You’ve seen the film right? Vivian, played by Hollywood star Julia Roberts, visits a boutique store on Rodeo Drive with a loaded credit card to transform herself with some new clothes. The attendant looks down her nose at Vivian and declares ‘It’s VERY expensive!’, suggests she leaves, and reduces our heroine to tears.
Fiction right? Well sadly not.
I’ve recently taken semi-retirement and decided to consider a purchase of a Rolex watch. I do like a nice watch but up until now a Rolex has not been an option. However, leaving a large corporate with a handsome redundancy package meant maybe it wasn’t just a distant dream, and with support from my wife, we decided to pop into Michael Spiers Jewellers in Exeter.
I had phoned ahead and was promised a warm welcome and even a glass of champers was mentioned. Lovely we thought, makes a change from Asda!
So, we duly arrived at Michael Spiers Jewellers in Cathedral Yard, Exeter, and the promised warm welcome was decidedly chilly – despite being August. No champers, not even a cup of tea, and after filling in a form that was thrust under my nose to ‘register my interest’, I felt decidedly like a male Vivian who was not worthy for their store, and we were both ushered out. To say I was disappointed that this brief interlude into the World of the wealthy didn’t materialise is an understatement.
A new Rolex, so I’ve found out, is a very rare thing to come across indeed. The Michael Spiers assistant indicated a potential wait to Christmas 2019 at least. She also mentioned that existing customers get preference and when I asked does that mean I may never reach the top of the list, and how do I become a customer if you refuse to let me, I never really got an answer.
That was August 2019, over 2 years ago. Communication from Michael Spiers Jewellers has been sporadic at best since and never proactive. Messages left for the Rolex Manager to ring me back have been left unanswered. I did finally succeed in receiving an email reply eventually after sending a request for an update on the 1st June, a chasing email on the 2nd July, and finally a phone call on the 23rd July. The reply from The Group Rolex Manager arrived on the 23rd July 2021. The final sentence told me what I had already guessed:
“We do want to be open and honest with you and that is to say that as a first timepiece from us this will be a challenge to supply.”
SO, in other words. “VERY expensive!” But, they only now want to be ‘open and honest‘ after leading me on for 2 years and being everything but.
However …..
In the meantime and in frustration to their seemingly pompous attitude, I had decided to shop around. An acquaintance of mine is a Rolex collector, who purchases his watches from Goldsmiths Jewellers in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. So I made an enquiry. Explained the situation to a very nice gentleman called Mark, and asked could I complete the registration form remotely to avoid the 185 mile round trip. He kindly agreed and this morning I have become the proud owner of a Rolex watch, and who knows what else ;-).
The difference in customer service between the two companies couldn’t have been wider. Mark kept me informed and even highlighted the watch I was interested in had been superseeded by a new variant and would I like to go for that instead? Nothing from Michael Spiers surprise surprise.
In the meantime, I am still (I think but who knows!) on the Michael Spiers Rolex waiting list, although suspect my registration form was probably ‘filed’ in the bin as I left the store. I’m not holding my breath.
Michael Spiers website currently proudly states: “At Michael Spiers we love to help you make memories that you can cherish forever”. Well they’ve certainly ticked that box as I definitely have a memory that I will cherish forever!! Big mistake. Big. HUGE!
So, if you are in the market for a nice piece of jewellery, or maybe an up-market watch, don’t be patronised by Michael Spiers. Instead speak to the lovely Mark at Goldsmiths in Cribbs Causeway and tell him I sent you.
Words and pictures 