Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 02:49:19 -0400
To: raylc@tradeshop.com
From: Louis Lanier
Subject: Great Job Guys!
Ray and Company,
Thank you for the fantastic job you all did on my ring. I demanded nothing
less than exceptional quality and style, and you over-delivered!
I was a demanding, even anal customer from the very beginning. I found
Tradeshop while looking for the perfect emerald-cut diamond and promptly had
Duane scrambling to meet my specs. He was very efficient and delivered a
certificate with numbers rivaled by only one other diamond I had found. I
should mention that I had no less than 20 diamond dealers in the US, Canada,
Israel, and Europe searching at one point, and I looked at dozens (I have an
enormous stack of certs).
I bought Duane's diamond and , after a 9-hour drive, did a side-by-side
comparison with its rival, which I had found in DC. The rival won, and I
decided to return Duane's diamond.
Now, you are probably wondering why I mentioned this. To be quite candid, I
wasn't very keen about having to dis' the guys who were going to make my
ring. I knew it was all part of the business, but I had encountered several
witless jerks in my diamond search and was somewhat concerned. My fears
were never realized, as the guys at Tradeshop were uncommonly gracious.
Believe me, it is not an insignificant thing to be able to trust the person
holding the most important 1.12 carat decision you'll ever make.
After spending 3 months finding the diamond, I was concerned that I wouldn't
be able to do it justice with a proper mounting, and I shared this concern
with Ray. So, he had at least two problems with which to contend at the
onset: 1) I didn't know exactly what I wanted, and 2) I was having trouble
communicating the one or two fundamental things I did want.
It became evident, however, that Ray had dealt with my sort before, and he
patiently listened as I called back over and over with new thoughts. As it
turned out, not many of those thoughts stood the test of a good 24 hours
reflection, but he listened anyway. In hindsight, I can see that these
episodes were not in vain, because they allowed Ray a glimpse of my tastes.
This may seem trivial, but after spending hours and hours staring at other
people's projects, it is obvious to me that prefernces come in many flavors.
Ray loves them all, but I don't, and this could have been a problem had he
not spent that extra time deciphering my brand of nonsense.
Then, something caught my eye. We talked and decided to proceed with Plan
A. The pictures of the Plan A result were not quite what I had in mind
(again, I'm picky), so Ray sent the ring to me for an up-close evaluation.
It was close, but no cigar, and so we decided to scrap it and start over.
Ray charged me about A QUARTER of what I expected for the abandoned project,
and he shipped it for FREE. It was obvious that he was not out to make as
much money as he could. This is unfortunately rare, and I certainly
appreciated it.
This time we decided to go custom. We talked at each step in the process
about options and modifications, and I learned to value his opinions. The
end result is exceptionally nice and exceeds all of my expectations! I
can't imagine having created something so nice without the help of folks
like those at Tradeshop, and it seems their formula is hard to find, if not
unique.
I recognized from the beginning the potential for successful, cooperative
endeavors between individuals 2500 miles apart via the internet. I even saw
the system that Tradeshop had employed for such endeavors, yet I remained
slightly skeptical. I wasn't sure that things would be done the way I
thought they should be done (obviously, the best way) in order to realize
that potential. I was pleasantly surprised, and perhaps the highest
compliment that I can give is to say that Tradeshop conducted our business
the way I would have chosen for them to do so.
One last thing... The price was simply icing on the cake.
Thanks for the experience guys.
Louis Lanier
Seneca, SC
P.S. I'll be back for the wedding band, the 50th anniversary ring, and
anything important in between!
Now, you are probably wondering why I mentioned this. To be quite candid, I
wasn't very keen about having to dis' the guys who were going to make my
ring. I knew it was all part of the business, but I had encountered several
witless jerks in my diamond search and was somewhat concerned. My fears
were never realized, as the guys at Tradeshop were uncommonly gracious.
Believe me, it is not an insignificant thing to be able to trust the person
holding the most important 1.12 carat decision you'll ever make.
It became evident, however, that Ray had dealt with my sort before, and he
patiently listened as I called back over and over with new thoughts. As it
turned out, not many of those thoughts stood the test of a good 24 hours
reflection, but he listened anyway. In hindsight, I can see that these
episodes were not in vain, because they allowed Ray a glimpse of my tastes.
This may seem trivial, but after spending hours and hours staring at other
people's projects, it is obvious to me that prefernces come in many flavors.
Ray loves them all, but I don't, and this could have been a problem had he
not spent that extra time deciphering my brand of nonsense.
Then, something caught my eye. We talked and decided to proceed with Plan
A. The pictures of the Plan A result were not quite what I had in mind
(again, I'm picky), so Ray sent the ring to me for an up-close evaluation.
It was close, but no cigar, and so we decided to scrap it and start over.
Ray charged me about A QUARTER of what I expected for the abandoned project,
and he shipped it for FREE. It was obvious that he was not out to make as
much money as he could. This is unfortunately rare, and I certainly
appreciated it.