James And Sons Fine Jewelers

Site description - type of business/organization mission, objectives

James and Sons Fine Jewelers is a family owned business that was founded by James Sunderland Sr. in 1964. Mr. Sunderland started out as a small jeweler and rare coin salesman. Eventually James’ daughter Anne and two sons James Jr. and John joined the company and today they have expanded their sales to engagement rings. James and sons Jewelers currently has three locations. Two locations are in the chicagoland area and their third location is in Schererville, Indiana. Although there have been many changes and expansions throughout the years, their promise has always remained the same and that is “to provide our customers with a shopping experience that will exceed their expectations of our
stores, our Jewelry and our service”(James & Sons, 2016). Some of the objectives they have established to uphold this promise are providing customers with exceptional attention, helping customers celebrate life’s special occasions, conduct ourselves with integrity, and providing superior value to merchandise quality, price, selection and satisfaction.

List your personal goals for this work experience – were you able to achieve them?

I had three main goals that I implemented into this work experience. My first goal was to learn what my strengths and weaknesses were. My second goals was to make to make each customer's experience custom and satisfying. Lastly, my third goals was to establish lifelong connections. Fortunately I was able to achieve all three goals.
My first goal was very easy to achieve because of the weekly report logs I was required to fill out which also served as great self evaluations. Based on my evaluations I learned that consulting clients as they either waited for a ring to be clean or began their quest for the perfect engagement ring was my strong suit. On the other hand, I quickly realized that taking in repairs was much more complicated than I had expected and would be my weakness for the next couple of weeks. Later I came to realize that the best way to solve a repair inquiry was to simply ask one of my experienced colleagues for help; which was much harder for me than it sounds. Ultimately my self-reflections forced me to see what I needed to keep doing and what I needed to improve.
Another goal that came natural to me was making lifelong connections. My favorite moment came from and experience with two new clients. They were soon to be wedded and wanted to start shopping for suitable wedding bands. They seemed very unsure of my qualifications, and honestly because I was a new employee, I felt unsure of how prepared I was at times as well. But, after asking them a few questions and allowing them to share their story with me, I found out that they met at Bradley University a few years prior to me coming here. After a few humorous exchanges about the best dorm rooms and good classes to take, they were able to familiarize themselves with me and that made helping them much easier.
The technique of creating common ground with customers began to work really well for me. Overtime I was able to incorporate this into each client's experience. Establishing rapport or getting background information about a client helped me remember them and their personal journey. Also sharing a few details about myself helped them realize that I am more than a sales associate trying to sell a product.

How did site mission and objectives enrich your experience?

James and Sons’ mission and objectives are based around a common goal to form trust amongst themselves and customers. This is not only a family owned business who treats their staff like family members, but they also treat their clients with the same respect. Although it is not required, you will often hear an associated greeting a customer by name as they walk in the door. Imagine how special something as simply as that can make clients feel. Seeing the way they value sincerity and customer service helped me learn about customers and the type of service they admire.

What did you like best about your experience?

I liked my workplace’s casual environment.
Smiling and laughing with other colleagues was acceptable. Furthermore, if anything concerned us or caused us to have anything less than than a smile on our faces it could be addressed right away through upward communication. Downward communication was also promoted through weekly meetings, at which our owner Jim was present every sunday. He enjoyed any input and encouraged brainstorming for resolutions; which made me, as a sales support team member, feel valued.

What did you like least? (be professional)

I enjoyed the training process the least. I could have had better formal training; however, due to the timing of my arrival, I had to learn as I performed tasks. I started working at James and Sons during Winter Break. Seeing as though this is a busy time of year for everyone and I was fortunate to begin working at this time, I was remained very appreciative and tried to keep up with the employees and all of my daily tasks. When I came back for the summer my training almost completely consisted of trial and error. But, learning from experience proved to be very beneficial.

How did your supervisor contribute to you having a meaningful and successful
experience?

My supervisor Leslie was also the store manager and has been with the company for over a decade. She previously worked as a school teacher; which was made very evident through her mannerisms. She was very motherly by nature and made every lesson seem effortless. Even when Leslie was aggravated she would use funny words to avoid obscene language; which I thought was hilarious. She taught me how to be graceful, calm, and always remain pleasant.

In what ways did other site employees contribute to your site experience? Positive/Negative or both?

My experiences with other employees was almost always positive. At the location I worked at most frequently there were three other women besides myself and my supervisor and they all contributed to some aspect of my experience. One of my colleagues is expecting twins, therefore we could always expect her to come in with sonograms or some sort of exciting update. Another one of my colleagues is a recent college graduate and she definitely brought that outgoing and peppy spirit to the store. My other colleague also taught me a lot but, her method of teaching took me a little longer to get use to. She was born and raised in a different country and I soon learned that where she is from being brutally honest and saying what is on your mind is the only way to convey a message. From that experience I learned that there is and will be cultural diversity within the workplace, but it is best to learn from it and continue progressing as long as you are not physically or mentally harmed, especially when you know that the end results will benefit the company.