to spend a little bit more than I would usually (still not a fortune though) as hopefully I will only ever wear one wedding ring in my life-time!
After having dragged my husband-to-be to around 5 jewellery stores in the Albany Mall trying to source the best deal and getting increasingly annoyed with all those oh-so-friendly and could-they-possibly-be-even-pushier sales people I thought I should give the Takapuna Michael Hill branch one last go (by myself) as it is after all just one block from the beach where me and my daughter run around daily.
It's a small, narrow store that doesn't look particularly inviting but I have to say that my shopping experience was definitely and by far the best out of them all. Maybe the fact that this is the only store where I was consulted by someone male helped (namely by a middle-aged and genuinely helpful chap called Peter) or the fact that my screaming and running-around toddler was taken care of by the other friendly shop assistants (even behind the other side of the counter).
In any case, I felt very comfortable here and was impressed with their service and knowledge on diamonds etc. Price-wise this store worked out a bit better for us than the competitors even though GST can only be exempted if you spend at least $2000 (it's $500 with Walker&Hall).
Tip: It's probably safe to assume that you will always be given a discount (at any time of the year) on any higher priced items. read more