When Northern Lights Fail To Sparkle

Grimsby, a city on the Eastern coast of the UK has several major claims to fame. It is, apparently the ‘Frozen Food Capital of Europe’. The world’s first fish finger was produced in Grimsby. It’s also home to country’s worst league soccer team (OK that’s not official - but should be). And finally, Elton John sang about ‘Grimsby’ on his 1974 album ‘Caribou. “Oh oh Grimsby, a thousand delights, Couldn't match the sweet sights, Of my Grimsby, Oh England you're fair, But there’s none to compare with my Grimsby.” Anyone who’s ever visited this town will probably disagree with these lyrics, but it did, for a short time, shoot the city to international fame.

But we weren’t here to sing the praises of the fishing port. We were here to find out just how a typical industrial city fares in the jewelry buying stakes. Why Grimsby? You may ask. No reason. It’s just the most unlikely place you would think of to do an undercover jewelry shop, mainly because it is so incredibly ordinary.

The city contains the usual grouping of ubiquitous high street jewelers along with a tiny smattering of higher-end independents. The first noticeable difference amongst them was that of the window displays. Two of the three independents had clear, spacious and attractive product displays in the windows. None of the major chains were following that route. While all products were displayed according to category there was so much candy bombarding a browser that nothing really caught the eye.

The first independent visited had, somewhat curiously, the reputation of being the ‘best’ in town. Brands such as Chimiento, Stephen Webster and Mont Blanc were featured prominently. According to the manager of the store, Stephen Webster pieces were ‘flying’ out. “In fact,” he explained “we’re preparing a selection now.” “Can I see them?” I asked. “Sorry, we’re really busy today, perhaps you should come back after the holidays and look.” Was he turning me away? Apparently so. We had yet to talk about what I was looking for or why I was there. But, it appeared that I obviously didn’t ‘fit’ into the category of ‘serious buyer’ and time was not to be wasted on me. It was embarrassing, I felt humiliated. Revenge was to be taken. He then turned his back and walked away.

I was furious. His last comment was loud enough for everyone in the store to hear. Perhaps a less than subtle indication to the sales staff that their attention should go elsewhere. If a retailer really feels that someone in their store is just a time waster, then surely there’s better ways to convey this to staff. A subtle ear-scratch would have been better.

As most of you know though, word of mouth is the best and worst marketing tool there is. In this case, I related the experience at a dinner party that evening to family and friends. Almost all of whom uttered vows (drunk or not), never to visit that store. This included a twice-married cousin who was busy shopping for his third engagement ring. I may have not been a ‘serious’ buyer, but he was and this little episode just lost them several sales – I hope.

The other two independents were rather ‘generic’ in all respects. Window displays weren’t bad or great. Rather boring in fact. Both were located next to high-end boutiques, which seemed a lot more appealing than the jewelers. Strange when you consider the price of a jacket in the boutiques was comparable to many of the bracelets and pendants displayed in their windows. Yet, it was so much more enticing to enter the clothes store than the rather dark and foreboding jewelers that neighbored them. Inside the store, pieces were clumped together defying logic or reason. Why diamond tennis bracelets need to be placed together with chandelier gold earrings is a conundrum I would be thrilled to find the answer to.

Sales staff at both stores seemed less than enthusiastic about their job. As long as I specified exactly what I wanted they could cope. The minute I asked for a suggestion about a gift for my mother, the problems started. One quite candidly explained that she had just been there a week and was ‘in’ just for the seasonal overflow. No, she didn’t really know what the store had in, but if I could wait until her boss was free then he could help. It left me wondering what exactly she was doing all day. As far as I could see from the minutes I was in the store, not much.

The second store fared somewhat better. But again the salespeople’s lack of knowledge about the products carried in the store was a huge disappointment. I was shown a diamond pendant, that I was told, had a unique cut. I asked what was a unique cut. The sales person explained that diamonds are cut into different shapes, like square, oval, round and ‘fancy’. Obviously I wanted to know what she meant by ‘fancy’. Her response, “fancier shapes than round or square.” Well, that cleared that up. For some strange reason, neither store carried brands in the window, yet inside, in the depths of the store, several well-known brands were advertised. Again, neither sales associate knew much about the brands and when I asked about them, it was always the department of someone else.

All in all, the situation was pretty much as expected. No worse, no better than any city anywhere else in the world. At least that should be some consolation to jewelers the world over. You’re not alone.