I was pre viously a longtime fan of the Zales brand, but my recent experience has caused me to want to permanently cut ties with this company. Over the years, I have purchased several necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets from the jeweler. My engagement set was purchased at Zales (Celebration collection) and the brand held a very dear place in my heart, but I will not tolerate micro aggressions and disrespect after spending thousands of dollars here.
Back in late April, the Zales in Rockwall was running a huge Mother's Day Special, and one of the big sales items was a BOLO bracelet. I really loved the bracelet, and decided to move forward with the purchase. The purchase was made in store, and unfortunately there was no more inventory in store for the bracelet, so they let me know they placed the order and it would arrive in two weeks.
As promised, I received a call a couple of weeks later to confirm the order was ready for pickup. Later that week, I wore it for the first (and only) time to a wedding. The next week, I went to put the bracelet on again, and to my surprise the bracelet split in half! Surprised, I brought the bracelet back to the Zales store the next day. The manager, Aricely, helped me with my initial order, and helped this visit as well. She examined the broken bracelet and determined that she would just order me a replacement. Before leaving, I asked her if she needed my bracelet, and she told me "no."
Months went by, and I realized a few weeks back that I never received a call to let me know my replacement came in. I called and spoke to a staff member that wasn't very friendly at all, but did confirm that the replacement was in and I could come pick it up anytime. When I asked if I needed to bring my old bracelet, I was once again told "no."
Last Saturday, I came in with my daughter to pick up the bracelet. After being given the bracelet, another staff member abruptly stopped me from leaving and said that she needed to look up something. After talking to the staff member, she came over and said "we need the old bracelet first." After removing the bracelet from my arm as if I was a common criminal, the manager that initially helped me was on site and came over to help.
As they looked through why records, I reminded the manager that both her and another staff member told me that the old bracelet was not needed. Her response was, "we would never tell you that!" I was extremely upset that she would accuse me of theft in the presence of my child and customers. I called customer care while I was there, and ultimately was able to leave with my replacement, but it doesn't sit well that a) I have filed two complaints with their customer care and have not received any follow-up and b) I have located the broken bracelet to bring in, but no one at the store has answered the phone (although I've tried calling every day).
This is completely unacceptable. Will never buy any more jewelry from them! read more