Zales Outlet — Attraction in Shenandoah

I’m not one to leave scathing reviews, ever. But we had one of the worst customer-service experiences of our lives here. I’m sure that if you’re just buying jewelry from them, they do just fine. But DO NOT try to order custom jewelry here.

We first came in on December 3rd. We wanted to get a simple wedding ring made out of six of my grandmother’s diamonds. We sat with the manager, planned out our ring (with the same engravings on the band as were on my grandmother’s band), and had the order sent in to their jeweler with the promise that our ring would be ready before Christmas. Well, that didn’t happen.

We called at the beginning of January to inquire about our order. We were told, “Oh, actually, we can’t make that ring because the design you wanted is copyrighted.” So we asked when exactly they were planning on telling us this, because our wedding would be on January 14th and we don’t have my wedding ring. They mumbled some excuse or other about being very busy during Christmastime. Basically, they weren’t planning on telling us until we called to ask.

In late January (well after our wedding, for which I used my mother’s ring), we came in again once our diamonds had been sent back to the store and decided to give them a second chance. We sat down with the manager yet again to design our ring—this time with a completely original design—and sent in the order yet again.

In the next month, we went in several times to inquire about our order. Each time, their response was, “We’re so sorry, our jewelers have just been so busy! We’ll make sure they get to it as soon as possible.” The ring didn’t come in until mid-March (again, we placed this specific order at the end of January, so this specific order took almost two months). We go in, so happy to finally get to have my ring. My god, we were wrong.

My ring size is 5. This ring was size 9. We ordered white gold. This ring was yellow gold. We ordered a medium-sized band. This ring’s band was so thin we could almost snap it in half. And the worst of all was the design. We had six small diamonds and asked for them to be arranged in two triangles, the bases of the triangles against each other to create a sort of diamond-shaped hexagon. Simple enough, right? Apparently not. The design on this ring was asymmetrical—one side was placed lower than the other. Instead of having the two bases of the triangles touch, the jeweler had left a hideous blank space right in the middle of the ring (a hideous yellow gold space, of course, so it was extremely obvious). All in all, it was the ugliest piece of jewelry either of us has ever seen.

Understandably, we were immensely agitated by this point. We told them to send it back, have our diamonds taken out, and send us our diamonds back. They had the audacity to say that since the ring has already been made and the labor has gone into it, we may still have to pay. So one by one, we went from one employee to another, held the ring in their faces, and asked, “Does this look like a well made ring worth $1000 to you?” Their responses were all variations of the same statement: “I mean, it’s not the most well made ring...” Not the most well made? This ring was almost twice the ring size, the wrong metal, the wrong band width, and the design looked like it had been made by an especially artistically challenged first-grader. We told them we weren’t going to pay a penny for this, that we would get lawyers if that’s what it took, and that we want our ring sent back and our diamonds back in our possession.

They sent it back, and even though they said they would ask the jeweler to get to it immediately, the diamonds weren’t back at the store until a month later. Mind you, the process had been started at the beginning of December and we were now in the middle of April, three months after our wedding. When we came in to get it, they made one last desperate attempt and asked if we wanted to create a new design and send it back. Naturally, our answer was, “Absolutely...

Buyer beware: If you purchase the warranty on rings, it does NOT cover everything. My wife and I purchased her engagement ring, and wedding band from Zales. We had the rings sized and returned, and the rings were in good condition. I purchased another ring for our first anniversary from this location. When bringing that ring into the store for sizing, I also brought her other rings in for inspection, cleaning, and discoloration. When the rings were returned, we had to sign for them to receive them; they had sized the engagement ring and wedding band(was not expected). We had to have them re-sized once more. After comparing the Engagement Ring and Wedding ring to some photos we had of the rings(after the first sizing) we noticed the shank was much thinner than the original photo. We went back to this location expecting them to be corrected but were told that the shank is not covered due to sizing. The band can get smaller due to sizing, and since they were sized (3) times, we would have to pay to add gold back into the ring. My wife and I tried a few times in the store, and then escalated to the corporate level, where Zales is now relying on a 'sizing issue'. Even though the store states the rings will not break, they are not metallurgists and cannot guarantee that. If the ring breaks, and we lose the ring, then we would need to replace with a different ring. Not only have we exhausted our efforts in store and with Zales Corporate office; we have lost interest in returning to the store due to their attitude. When my wife went in to speak to the associates, she was emotional, and they did their best to discourage her from crying as they had other customers in the store. In addition to that, they profile their customers. I was interested in a watch and the discount on the watch while they had a promotion. When I asked to see it, the associate said, ‘you’re not going to buy it, so I’m not going to take it out of the case’. That alone was enough for me, I would never speak to one of my customers like that. After that happened, I decided to buy the Movado my wife wanted from another jeweler and received much better service than this store. Above is a brief description of what happened at this store, and with Zales corporate office. I hope this helps for you – IF you go into the store, be prepared and know what you’re buying and who you’re...

Took my engagement ring here to be fixed after my diamond chipped. Dropped off on 8/24. As of today, 9/30, we have no idea where my ring (with my new diamond), or my mothers diamond that was originally in the setting are. The estimated completed date has changed multiple times. When the ring finally made its way back to the store, the assistant manager called my husband and said it wasn’t up to their standards and that he was personally driving it to a third party jeweler and it should be ready in a couple days. We called last week to figure out an ETA and the lady that answered placed me on hold, and then hung up on me. When I called back she said she didn’t know where it was but she would have the assist manager call me the next day. He never did. Here we are another week later, we called again and no one knows where the ring or diamond are. Assistant manager isn’t there, etc. In the going on 6 weeks that they have had my ring/diamond we have celebrated our 1 year anniversary (without my engagement ring which is also my wedding ring), and moved cities. Now to pick up my ring/diamond (if that day ever comes) we will drive an hour to get it. At this point, all I want is to know where it is or for someone at Zales to actually communicate with us. It’s unacceptable to me that no one seems to care to keep us in the loop when they have my already paid for new diamond/wedding band, and a family heirloom in...