Taking in and Delivery of Repairs to Customers

Repair

Taking in

When a customer drops off an item for repair, we should not take their box, bag or whatever they bring it in, as we then have to keep track of it and eventually return it. Keeping it just creates extra work for us, and the chance that we might have misplaced it by the time we give the item back.

Delivery Back to Retail Customer

When we deliver an item (watch, ring, bracelet, etc.), we should deliver it with some form of packaging such as a baggie or box that has our name on it. The bag/box then becomes advertising for us. The delivery package should be nice enough that the customer will be tempted to NOT throw it away the moment they get home. If they keep it, it becomes a constant reminder of our store. Price must be balanced with the look and feel of the package so that we don’t spend too much on them. They should be low cost but look/feel nice enough to keep.

We have used velvet bags with a drawstring pull top recently and this is entirely satisfactory. In the future, we may find other packaging that looks nice, has our name on it, and is cost effective. We do not want to use something that costs $5 or $10 each. Ideally, at today’s dollar value, it should cost $1-2 at most. If something nice can be found for less, that’s even better.

Different sizes are needed for rings, chains, watches, etc., including a few larger sizes to deliver stiff collar necklaces or other large items. The larger ones may be more expensive but we should have a few on hand and only use when appropriate. Balance price with how nice it looks and how expensive the repair was. If the larger ones cost $5 and we are only doing a $20 polish on a collar necklace, we may NOT want to use an expensive delivery package on that repair. Use balance as your watchword.

When to Use

Though these delivery packages are relatively cheap, they do add cost to our repairs and should not be used wastefully.

Example: Customer comes in for battery change on the watch he is wearing. There would be no reason to give him a baggie as he is putting the watch right back on his wrist. But if he brings in a watch and is already wearing another one, then install the battery and deliver the watch back in a bag so that he doesn’t have to just drop the watch into his pocket.

Example: A customer brings in a Timex to see if we can repair it and we tell him on the spot that we can’t. It would be okay to hand it back without a fancy bag. But, if a customer brings in a $5,000-$50,000 watch for us to look at, and is not wearing it, it would be good PR and good advertising to hand it back in a nice Leo Hamel bag/box. The same goes for jewelry. Even if we don’t do the repair, if the item looks expensive, or the customer looks like a potential future customer, it would be okay to put the item in a nice $1-$2 Leo Hamel bag for advertising reasons. Use your judgment.

Tissue

Some items should be wrapped in tissue before putting in bag. One example would be a watch that was just refinished. If it’s just dropped in a bag it could scratch itself, and it doesn’t look professional. Wrapping it in tissue to protect the links from scratching each other, and then slipping it in the bag, shows the customer that we care about their item. Chains, bracelets, etc. should be wrapped in tissue for the same reason.

Summary

We should try to NEVER deliver jewelry or watches in clear plastic baggies, paper envelopes (unless they look spectacular), or wrapped in tissue only. The delivery package should be something that is nice looking, and has our name, the main store’s phone number and maybe address as well. The cost of the delivery package should be balanced with how nice it looks, and should be used only on appropriate occasions as per this policy.