Today (01/28/2012), I called Delton Hayes Jewelers to inquire about the status of a ring re-design I hired him to complete. Mr. Hayes was rude, irrational, and verbally abusive.\r
Here is the history of our communication and the phone call of January 28, 2012:\r
• I contacted Mr. Hayes on December 26th, 2011, to inquire about a ring re-design. He responded on December 27th.\r
• I emailed Mr. Hayes on December 28th, 2011, about payment of the ring re-design. He never responded. I dropped off the ring to be re-designed on December 30th, 2011. Mr. Hayes informed me that the ring would take “at most, three weeks” to complete. When he asked if I wanted to receive a phone call when they had the ring cast in wax, I said yes.\r
• I received no phone call. I called on January 9, 2012, and Mr. Hayes told me that my friend had not paid half of the balance yet. I knew my friend, L, had paid on December 30th. L contacted Mr. Hayes on January 9th and gave him the credit card information again; Mr. Hayes admitted the contact information was misplaced or “fell between the cracks.” No apology was made.\r
• I emailed Mr. Hayes on January 20th, 2012, inquiring about the status of my ring. I received no reply and forwarded the email again on January 23rd, receiving a reply that it would be done by Saturday, January 28, or Sunday, January 29. \r
• I heard nothing and so called Mr. Hayes on January 28, 2012. At that time, Mr. Hayes told me he did not know when the ring would be complete; he would know more “early next week.” I asked him if ring re-designs normally took longer than a month to complete (even though I was promised differently), and he said yes. I observed to him that the ring would be complete in time if he had not sat on it for ten days, having lost the credit card information. Mr. Hayes, at that point, became extremely defensive and angry. He stated he would “not argue” with me, that the ring would be done when it would be done, that he should have told me six weeks (?) for completion, and, most offensively, that I was “calling [him] every day and harassing [him].” I asked him, to clarify, “I call you every day?” and he responded, “Yes.” Then he said, “Well, maybe not call, but you email every day.” (Blatantly untrue, as stated above.) \r
o I asked him to prove the harassment he is claiming, and he said he “wasn’t going to take [me] to court for it.” At that point, I told him (when he would let me speak—he kept interrupting me) that as a business owner, he should take the feedback being given and use it to increase his customer service. He laughed, facetiously stated, “Yeah, I ‘ll do that. I’ll make you a pretty piece of jewelry” and hung up on me.\r
• Mr. Hayes’s reaction was completely out of line for the situation. Furthermore, he told me three weeks for the ring, and then would not give me a date of completion. It is entirely within my right to ask when my overpriced ring re-design would be completed.\r
• Mr. Hayes did not contact me when the ring was cast in wax so I could preview it before finalized.\r
• When I dropped off the ring on December 30th, 2011, I was carrying my six-month-old son with me at the time. Mr. Hayes was helping a customer when I entered the store; no other workers were there. He did not greet me or say a word. Another pair of customers came in a few minuets later, and he greeted them. He finally decided to speak to me 10-15 minutes later.\r
• At this point, Mr. Hayes has thoroughly demonstrated an unprofessional manner and business practices. \r
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It is unfortunate in this day and age that Mr. Hayes feels he can be abusive and shifty towards his customers. I can only hope he takes the lessons learned therein and creates a better business, or he will not be in business for very much longer.\r
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