Zales — Local services in Danbury

I recently had a very disappointing experience at this Zales location. I went in to return a ring I had purchased for $3800 from another Zales store in Middletown, NY. From the moment I started interacting with the store manager (a gentleman wearing glasses), I felt unwelcome and out of place. Dressed casually in a white t-shirt and shorts, I was met with a dismissive and arrogant attitude that made the entire experience uncomfortable.

When I purchased the ring, I was explicitly told by the representative to wear it for a few days and, if I didn’t like it, I had 30 days to return it. I followed these instructions, wore the ring for a few days, and found it to be loose and easily scratched. However, upon attempting to return it, the store manager claimed the ring had significant damage and refused to accept the return, stating it could not be put back on the shelf and he was unsure if their jeweler could repair it.

After reaching out to his manager and the Middletown store where I made the initial purchase, he reluctantly offered an exchange but refused a refund - which makes no sense and was quite contradictory to everything he explained. To add to the frustration, he called the Middletown store in my presence and prejudiced my case by stating the ring was "significantly damaged" and only an exchange would be acceptable.

Seeking a second opinion, I visited two independent jewelry stores right after this incident, both of which confirmed that the scratches were extremely minor and could be easily polished out or repaired by a jeweler. It's clear that Zales’/this store manager’s refusal to provide a refund was unjustified and seems to be a tactic to avoid processing returns.

The dismissive and unprofessional behavior of the store manager, combined with the inconsistent application of Zales’ return policy, has left a very negative impression. I expected much better customer service, especially considering the amount of money involved. I strongly advise against visiting this Zales location and Zales in general. Their lack of respect for customers and poor handling of returns is...

July 2nd, I went into this location to treat myself to a birthday gift. I was looking for a gold chain. So walk in and an old white lady meets me half way. This is how the conversation went: "Hi, I am looking for Men's gold chain/rope, could you show me what you have"? She takes me over to a display. "I say thank you". "I need one 20" long". She responds "oh well these are out of your price range". What? We never discussed price. She then says "these are out of your price range, I would suggest you go downstairs to one of the kiosks Piercing Pagoda, that might be within your budget". "These here are between $1,000-2,000. I was like wait what did you say? "Oh I don't think these are within your price range". I think you'd like what is downstairs more within your budget. Hmmm, we never discussed my "budget" but you think I can't afford a chain in your store? Let me see what gave it away the color of my skin? Was it because I am Latino? Is it because I had on a MARINE CORPS T-shirt, cargo shorts and sneakers on? Was I not dressed on what a Zales patron should be dressed? I am 61 years old and I know racism and bigotry when I encounter it. This was clearly that. And no one can tell me otherwise. I reached out to Zales corporate immediately the next day and I have yet to hear back from their management team to discuss this disgusting interaction by one of...

A warning to all hopeful-buyers going to Zales at this location: the staff and manager are extremely unprofessional and dishonest, charging us more money than anticipated, and ganging up on us when we were getting cold feet to proceed with our wedding bands purchase. If I could give 0 stars, I would.

NOTE: My fiance and I fell in love with the rings. There is nothing wrong with them physically.

What ended up staining the sentimental value of our wedding bands, was how rude and deceitful the staff at Zales at Danbury Fair Mall were.

For starters, the assistant and manager ended up opening a Zales credit card under my fiance's name without his consent. This is ILLEGAL. They proceeded to pressure us in an uncomfortable way, lied about total price, spoke over us and interrupted us many times. Laughed and made in appropriate comments regarding us. We were RIGHT there!

Best piece of advice, run! Genuinely, wish we could say more about this, but hope we can change the meaning of our wedding bands on the big day. CUSTOMERS: be attentive if they do this to you, especially without your consent! Many retail stores have incentives for staff opening credit cards for raises/rewards. Fine. But what about doing it without your permission, and then making fun of you? We are planning to bring this...