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Playing the role of customer at Tiffany and Co.

By James Alperin
August 04, 2009

Toronto is one of those cities that you just can't help falling in love with. You fall in love with the tall buildings, the mild, lovely people, the cafes and restaurants, and the waterfront.

If you are as lucky as I was on a recent visit to this Canadian city, you also fall in love with the person you are with, even if you have been with that person for years. Fortunately for those of you reading this article, one of the ways men show affection is by purchasing jewelry for the ones they love. Fortunately for Tiffany and Co., one of its locations happens to be in the middle of downtown Toronto.

Although it seemed like a busman's holiday, there was Tiffany's and there we were in front of its entrance. I'm not sure, really, which one of us wanted to go in more.

I find that in all of my travels, I always end up in a jewelry store. I guess it's an occupational hazard, sort of like noticing what kind of watch the person you are speaking to is wearing. I just can't help it. Whenever I have gone into a jewelry store in the past, and actually since that Tiffany's visit as well, I have always announced myself as a jeweler out of respect for the salesperson's time.

I don't want to get their  hopes up for making a sale that I know isn't going to
happen. When I went into Tiffany's on this trip, however, I was curious as to how I would be treated as a customer.

I must say, it was a wonderful experience. I don't want to gush about how wonderful a store Tiffany's is but I would sure like to hire the person who took care of us.

Upon walking into the store, my companion and I were greeted in a warm and friendly manner by a young man of Asian descent who, we learned, had spent his youth growing up in Paris. He was bright and charming. So charming in fact that we refer to him today by his first name only-sort of like Cher or Britney-and each of us knows exactly to whom the other is referring.

My friend wanted to try on several pieces of jewelry and our salesman was very accommodating. We looked at a pair of pink tourmaline and diamond drop earrings that were $27,000, a pair of diamond earrings that cost $11,000, and then we were shown, without asking, a diamond pendant that was priced above $350,000.

I was dressed in blue jeans and a sweater, my friend was dressed in a white top and jeans. She was wearing only tri-colored gold rolling rings for jewelry and I wasn't wearing any rings, only a strap model Patek Philippe watch.

Perhaps our salesman has the same habit I do of always noticing what watch someone is wearing, but he was very giving and more than happy to spend time with us and show us expensive jewelry.

The experience was one that I won't forget, and in fact, I have tried to incorporate the salesman's techniques into my own sales presentations at work.
I like going into jewelry stores to see the merchandise and see how the store is decorated and displayed, but this time I got to see what it was like to be a
customer, and I liked it.

One day, I'm going to go back to Tiffany's in Toronto and confess to the salesman that I'm in the jewelry business and wanted to see how it felt to be treated as a customer. I want to say thank you for a wonderful experience.

James Alperin (Alpjewel@aol.com) is the owner of James Alperin Jewelers in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
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