My ring is from Kay. So not Jared’s, but close. I’m also in the U.S., but not sure how different things are. I haven’t had it for very long, but here has been my experience so far:
It’s pretty, I love it, it’s the ring I wanted, and Kay was the one to have it. The end.
Fiance spend the extra $100-ish to get the warranty, so all resizing is free (I’m psychotic about that, and paranoid my hands will change size), plus if the diamond is lost or whatever, they should replace it with an equal value stone. I do have to take it in every 6 months to get cleaned and inspected, but no big deal, because Kay is freaking everywhere, and I have earrings that have the same policy. Plus then it’s super shiny again!
Which is nice, because I’m not sure where we’ll be living in x number of years. I see us moving around a lot, at least at first, and it’s nice to know that I don’t have to go through some painstaking search to find a jeweler I like or will work with me and be held liable.
I’ve only had to get my ring resized, but it only took 6 days. OK, local stores might be able to beat that, but those few extra days won’t kill me. Because of my job, there are days I don’t wear my ring anyways- I’m probably going to get a “stand-in” which could then work if I had to get anything adjusted anyways.
Now granted, I haven’t had issues. I’ve heard of horror stories of diamonds coming lose, rings getting banged up, and Kay won’t do anything. Of course, if you read further into a lot of these complaints, they make some off-hand remark about how it was “only” 4 months past the last time they were supposed to get the inspection. Um, sorry, but that’s their fault. Obviously there are legitimate issues, but I’m not sure if they really exceed local stores either.
Customer service… I prefer Kay over the couple of local jewelers I’ve been to, which I know is contrary to what most people will say. Here’s why: I’m blown off at local jewelers so easily. I wear jeans and t-shirts a lot when I’m shopping, and I look younger than I am. For whatever reason, I feel like sometimes they look down on me and assume I have no money to buy anything. I go into a local jeweler, usually to buy a charm or something for my Mom, and get a ton of evil-eye and backhand comments when I ask if I can look at x, y, and z to compare so I can buy one thing. Then they shove it down my throat that I need to make a decision quickly, if I’m not going to buy anything I shouldn’t even browze, shouldn’t I be in school (lady, I’m in college, not middle school). etc. It got to a point where I would just do all my research beforehand, go in, say I want this, done, ring me up, and then I leave. I’m so sick of their crap.
With Kay, I haven’t had a single moment like that. They’re so nice to me, even when I’m just saying I need to get my earrings checked, I’m not there to buy anything. They ask me how I’ve been, or, if it’s the first time meeting me, who got me the earrings, how did he propose, etc. I never feel like they’re talking down to me. When we were first looking at rings, they didn’t push us to buy one right away. They did explain their payment plans and stuff, but that was after he asked (it’s important to know these things). I had a better relationship with the Kay’s workers here in 2 visits that I did at my local jewelers in 5 years.
So that’s my very long-winded response. I like Kay so far despite the reviews. I’m sure local jewelers are lovely, but for whatever reason I’ve had bad experiences.
Also, just a thought: there are many many many more customers for these chain jewelry stores than local stores. Thus there should be many many many more complaints, and probably more prolific venues to air these complaints. Just a random theory to think about.
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