Please share? I'm looking for bespoke jewellers in UK than can do good micropave

Sent you a pm

Mike, I seem to have gotten Chris (?) every time I've emailed y'all. S/he is *very* prompt and friendly and answers every single question, so please rest easy that for me, your company is not one I refer to. I appreciate your even taking the time to respond on my thread.

It is definitely not you. Love you guys

+1....
Poppyseed.....:-))... she is a DEAR and has been helping me...and will be my personal jeweler from now on!!.... WONDERFUL Customer service!! A++++++++

I meant to answer earlier that I've worked with Poppy already on a project and we've discussed a few more. I wouldn't hesitate to work with her again.

BUT, I think we have all seen that one person can have a great experience with a vendor while another finds that exact same vendor to be less responsive or service oriented. It gets frustrating to not know what causes the variability. With some vendors, it's a known quantity that they are just crabby or never consistent with their customer service, at least on another board I'm on, but I'd never noticed that to be the case here. Something to be said for these "cheap" BTD vendors huh? I say that tongue in cheek referencing the one vendor's implication to me that they are much pricier than other jewelers here at BTD.

As a follow up, when I pointed out that I didn't appreciate the assumption that was made, the CS rep *still* never actually came out and said "I should not have made assumptions like that and it reflects poorly on us that I did so, I hope you'll accept our apologies" or anything to that effect. I was just told (paraphrasing) that they hoped they hadn't offended me because they're actually really nice people, I had made it sound like finances were *the* important factor in the equation [simply because I was honest that I was seeking bids from several companies?], and in the end, getting my dream ring was the thing to be concerned about. Uh, no. Really, good customer service, great bench work, accountability, and *then* economy are what's important to ME. But hey, now I know where not to go!

luckyb, I'm sorry you haven't had much luck with a board jeweler. I just want you to know that you are not alone in this.

I have had good experiences, though...due to some keen observation.

I think things can be taken completely differently through email then they maybe were meant to be said, kwim? Someone might have said one thing that you take to be rude, and I take to be fine, but its because its through email where we can't hear how the person meant to say it. I try to remember that when I get upset about how someone wrote something. I tend to be very "talky" in emails and when I get a short response that seems like not very personable to me, it can rub me the wrong way too.

I am not making excuses for whatever was said that you did not appreciate, as the vendor should know that things can be taken the wrong way sometimes, but I just wanted to point out it might have been taken wrongly then what was intended.

Either way, I hope you find the right vendor for you! It can take some time and unfortunately, a bit of money, but you will find someone who meets all of your needs hopefully.

I can personally speak for Schubach's being the very best customer service I have ever had! They aren't board jewelers, although they really should be, but they are great to work with and talk to! I have made friends with jcent and Beth through my experience with working with them and that is one of the best parts of my experience so far. They never make me feel like a pain in the rear, even if I feel like I am being one. They are very very sweet and nice people who truly care that you get what you are wanting.

I am confused. You said you are choosing a vendor based on who is going to give you the best price (most people would read this as LOWEST price). What is the offense when a vendor said straight up that they will likely cost MORE than other board vendors? Why should they need to apologize for letting you know this before putting their time and effort into putting together a quote that is not going to the best/lowest? You interpret that as haughtiness, I think that is helpful information.
I would be happy to know that I wasn't wasting my time or theirs if their quote isn't going to be in the running anyway. Why bother asking LM for a quote if I'm looking for the best price on a simple design, KWIM? That's like looking for a $5,000 car at the Mercedes dealership, lol.

Anyway, I think Ginger is right. It's too easy to become 'offended' online. We can't read minds here and print is too easily misinterpreted even when one uses appropriate smilies and emoticons. The key is to not take things personally when they are not personal. Given that any bench could make your ring I am sure you will find someone to do so for the right price.

I agree with ya, ginger and morning! I just know for me, I would like to be the one to determine if the price works for me or not. Say they are one of the expensive, but not THE most expensive and the craftsmanship, etc is what I really want, then maybe the price would be worth it to me. However, I wouldn't be able to determine that without a quote. I assume luckyb surmised the jeweler made that decision for her and dismissed her when she was going to weigh other factors in as well. I got a quote once from a dear heart who immediately said that what I was asking about was very expensive. I needed the number to determine if it was doable or not. It was way not doable - for now. It's still very much in the back of mind and when Amora Gem comes out I may very shell out for it. But at least I know and have a working number. Now, if she had just told me it was way expensive and not given me a quote? I definitely would have been offended! BTW, this is not who I was referring in the above post, .