Jewellery World Magazine - March 2020

DOES LOYALTY EXIST?
An old-fashioned concept, loyalty is critical in any successful
industry. But are we doing enough to nurture loyalty in ours?
I
I think we first need to ask ourselves what
our definition of loyalty in the diamond
and jewellery space is today. The simple
definition of loyalty is a feeling of strong
support or allegiance.
I heard a quote many years ago that said:
“Business must be run at a profit or
else it will die. However, a business run
solely for profit will also die.”
Much of our trade is made up of small and
medium sized businesses, which could not
survive without long-standing relationships
and the loyalty that comes with them.
My problem is that in the last few weeks, I
have heard so many different instances of
long-standing business relationships in our
industry which have been destroyed in an
instant. The sad part is that both parties (or
one party) failed to stop and think about all
the favours, special instances of pricing or
express posting urgent items etc that may
have been provided in the past, only to have
one mistake on an invoice result in a 10 year
relationship being chucked out the window.
One example that was recently shared with
me was that of a local diamond wholesaler
who brought an error made on an invoice to a
retailer’s attention. The wholesaler was simply
brushed off by the retailer and told to wear
it. Needless to say that was the end of that
relationship. Do we really have so little respect
for each other? Are we oblivious to the age
old saying “what goes around comes around”?
I will share with you three strategies by which
I live by.
1. Treat everyone the same way that you
want to be treated.
We can all make mistakes. Before you cut
someone off, don’t act impulsively, even if
you’re really angry and frustrated. Tell them
you want to think about it for a day or two.
This gives yourself the time needed to think
through how best to deal with it. You might
even want to ask others, which goes to my
second strategy.
2. Never make important decisions when
you’re angry.
You never know when you need someone
again in the future. Let’s say a merchant sold
you a stone and the invoice showed a price
that was a few thousand dollars less than what
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jewellery world - March 2020