A satisfied customer is the best business strategy

Hemant Soni
Owner, Roop Jewels, Sirsa, Haryana

‘A customer who was confused’

About four months back, we got a call from an old customer and asked if he could book some gold jewellery at that day’s rate for his son’s wedding. The gold price was close to Rs 54,000 for 10 grams that day. I agreed, but after a few minutes, I received another call from him and he told me to wait till the day’s end. The rates closed at Rs 100 more and I asked the customer to book the rate immediately. But he refused and told me that the internet said that the rates will go down after a couple of days. But after two days, the rates shot up by almost Rs 1,000.  By the time he closed the deal, it was had gone past Rs 57,000.

‘An opportunist customer is a pain’

Before the lockdown hit, we had a customer who booked about 200 grams of gold jewellery. The customer also paid Rs 1 lakh in advance. After the lockdown, the gold rates shot up by almost 15-20%. In September, the same customer called me again and enquired about his earlier order and asked me to book another 200 grams of gold. After a few days, he came over to take delivery of the first order and paid the remaining amount. He told me he will take delivery of the second order after a month and paid Rs 1 lakh in advance. However, after a few days, the gold rates decreased after reaching an all-time high. As soon as they came down, he asked us to cancel the order. We informed him that this was impossible as we had already booked the gold. However, the customer began arguing with us and told us to sell him jewellery worth the advance amount. We had no choice but to cancel the order. 

Rakesh Agarwal
Director, Purans Jewellers, New Delhi

Puneet Mehra
Director, Gandaram Jewellers, New Delhi

‘Advised the customer right’

Around September, a family visited us for wedding jewellery. While talking to him, we figured that he was thinking about transacting after Diwali in the hopes that the rates will come down after the festive season. We advised them to buy immediately, and if the rates come down after Diwali, promised to refund the difference through credit. The customer immediately agreed and bought the jewellery the same day. He came back around Christmas and thanked us for the right advise and shopped from us again. 

‘Pre-booking wedding jewellery in good faith’

In August, a customer came to us for wedding jewellery. Although he liked the collection, he looked hesitant as he was concerned about the gold rate fluctuation. I advised that he should book the jewellery with an advance, and whenever he wants to book the price of the gold, he can do so with a call. After some hesitation, he finally agreed and booked the piece. However, during the entire interaction, we never forced him to buy. In September, the customer called us to confirm his booking and paid the due amount.

Seemant Nahata
Shagun Jewellery Boutique, Kolkata

Dinesh Banthia
Owner, Bhikamchand Premchand Banthia Jeweller, Chandrapur, Maharashtra

‘Discounts are attractive, but they are not always as they seem’

A few days ago, a customer came to buy kundan jewellery. After selecting a piece, he started complaining about high making charges. He told us that he had seen hoardings in the city, which show attractive discounts on the making charges at prominent retailers’. We told him that we had no such scheme available, despite which our final rates were lower for kundan jewellery. The customer didn’t agree and left. However, after a few days, he came back again and bought the same piece from us. He told us that the overall rates elsewhere were quite high despite big discounts on making charges. 

‘A pleasant surprise’

We had a family from Noida who wanted to buy wedding jewellery for their son. They browsed our ground floor and took to the first to continue their shopping. Around this time, another family came in to buy wedding jewellery for their daughter. After going through the pieces for almost an hour, the girl’s family decided to go upstairs too. This is where a surprise awaited us. The girl was getting married to the same boy whose family was already shopping upstairs. It was pure coincidence that both families were shopping at the same place in the same time. After the final billing, they exchanged the engagement rings inside the store. This was a treat to watch.

Rajesh Hemdev
Owner, Lachhmandas Jewellers, Agra

Aman Talla
Owner, Talla Jewellers, Jammu

‘A memorable customer who loved us’

About three months ago, we received an online query from a person in the US. He had bought diamond tops and asked us to deliver them to an Indian address. He wanted to propose to his girlfriend in India. After a month, I received a call from the same customer, who informed me that he wanted to buy wedding jewellery and that his fiancée will visit us to order. After a few days, the lady came in with her family and bought wedding jewellery around 40 lakh, which  included a solitaire ring of Rs 9 lakh. The entire amount was paid by the customer online. He finally came to India in November for the wedding, met our staff and gave them a small gift.