Blue Nile — Local services in Austin

Our experience at Blue Nile yesterday afternoon was extremely lackluster and borderline insulting. To preface, we did not have an appointment - my boyfriend and I wanted to look at rings to help narrow down my decision of what I want and we happened to still be in the Domain after checking out Diamonds Direct when we noticed that Blue Nile had opened up. I’ve been drooling over their diamonds for probably 15 years, so I immediately dragged him over to check out their inventory. We were greeted and asked if we had an appointment and we didn’t think anything of it except that the tone was weird. We browsed until the personal jeweler Luis became available to help us, and, certainly, he pulled out the rings we asked to try on and helped my boyfriend find his ring size, but not once did Luis show any interest in learning about what styles we liked, what our budget was, what we were looking for, nothing. He made as little eye contact as possible (it seemed), offered up no information, just robotically answered my questions. He took no notes, did not get our contact information to save our preferences in the system or follow up, seemed to have absolutely no interest in building a relationship with us as, potentially, our “jeweler for life” as Blue Nile likes to market on their site. The entire interaction completely lacked warmth and friendliness, and as soon as a client came in with an appointment, Luis handed us his card, explained that he had to help that client because they had an appointment and that we could hang around until the other rep became available if we wanted to, suggested (in a quasi-reprimanding tone) we make an appointment next time if not, and left us. 

I completely understand encouraging appointments and having to see clients during their scheduled time. It wouldn’t have bothered us at all if the rest of the time we had been treated like we mattered, but instead, our entire time in the store (maybe a total of 15-20 min) left us feeling like we were a bother and completely not worth their time unless we had an appointment. In the words of my boyfriend, “That was my first and only interaction I have ever had with that company, so I have to assume that’s how they do business and I don’t want to get your ring from somewhere that treats us like that.”

To contrast that, our experience at Diamonds Direct was the complete opposite. We also did not have an appointment there (we're noobs and didn't realize this was important and will be setting appointments in the future), but even so, we were treated like gold. The customer service was excellent from the get-go, everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable, and our assigned personal jeweler (Allison!

I purchased a diamond from Blue Nile over 10 years ago. The experience then was outstanding. On 12 December 2023 I decided to trade-in this diamond for a larger engagement ring - 43d wedding anniversary gift. The process from start to finish was absolutely horrendous.

Spent 45 minutes with a chat agent selecting a stone. Told the agent I was "sold" and ready to make the trade-in. Agent told me that could only be done via phone. Called the 1-800 number. The sale rep had no record of the dialogue I had with the chat agent. Had I not kept the diamond number from the chat interaction it would have been back to square one. 2023 and no integration of sales channels at this company. Horrendous customer experience.

The sales agent failed to disclose the terms and conditions of the sale. E.g. (a) Once trade-in is started you are committed. (b) There could be "issues" during the inspection process of the ring being traded-in. (c) 6-12 weeks delivery time - I learned this from a "diamond expert" who handles escalated issues.

I was told multiple times by chat and voice agents the ring would be sent via FEDEX-express for overnight delivery, signature required. Today I received an email from Blue Nile with a FEDEX tracking number. Finally..... I waited 4 hours and checked the status on FEDEX website only to learn the "shipper has cancelled this delivery and no further updates will be provided". What???

I spent 20 minutes with a customer care agent who was very professional. He told me the shipment was cancelled because "high dollar diamonds must be shipped via Malca-Express. What?? There are no process / QC checks for a shipment of a $81,000 ring? There is no proactive follow-up with customers who have an order / tracking number cancelled?

So here my wife and I set with no idea if the ring is coming tomorrow or not... after a 7 week wait. Weekend plans on hold because Blue Nile has no focus on the customer experience.

Blue Nile was recently acquired by Signet ... the conglomerate that owns several retail jewelry chains. I contacted the Signet CEO and investor relations team about the sales experience weeks ago. No response. And sadly the fulfillment process is just as poorly managed as the sales process. I also filed a BBB complaint. Blue Nile responded to BBB and said they would be in contact with me a week ago. No contact from Blue Nile.... a repeat customer making a major purchase.

DO NOT waste your time with this business. Horrendous experience. There are better options with less stress and angst.

Shame on Blue Nile and double...

What a pleasant and professional experience we had. We were in Austin for the weekend and excited to visit another store. Our experience at the other store (which shall remain nameless) was very poor. When we arrived, we were given a 45 minute limit to search for the perfect engagement ring. That’s right, 45 minutes to make a decision worth tens of thousands. We left that place and headed to blue Nile where we had another appointment.

We were greeted by Naomi Ramos, she was expecting us and she has a very warm, inviting personality and made us feel special. She took us thru the entire process from beginning to ending. Even the manager, Paul stepped in and helped us select the perfect diamond. That’s right, we had two professionals helping us. Our appointment was at 4:00pm and we didn’t finish till 7:10pm. We never felt rushed to make a decision. We felt that they cared about us making the right decision and as we apologized for taking so much of their time, they reassured us that they were there to help us.

We probably took a little over an hour selecting the right setting and then the rest of the time on picking just the perfect stone. They are very knowledgeable about stones and guides us on narrowing our options to three. From the three, we were able to select the right stone for us. This is how things should be done, ask questions, explain the options, pros and cons and let the clients make an informed decision. True professionals.

After we selected the stone, they explained the purchasing process and some ways to save a few dollars.

We truly had a fantastic experience and glad we purchased this ring at this location. We could have easily gone back home to another blue Nile at our local store but we felt this team had our best interest at heart. We highly recommend you chose this location as your go to choice for your engagement ring. Ask for...