Below is a copy of the letter sent to Peoples Head Office (which I've gotten no response from)
To Whom It May Concern:
First off, it's important that you know just how totally irate I am with Peoples. Let me give you some backgroundmy husband purchased my engagement ring in March. He was sold an engagement ring for which you did not sell the matching wedding band (when the engagement ring was purchased, we were told no problem, we can always order the wedding band in for you, but to our surprise, Peoples could not order the wedding band when it came time). And this is how all of our frustration started.
On March 3rd, I took my engagement ring (including two bands that are each soldered beside the engagement ring) to Peoples in St Vital Centre, Winnipeg, to get a claw re-tipped. When I arrived, the clerk informed me that I would be charged $49.95 for this work to be done. My husband purchased the extended warranty for this ring, but as it turns out, the extended warranty is just a cash grab for your company. It doesn't really warrant a thing. Neither does the Peoples Promise. I was upset with this whole situation, especially once the clerk told me that I should've been getting my ring inspected monthly. Now, here's another thing: I try to have my rings cleaned and inspected monthly, however, every December I am refused. You cannot tell me that every December your Ultra Sonic cleaner is brokenin every store. Nice try. Nice way of telling your customers that you think we're all idiots. Well guess what? We're not.
I expressed my frustration to this clerk, who actually seemed to understand why I was so upset and offered for Peoples to cover the repair for me. Tuesday March 3rd, I left my ring with Peoples; my promise date was Thursday, March 5th. I thought everything was under control.
March 18th, thirteen days past the promise date, I have to call Peoples myself to find out where my ring is. The clerk on the phone seems to be confused by the paperwork as to where my ring might be. Let me just check the drawer to see if it's here or not, she says. She comes back to the phone saying that my ring is indeed there and that it's ready for pick-up. I had to ask why no one had bothered to call me to tell me that it had arrived. I told her that it was promised back to me on March 5th, and her response was whoever told you that is ridiculous. Then, she tells me to hang on while she tries to find out when it came back. I told her that I didn't care when it came back, as long as it was ready for me now.
Approximately 2 hours later, my husband goes to pick up my ring from Peoples. The clerk, Vida, pulls it out of the drawer, gives my ring to my husband, while at the same time feeding him some kind of story that the Jeweller would not re-tip the claw until the diamond was fixed. As she's talking, she pulls out her calculator and informs my husband that it will cost us $4000.00 to replace the diamond. She told my husband that when I dropped the ring off, the clerk who helped me out did not notice the chunk missing from the diamond and that I had dropped it off in that condition. Once again, nice try.
My husband left the ring with Peoples and told them to expect me. He then told me what happened. I immediately called Peoples and questioned what had happened. I was and still am furious. I spoke to a very disrespectful clerk named Vida; she started telling me the same thing. That when I brought the ring in for repair, that it was already damaged and that the clerk simply did not notice it. I told her that I did not bring in my ring with a chunk missing from the diamond and that the only thing wrong was that one claw needed to be re-tipped. I told her that she should perhaps question the rest of the staff or the Jeweller. She should not have continued to accuse me of lying and she should have rectified the situation immediately.
When I called Vida, I wanted the facts from her. Her response to every one of my questions was don't you talk to your husband? NOTE TO VIDA: This is the wrong thing to say to anybodyespecially one that you've just insulted and accused of lying.
I asked Vida for her manager's name and the next time she could be reached. Again, she responded to my question with another question; Don't you talk to your husband? I told him all of this already. I once again told her that I wanted the story straight, which is why I was talking to her.
I told her that I would be calling the manager, Pam Collins, at 9:30A.M. On Wednesday, March the 19th and that Pam should know before I call, exactly what the situation is.
Then, approximately 15 minutes after my conversation with Vida, I get a phone call from Tony (another clerk). My first question to him is Are you a manager? His response was No. I told him that I did not want to speak to anybody from Peoples unless they were management.
He informed me that he had just spoken with Pam and that he is speaking on behalf of her. So, I gave him a chance. Basically, he told me that if I can find my paperwork from when the ring was purchased, that Peoples would replace the diamond for me. One more catchPeoples would have my rings for an additional two or three weeks and couldn't tell me when they would be back. Also, he told me that the Jeweller might not have the exact diamond in stock, in which case, they would use the next closest.
This has got to be a joke. Peoples destroyed my diamond, accuse me of lying, and then tell me that I might not end up with the same diamond? You'd better believe I'm enraged.
The response from Tony when I asked him why nobody bothered to call me and tell me that my ring was damaged: We did try to call. We tried a couple times. I asked him who called and to what number, since there was no message on our answering machine, no message on my husband's pager, and no record on our call display. He just said that another clerk tried to call: I was thereI was right there when she called. Once again, accuse me of lying when I say that nobody from Peoples called me.
March 22nd, after speaking in person with Pam Collins, the rings are sent away again. She has apparently spent three days trying to get in touch with someone at Diamond Services to find out if they have the exact replacement in stock or if one will have to be ordered. Finally, some good newsthey have the correct replacement and my rings will back on March 27th. I ask Pam to have her supervisor call me as I feel that even the management at the store level is not handling the situation properly. She tells me that I can expect a call from John Sheridan since she would be speaking to him this evening.
April 1st, still no call from Peoples. I call the store myself and speak to Doreen. She says that my rings still aren't back and that I'll have to speak to Pam for more information, but Pam will not be back until April 4th.
April 4th, I call Pam myself to inquire about my rings. She says that Diamond Services did not have the diamond in stock and that it had to be ordered. My ring is promised to me by April 10th. Also, still no call from John Sheridan. Pam says that she called him and left messages and even sent him faxes requesting him to call me.
April 10th, my ring is ready. Once I arrived at Peoples, I discovered that the head is sitting crooked. The ring is sent away for the third time. I ask Pam to not put a rush on it since it is clear that the goldsmiths employed by Peoples cannot do their job properly under pressure. My ring is promised back by April 19th.
April 18th, I receive a phone call from Pam in the evening saying that my ring will not be ready when promised. She is going to send it away again because she is not happy with it. She tells me that it is still crooked. No date promised this time. No call from John Sheridan.
May 6th, I receive a phone call from Tony that my ring has arrived and it is stunning, fabulous, gorgeous, and perfect. Due to my uncertainty, I clearly ask him if Pam has seen the ring and what she thought of it. Tony tells me Pam has seen it and says it's gorgeous.
Upon my inspection, to my surprise, there is a very different head on my ring. Not to mention that it is still not straight. This is not the engagement ring I've been wearing for three years. I tell Tony that the head is still crooked and I ask him why was my ring altered without my consent and knowledge. He just keeps telling me that the ring is perfect, it's stunning, it's absolutely straight. He tells me come and look at another ring in our showcase to compare. I tell him that I don't care about any other ring; I only care about my ring.
I choose to leave to leave my ring there until I can speak with Pam about it the next morning. I was initially only expecting a phone conversation with Pam, but decided it would best to go directly to the store and speak with her face to face.
May 7th, I arrive at the store and Pam has already been updated on the situation. I tell her that I am still not happy with the ring because it is still crooked and that I am very upset that the head was replaced with something very different. I tell her that I just want my ring to look the way it did when it was sold to us (without the matching soldered wedding bands and inscription of course). She tells me that there is no way to know what kind of head was originally used and that the old one would have been thrown out. At this point in time, I am very distressed about the whole situation.
I request to have the ring repaired by Mr. Tam (former goldsmith for Peoples). Pam tells me that she cannot authorize that unless she speaks to someone at another office. But before she can make her phone call, I need to know how am I going to explain to Mr. Tam what exactly needs to be done to make my ring look the way it did before Peoples butchered it? Pam has a simple answerjust tell them to put a lighter head on itit's not rocket science. Oh, but to Peoples it is.
She makes her phone call while I wait. She tells me that she cannot reach the person she needs to speak to so she will just authorize me to take my ring to Mr. Tam and Peoples will reimburse me. Fine, I am confident now that my ring will finally look the way it should have two months ago.
May 7th, I deliver the ring myself to Gold Brick Jewellers for Mr. Tam to fix. I put the ring into the clerk's hand and she immediately knew what I wanted to have fixed. It is that obvious.
May 8th, I receive a phone call from Gerry Locomte (this is supposed to be the guy picking up for John Sheridan). I've been passed off againthis time to the acting regional manager. I have to say that this fellow has the least amount of respect for customers that I have ever seen. He spoke to me as if I was a child being punished. He demanded I deliver my ring from Gold Brick Jewellers over to Peoples Polo Park or else. Or else what? He told me that he would put a strike on my file. What file? I've been told since day one that there is no file, otherwise, you would know what kind of warranty I had on my ring, what the price was, the date purchased, etc., etc.
As per his demand, I released the ring to Peoples delivery driver to deliver it to Peoples Polo Park where Gerry was going to have it fixed once and for all.
May 9th, I receive a phone call from Gerry stating that he doesn't think there is anything wrong with my ring and that I should come down and compare the old head to the new head. Wait a secondaccording to Peoples St Vital, the old heads are thrown out, but Peoples Polo Park claims they still have the old head?
I tell Gerry that there is no need for me to come down. I know what my ring looked like before all this happened and I know that I want it to look exactly the same.
He asks me if I had a bigger diamond put into the ring. I answer no. What he tells me next is what pushes me to the limit: this ring was altered for someone else at some point in time because the old head is not what should've been used.
Altered for someone else? Are you telling me that Peoples sold me a second hand ring? Or are you telling me that I was sold a defective ring?
When I hear this coming from the acting regional director, I now know that I've been completely screwed over by this company.
My response to this is either fix it, or deal with the consequences. He chooses to deal with the consequences and has my ring couriered over to me.
I have filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Manitoba Friday, May 9th.
Rhonda
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
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