Tom Shane's World

Comparing products can be very frustrating for consumers. I personally find a lot of frustration when venturing through a grocery store. Last week, my wife asked me to pick up some milk and a dozen eggs on my way home from work. I’ve been buying these products on a regular basis for all of my adult life, so you’d think the task should be quite simple. When approaching the egg section, the choices, as anyone who does their own grocery shopping knows, are borderline overwhelming. There are brown eggs vs. white eggs. There are several sizes of eggs. Hormone-free eggs, cage-free eggs, omega 3 additives in eggs, and that’s just off the top of my head. To complicate things even further, there are several companies selling each of these options. In all, to simply take a guess of how many different types of eggs there are in the average supermarket where I shop, I’d have to guess I have at least 15 (seemingly) completely different egg choices. The pricing on these ranges from the mid 1 dollar per dozen up to almost five dollars a dozen. That’s almost a 400% difference in price, for basically the same thing! As for the milk, it doesn’t get any easier.

So, why is this relevant to a blog post for me? My little grocery store frustration is not very well understood by me, but what I do understand is diamonds. On the topic of diamonds, I find people making the same assumptions all of the time, and I get frustrated from the completely opposite standpoint…As in trying to point out politely but passionately that what they’re comparing are two completely different things. And the answer I often get, which goes something like “but they’re both 1 carat diamond earrings in 14K white gold” is presumably just as misinformed, but as easy of a trap to fall into, as me saying “They’re all just a dozen eggs”.

One story that I tell my sales teams, which seems to surprise some people, is what I often do with customers when they’re making an important jewelry purchase. In particular, the instance that comes to mind, although I have been known to do this on several occasions, took place several years ago at Christmas when I was working in our Portland, OR store. A man that I was working with for quite some time was looking to purchase a pair of diamond earrings for his wife, and he was a longtime Shane Co. customer. This Christmas, he informed me, he was watching every penny he spent very carefully. After showing this gentleman dozens of pairs of earrings, we had settled on the pair that was perfect for him. When he informed me that this was the pair that best suited his needs, I very naturally asked him, “So this is the pair you are going to go with?”, and to my surprise, he said that he needed to look around a bit more, at the mall across the street. I was surprised, but said I completely understand, and wanted to know what he was looking for further, as obviously I did not completely satisfy his needs with what Shane Co. had. He informed me that that was not the case at all, but he heard that a jeweler at the mall (he couldn’t remember if it was Zales, Kay, or Helzberg) was selling the “same” earrings for a much cheaper price. I quickly told him that was impossible and I was going to prove it to him. He was shocked at my conviction, and wanted to know how I already knew that he was incorrect, so I explained our practice of constantly shopping every other jewelry store in town, how we buy our product, and how we price our product. But of course, he didn’t believe me, as a representative from Shane Co., I know I wouldn’t if I were in his shoes! To make a long story short, I asked him to please go to the mall and purchase anything and everything that he thought would beat out what I was showing him, and if he liked theirs better he could keep them, but if not , he could go back across the street and return them. I even told him that I would keep his earrings off to the side, not something we normally do during the Christmas rush. So, we had a deal. Not 60 minutes later, the gentleman came back into our store, with his head and eyes looking at the carpet. I asked him politely if he’d like me to retrieve his earrings so he can compare them to what he saw across the street. He softly informed me that he would just go ahead and buy ours. I said, “didn’t you bring anything to compare them to from the mall?”, and he said he could tell from all he had learned that day that what he saw at the mall, at the same size I was showing him, was quality he was embarrassed to give to his wife, and what he saw at our quality at the same size was significantly more expensive. I said to him something like, “then why are you so upset, I’m glad you are making an informed decision?”, and his only answer was, “I’m upset that I didn’t believe you and just wasted an hour of my Christmas shopping!”.

So, the moral of the story is, when shopping for an item that you view as a commodity, and you’re shopping solely based on price, do yourself a favor and make sure that you’re truly comparing apples to apples, and not being tricked into thinking that everything you’re looking at is the same thing. An informed shopper is an empowered shopper. Now if only there was an educator in the dairy aisle of my grocery store!

As Christmas Day is rapidly approaching, my friends are starting to call me, some in a panic.  They seek advice, and expect me to be able to be specific…in some cases I barely know their wives.  So it is a question I answer with sincerity, but sometimes they perceive an unintended vagueness.  Whatever you want to get her, let her know you went out of your way to get it for her.  Let her know you took your time, thought about her, and wanted it to be personal…based upon your lifestyles together, her wardrobe and her favorite colors, etc.  Let her know you wanted a quality that would give her years of trouble-free wear, and provide joy and a feeling of pride each time she puts it on.

Worry less about her not liking it (fully exchangeable anyhow) or feeling guilty about receiving jewelry in a soft economy.  That is like, “honey, you shouldn’t have…” which really means “You should have” “…  The old adage about not getting her anything that plugs in has been expanded, to include anything battery operated but with a recharger that plugs in.

The sapphires that I bought last month in Bangkok are now in the stores, waiting for you to find the perfect setting.  They come in all colors, and fit all budgets.  Just don’t wait until the selection is down, or risk a snowstorm to shut us down and force you to give it to her after Santa has come and gone.  That’s the last bit of advice, get it to her with plenty of time to spare…under the tree or in the stocking.  We even have charms and inexpensive items for each child to have a small package with their name on it, as the giver, as well.  And think of the pride that kid will have over the years, knowing that they gave that special thing to mommy for Christmas, 2010.

This year we have renewed our focus on our fashion jewelry and it is the best that it has been in years. I attribute this to the fact that we have new buyers, and the entire line feels fresh and exciting, and you will find so much that is unique and still timeless for her to treasure.  Plus we made a lot of it ourselves, starting from our own designs, in our factory in Bangkok…so the price and quality is right as is the look.

I have been traveling to half a dozen cities to visit our stores during the three past weeks, since returning from Bangkok.  And our store staffs are really psyched for the Christmas rush, as they love to help our loyal returning customers, as well as meet new faces.  I will continue to monitor the inventory situation in each store very carefully, but sincerely we have what you need, in stock, and are ready to help you make this Christmas the one where you are the hero, and she feels like the princess.