[Jewelry making - Article 00203] - Re: [Orchid] Setting customer stones

[Neilthejeweler]

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>     How do you reassure your customer? How do you handle the situation
>     if the customer's stone breaks? 

    Basically I cover the risk without fanfare if its a potential loss I
    can live with. No point in dancing around about a (relatively) low
    value stone and raise eyebrows. If I see something that concerns me
    on a higher value item, I'll point it out to the customer, hand them
    a loupe if needed, explain the whys and wherefores and usually they
    are OK with them assuming the risk because of a pre-existing
    condition. I dunno, maybe its just my hard won grey hair that
    reassures people, I haven't felt the need to get into written
    disclaimers, although I wouldn't rule it out in the future for
    certain cases. 

    If you are retail, even if you get all the disclaimers and such, if
    you break the stone you are still faced with damage to your
    reputation. At the cocktail party when your name comes up, a
    disappointed customer will prolly not mention that you advised her of
    the risk, that she assumed it willingly, she will only relate that
    you broke her stone. Think that martini clutch will be banging down
    your door in the near future? 

    So oftentimes you eat it for goodwill. It hurts but has to be done
    sometimes. In the event of catastrophic loss...you'll have to decide
    which course is better, eat it or bear the bad vibe. 

    The best course of course is like John Donivan says...don't break
    it. If you have prepared everything very well, even generally risky
    stones will go OK. You just have to know exactly what constitutes
    proper prep. 

    As long as I'm typing away here...on the subject of
    'insurance'....if one charges extra (over and above straight labor)
    for insurance, is your accumulated cash set aside to cover losses? Or
    have you spent it already because it was commingled with regular
    funds? If so, how is that going to help you come up with the payment
    for a new stone, assuming its a whopper? 

    I think the legitimate reason for a customer to pay more is that
    they get more....your skill is more likely to result in success.
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