I ordered a ring and 2 other items on Monday 12/12/10 online at Zales. All items were listed as available and guaranteed by Christmas. I got a call in the evening on 12/17/10 to inform me that the ring would not be available until mid Jan and if that would be OK. I stated that I had to have the ring by Christmas for my wedding anniversary. He apologized and said I could have 10% off of another item and by the way, the discount that I originally received because of the monetary amount (3 items) was reduced and I was informed that 1 of the items would not receive a discount at all (The discount was applied to the total originally). During the checkout, nothing indicated that some items were excluded and they don’t charge your card until it ships. So, you can’t really be sure what you are paying until it ships I guess.

Later that night after shopping wildly for an alternative, I called and asked to speak to a supervisor. I was placed on a torturous hold and then told that I could not wait for a supervisor because they needed to clear the line. I persisted and eventually spoke to a supervisor. I pointed out that by offering a 10% discount for the inconvenience was a joke. After removing the original discount and then offering 10%, I would come out the same. (What I really wanted was the item that I had spent a lot of time shopping for and selecting.) I got nowhere and was left with the impression that business is so good at Zales that they can afford to treat customers any way they want.

With only a week till Christmas, I had no choice but to select another item from Zales and to make it better I was required to place the order over the phone so they could review the account notes and straighten things out. Another half hour I will never get back. After placing my order, the Rep said she did not have the authorization codes to apply the discount and there was not a supervisor available; therefore she could not give me a total. She did assure me several times that the order would be shipped overnight through FedEx and my discount would be credited back to my card.

Today 12/21/10, I get an email showing the order was shipped 3 days later and you guessed it. It was not sent as overnight service. Instead it was sent as Express Saver with an estimated delivery of 7:00 pm on 12/23/10 (if all goes well). If I am not waiting at the door, I don’t know how I am supposed to get my hands on my order.

This has been a frustrating experience and I will never purchase from Zales again.

Zales SCRA policy is very discriminatory as it only applies to enlisted Soldiers. The military is comprised of non-commissioned as well as commissioned officers. Their policies are not in compliance and they try to make it so that you won't be eligible for the 6% interest rate. The person(s) in charge of reviewing the documents are not knowledgeable on SCRA and have the audacity not to ask nor inquire with the ESGR or Congress. Those jackasses don't even realize that former President Bush implemented this policy that happens to still be in effect!!!

My experience with Zales had brought me nothing but stress, disappointment and so much dismay. It took me roughly five years to save for a ring upgrade and just ended up with so much disappointment. I'm the type that more often than not, does research before purchasing a product. Thinking that Zales is a reputable company, I skipped the research and went straight to purchase, which is probably one of the biggest mistakes that I've ever made in consumer history. The ring that I bought and fell in love with was a 1CT Bridal set ring that consisted of 1 engagement ring and 1 matching wedding band with a 1/3 CT center stone size Marquise cut diamond accented by 20 princess cut diamonds in a wax setting from Zales.com. After so much anticipation, my packaged arrived as scheduled BUT to my surprise, I received a wrong and damaged Ring! I got 1 ring with a princess cut centerstone in a prong setting with 2 missing diamonds on one side. I was so furious, took pictures of everything and drove right away to the closest retail store with the items in its original fed ex box including copies of my transaction receipts and a print out of the product specification with photo of the original ring that I bought. I showed it all to the store manager and sales person. They have processed the return and advised me that I should receive a refund in 2 days. What ticked me more was the store manager even had the audacity to ask me why I didn't go to their store to buy, as if blaming me for the faulty product I received. None of the Zales personnel apologized to me but instead the store mgr. tried to sell other jewelry to me in store. I already filed a formal complaint to better business bureau about my issue and will wait till I get a resolution. I don't understand why Zales can get away with this? After my horrible experience, I have started to read about horror stories of other consumers with Zales. I wish I have read the warnings earlier and saved myself from the misery. I hope someone will conduct an investigation considering the volume of people experiencing similar horror stories and most importantly, I hope I will be able to help and warn someone with my experience.

update, i received the ring today. just shy of 1 month. poorly packed and shipped. the box the ring comes in was destroyed, and the ring was just floating around in the fedex bag. no bubble wrap to protect anything. Its like they just trew it in the bag, and sent it off

I am pretty sure that Zale's has a policy about NOT greeting people. When I walk into Subway, I always hear a "welcome to Subway" from behind the counter. When I walk into another jewler at the mall on a busy day, like Kay's or Benchmark, I usually don't get service right away, but the employees at least make eye contact and let me know they will be with me as soon as possible. That makes me feel welcome and comfortable. I walk in to Zales, and unless there have been NO other customers in the store, I have NEVER been greeted. I find this policy not only disrespectful, but rude enough to loose my business. I also noticed that when I was being helped on a weeknight (when for a long time I was the only customer in the store) the other customers weren't greeted for who knows how long!

On the night we purchased my fiance's ring, I had been in the store earlier and I asked him to come to try on the ring. I waited for him sitting outside the store on a bench. When we returned, one associate was helping a lady try on a ring, the other was showing a couple how to use the internet kiosk. I waited patiently for about 5 minutes, and the guy at the kiosk was just standing there, looking over the shoulders of the customers who were looking at the Zale's website. I asked if he could get the ring out that I liked. He refused, stating that he had other customers. I thought maybe it was a theft prevention measure. So we waited another 15 minutes until the lady who was trying on the ring left. I was annoyed, but I liked the person who helped us, so I let it go. We tried on the ring and purchased.

Since then, I've been in that store and other stores WITHOUT being serviced. I feel like an introuder. The associates avoid eye contact because they are with another customer and don't recognize my presence.

But what got me the most, was yesterday there was a FedEx guy waiting patiently. They made him stand there for at least 20 minutes. I walked the store twice, tried to make eye contact with the salesmen, and sent three text messages, answered a call, made dinner plans for 40 minutes from then, and continued to wait. I wanted to buy a necklace I had been eying, but after not getting any service, I left, and continued down the mall. About 15 minutes later, I was walking by the store again, I considered going in, but there were two families with children and I didn't want to keep my date waiting. I thought about how I'd wasted a trip to this mall specifically for the necklace and how the FedEx guy must feel. That guy was on the clock, he gets a performance review on how quickly and effectively he delivers the packages, and the employees at Zales made him wait !

Does Zale's really think their customers are so vain they will no purchase if the employee behind the counter acknowledges another customer?

Shop somewhere else if you want customer service. If you're a price shopper, save yourself the trip, purchase online.