Aras Jewelers

Review: Dear

On November 30, 2013, I brought a woman's Citizen Eco-Drive watch in for a new band. At the time, **. Aras also pointed out that there was a small crack on the face that would continue to get worse if not fixed. He quoted me a charge of $45 to replace the face, which I agreed to. On December 14, 2013, I picked up the repaired watch. Two weeks later, on December 28th, my wife was walking outside and the repaired face dropped off the watch and broke when it landed on the pavement. I was watching my wife when this happened. There is NO POSSIBILITY that she banged it or scratched it against something to cause it to pop off. We were in our driveway when it happened.

I immediately took the watch to Aras Jewelers to ask for a replacement. Seeing as though there had only been two weeks elapse since it was fixed, I assumed Aras Jewelers would fix it at no charge to me. I was instantly greeted with skepticism by [redacted], one of the workers there who immediately told me "This doesn't happen (with these repairs). The face looks scratched and damaged." She examined it with a eyeglass microscope. I replied with, "No, the face popped out of the watch through no fault of our own. I would like for the watch face to be replaced."

I left it there for **. Aras (the owner) to inspect upon his arrival. I was called a couple hours later by [redacted], who informed me that I would be charged $20 if I wanted it repaired again. I said that outcome was unacceptable since only 2 weeks prior to this incident it was supposed to have been fixed. When I asked to speak to the manager, **. Aras got on the phone and proceeded to tell me his version of what happened...that my wife knocked it against something and it popped out. He was VERY argumentative with me and accused me lying.

When I returned to the store 20 minutes after speaking to **. Aras, he tried to show me a "new scratch" on the face of the watch that indicates my wife was responsible. I replied by pointing out that the initial crack in the face of the watch was in the same spot. He did not believe me and argued with me in front of other staff and his own customers. He claimed he "remembered" that scratch was not there. My wife has worn this thing maybe three times in the previous two weeks.

Then, one of his staff members then raised his voice and claimed "It's like when you get new tires and drive down the road and hit a nail. Get a new watch." I responded in a calm voice (in front of other customers), "Why are you yelling at me?"

I was polite to them, but obviously frustrated that they would not consider paying in full for the fix. I do not feel I should pay one more dime to that business given how I have been treated. Not only were they extremely rude and raised their voices at me as I was trying to talk, but they mocked me...**. Aras raised his hand over his eyes and said "Here's what you are doing. You are demanding payment and cannot see anything because you have blinders on."

This is not the first incident I've had with Aras Jewelers either. On the same day, I also brought in another Pulsar watch of my wife's. I asked **. Aras to check the battery since it did not appear to work. But I also cautioned him that I replaced the battery 18 months prior and it has not worked. I requested that he check to see if there was anything else wrong. He fixed the battery and claimed that was the cause of it not working. Less than 20 minutes after leaving the store, the Pulsar watch did not work. I brought it back immediately. They claimed it needed cleaning and the battery was not the problem. They refused a refund since the battery had been replaced.

I guess I should have known they were not a reputable business after the Pulsar fiasco. But I let that incident go. Shame on me. The bottom line is that their customer service was the worst display I have ever seen in my life!!! This is the first time I've ever written to the Revdex.com to complain, so I am not a serial whiner seeking compensation for everything. But I saw the Revdex.com sticker on their door and a "Refund Policy" hanging behind the cash register and was amazed at how much were ignoring any sort of customer service standards. They treated me like a liar over a $45 watch face ($20 to fix it), which is insulting and petty.

I hope the Revdex.com will fully investigate the matter. I was not treated with any respect and was denied a refund or repair. I feel wronged by Aras Jewelers.

Sincerely, [redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the $47.70 that I paid for the watch face to be fixed.

Business

Response:

• A customer presented a lady’s watch with a crack in the crystal(missing portion of the crystal) and was given an estimate of $45.00 to replace the crystal with a new crystal.

• The customer approved the estimate, and authorized the repair.

• The watch crystal was replaced by a certified watch specialist and tested.

• The watch was checked, accepted, picked up, and paid for by the customer.

• The customer returned after 2 weeks with the watch and a broken crystal and wanted another new crystal for the watch installed. Upon inspection of the watch and crystal, there was a dent in the bezel that surrounds the crystal which was not present before. This new damage appeared to be the cause for the broken crystal.

• Aras Jewelers pointed out the new damage to the customer and offered to replace the crystal of the watch again, and considering the circumstances, at a discounted price of $20.00.

• The customer questioned the price, stating that he was sure that his wife had not damaged the watch and that the new crystal be installed at no cost to him.

• Aras Jewelers used a magnifier to show the customer the dent in the watch that was not present when the watch crystal was replaced. The dent appeared to be the result of an impact.

• The customer again denied that any impact had occurred, accused Aras Jewelers of calling him a liar, and

demanded that the watch be repaired again at no cost to him.

• The owner of Aras Jewelers then offered to further reduce the discounted price of $20.00, stating that repairing the watch at no charge to the customer would not be fair to the merchant.

• The customer remained upset, and wanted more of an explanation, including a cost breakdown. He asked why it was $45.00 the first time and then only $20.00 the second time, etc.

• The customer asked for the repair to be done for $5.00, the owner of Aras Jewelers denied his request, and the customer left the store with the watch and broken crystal. Upon leaving the store he stated that he was filing a complaint to the Revdex.com.

Aras Jewelers believes the above to be an accurate account of the facts concerned in this complaint.

On a previous occasion, this very same customer had a battery replaced on a different watch, at the price of $10.00. As it turned out, the battery was only part of the problem so the customer returned to the store demanding a refund for the battery he paid $10.00 for because it did not last very long. Aras Jewelers offered to inspect and evaluate the watch to determine a cause and rectify it if possible, otherwise agreeing to refund the $10.00. A thorough inspection and cleaning of the contact points inside the watch was performed at no charge to customer. The watch was tested on several occasions for several days and was found to be fully functional after this inspection and cleaning.

The customer was notified by telephone. He retrieved the watch and thanked Aras Jewelers. Aras Jewelers went out of their way to satisfy the customer in the interest of maintaining good relations.

Aras jewelers served to public for 26 Years with no complaints .

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

January 22, 2014

Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC &

Eastern Pennsylvania (Washington, DC)

1411 K St. NW, 10th Floor

Washington, DC 20005-3404

Claim #: [redacted]

Dear

**. [redacted]’s response to my complaint was incorrect and

insulting. Not only is there no offer to

settle this complaint contained in his response, but **. [redacted]’s presumption to

know that that my wife created “new damage” to her watch after he was repeatedly

told that this was false shows his thorough distrust of his paying customers. This behavior is offensive.

**. [redacted]’s claims, “Upon inspection of the watch and crystal, there

was a dent in the bezel that surrounds the crystal which was not present

before. This new damage appeared to be the cause for the broken crystal.”

These statements are simply untrue.

When I entered the store the 2nd time on December

28th, **. [redacted] showed me what he believed was new damage. Only the “new damage” was IN THE EXACT SAME LOCATION AS THE PRIOR

STRIKE ON THE BEZEL JUST BELOW THE NUMBER 3. This was precisely the same location as the

crack in the previous quartz face that led to the fix in the first place.

There was no newly inflicted damage to the watch face or the

bezel done by my wife’s usage since there was so little usage in the two weeks

since the watch was supposed to have been repaired. The Pulsar woman’s watch that Aras Jewelers

fixed initially was repaired around the same time as the Citizen watch. The Pulsar watch was the timepiece that my

wife wore exclusively since the Citizen watch was with Aras Jewelers for repair

for several days. She continued to wear

the Pulsar watch even after the Citizen was returned to us. Therefore, my wife was not wearing the

Citizen watch in the two weeks since it was allegedly fixed. She did not have the opportunity to make new

damage to the bezel. The face popped out

through no fault of her own when walking out of our house on December 28th. Period.

That is the truth.

The repair was allegedly done to replace the quartz face of

a women’s Citizen Eco-Drive watch. Had

it been repaired properly, this allegedly high-quality face should not have

popped out within a matter of two weeks.

**. [redacted] offered to repair the watch for $10.00. I did not want to pay any more money since I

believed the watch should have repaired correctly the first time. However, I offered to split that and pay him

$5.00 for the repair. **. [redacted] scoffed

at my offer and continued to insult me by saying in a mocking tone, “No, no,

no....you push and push and push.”

What am I “pushing”, **. [redacted]? For a business owner such as yourself to

honor sound business practices? For you

to follow the guidelines of your return policy?

For you to believe your customers are being truthful? Well, I’m sorry for being such a nag, but

this is how most other merchants treat me and would be what the RevDex.com expects of you.

Your claim that you have never had a complaint in 26 years

of doing business is not relevant. You

are wrong in this case and have insulted your customer.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Aras Jewelers showed the customers the new dent on the metal watch frame with a 10x Jeweler’s loupe. Customer saw the dent for the first time. Customer still asked for a free replacement.

His answer: Since it was 2 weeks she has used it 3 times and I was with her all the time.

It takes a split second to break a crystal. How many times customer has used the watch is not relevant.

The impact was very forceful and it created heavy dent/scratch, resulting bending of metal frame towards the watch crystal . This dent was not there originally.

Original breakage and scratch of the crystal was 11 o’clock position of the dial.

It had direct hit on the crystal and there was no dent at the 3 o’clock position of the dial.

Since only 2 weeks had passed, Aras Jeweler’s watchmaker and the Mr. Aras remembered the location

of the break on the original watch crystal.

Aras jeweler's watchmaker recommended removing the small spur in order to install a new crystal .

Cost of the crystal to Aras jewelers is $20.00. An offer was made to split cost of the crystal for $10.00.

This was done only to maintain good relations with the customer.

Customer left the store offering $5.00.

Aras [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: