Kay Jewelers ripoff WARNING DO NOT BE FOOLED EXTENDED WARRANTY Montgomery Alabama

As a current sterling employee and the person who is responsible for maintaining the repair department. I can tell you this will not work. It seems that today, people feel that demanding things will help them to get their way. Sugar always goes further than venom. I have personally given away inexpensive repairs as a customer service issue but, why should a business who is in business to make money give things away for free? Sterling gives a 1 year warranty on all pieces and after that, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the plan. You wouldnt go to a car dealership after your car is out of warranty and demand that they fix it for free. They would laugh at you, and so would any intelligent manager. We are charged for the repairs. Therefore the cost is passed along. The plan is pretty generous considering the fact that it also covers total distruction for life. Next time you are in a mom and pop jewelry store as you suggested,  ask them if they will do that... Bet the answer is no.

So basically you do not understand the warranties. I work for the company and have for several years and recognize the positives Kay Jewelers have that many other companies lack. First off there are two warranties, a gemstone and gold (extended service plan). ALL merchandise with any stones comes with the gemstone warranty already and the extended gold plan is optional. The ESP covers gold and metal work. For the gemstone you have to get your rings checked once every six months. HOWEVER, we offer free cleanings to everyone. So, when someone asks me to go clean their rings, regardless of where they are purchased, we go clean them. The customer brings in their warranty or requests them to be updated. Did you assume that everyone knew who you were amongst thousands of customers and were there to get an inspection done? The responsibility unfortunately lies on the consumer when given all the paperwork that explains in detail how the warranties work. So,,, when you came back and were out of inspection they could not give you a free stone cause there were no records showing you had gone by policy. Unfortunately when a lot of people purchase new rings they are so excited about the purchase they don't get all the information they need. I suggest you contact a corporate office. They are more likely to help you there.

My husband and I purchased our wedding rings set from Kay Jewelers We bought the extended warranty so our rings would be protected.

2 months later we came back and the same sales person was working and we wanted her to clean our rings,resized, and solder together so she did and she also checked them for us to make sure the diamonds were still set well. She said everything looked good and we were set to go.

4 more months later, a total of 6 months from the time of purchase the same sales person was working and we wanted her to clean ann inspect our rings,so she did and she also checked them for us to make sure the diamonds were still set well. She said everything looked good and we were set to go.



I went back on April 16-2008
a diamond fell out in my wife's set. We went in with our extended warranty in hand and spoke with the sales rep working the front. I explained to her that my wife's diamond fell out and we purchased the extended warranty, but we were still protected by the standard warranty, basically covered by 2 warranties.

She asked us for the inspection stamp, we were clueless, and she informed us we had to have our rings inspected every 6 months. I told her that the rep who sold us the rings inspected and cleaned them 6 months ago. She asked me if she stamped my inspection sheet, and I told her she didn't because I never received a inspection sheet and she didn't inform either of us about inspections or the sheet.
and know thet have no record of this I will Never buy any thing from this company again and the bad thing is i bought alot of items from this company and they do long time customer wrong

I know this sounds defensive, but as an employee your story was rather confusing and I'm going to assume based off what you said.

What I think may have happened is that when you came in for your inspection you didn't tell the associate you needed an inspection update you told the associate you wanted them to clean your rings. Because We give free cleaning to everyone (customer and non-customers), the free ring cleaning is the same process as updating an inspection. Alot of the time, returning customers will come in asking for a cleaning and assume that is there inspection. Then when the customer's diamond falls out then they say they had it inspected and while they may be right theres no sign in the computer of an inspection nor any stamping. Now the customer will say "Well he/she inspected it under the scope and checked it." Yes, of course they do that because if you put you ring in the ultrasound (the cleaner) with a loose stone then it will pop out, so we check it to make sure its tight in its setting. If the associate asks every customer that wants a cleaning if they need it their inspection updated, the customers that have never bought with us before will wonder why we asked them that and then they ask if it is necessary for homeowners, jewelry insurance, etc etc.

Now to be more reasonable on your behalf, I agree about the craftsmanship on alot of their products, but I will say they have great warranties. And you have LEGAL paperwork given to you that Kays MUST backup.

The Diamond Bond (The Basic Warranty given to you) covers the diamonds up to 6 months not 3 months as you suggested. If the diamond falls out within 6 months it is covered FREE of charge. Why did they ask for a inspection stamp? It should have been covered since you said it fell out 6 months from purchase.

Now, If it fell out AFTER 6 months then you'd have to pay for the new diamonds to re-intact the Diamond Bond.

Once you received your ring back from the repair shop, you automatically get a 6 month warranty inspection from when you picked your ring up. You said the diamond fell out again after 3 months, How is it that your warranty was voided after the same two diamonds fell out?!?!

See why I'm confused, it sounds impossible for them to denie you.

What you NEED to do is call customer relations. Get the original receipt date, the orginal associate's name and the manager's name, the date of when you dropped off your rings to have the new stones reset, and the date of when you picked it up. If your story holds true you will see that $90 again, I promise.

I know Zales has the same Diamond warranties as Kays so make sure you go back every 6 months to have your paperwork updated/inspected/stamped. I can't stress that enough!

I know this sounds defensive, but as an employee your story was rather confusing and I'm going to assume based off what you said.

What I think may have happened is that when you came in for your inspection you didn't tell the associate you needed an inspection update you told the associate you wanted them to clean your rings. Because We give free cleaning to everyone (customer and non-customers), the free ring cleaning is the same process as updating an inspection. Alot of the time, returning customers will come in asking for a cleaning and assume that is there inspection. Then when the customer's diamond falls out then they say they had it inspected and while they may be right theres no sign in the computer of an inspection nor any stamping. Now the customer will say "Well he/she inspected it under the scope and checked it." Yes, of course they do that because if you put you ring in the ultrasound (the cleaner) with a loose stone then it will pop out, so we check it to make sure its tight in its setting. If the associate asks every customer that wants a cleaning if they need it their inspection updated, the customers that have never bought with us before will wonder why we asked them that and then they ask if it is necessary for homeowners, jewelry insurance, etc etc.

Now to be more reasonable on your behalf, I agree about the craftsmanship on alot of their products, but I will say they have great warranties. And you have LEGAL paperwork given to you that Kays MUST backup.

The Diamond Bond (The Basic Warranty given to you) covers the diamonds up to 6 months not 3 months as you suggested. If the diamond falls out within 6 months it is covered FREE of charge. Why did they ask for a inspection stamp? It should have been covered since you said it fell out 6 months from purchase.

Now, If it fell out AFTER 6 months then you'd have to pay for the new diamonds to re-intact the Diamond Bond.

Once you received your ring back from the repair shop, you automatically get a 6 month warranty inspection from when you picked your ring up. You said the diamond fell out again after 3 months, How is it that your warranty was voided after the same two diamonds fell out?!?!

See why I'm confused, it sounds impossible for them to denie you.

What you NEED to do is call customer relations. Get the original receipt date, the orginal associate's name and the manager's name, the date of when you dropped off your rings to have the new stones reset, and the date of when you picked it up. If your story holds true you will see that $90 again, I promise.

I know Zales has the same Diamond warranties as Kays so make sure you go back every 6 months to have your paperwork updated/inspected/stamped. I can't stress that enough!

the trick to having your jewlery fixed is the following. you need to demand to have your jewlery fixed , if the store mgr does not comply then ask for the phone # of the district manager and the phone # for customer service , once you do that demand to have your jewlery fixed . if they say no keep insisting and sooner or later they will give in and do it for no charge. also if you want to buy real jewlery kay or zales is not the answer as stated before go to a mom and pop shop , it may be alittle more expensive but you may get a lot better quality.

how do i know i used to work for kay and even when i refused to fix something for a cust at no charge ( keep in mind i am pretty fair, if i was not willing it was b/c some cust had rediculous request), but once they contacted the dm and cust serv, they would get what they wanted. also take names of everyone you delt with at the store.

FYI , at any jewlery store in a mall like kays or zales the sales people can always take up to 25% off almost all their jewlery, so if you have been pain full price or have not been recving at least 20% off your jewlery you have been paying to much. the store will never tell you this becuase that would mean less commision for them. by the way i was also an ASSistant mgr at kay.

i did work for sterling for a couple of years and this is what i learned about the industry.
Out of the many jewelry companies out there,(and there are many)sterling will be your best bet most of the time. they do have the best warranties out there, no question. it is, however, up to the store managers to make sure the store is run properly. even then, if an employee wants, he or she can do terrible things in the way of customer service.

my best suggestion is this, if you're shopping for jewelry, i would try a sterling logo first, but don't buy right away. the people in the store should warm and inviting, not pushy or aggressive. if anything makes you uncomfortable about them then leave.

other jewelry stores could have the same problem its all about the people who work on the front sales line.

the extended warranty covers all of the gold or platinum of the ring, the diamond warranty needs to be updated every six months. make sure the diamond warranty is printed out each time it is inspected otherwise, they won't know it was inspected. I know whenever a customer had continual problems with the same piece, within one year, we would replace it.

honestly, to jason in alabama, i wouldn't go back to that kay's either, but don't expect much better at zales. every jewelry store will be staffed with sales people so you'll always have the risk of someone trying to maximize profit at any cost, it's sad, but true.

Like that's a big improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just look at the number of posts about Zales or Kay's or Gordon's. Have been in the jewelry trade for 20+ years and they're all equally bad. Worked for a few of them in the past, so I knew. Find yourself a good independant jeweler who knows what the heck he is doing and has a clue. When we see a really bad diamond, we call it a "Z" diamond. You can guess why. Had a lady in this morning that dropped off her ring to be redone, TWO days ago. Kay's had made it. She had taken the ring back a half a dozen times to be worked on. Each time, 2 to 3 weeks. It was a piece of crap that she paid about 3 times what I would have charged her to do it, properly. As for that 3 or 6 month "inspection". What a load of BS. The only reason they do that is to get you back in the store to try and sell you something else. A properly made or repaired piece will last for years or decades. If you want to have it inspected, checked, cleaned or polished that's fine. These warranties are a ripoff too. Get insurance with your insurance company. They cover MORE at a fraction of the cost. I think the item(s) have to be scheduled. Check with your agent. I sell jewelry not insurance.

Like that's a big improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just look at the number of posts about Zales or Kay's or Gordon's. Have been in the jewelry trade for 20+ years and they're all equally bad. Worked for a few of them in the past, so I knew. Find yourself a good independant jeweler who knows what the heck he is doing and has a clue. When we see a really bad diamond, we call it a "Z" diamond. You can guess why. Had a lady in this morning that dropped off her ring to be redone, TWO days ago. Kay's had made it. She had taken the ring back a half a dozen times to be worked on. Each time, 2 to 3 weeks. It was a piece of crap that she paid about 3 times what I would have charged her to do it, properly. As for that 3 or 6 month "inspection". What a load of BS. The only reason they do that is to get you back in the store to try and sell you something else. A properly made or repaired piece will last for years or decades. If you want to have it inspected, checked, cleaned or polished that's fine. These warranties are a ripoff too. Get insurance with your insurance company. They cover MORE at a fraction of the cost. I think the item(s) have to be scheduled. Check with your agent. I sell jewelry not insurance.

Like that's a big improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just look at the number of posts about Zales or Kay's or Gordon's. Have been in the jewelry trade for 20+ years and they're all equally bad. Worked for a few of them in the past, so I knew. Find yourself a good independant jeweler who knows what the heck he is doing and has a clue. When we see a really bad diamond, we call it a "Z" diamond. You can guess why. Had a lady in this morning that dropped off her ring to be redone, TWO days ago. Kay's had made it. She had taken the ring back a half a dozen times to be worked on. Each time, 2 to 3 weeks. It was a piece of crap that she paid about 3 times what I would have charged her to do it, properly. As for that 3 or 6 month "inspection". What a load of BS. The only reason they do that is to get you back in the store to try and sell you something else. A properly made or repaired piece will last for years or decades. If you want to have it inspected, checked, cleaned or polished that's fine. These warranties are a ripoff too. Get insurance with your insurance company. They cover MORE at a fraction of the cost. I think the item(s) have to be scheduled. Check with your agent. I sell jewelry not insurance.

Like that's a big improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just look at the number of posts about Zales or Kay's or Gordon's. Have been in the jewelry trade for 20+ years and they're all equally bad. Worked for a few of them in the past, so I knew. Find yourself a good independant jeweler who knows what the heck he is doing and has a clue. When we see a really bad diamond, we call it a "Z" diamond. You can guess why. Had a lady in this morning that dropped off her ring to be redone, TWO days ago. Kay's had made it. She had taken the ring back a half a dozen times to be worked on. Each time, 2 to 3 weeks. It was a piece of crap that she paid about 3 times what I would have charged her to do it, properly. As for that 3 or 6 month "inspection". What a load of BS. The only reason they do that is to get you back in the store to try and sell you something else. A properly made or repaired piece will last for years or decades. If you want to have it inspected, checked, cleaned or polished that's fine. These warranties are a ripoff too. Get insurance with your insurance company. They cover MORE at a fraction of the cost. I think the item(s) have to be scheduled. Check with your agent. I sell jewelry not insurance.

Jason,

This kind of thing is the reason why I left such a horrible company. I was an assistant manager at Kay's for 1 year so I would like to enlighten you a little more.

#1) If you miss out on your stamp on your diamond bond the store can RE-STAMP IT AGAIN and put you back in warranty. However, that would make them no money so they often don't do it.

#2) The manager offering a one time deal to do it half price, still a ripoff. When you go to get your jewelery repaired at a sterling owned store (ie: Belden's, Jared, Kay and others) the store sends it to one of their shops. The jeweler calls the assistant manager with a price to fix it. The assistant manager then multiplys the figure by 3 and gives you a price. So a $25 dollar repair costs you $75.

#3) The ESP you bought, its crap. They always find a way around it.

But here is what you do to solve your situation. Call Sterlings customer service line. Any store will have the number. Explain to them what happend and explain that you want stop doing buisness with them. I know you already went ot Zales (awesome move BTW) but when you do this the store will get a poor customer service mark on the monthly report. This is frowned HEAVILY upon the DM's by the regionals.

Just so you know i'm not bias, I do not work in the industry anymore. Personally I think you should find a nice mom and pop shop you can trust and stay away form these big jewelers.

Hope this helped.

Jason,

This kind of thing is the reason why I left such a horrible company. I was an assistant manager at Kay's for 1 year so I would like to enlighten you a little more.

#1) If you miss out on your stamp on your diamond bond the store can RE-STAMP IT AGAIN and put you back in warranty. However, that would make them no money so they often don't do it.

#2) The manager offering a one time deal to do it half price, still a ripoff. When you go to get your jewelery repaired at a sterling owned store (ie: Belden's, Jared, Kay and others) the store sends it to one of their shops. The jeweler calls the assistant manager with a price to fix it. The assistant manager then multiplys the figure by 3 and gives you a price. So a $25 dollar repair costs you $75.

#3) The ESP you bought, its crap. They always find a way around it.

But here is what you do to solve your situation. Call Sterlings customer service line. Any store will have the number. Explain to them what happend and explain that you want stop doing buisness with them. I know you already went ot Zales (awesome move BTW) but when you do this the store will get a poor customer service mark on the monthly report. This is frowned HEAVILY upon the DM's by the regionals.

Just so you know i'm not bias, I do not work in the industry anymore. Personally I think you should find a nice mom and pop shop you can trust and stay away form these big jewelers.

Hope this helped.

Jason,

This kind of thing is the reason why I left such a horrible company. I was an assistant manager at Kay's for 1 year so I would like to enlighten you a little more.

#1) If you miss out on your stamp on your diamond bond the store can RE-STAMP IT AGAIN and put you back in warranty. However, that would make them no money so they often don't do it.

#2) The manager offering a one time deal to do it half price, still a ripoff. When you go to get your jewelery repaired at a sterling owned store (ie: Belden's, Jared, Kay and others) the store sends it to one of their shops. The jeweler calls the assistant manager with a price to fix it. The assistant manager then multiplys the figure by 3 and gives you a price. So a $25 dollar repair costs you $75.

#3) The ESP you bought, its crap. They always find a way around it.

But here is what you do to solve your situation. Call Sterlings customer service line. Any store will have the number. Explain to them what happend and explain that you want stop doing buisness with them. I know you already went ot Zales (awesome move BTW) but when you do this the store will get a poor customer service mark on the monthly report. This is frowned HEAVILY upon the DM's by the regionals.

Just so you know i'm not bias, I do not work in the industry anymore. Personally I think you should find a nice mom and pop shop you can trust and stay away form these big jewelers.

Hope this helped.

Jason,

This kind of thing is the reason why I left such a horrible company. I was an assistant manager at Kay's for 1 year so I would like to enlighten you a little more.

#1) If you miss out on your stamp on your diamond bond the store can RE-STAMP IT AGAIN and put you back in warranty. However, that would make them no money so they often don't do it.

#2) The manager offering a one time deal to do it half price, still a ripoff. When you go to get your jewelery repaired at a sterling owned store (ie: Belden's, Jared, Kay and others) the store sends it to one of their shops. The jeweler calls the assistant manager with a price to fix it. The assistant manager then multiplys the figure by 3 and gives you a price. So a $25 dollar repair costs you $75.

#3) The ESP you bought, its crap. They always find a way around it.

But here is what you do to solve your situation. Call Sterlings customer service line. Any store will have the number. Explain to them what happend and explain that you want stop doing buisness with them. I know you already went ot Zales (awesome move BTW) but when you do this the store will get a poor customer service mark on the monthly report. This is frowned HEAVILY upon the DM's by the regionals.

Just so you know i'm not bias, I do not work in the industry anymore. Personally I think you should find a nice mom and pop shop you can trust and stay away form these big jewelers.

Hope this helped.