I did a luxury watch shop and am stressing. The shop has an online inquiry, in-store visit, and follow-up. The shop was assigned to me early last week. I planned on doing the in-person visit Friday or Saturday. The due date was Saturday, and since the follow-up wait is 6 days for salesperson follow-up, I figured the final drop-dead date would be this week. (No matter what, I couldn't have started and finished it by Saturday given the 2-day and the 6-day waits.)

I did the in-person shop today. I started out to do it yesterday but got caught in traffic and wouldn't have made it to the store before they closed. I was late doing this part of the shop because I mistakenly assumed (and you know what happens when you do that) this jeweler would respond to the inquiry, and I could go to the store by the due date. They didn't, so I had to wait the required 48 business hours (which the MSC states as Mon. through Fri.).

I've filled out each section of the survey and saved it as I've completed it, and I emailed the scheduler to let her know that due to the 48-hour mandatory wait, I couldn't do the in-person visit by Saturday. I had also emailed her earlier with a question about the shop. I've never received a reply from her, and the shop is now overdue. The MSC emailed me today saying I had to complete and submit the shop today, or they'd pull it from me. Their email said to let them know if I couldn't complete it, but this is the company infamous for not having any way to contact them. I again emailed the scheduler to let her know that I've done everything and entered the information, but can't submit the survey without waiting for the follow-up period. Since the salesperson didn't ask for my contact information, I assume I won't get a follow-up--but I'm not going to answer "no" to that question until the waiting period is over.

I still haven't heard back from the scheduler (who is one I've worked with before and have not had this problem before). The shop showed yesterday as "working" in my log--but I'm worried it'll be yanked from me.

The delay in the in-person visit was my fault, but because of the lengthy overall time frame, I had hoped that as long as I kept the scheduler informed, I'd be OK. I've always found that to be the case, unless there's a very critical deadline.

Has anybody done this shop, and is the final due date the original date in your log, or out to the 6-day follow-up period? I think this shop started out snake-bit, and it's been one thing after another....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2021 12:39AM by BirdyC.

I have done this shop, but it was a few years ago. I stopped shopping it, because the pay was not enough for the 3-shops-in-1 scenario.

I did the one where you only have to visit the store once. It was the same store, and based on how the first shop went, I really thought they'd follow up on the initial inquiry. My mistake.

If this had gone the way it should have, it would have been worth the current fee. But with all the time I've spent emailing the scheduler, with no reply, it looks like it might be a total bust.

Here's what I would do..Since they didn't ask for your contact info, I'd go ahead and enter the report and say "NO" to the contact question. If there's a place for an explanation, I would go into detail about what transpired there.

@MsJudi wrote:

Here's what I would do..Since they didn't ask for your contact info, I'd go ahead and enter the report and say "NO" to the contact question. If there's a place for an explanation, I would go into detail about what transpired there.

Thank you!

I thought about that, but there's not a place for extra comments. However, I did explain in my summary that they salesperson didn't ask for my contact information and also explained that to the scheduler in my email, asking if I should go ahead and answer "no" and submit the survey.

I suppose there's an off chance that the salesperson will try to find my contact information from the original inquiry, but I doubt it. I was really enthusiastic about this watch (would love to have it if I could afford it), so you'd think maybe she might want to follow up. But maybe this is one of those places whose policy is to not "chase" customers because the brand sells itself.

@AZwolfman wrote:

I have done this shop, but it was a few years ago. I stopped shopping it, because the pay was not enough for the 3-shops-in-1 scenario.

I almost took one of these shops last week, but looked at the one I could have taken and it was for a male only....wondered just how much trouble it would be....glad I didn't get wrapped up in it....

@newgenesisconnection wrote:

I almost took one of these shops last week, but looked at the one I could have taken and it was for a male only....wondered just how much trouble it would be....glad I didn't get wrapped up in it....

Actually, for the fee it's not a hassle, as long as you're comfortable with capturing screen shots and are a decent typist (if there are multiple communications back and forth). I don't think it would take more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours total, excluding drive time but including report time. And depending on how long-winded your salesperson is.

You have to be clear about what the time frames are for each part of the shop and plan accordingly. My shop was problematic mostly due to my own delay in making the first inquiry (because I assumed they'd respond to my inquiry, which they didn't). If there were another one around here for a female shopper, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The one that is done with the follow-up post in store visit they've had me submit the report for the in-store visit and then assign me a separate report to do the follow-up or the scheduler will email you and ask you if you received any follow-ups. So you should go ahead and submit the report for the on-site visit immediately.

I'm assuming you're doing this for the international msc?

@foodluvr wrote:

The one that is done with the follow-up post in store visit they've had me submit the report for the in-store visit and then assign me a separate report to do the follow-up or the scheduler will email you and ask you if you received any follow-ups. So you should go ahead and submit the report for the on-site visit immediately.

I'm assuming you're doing this for the international msc?

I tried to submit the survey after the in-store visit, but the system wouldn't allow me to submit it without that question answered. My understanding was that the shop was set up so that you could/should submit each portion as you did it, but I couldn't do that. I assume some technical issue, or maybe they have the automated system set up so that you must complete all the questions by a certain date after accepting the shop--which assumes a lot!

In any event, I responded to the follow-up question and submitted the report. We'll see if it gets kicked back. But it's SO frustrating to email a scheduler and not receive any reply after several follow-ups! Yes, it's the international MSC; even though I didn't name either the client or the MSC here, I figured if I named one or the other, people could figure it out.

The last time I did this, it was for a different MSC, but the same location. They did not ask for my contact info at the store. Let us know if you find an answer.