About 2 years ago, I took a watch into a Jewelry Doctor stand to get a new battery. When I got it back it would not work and I had to send it back to the factory for repairs. It cost me over $200. Now that is history but I want to share with the readers some of what I learned.
1. Be wary of small businesses located in the corridors of large indoor malls. These people depend on heavy traffic rather than return customers.
2. Run, dont walk, away from cutsie firm names - like Jewelry Doctor.
3. Dont count on small claims court or Better Business Bureaus for justice. Of the cases I watched, most were settled in favor of the defendant - where an individual was seeking redress from a usinessman.
4. Complaint web pages, such as gripenet.com, may not get your problem resolved, but they sure make you feel better.
5. Local newspaper complaint columns are very effective if your case is a no-thinker - there can be no real controversy in the facts of the case.
Do use established businesses in smaller remote strip malls because these people must depend on repeat business or with large national companies where you can write or call their headquarters for assistance.
Of course, if the amount justifies, hire an attorney and sue their butt. Remember, P.T. Barnum once said "a sucker is born every minute". I believe he should have pointed out that a crooked businessman who is willing to take advantage of that sucker is born eary second.
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