Gibson Jewelers Inc — Local services in Columbia

After recommending clients to this business since 2009 because of the amount of positive things I have heard from people in my community who were from many different walks of life, I had my first personal experience with them as a client and was quite offended by the way they spoke to me as opposed to the other client in the business. I called first to see if they bought scrap sterling silver stating that I had 8 to 10 oz they said yes to bring it in. My son and I got there and had issues with the lock (you have to pull during the few seconds that it is making metal on metal noises as opposed to at my bank where you wait until the sound is finished). The woman was immediately rude and condescending about the door but I took it with a smile and began to browse while she helped the other client, while they talked about her family, favorite gemstone and why it was her favorite etc. Having worked in high end establishments for a couple of decades I know that good customer service often leads to these long conversations with clients and was happy to wait and show my son the unique pieces that I liked since Mother’s Day is this week. After a while the owner came out who I have met (before a bus vs car accident turned my life upside down leaving me in a 30 year old car, an asymmetrical face) and had always had very positive interactions with. Yesterday was very different, he explained he was too busy to look at it and could evaluate it the following day. I wasn’t sure if they called or not bc I missed a handful of calls from a local # so I stopped by. He told me he had not had a chance to look at it and it wasn’t worth much anyways (at $23 an oz scrap value that amount was worth my effort to meticulously remove cabochons, brass rings and other elements that were not silver on theses pieces, something most people would not take the time to do but I value the time of local business owners). I hate knowing that I have sent so many people here over the past 16 years thinking that they were not one of the elitist establishments that will be rude to one customer while treating the one standing right next to them like family.

Edited to add I was able to sell my...

Absolutely avoid this place at all costs!!! They had my sisters ring for two years. It was a gift from our late great aunt. It was taken to Gibson’s to have a new setting, which we were told would be ready in approximately two weeks. We attempted to contact them over the phone to get an update multiple times after the two weeks were up and were told that there was only one jeweler and he was backed up. After a few more attempts, my mom went to the store and was given more excuses. She has stopped in multiple times and it’s always “it’s not ready” or “he’s just so busy”. Last week my sister called back and gave the name the order was under and was told they couldn’t find it and we needed to call back with a ticket number. My mom attempted to call back and left a message with the ticket number and received no return call. I tried calling and finally after a few days of trying, someone picked up the phone Tuesday morning. I gave him the ticket number and after a minute of being on hold, he came back to the phone and told me “we’re trying to get opened up for the day. Can I get a name and number and we’ll call you back later?” They called back Tuesday afternoon and notified us that the stone had a crack in it. My mom and sister went to pick it up today and said they were “looking for it” for 20 minutes. The lady behind the counter then said “It was here yesterday. It’s been on my desk for a week”. Yet each time we called they couldn’t locate it and had to call us back. They came back and basically said they had given up and would contact us once it was found. Once my mom said they were not leaving without it, it was found within minutes. At this point they all were making up excuses as to why it wasn’t ready. Said the jeweler broke his leg two weeks ago (but they’ve had the ring since summer of 2021). Said they attempted to call multiple times but the voice mail was full (no missed calls and a clear voicemail). Not once was an apology offered for breaking or losing the ring.

Would HIGHLY recommend going elsewhere unless you want sentimental items to come back in worse shape than...

The man who opened the shop for the day, who I gather to be the owner, was particularly condescending and rude to me, probably because he thought I wasn't worth even common courtesy. Details below, but the long and short of it is they're poor judges of character and will be rude to people for sport if they think they can get away with it. Too bad, my Omega Seamaster needs servicing, but there are plenty of other places I will go.

Rather than simply asking me to move my bicycle, which I was attending while I waited a few minutes for my order from the delicious Crust Bakeshop in the common area linking all the shops, he condescended "does this look like a bike rack?", (when I asked if there was a bike rack I could use, he informed me "no," without further explanation) complained that I was damaging his (already dead-as-a-doornail) flowers (which my attended bicycle was only lightly touching the concrete planter), and then finally, very unhelpfully explained that the concrete area was for walking, not for bicycle parking. (He forgot to mention it is also used for a funeral parlor for flowers that are dead & gone!). I would have been happy to move my bike if he had simply not been rude, and I may have even left with a good impression if he had acted with politeness and courtesy! As it was, my order was ready immediately after the interaction and I happily went...