TERRIBLE AD experience! AG Jeweler, Bellevue, WA

[usmc_k9_vet]

Let me start by saying that I am truly shocked and I have never been treated so poorly in all of my life when it comes to any buying experience. I live near Bellevue, WA and there is a jeweler called Alvin Goldfarb. I had an appointment today to go look at a couple of Rolex watches. I am interested in a stainless steel model and they said they have a Sea-Dweller and a Deep Sea for me to look at. So I go there and am having a pleasant enough time talking to and dealing with a sales associate. Then the owner comes out and things pretty much immediately go south.

Now, let me also say that I understand and respect the incredibly strong brand that Rolex has become. The downside to this is that as a consumer, it takes a lot of fun out of the experience because, in my case, the moment the owner saw me and started talking to me, he was suspicious I was a flipper and treated me with incredible disrespect. There was no reason to believe this to be the case other than the fact that if you are interested in a stainless steel sports model and are a new customer (especially if you are somewhat young, which I am), you might be a flipper.

I assured him I was looking for a watch that I would wear on a daily basis and the Sea-Dweller really appealed to me. He asked me why I wanted it as it was basically the same looking as the Tag Heuer Aquaracer I was wearing (which he mistakenly called an Omega). I thought that was pretty weird as it started to sound like he was talking me out of a sale, not to mention the two watches are completely different animals and if I like the Sea-Dweller, what does he care if it looks similar to a watch I already have (which it really doesn't)? The way I see it, I've got money, and he sells a product that I want.

So anyway, he keeps cutting me off never letting me complete a sentence, and eventually asks me what my intention was of coming in today. I tell him that I was very interested in coming to see the Sea-Dweller and the Deep Sea (it was the black dial version) and wanted to potentially buy the Sea-Dweller. I then made the incredibly offensive mistake (in his view) of asking if there was any way we could talk about the price.

Now, I understand to sell Rolex they do not need to reduce the price and they can easily sell at MSRP. If I don't buy the watch, someone will in the next day or week. I get it, but here is my thing. Where is the fun in making a deal and developing a long-term relationship? When you go to buy a car, you work with a salesman, they help you, you help them, and hopefully everyone walks away with something they wanted and you want to go back to them to make another purchase in the future. Because Rolex is SO INCREDIBLY strong as a brand, this no longer exists. And this is the result:

The MOMENT I even mentioned price he cut me off again and forcefully stated "absolutely not. That is out of the question". I said ok, I just absolutely hate paying WA State sales tax. This was basically my way of trying to see if a discount was even a possibility, even though he had already rudely cut me off, but I wanted him to know my thought process and I was simply being honest. Again, cut off and then he asks me "why don't you like paying tax?" Umm.. Seriously? First of all, I didn't come in to have a discussion on my views regarding taxes. Second, who the hell does enjoy paying tax? When's the last time anyone tried to increase instead of decrease their taxes?

By this time, I was getting pretty frustrated. He then goes on to tell me that taxes pay for the road that I drove there on and then got so frustrated that he started walking to the door to unlock it and asked me to leave his store. I was literally being forced out of the store because he was so upset. I was completely calm throughout the entire interaction and really have no idea what I did to make him literally kick me out of his store.

I will never step foot in his store again. I have, thus far, been treated fairly and with respect at Ben Bridge Jeweler right down the road, so I will go there and direct everyone I possibly can to avoid Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler. The owner seems to have forgotten that he is simply a middle man. The only reason people are there is because Rolex sells their product through his store. I am really not sure what his problem is, and I feel sorry for his sales staff, as he literally did the opposite of what his job is. His job is to procure new business and keep existing business so that they can sell products and make their commission. It would be horrible to work for someone like that as I was fully ready today to pay for the Sea-Dweller and make it my first Rolex. I also plan to buy more Rolex in the future, and was hoping to develop a relationship there, but that's not going to happen at that location.

Anyway, just wanted to warn anyone who is in the same area as me. I left extremely angry and frustrated, but I'll still purchase the Rolex (and other) watches that appeal to me in the future, it just WILL NOT be from Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler.

Edit to add: You'd think that during this extremely difficult time in the world, and with the way the economy has been, businesses would be doing everything they can to accommodate clients, but apparently that is STILL not the case.