My Customer Service Experience at Jared

My husband and I have been customers of Jared Jewelers for more than 10 years and during that time we've spent close to $20,000. Now that may not be a lot in comparison to others but, nonetheless, our hard earned dollars have gone there.

Today I went to Jared to find a birthday gift for my daughter. I walked into the store. No one greeted me. Then I walked over to the jewelry repair center. I figured since I was in the store I might as well have my platinum engagement and wedding rings cleaned. An employee walked over but said nothing. I finally spoke up and said, "I know you see me standing here." She said she did but she was assisting another customer. My response to that was, "You may be helping another customer but that shouldn't stop you from greeting me." She immediately went to find someone to assist me.

A woman, identified as Amy, came over. She had just finished wiping her nose. I wasn't about to shake her hand and I didn't want to give her my rings to be cleaned. I told her what I wanted. She said she would help me. She asked me was it time for my rings to be inspected. I told her I wasn't sure. I expected her to ask for my name and go look it up in their records. She did not. As a courtesy service, Jared does an annual inspection of your jewelry to make sure the diamond is set correctly, among other things. That courtesy was not extended to me. STRIKE ONE.

I gave Amy my rings reluctantly. I thought she would give them to someone else to be cleaned while she assisted me. Instead she left and came back in less than a minute claiming she had cleaned them personally. There were definitely NOT cleaned because her hands were not clean. STRIKE TWO.

After paying for my daughter's gift, I asked to speak to the manager. Mark Swink came over. I told him I thought my good customer service experience was lacking at Jared and he should know about it. After listening to me for about three minutes, he thanked me and shook my hand but never apologized for my bad experience. I expected him to at least acknowledge my feelings. STRIKE THREE.

Now at this point of the story, it would be easy to throw out the race card and say I didn't get good customer service because I was black in a store surrounded by a sea of white customers. I don't know for sure if that was the case but I am inclined to believe that. Or perhaps it was because I left with one small bag and spent less than $200. But whatever the case, Jared has now joined Kroger on my BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE list.

So what do you think? Do whites get better customer service than blacks or are there other factors that could come into play?

Nelson Mandela Inspired the Baby Boomer Generation

When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1978 I was a junior at Ohio University. As a young,politically conscious activist, I joined many college students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from South Africa. We wanted our institutions to cease investing in companies that traded or had operations in South Africa. We were outraged at what was going on in South Africa with apartheid. The way blacks were being treated there was reminiscent of the way our own parents and grandparents had been treated here under the so-called "Jim Crow" laws.

Protests were held at many universities. As a result of these organized "divestment campaigns", the boards of trustees of several universities voted to divest completely from South Africa and companies with major South African interests. Hampshire College was the first in the nation to divest from apartheid South Africa. They were joined by the University of Massachusetts, Tufts University, Smith College, the University of Wisconsin, Ohio University, Amherst College and Antioch College. But the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, was when the University of California authorized the withdrawal of three billion dollars worth of investments from the apartheid state. Nelson Mandela stated his belief that the University of California's massive divestment was particularly significant in abolishing white-minority rule in South Africa.

Today as I reflect on the life of Nelson Mandela, I am reminded that one person can truly make a difference and inspire an entire generation.