Category: | Jeweler |
Address: | 11 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60602, USA |
Phone: | +1 312-855-4999 |
Site: | nyjchicago.com |
Rating: | 4.4 |
Working: | 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5PM Closed |
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Karson Barnes
Several months ago I was visiting in Chicago for the weekend and decided to check out some local jewelry stores to look at watches and my sister and brother in law came along. As a watchmaker and collector, Ive been to several jewelry stores and dealt with people in the field even in the Chicago area. Usually when someone learns what I do they are happy to talk with me about it and open up to share their experiences as I am happy to learn about them. Immediately upon entering their second floor where the watches are we saw some 5 employees huddled together talking and they look up at me as if we were intruding upon their conversation they wanted to have privately. After turning the corner and seeking out an employee I was greeted. I started looking at some watches as he followed me around and we started talking a little and I told him I was a watchmaker and was in town visiting. His mind seemed to wonder as he didnt seem fully engaged in our interaction. As asked to see a few watches and admired them and talked showed them to my sister and her husband. When I asked to see a third watch he sharply asked "What exactly are you looking at with these watches?" I replied "I just want to see them and show them (my sister and her husband) some higher end watches..." He rolled his eyes and and said "Ahh..." followed by an awkward silence. My sister and I looked at each other immediately realizing we were no longer welcome there. I thanked him for his time and we left. Of all the jewelry stores Ive ever visited I have always been treated with respect and the employees have ALWAYS been willing to talk about our common love of watches even if they know I wont be buying an $80,000 Patek any time soon. (Side note: everyone at Tourneu in the water tower is amazing- helpful, nice, passionate, and knowledgeable! My favorite place to visit in Chicago!) Its one thing to be treated like a second class customer if they are busy and had other customers, but there was only one other couple in there and they were being helped...plus they had the group of employees near the entrance. The other point is that you never know if at some point in time that customer WILL be able to afford that Patek and if you treat them like they are a waste of energy and time then when and if the customer can afford that watch they will certainly not come back to you. Long story short...because I was treated like that by their employee Ill always be hesitant to do business with them in the future - be it personal or professional.
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Eugene Voloshin
Stopped by New York Jewelers and saw a pre-owned Panerai that I have been searching for, for quite sometime. Started negotiating a price on the watch and a trade-in value on my old watch. The sales guy mentioned that they would need my extra band and the box as part of the trade-in. Before leaving the store, I presented my offer to sales person and asked if the price that would work for both of us if I brought the band and box the next day as part of the trade-in. Sales guy said "if you come back with the box will work something out and you will be happy." Next day wake up super early and head to the city with the box to buy the watch. Get to the store and the sales guys tells me that his sales manager that they can only come within a $100 dollars of what we talked about the day before. Angry and frustrated I took my watch and left. I dealt with many high end jewelry stores in the loop and suburbs over the years but never had such a horrible experience with a "high end" jewelry store. Its not about the $100 dollars that made me leave without purchasing the watch but the principal. It sounded like we agreed on the price a day before just to be skimmed over a $100 on a watch that costs thousands($4,200). Just boggles my mind that they would lose a sale and lose a future returning customer over such a small amount. Felt like I was at a shady used car dealership and they tried to pull any shady tactic to make an extra buck. Guess the moral of the story, if you are in the market for a high end watch just do yourself a favor and go to Geneva Seal a couple of blocks away where they care about building a long term relationship with their customer and not pull a shady tactic to get an extra buck out of you.
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A Private User
Had a great experience. As I bounced from jeweler to jeweler downtown, I kept getting icky vibes about the people I was dealing with. I walked into New York Jewelers with very little hope for a change, but was pleasantly surprised when I was paired up with and started getting to know Mike. Mike was patient with me -- not an "Im on commission" patience, but a "This is a huge decision" patience. We must have looked through hundreds of settings. He genuinely cared about keeping me under budget, and when I started looking at platinum, he was quick to warn me about the price. Mike also reminded me that "In the end, its whatevers best for you, and if thats not with us, so be it." He even went so far as to encourage me to have fun in picking the ring out. For a young, nervous guy, that was huge. Finally, when it came to decision time, the ideal ring was out of my price range. Mike talked to the manager, advocated for me, and was able to bring the price down just enough to where I felt comfortable going a little over budget -- a decision that was not pushed on me, but one I made for myself. My fiances friends cant believe I picked the ring out on my own. Went back a week later for a free, same-day resizing and polish... felt like royalty. Ask for Mike.
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A Private User
All of the following is my opinion and viewpoint and therefore part of my 1st amendment right. I wrote the preceding because this establishment seems like the type that would like to try and sue dissenters for libel. Took my wife to look at a watch and valeted our car. They did not have the watch we wanted in stock. We asked for our parking to be validated, and an ugly lady w ganky teeth said they dont validate for people who just come in and walk around, which we did not do. I asked for the manager and some jokester, standing about 4 feet 3 inches tall refused to help me and just rambled aimlessly. I had spent thousands of dollars in the past on wedding bands and diamond earrings for my wife at this place, but apparently that did not matter in the least. As we were waiting for our car, the little mgr came out and kept bothering and insulting us because I had walked out on him. This place is overpriced and is likely NOT authorized to sell many of the watches they sell. If looking for watches, go elsewhere. This place SUCKS and has lost my business forever.
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Alan Candelma
What an amazing group of staff! We walked in just to look around and immediately made a great connection with the manager, Mike. We admired his passion for great service, along with his amazing enthusiasm. His knowledge and honesty about their products was unrivalled. The main thing we admired was his respect for us, being just just a couple tourists looking around... Yet, he made us feel so important, whether we were making a small or a big purchase. After finding something we liked, we decided to shop around more at competing retailers. However, we were drawn back to Mike for the reasons mentioned above and ended up leaving with a beautiful piece that we love. This type of attention to customer service, great product knowledge and an ability to connect with his customers in a personal way is the reason why these 2 Canadians will come back to Chicago! Thank you again to Mike and his team!!! 10 stars!