Excellent service and a quick turnaround on a home appraisal! Great communication, and a fair price…read moreto boot!

You let someone into your home, give them access, with the expectation that--at a minimum--you'll…read morereceive basic professionalism, courtesy, and some level of explanation or guidance about the process. Unfortunately, that was not the case here. This appraiser was rude, dismissive, and unwilling to answer any questions--general or otherwise. While I understand there are limitations on what an appraiser is allowed to discuss, there was zero effort to explain the process, methodology, or next steps. Every question was shut down abruptly with no attempt at professionalism or customer service. The experience felt transactional and disrespectful, especially considering the importance of an appraisal in a mortgage process.

I was in the neighborhood today and used my handy dandy Yelp app to see what jewelry stores were…read morenearby. American Blue came up on that monocle thing (that feature is AMAZING, by the way. Good job, Yelp!) and in I went. Linh and Huy were working there- mother and son. They were so nice. They asked how I'd heard of them, and I said Yelp, and they said they love Yelp. I googled and called around, and learned that various dips can cost $35 to $60. Some are dipped in Palladium or silver, but Rhodium dips are the best way to keep your white gold looking perfect. I think I am supposed to get one every 6 months on my engagement ring... well, I had my 5th wedding anniversary last week, plus a year of engagement, and no dips. Oops. I own one of those little DIY sonic jewelry cleaning things, but it broke, so my rings were looking dirty and the band was getting yellow-ish. I wear the engagement ring on my left hand and I also wear my great grandmother's antique wedding band as my wedding band, but since they don't lay flat together, I wear the wedding band on my right hand. It works for me :) So, I ask them how it works to redip, check up and clean both rings. They say they'll do it while I wait! Zales has a 2 week turnaround on that, where they mail it out of store. I was pretty happy to sit and wait, knowing my ring was safe. They re-dipped both rings, checked the prongs to make sure the diamonds were secure, and cleaned and polished them with a mirror finish. I was so happy about it, I mentioned wishing I'd taken a "before" picture just to compare to people how amazing the work was, but it's probably better that they didn't, because they were so dirty and gross. My rings look brand new again- now I know that isn't maybe as huge a deal for a 6 year old ring, but my wedding band was my great grandmother's, and it looks brand new. I didn't even know it could look as good as it looks now! After I mentioned taking a picture, they said they had a light box and would take a photo for me with their logo on it to show my friends, and that I could post it on Yelp if I wanted. I agreed. I uploaded it too, just so you can see how great they look. I'm really pleased. It was $50 a ring, which is in the middle on pricing. The big difference is that every other place was going to mail them out with a two week turnaround. You can't beat 20 minutes, especially when it wasn't the most expensive! I'm really pleased with this place and will definitely go back. I've been hesitant to go to a jeweler because I'm so sentimentally attached to my wedding rings, but I felt safe and comfortable with them. They're a local, Austin-based family business, which is always a plus. I looked around while I waited, and their other jewelry looked awesome. Linh's son, Huy, showed me their high-tech ring design hardware where you can design your own jewelry while I waited. They're both fully certified and educated to design and make original jewelry for people. He showed me a few, and they were beautiful. I love that it's possible to get non-cookie-cutter designs. Something to remember for my 10th anniversary!

On Nov 23rd, 2014, I took a ring that I received from my girlfriend as a gift into this shop and…read moreasked Linh to make it larger. She charged me $50 to stretch it from a 9 to a 10.25. I asked her to make it even larger because it was still tight. But, she told me that my finger was swollen and that it would be too loose after the swelling went away. So I put my ring aside and waited several days to let the swelling go away. When I put it on, it was still too small. I did not get a chance to go back immediately...and when I did return on Dec 31st, she said that I only had 7 days to come back for further adjustments. Worse yet, she said she would have to charge me another $25 because they "can't resize a ring every time someone puts on a few pounds". I tried to explain that it was her idea to undersize the ring in the first place, but she wouldn't even consider it. Given that this ring only cost $40 to begin with, I asked her to give me my ring back and told her that she would never see me again. My suggestion (if you need to resize a cheap ring), is to purchase this device for $20. http://www.cooltools.us/Ring-Stretcher-p/man-118.htm

If you're paying for an appraisal and your lender hires these people, stay as far away as possible…read more They "appraised" our property for $800 and not only do they not know the neighborhoods, they really do no research what-so-ever. Our property is located in a gated community, they used comps from different non gated neighboring communities. We had to pay $20k out of pocket because these people have no idea what they are doing. Granted this business as a whole is a total scam because they are "independent" and accountable to no one, these guys are extra special. Our agent presented a clear case, including specific homes that should have been used as comps and a house 4 doors down that is the exact same house, with a pool that sold for $400k more and they didn't budge. Stay away from these people. At best they are incompetent, and at worst, vindictive.