HeidiJHale Designs — Local services in Muncie

I debated whether or not to leave a review but after my experience, I thought other folks should know as well. I ordered a "moment in time" ring for my wife in December 15th, 2021. I knew, according to their website, that it would take 10-14 business days before it left their studio, so I knew I would not have it in time for Christmas, which I was ok with. On January 8th, I received a "blast email" stating that if your order was placed after December 2nd, they had items get stuck in customs and that it had "devastated" their small business. I responded with a scathing email, stating that this information should have been provided long before the 2nd week of January. I also expressed my displeasure that my item was delayed, even though it should have had nothing to do with the items they claim were in customs. Within moments of sending my response, I actually got a call from Heidi herself who left a voicemail. Her voicemail made a number of excuses, from covid, to the overwhelming number of orders they had and how many hours they were working, to someone being diagnosed with cancer. I'm not an unsympathetic person, but all of those excuses still didn't explain why it took so long for them to let customers know they were running way behind. The first line of her voicemail said, and I quote "I told myself I wasn't going to think Heidi J Hale jewelry today, but after seeing you email, I thought I should respond". Really? You're the owner of the company, you're way behind on production and even though it's a Saturday, you're not going to think about the business? How Bout the hundreds, perhaps more customers according to you, that have no updates or product that was already paid for, but you're not going to think about it? The next response I got was from Holly, again on January 8th, who took a screenshot of my receipt, emailed it to me with a big red arrow, stating that they were only 2 days behind the promised time frame. So you're going to send me a snarky email pointing out that even though you're late, you're only a little late. Great job of customer service there. Hilly also stated in her email, that she would make sure my ring was shipped out that week, that was on January 8th. The next correspondence I received was on January 26th. I sent an email to them on January 25th asking for an update. Jess, whom was very friendly, responded that she would give me an update. She responded on January 26th that she was "tracking it down". On January 27th, I emailed again as I hadn't gotten a response. I got a response from Jess on January 28th that there was a miscommunication with my ring. After all of this, my wife received the ring on January 31st. 32 business days later than what their website says. Unfortunately, my wife thought that the ring didn't look as good as it does on the website stating that "it's much smaller than what it looked like in the pictures". Wish I could return it, but honestly, I don't have the time or energy to even try. I should have just cancelled the order altogether. The customer service I received was appalling. At a time that the company should be apologizing profusely for the delay, I get smart mouth emails with screen shots of my receipt pointing out that they were only a couple days behind. Turns out that made for a pretty good joke as, Holly told me they were only 2 days behind and that she would make sure it was shipped out that week. That didn't happen either. In fact she missed by 15 business days. I will not order from this place again. I'm also including the email from Holly. You...

I ordered a personal, engraved ring on December 11. I will take blame for somehow missing the notice about that being past the deadline for Christmas delivery. That was okay. I called and a gentleman explained that it would be delivered the first week of January. Totally fine. After the SECOND week of January rolls around, I called and was told it would be ready in “4 days”. I decided to pick up the item instead of having it shipped, due to the delay I had already experienced. I was told I would get a call in “4 days” to let me know the order was ready for pick up. At the time of that call, and after I asked for some sort of compensation for the delay, and my time that would be spent driving to the store, I was refunded 25%. A full week after that call and no update or call about my order, I called again. I asked to speak to the owner and was told she would call me back. After some conversation, I was informed an “artistic decision” was made to modify the engraving on my order. I was never called about the change or modification, despite specifically writing on my order “please call me with any questions”. I was rather perturbed at this point considering the delays, the lack of communication, and the fact that my design was modified without ever letting me know! I actually asked for a full refund. The owner said there was no way that was going to happen. She did, however, overnight ship the item to me to save me the 70 mile round trip drive.

I have now received the order and do think the ring is very pretty. I would have appreciated a call about the change in design prior to already designing it. I would have appreciated more updates via call or email about the repeated delay in my order. I’ll be honest, I 100% got the impression that the owner receives enough positive feedback that she truly could care less about a displeased customer, even though it was their fault. It was sad, really. I heard such great things about the company but was disappointed in the professionalism of the owner. I would say if you are ordering weeks in advance, this place will suit your needs. If you want an order in less than 5 weeks, pick one of the many other...

I ordered a necklace to be delivered internationally. Shipping was over $30 but i figured it was worth it (it was a Christmas gift). I ordered on 12/6 and figured like most personalized items ordered online, i'd see a mock up. There was no mock up. It finally shipped on 1/9 and was delivered on 1/21 with an additional fee of 40+ euro. Buyer beware. When you check out on their website they do not mention there might be additional fees based on delivery to certain countries. BUT, they do bury "we are not responsible for additional fees incurred by shipper" in their FAQs and are very aware of the issue when you call, saying it's "normal" for additional fees. When i called to see if they could help make it right, considering it was nearly two months late, they offered little to help...saying i could refuse the shipment and they could resend domestically (but it was already delivered). Sick to my stomach that i sent a Christmas gift to someone that delivered 2 months late and came with a 40 euro bill.

I have yet to see the necklace because it was sent as a gift to Ireland....and without seeing a mock up, i'm only assuming the names are spelled correct. At this point, i paid DOUBLE the price of the necklace.

HeidiJHale, you might want to mention the chance for additional fees on the shipping page of your online cart. Maybe suggest they reach out to the shipper for details. It would save a lot of heartache for many. Also, consider a better way to "make it right" so someone in the same situation walks away happy. Hopefully it doesn't constantly stir up memories of customer...