Finlay Fine Jewelry

Boy, I just cannot believe it. So much bad written on behave of Finlay Fine Jewelry. I am very sorry, to hear the bad news - I wish it was not truth. Some people are just not going to be happy no matter what...I was very happy to work for this company as a seasonal help, and could do this every Christmas, if i was in US. Shopping there was a very pleasant experience - my vintage earings are so unique, and Bulova 2 tone watch I bought there, and wear it on daily bases is still running, and looking great, not to mention my ISQ watch. I am very sorry, to read such a very nasty comparisons with low class, and price stores in some of these reviews, as well as unfriendly ratings of sales people (you know, they are not making mega dollars in their occupation...).
My experience was a friendly management to start with, and some really nice co workers as well. It was very nice employement experience compare to some other retailers. All I want to say is T H A N K Y O U Finlay for giving me an opportunity not only to earn a few dollars, but most of all teaching me something valuable.

Wow!! It's not so easy kicking a dog when it's down. I too worked for Finlay for many (10) years. I worked in many different positions from part time associate to dept. manager to regional. After I left Finlay (my choice) I felt some of the same feelings you have. But after being gone for a few months I missed it. I realized it was a business (as any other) and wasn't so bad after all. I enjoyed my time there and truly believe you get back what you give. So if you really hated working there, you shouldn't have been. Period. I for one am very sad about their (Finlay's) recent demise. There were some wonderful people working for Finlay and I am glad I had the pleasure of meeting them and working beside them.

It's shocking to me to read any positive reviews at all about Finlay. All the negatives in these reviews are completely accurate! I am a Graduate Gemologist from GIA, and ended up being completely overqualified to work there. I was so shocked and embarassed to see how poorly the jewelry dept was being run in this upscale Newport Beach Bloomingdale's. Yes, the elearning is a complete joke. Talk about jewelry 101 in five easy lessons. Most of the foreign back-stabbing sales associates don't know anything about jewelry. Their diamond grading system was a total embarassment to me. I just hoped and prayed that no one would ask to see any of the diamond studs in the case. I couldn't even look the customers in the eye. They had a scam of getting around paying people for overtime too. I was so excited when I was hired, but it didn't take long before I realized the place was a joke. Marking up the crap jewelry at 5.5 times and then discounting the hell out of it, with new accts, blah blah blah. Like someone said in another review, they would rather be unemployed than work at Finlay. Well, same here. Only, for me, I am in the middle of a lawsuit with them due to the nerve damage I suffered as a result of having to stand for 8 hours a day. Bad experience. Glad they are OVER.

I don't know what group you were working for, but it wasn't the same one as me.

I think that your expierence has put a bad taste in your mouth and for that I am sorry. But, that is no reason to condem an entire company and employees who depended on this job everyday.

I worked for this company (then QUIT) and it's the WORST company in the world!! I would not even no where to begin telling you how awful they are. It’s the most cutthroat job I have ever had. You come in there thinking you’re going to have a nice job, only to be slapped in the face with the most cutthroat coworkers that ever lived. And the district and upper supervisors only feed into the frenzy by always comparing you to everyone else. Everything is an open book as far as your performance goes. They want to make sure that EVERYONE sees if you make your goals or not. The job is set up to where they pit everyone against everyone, so forget about having any friends at this job, because everyone is too busy backstabbing everyone, and the company has it set up this way. Anyone who says they liked this company has a warped personality, and I say this because the only way to survive at this place is to lie, backstab, steal another’s customer, and sabotage their work. It’s the only way to survive at Finlay’s. And that is what they wanted - employees that don’t have one ounce of respect for other coworkers. I was a good salesperson - one of the best , in fact, but I could not tolerate the cheating, lying, and backstabbing that went on, and this started at the top, too..from the supervisors down the ladder to managers and then sales associates. Again I will say that anyone that posts here how much they like the place is nothing but a shill for the company, or a backstabbing employee, because anyone with a decent conscience would never tolerate the abuse this company dishes out and expects you to endure.

The training is a joke. They expect you to become an expert by watching e-learning on the computer while you are on the floor working. And forget other coworkers lending you a helping hand. Heaven forbid you might learn something and then be a threat to them. Coworkers would rather set you up to fail, so they won’t have any competition, so most new people have to learn by doing there own private research at home.

And they don’t care about standard procedures. The rules would change every week. One week it would be this and the next week that - whatever it took to make that sale. “Lie to the customer if you have to”, should be their motto.

All the jewelry is way over priced, too. To the point it’s a complete FRAUD!! Then about 4 days a week they would have it on sale at 50% off , then with some extra discounts on top of that. Then, on the days there is no sale, they want you to get on the phone and call up all the customers and tell them about all the wonderful sales coming up, which is just the same old sales they always have, like 4 days a week! And that is if you even want to call them a sale. As I said, they mark up the jewelry so much that they HAVE to reduce it more than 50% to move it off the floor.

And the quality is a laughing stock. Some of the diamonds were so bad I was embarrassed to pull it out if a customer wanted to see it up close. There was so much carbon in the diamonds they looked black. There FAKE rating scale on diamonds is such a joke (AA, AAA and don’t forget that asterisk --*, ha!) and many times I had customers flat out tell me, “this is not a real diamond ranting”, and walk out. Not to mention the many times jewelry would fall apart right in my hands as I was showing it.

When I heard they were closing all the department stores and are financially up the creak without a paddle, I jumped up and down for joy. They deserve everything they get! Karma is a wonderful thing! And the best is, all the ones I worked with and those “supervisors” will have a very hard time at any respectable job, because all they know, and are comfortable with, is how to be caddy and deceitful, not to mention the “heavy set” one that limps (you know who you are). You should be ashamed of yourself for the evil you have done to others, and the ones you “favored”. Maybe with all the time off, you and your ‘pals” can all join Jenny Craig, because NOONE will hire the lot of you. Enjoy your unemployment…while it lasts…haha.

I worked for Finlay Fine Jewlery in a BonTon store, and I am very suprised at all the bad reviews. My experience with them was very positive. The people I worked with were pleasant, we gained relationships with the customers, and generaly enjoyed coming to work.
The only reason I dont work there still is because, when Finlay liquidated, Our store was one of the ones shut down.

I always recieved my paychecks and commission in a timely fashion, and never had a problem with the company.

I currently work for Finlay in one of their speciality stores. I worked for another fine jewelry company for 28 years before Finlay bought us out. I feel that the people that run Finlay really do care about their employees,those who have worked for them for years as well as those that they have just taken on. They chose to keep all of the orginal employees of the company that they purchased. They allowed us to keep our tenure and even redid their medical and dental plans to be like the ones we had at our old company. They have been very straight forward with what they expect form us and very supportive of our needs and concerns. During tough economic times changes have to be made, but I really feel that those that run Finlay are only trying to do what is best for the future of the company, and that they truly do care about the people.

worst company ever! If you can read this before you're hired..good for you stay away! They do not care about their employees AT ALL. It's all about the all mighty dollar. Now that their business is basically in the toliet, they are dumping people letting them go like they have done something wrong. Anything to save themselves. Don't join this bandwagon ... no matter what their merchandise is. They are basic slaves to their host store, and have to do everything they are told. GET OUT BEFORE YOU BEGIN...GET OUT IF YOU'RE in...it's just a matter of time before they boot you. They go on and on about being motivational, but the emails they send are far from motivational always comparing you to every other store and "where you place", what you haven't done, and what you need to do. Try to get support from group office and get a parade of people on the phone that obviously hate their jobs. I've love to name names, but you people know who you are, and if you hate your job so much....LOOK FOR ANOTHER ONE. And obviously you hate your bosses, and If I had to work with those people every day I'd hate my job too. Better business out there...don't be afraid to get out.

Unbeliveable...It all starts at the top....So top people on the Bloomiingdales side....practice what you preach...and be motivational, if that's how you want your stores managed. Look in the mirror...if you dare, and learn how to be motivational before you ask your staff to follow suit.

good news in JCKonline.com on the 28th...finlay going down..hahaha

In my short time I have spent at Finlay fine jewelry counter in Dillards, I can honestly say it is just like any other poorly run dept. store chain. The training is practically non existant and whatever I have learned it has been because I took the time to find out on my own and I was completely thrown to the wolves. I feel ashamed because I know I have given poor customer service because I honestly did not know what to do. Over the holidays i was taken advantage of because they put me on call when scheduling me in could have been done just as easily. Now that I am part-time I am still expected to fill in for lazy drama driven employees when I am no longer on call and there is someone else hired specifically for that job. I feel taken advantage of and not cared for at all. I am very much looking forward to giving my notice this week. I only give a two star rating because my manager is a very sweet woman who has no choice but to stay with this horrible company because she has no where else to go at the time. I am pleased this company is going down.

Absolute worst company you can ever work for. They could care less about quality, and they can certainly care less about their employees. The name of the game for them is meeting goals and increasing sales. It is very hard to meet the goals and increase the sales when the quality is the worst I have ever seen. Their training program is horrific, all it is is teaching you to sell, sell, sell!!!! Let's not even get into the demeaning daily emails that are sent out. This is a company with no values whatsoever.
Head my warning, stay far, far away from this company. I would rather be unemployed than work for this company.

worst company i 've ever worked for, That was just a waist of time in my life.

I would NEVER buy fine jewelry again from Macy's and I'm writing this to caution any others. I purchased a diamond cocktail ring in December of 2007 and nine months later, after only wearing it a few times, one of the stones fell out. When I took it back to Macy's they informed me that it would be my responsibility since I did not purchase the extended warranty. First of all, shouldn't retailers of fine jewelry gurarantee their work for AT LEAST one year? Secondly, the warranty was not offerred to me. When they looked on my reciept they admitted it was strange that my initials were not next to the "declined coverage" line and that would indicate it had not been offerred. However, Macy's refused to take responsibility and replace the stone. They have now lost this customer and hopefully a few more of you from ever purchasing fine jewelry from Macy's.

It's true you have to wait 6 mos for health insurance and 11 mos for vacation. Of all the places I've worked, this place has to have the worst hr policy.

I worked for Finlay at a Bon-Ton Store for 14 months until I discovered that they care very little about their employees, only their dollars! I sold over $153,000. in merchandise, received only 1% commission, and when the economy took a downward turn and retail sales dropped nationwide, I was threatened with termination because I was not making my "Goals". It didn't matter that I was a dependable, loyal, honest, hardworking employee who never missed work, always followed procedures and company policies, and sometimes didn't get my lunch break or able to leave work on time due to other employees not showing up when scheduled, waiting 6 months to get health insurance, and never a good word of appreciation or thank you for my efforts. You are only a valued employee at Finlay's as long as you make those goals!

Finlay "Fine" Jewelry is not going to last you through the years. If you like it and can afford it, great...but it will likely break over and over again within the first to second year you own the piece. I, like most consumers believed when I purchased something from Macy's or Carson Pirie Scott or Bloomingdales...that it was of that quality. WRONG!!! It has a sales tag to match, but the quality is Value City all the way. I almost hate to admit it, but at stores like Target and Walmart, they at least know stone grading methods and carats. Finlay knows nothing. All they know is high pressure "sales" tactics. Also, a word to the wise...do not return broken jewelry to them, you will lose the item for several months to replace or repair the item. Take it to a real jeweler; it will cost more...but TRUST ME...it will be more than worth it. Overall, I'd stay away from Department Store "Fine" Jewelry. In my honest to goodness opinion, their "costume" jewelry will last longer. They also have no way of contacting corporate. The entire company is a scam. STAY AWAY!!!

I tried recently to shop at the jewelry counter at Bloomingdales in Atlanta. I found the sales clerk knew nothing about diamonds, colored stones and pearls. Coming from a fine jewelry background myself, and I am a GIA certified gemologist, I was surprise at how little the person knew. They use a rating system for their diamonds that is not recognized by the gemological community. The clerk knew nothing about the proper care of the pieces. When I asked to look at the pieces with a loup she didn't have one. That surprised me, that is like a carpenter not having a hammer! Thankfully I had one in the bottom of my bag. As I looked at the pieces I saw stones that were poorly placed and badly soldered. I could tell they were cheaply made. I can only liken the display cases to a yard sale. The jewelry looked like it had been thrown in.

The pricing seemed high. I also questioned how fine jewelry can be 50% off with additional percentages on top of that. The only way that could be is if the pieces were over priced to begin with so when the discounts were applied they were getting the price they really wanted for them. Through some research I learned that Finlay lost a law suit several years ago for over pricing their stuff.

After spending many years working for places like Tiffany & Co and other top tier jewelers I was surprised that a reputable store like Bloomingdales would let this low-end merchandise be sold in their stores unless they were making a huge profit from it.

I learned something else from my experience at the Finlay jewelry counter from others I know in the jewelry business. Most true high end jewelry merchants avoid hiring Finlay employees because of their lack of knowledge and true fine jewelry experience. I also learned that the "training" they receive are computer modules. There is no formal training with a GIA certified expert. When they take their tests they can take them as often as they need to until they get the right answers. 

I can appreciate the positive feelings some of these current Finlay employees have toward their company. They can't be expected to know better if this is all they have known. You can't appreciate a Kobe steak if all you know is Salisbury steak.

I've been working for Finlay for 2 years now and have had a great experience so far.I came to the company as a BSM with experience in management from another fine jewelry dept store. I've found the company to be fair. Reviews are done on a regular and consistant basis, with the BSM following a well followed form & documentation. This makes it easier to talk to you associates about areas they need to work on. Being a BSM I've had to work all shifts. Nights are usually slow for most of us, but we have found that if there is going to be a customer for us they come in at the last hour we are open. Now there are 2 ways to look at this. (1) grumble about the person holding you up on getting your work done soyou can get home. Or(2) smile and help the customer since they just might make your whole week. I generally opt for #2 chances are they will come back looking for you and another item at a more convenient time. : ) Our host store manager works with us quite a bit. and acknowledges us when we do well as well as talking to us when we aren't. I don't think that is bad. If everyone else in the store has to meet expectations shouldn't we?

I have been working for Finlay for seven years and I have to say that of course there are going to be some unhappy former employees with a company as large as Finlay. The training is extensive, though hard to study while working the sales floor, but for people who sometimes are hired with little or no jewelry experience to expect to make big dollars right away is ridiculous. All the tools and the training are available to those who want to succeed and develop a clientele, but to those who come in inexperienced, starting at a low wage and expecting to bide their time until their closing shift is over, provide poor customer service, and then complain that the company did them wrong, they should think again. Finlay has a lot to offer and I've always been treated well. As for those protection plans...they're actually outstanding! I've seen a pair of earrings that were accidently run over by the owner's car be made new again. I've seen a ring that was accidently thrown into a fireplace and resembled nothing that even looked like a piece of jewelry come back better than new, and I have seen more watches than I can count come back without a scratch. In fact, I found this site by attempting to look for a plan of insurance for my new non-Finlay jewelry item and haven't found anything that even comes close to matching what they offer. I purchase the plans myself, along with items that I get at an incredible discount. The plan isn't only for two years unless you're purchasing a watch. The jewelry plans are renewable EVERY two years and if they can't fix or make the item look new, you're issued a check in the amount that you paid with the option of choosing something else or just keeping the check! To the person who only receieved part of their check back, I've never seen that happen. There's no reason why you shouldn't have received the entire amount paid or why you should be speaking with representatives of the plan instead of the jewelry manager, unless you've lost your receipt or it was past the two years and they made an exception for you. As for the quality, there is an assortment of different levels of quality just like there are differences in price ranging from small items with diamond accents for under a hundred to GIA certified pieces for several thousand. You get what you pay for and there's something for every customers budget.

Where to begin......I think most people are "blind" when buying jewelry, this meaning many have no idea what they are looking at because they don't have any jewelry knowledge. I suggest staying far away from Finlay/Macys Jewelry when purchasing diamonds and other precious gemstones sold by them. Also make sure to shop around, especially if you are looking at pearls. Macys pushes Protection Plans that you have to BUY and that last for 2 years. This tells me they guarentee the craftmanship for 2 years, not very safe. The quality of the merchandise is for the birds who insist on buying "blindly". Keep in mind if its priced so cheap and you can't believe it theres are reason why!

Shopped there in the past... I'm older and wiser now.

The problem with Finlay is that there is absolutely zero consistancy and they flip policies on a dime. Your experience as a shopper and most especially as an employee will depend on what branch you're in, what region you're in and what group you're in.

Every single customer policy and employee policy depends on what store you're in and who you are and what the Finlay executive thinks they can get away with. I've seen good, honest people (customers and employees) be told the policy is xyz and that they have to live with it. I've seen liars, cheats, and lousy employees get every single thing they ask for and more! Finlay has a track record for rewarding the WRONG people. If you're a responsible, highly loyal person who takes great ownership in your job/branch, you will get screwed. If you barely do your job, don't know how to do your job but write angry letters to corporate, you'll get every special exception they can come up with just to keep you quiet. (If you're a customer, just go to the store's General Manager and they will absolutely use their leverage to get you satisfaction if you threaten to send a letter to their boss.)

I've seen good employees and managers work far outside their model hours, go without meals and breaks and never get so much as a thank you. Yet the complainers will be allowed to close the department, or will have a regional come in and work or order an employee from another store to come in and work so they get their time off or meal breaks.

I've seen computer illiterate BSM's who were the highest paid and in the highest volume doors (more commission $) rely on newer, lesser paid managers to tell them how to do their jobs and clean up their customer issues. (Seriously, they didn't even know when their Mother's Day ads started!) I've seen brand new managers thrown into departments without any training and with either no staff or known issues with staff and left to swim or sink. I've seen productivity counseling decisions change on a dime. When I left, they were trying to fire the ept because she wasn't selling. That changed when they needed her to cover my hours! They've let BSM's slide on total dept productivity while they were working 60 hrs a week w/o meals, then nail them to the cross as soon as they had a full staff and Finlay could afford to threaten them with productivity counseling and their famous "up to and including termination" remark. Why wouldn't Finlay uphold their written productivity policy when the manager was the only one to work the sales floor? Curious!

There is no consistancy with Finlay. If you're a part time hourly employee and unphased by constant lectures about selling more $, more units of whatever is advertised, more repairs/batteries, more protection plans, more client cards, more special event appointments, more attention to your area of pride, more ability with the computer operations, more, more, more...then this can be a fun job with the one great perk of buying good jewelry on the cheap. If you're a full time employee or BSM, use Finlay as a stepping stone to get some experience and pad your resume, but get OUT the second you can. Believe me, you won't be appreciated and you are fully expendable and you will be the only one's held to company policy while the PT and OC's get all the best hours, all their time off requests and all the exceptions in the world typically at your expense!

PS Cosmetic associates were making more per hour than Finlay's FT and sometimes even BSM's made per hour!

I have bought 2 items for (Macys) or Finlay as I now know it by. They lied about the protection plan, it did not cover what was wrong with my piece of (crap) jewelry! It pd over a thousand dollars for a ring that will never be fixed properly. The associates were rude and unfriendly.

Here summarizes my opinion of deceptively operating a business unit as Macy's and not caring at all about the customer. This letter is being sent to Macy's.

My local jewler where we buy everything does not have to apologize, I'm sure. Maybe because they are reputable and treat customers well. Trying to justify this kind of business practice (customers buying from a hidden company) is ludacrous!

On February 13, 2008 a thirteen-year-old girl who is an acquaintance of my 13-year-old son purchased a Pulsar watch at the jewelry counter at the Chesterfield store. The watch was presented to my son as a Valentine’s Day gift.  This was an inappropriate gesture and we were at a loss as to how to handle it.

Having busy schedules, working full time and with children’s activities every day, we waited until April 27th to deal with the situation, mainly because of rainouts, there were no games that day and I finally had time in my schedule.

We decided to return the brand new, unworn, un-opened watch, complete with a gift receipt, warranty and original box for store credit and give the young lady her money with a gentle explanation that she made a poor choice.  I attempted to return the watch at the local Crestwood store that is close to my house.  When I approached Marla (no one in the store would give me her last name) she refused the return and pointed to a sign that stated the 30 day policy.  I told her that we could not possibly read a sign, as recipients of a gift and that there was no printed information on the gift receipt.

She turned the receipt over and showed us a smeared, illegible red stamp that supposedly states the return policy in small lettering under larger lettering that shows whether a “buyer protection” plan was opted in or out.

I nicely explained the extenuating circumstances to her and she said she would call a manager but no one was on site with authority and that was all.  I approached Lisa last name omitted who was the Macy’s “manager on duty” and she said there was nothing she could do because the jewelry is run by a company independent of Macy’s.

First of all, why does the jewelry disguise itself as Macy’s, until there is a problem? That is extremely deceptive and extremely irresponsible. The largest ticket items in the store are sold by an independent company and Macy’s is completely unaccountable. Buyer beware: especially a thirteen-year-old minor.

The manager at Chesterfield was helpful and resolved the situation for me, thank goodness. Unfortunately I had to drive an hour to get to that store because one store in a chain refused to help a customer.  I will post this letter anywhere I possibly can over the World Wide Web, with last names omitted of course. I am in the Marketing industry and I find your lack of care and attention to the customer absolutely appalling as my business is booming with major consumer product companies and businesses who are scrambling to better please consumers to get a larger share of their ever shrinking dollars.

I admit that when I called back the Crestwood store that I was angry and irate but Lisa last name omitted hung up on me demonstrating a total lack of concern.  That is inexcusable.

I am a current Branch Store Manager on the west coast for Finlay and I love my job for the most part. I hear a lot of negative comments about jewelery quality, which just isn't true. Finlay outlets carry a variety of quality that allow customers of all price ranges to purchase fine jewelry. I can count on one hand how many created stones I have in my store compared to natural stones, which I can not say for the stand alone jewelry departments like Kay's who seem to have gone mostly to created stones set in either 10K gold or even silver, and their prices are still more expensive than our natural stones in 14k. All natural gemstones are included, and there is no such thing as a flawless anything unless you buy a created stone. Finlay does not carry any plated or over layed pieces either as I've seen referenced here. No matter where you go you will find varying degree's of quality, there will be lower end merchandise, there will be customer issue's, and employee dissatisfaction. That is the nature of business, that you can not please 100% of the people 100% of the time. My biggest complaint is host store policies, and the fact that the host stores do not seem to support us like we try to support them. We become a part of our host store, attending their meetings, their trainings, essentially all of their functions, however it is very rare that we get the support we need from them. Often our policies are over ridden by host store management, and I too have experienced having to perform returns on items that were well out of return policy, most memorable was the item that was over a year old. I have taken plenty of customer abuse, abuse that the host store would not tolerate of their own employees, but being a lease department we do not get the same consideration, and are not only expected to take it, but have been accused of actually being the one to create or start the altercation, when in reality myself and my associates have been nothing but nice, calm, and tried to do all that the customer has requested we do. I have been well supported by my regional manager as well, and didn't rely on her for making sure I was trained. I stepped up and made sure that if I didn't know something about a certain type of jewelry that I got online and did the research, that if I didn't know how to perform some function, that I was on the phone getting that information. All in all my experience has been very positive with Finlay, if not with my host store.

Sure, I always get my breaks too: the ones they automatically deduct from the time clock, whether you actually get to leave the department or not. Don't remember when I last got to TAKE a break, even the "lunch" breaks that are unpaid and subtracted from total time worked! And the required 15-minute paid break required by law for each shift? Well, our salaried manager says they don't take those, so why should we hourly employees take them?

I work at Finlay and let me tell you it sucks.... I'm sure the company is not all bad but the people they choose to hire are ridiculous! They seem to not have that many guide lines when hiring management, and really don't care what goes on in the place as long as sales are good. The only thing i like is the discount.. if only they paid me enough to afford some nice stuff. I wouldn't recommend anyone to work there unless you have no life and have time to stand around and do nothing all night because the EPT didn't show up until 30 min b4 close.

I don't hear any past employees complaining about the AMAZING discounts they got thru Finlay's accomodation proceedures... I'm sure that at least some of those folks got some great items that they will forevr love, and probably saved quite a bit on them. I've only been with Finlay since November, but I am MORE than pleased with them. (and I ALWAYS get my breaks, contrary to what some employees are saying.)

Finlay offers a diamond trade-up policy, which I utilized to purchase a much more expensive piece. After several attempts to receive an independent appraisal for insurance and learning that my new purchase was not so valuable, I returned it to the Finlay counter where I purchased it... within 30 days, with the tag still attached, with the receipt... and was told they no longer had my trade-in piece, but they would not refund that amount to me... so I must choose the dollar amount of my trade-in, in other jewelry... none of which approached the quality of my trade-in!

I've only worked for Finlay through Macy's for 3 months, but I've had nothing but good experiences. Sure it sucked working 3PM to 12AM during Christmas Season, but that's retail.

I knew very little going into this job and learned some through the eLearning, but a lot of what I've learned has been from me asking questions. If I don't understand something, I ask and keep asking until I understand. Training isn't going to teach you everything; just the basics you need to sell the jewelry. Everything else comes from experience. Talking to customers helps too. For example, I didn't know that true jade was always cold until a customer told me.

I go above and beyond to treat my customers right, even if they are rude to me. Customer Service is what the sales associate makes of it. It's not the same every where you go.

As for the jewelry, sure we've had problems with it, but that's normal. You'll have problems with merchandise no matter where you go.

I started out as XOC (extra on call), went to NPT (night part-time) and now have the option of working all shifts (morning, mid and night). I get anywhere from 25-35 hours a week and sure I'm not paid the mega-bucks, but for a college student, I make enough to get by and have money left to put in savings.

I have nothing but good things to say about Finlay and would recommend working there to anyone.

I have read all of the entries and there certainly is a mixed bag of experiences; some good which is nice to hear, but they seem to be seriously outweighed by the negative entries.

It's unfortunate that Finlay treats their customers and employees in such a shameful manner. But you all need to keep in mind that they are a low end jewelry distributor trying to pass themselves off as high-end. The reason they have their own rating system instead of using the GIA rating system, which is recognized worldwide, is because the diamonds they sell are of low quality and they are trying to disguise it.

I know the manager that used to work in the Atlanta Bloomingdales and he was a great manager trying to manage a dysfunctional department. He had a few people on his staff who were unqualified to sell jewelry and had their own agendas. He inherited a complete mess and got NO support from Angie, his district manager or Sue, the regional manager. Instead of supporting him they did everything the could to discredit him and get rid of him. I know for a fact he didn't steal anything from the store. He is a person of high moral character and would never stoop to do anything like that. I believe the rumors were started to muddy his reputation since they didn't have any REAL reason to fire him. This is typical of a company that is shady in it's dealings.

Luckily this didn't slow him down and he went back into high-end jewelry where he originally came from. I'll bet he'll never lower his standards and work for a company like Finlay again!I'm glad I don't work there anymore.

I worked for Finlay as a MIT (manager in training) to begin with and then was promoted to branch manager within a year. That year had to be one of the most stressful I've ever had. The district manager who hired me lied about practically everything from the salary to when the health insurance would take effect. Most places take 30-90 days, I had to wait 6 months as a full time manager in training to get health insurance! Then it was constant contradictions in everything, customer policies, sale policies, hr policies, etc. They don't want to pay associates anything which is why you get people who don't know anything. Also, they don't want to invest in training their staff. So, in essence, you get what you pay for. It was hard for me to keep a staff because no one of any quality wanted to work for beans. Staff would call off or not show up at all and as a manager, you have to cover those hours. You get loaded down with stacks of paperwork and no place to do it except on the sales floor, no time to do it competently, unless you want to take it home and do it on your own time. Most people who work for Finlay walk away scratching their head wondering how a company this large can be so disorganized. Also, the host store WILL override Finlay's policies. I once had to accept a HUGE return from a woman who brought back YEARS of purchases without any kind of documentation such as receipts and sku numbers. All she had was her past charge statements. The jewelry was in horrible disgusting condition, but we had to sit there and try and sort it all out and give her a return, all because she couldn't afford her charge payment anymore. Believe that!! Crazy. However, I can say I also worked for their largest competitor, Sterling. Now, Sterling is run much more professionally, however, their jewelry is much harder to sell and the staff is totally backstabbing and cut throat because you have to make your goals. They will tell a customer anything just to get them to buy something. Believe me. Almost everything is 10kt vs. 14 or 18K like Finlay, almost all their gemstones are created and for the ones that are not, you can practically go to Walmart and get the same thing for 1/2 the cost. I don't work for either anymore, but when shopping for jewelry, I would definitely say Finlay's jewelry quality surpasses the rest. They sell Levian and other designer jewelry set with REAL stones and in 18kt. I see Sterling just started that too, but in a much smaller degree. Everything Sterling sells is "cookie cutter". If you want the same thing everyone else has, go there.

I will say this much good as a former employee for the company. The commission really added up during the holidays. We had good merchandise, you just had to really look for it amidst the not-so-good. No, gemstone training was not huge when I was hired, but instead, I focused my efforts on doing research so that I would be better informed on what I was selling. (perhaps if Finlay execs. were reading this, they'd add something better to elearning) What I didn't appreciate from the company was how LONG it took to get things like mileage and LP recovery rewards processed. I was responsible for a recovery from an internal theft, and it took 4 months after it was taken care of for me to get a recovery reward. The reward was "fab bucks" and a teddy bear. I felt like it was a joke. I tried to wait out on my second LP recovery reward, but couldn't do to lack of hours. I found another job instead. Then, when I requested a raise (after working there), I was turned down...for approximately $.30 worth of a raise. They weren't big on that. Overall, I enjoyed the customer experience, and I enjoyed the people that I work with, but I don't honestly think they treated associates right.

To any customer's who have not had a pleasant experience, I am truly sorry. I know my customer's enjoy the selection Finlay has to offer and will keep coming back to us because of our OUTSTANDING customer service. I value each and every one of my customer's and have good customer relations. I call my prefered customers to remind them thier anniversaries are on the way (or any other special date they have told me they would like to be notified for) and help them find the right piece for the occasion at the absolutely best price I can offer. If you've had a bad experience at a Finlay Fine Jewelry counter, please know that you do not have to take it. Finlay has wonderfully beautiful and creative settings with quality stones and styles. I would hate for you to boycot all FINLAY JEWELRY based on one certain location. At my store, we hold our customer's satisfaction in the UTMOST importance. We do not want to sell you "something", we want to help you select the right piece for the rigth occasion. It is your choice to purchase a protection plan, but, it is, in my opinion, that doing so would be in your best interest. It ensures that should any problem arise with your jewelry (through normal wear and tear) that you or the person you are giving the gift to will not be held responsible for the maintance of your fine jewelry item. No, it does not mean there is anything wrong with the jewelry or that it is "cheap"... If you KNOW your jewelry, then you also know and recognize that jewelry is made with one of the softest metals on the planet: gold. Granted, lower karots will ensure more durability, however, they do tend to tarnish a bit more. But, that is where the protection plan comes in... You can bring it back to be cleaned whenever you like. (At least, IN MY STORE, as long as we are not very busy, ANY ONE OF MY ASSOCIATES would love to take the time to clean your jewelry and to keep you company walking you around the case, showing you new arrivals and offering to let you try on the most stylish selections.) I have my customers tell me they will ALWAYS come back to our store because of this very reason. In MY store, you are treated with the respect you deserve as a valued customer. Please, please, do not let ONE bad experience or one UNFRIENDLY location change how you feel about Finaly. The MAJORITY of us DO care about your satisfaction.

My husband bought a ring at Parisian, whose fine jewelry store is owned by Finlay. Firstly they sold a broken stone to him ( I was not there with him when he bought it). He bought a protection plan with it for 59.99. I took it back with in a week to get the center stone replaced as it was covered by the plan. It came back after 5 weeks saying that it was repaired. When I looked at it, the stone was the same. Then when it was sent back again by the Manager, it came with a buy-out offer. They refunded only a part of the actual value which is less than what I paid for the ring and tax. When I spoke to the person incharge of the Jewelry protection plan, she was so rude and humiliating, I could not continue to talk to her. They treated me like I owed them a favour.
On the whole I lost $76.00 to wear a broken ring for a week and lost lot of time and self-respect in talking to the customer service people of Parisian and its Jewelry protection plan. I have never seen a business operate so badly in my life. I have been clearly cheated in this transaction.

I too work for Finlay Fine Jewelry. Have for the past 2.5 years. I started as ept then full time. Last Christmas I was promoted to BSM of a small store. This Tuesday I will be starting a 1.3 million dollar store. Finlay is a good company who beleives in promoting from within. As for the pay per model position that someone spoke of...you do not have to work those hours. You have a model hour standard you can adhere to whether your BSM likes it or not. Its your choice to pick up those hours. Tell me how many other jobs you've had that will give you a raise for a day to pick up a shift here and there. Also a lot of people have spoke of the quality of the merchandise. Finlay does sell designer peices, certified peices, and created peices. Finlay has many of the same vendors as all those other national chains. I used to work for one of them. I beleive that Finlay sells beautiful quality jewelry. At a good price. The discount system is put in place to help you not make you pay more. If your jewelry has broken you may want to consider the protection plan. You will buy a warranty on your house, your car, even on a home appliance...why not your jewelry? Everyone seems to think that jewelry will last a lifetime without one malfunction. Go anywhere and you will be offered a pro plan on your jewelry. Its called wear and tear and it happens. As for the customer service and discounting policies...those are all set by the host store. So if you think that we are all happy with everything that goes on we're not. I will agree with the persons comment about the host store policies and Finlays policies being different. They are, and at times its hard to deal with. If we had more customers with a better understanding that we are there to help you and that we are just doing our job, our job would be a lot easier. So to wrap it up...if you are not enjoying shopping with Finlay, I suggest you go to the supervisor. It is a strict company policy to make our customers happy whether you purchase, just want to look, or you have a problem.

I work for Finlay, and after reading this page, I have to say if anyone experiences anything negative in their workplace, it does not include every Finlay store.  I actually love my job.  I have been trained well, and I love the people I work with.  Not everyone has a bad experience with Finlay.  As for their jewelry, it depends on where it is sold.  For example, a Dillards price is going to be less expensive than say Macy's.  That is because each location has to price their merchandise according to the store.  However, because a Macy's is going to be more expensive, they have more sales to compete with other stores.  A Dillard's price will go for half to a third of a Macy's price, and the price at Macy's will be the same only because it is on sale.

I 'm just saying that just because it is Finlay, that doesn't mean it is bad, it depends on which you are at.

stones fall out, 14k turns us black, everything has broken at least once.

I was given very little training in regards to the jewelry itself, everything I knew I picked up on my own or from independent research. I dont know much about prices but everything seems to sell well where I am from so they must not be that bad. The real concern I have is with the management. My manager is one of the sweetest people I have met and I have learned a lot about customer relation and about paperwork from her but she has been struggling with her full-time person. He is suppose to be the team lead but because he has proven himself incapable of doing the job I have had to do his job for him (even though I am not paid to do so). Even though he is there full time and only has to focus on sales while I am only there part time do his paperwork and chores as well as my own selling, I am doing better in sales than him! He has also failed to show up for work three times, he violates the security measures for the jewelry and he has been demoralizing and unprofessional at work. However, my manager has tried three times to fire him and each time the human resource manager praises him and writes up my manager for causing problems. When it came to the safety of the jewelry the HR manager even told her to ignore it! I have felt for some time now that there is something seriously wrong with the management if they are unwilling to fire employees who do not do their job and label the ones who do there jobs as overachievers. I have read in some of these other messages that the employees seem uninspired and with all of this going on it is no wonder, it is hard to care when you are underappreciated and doing someone elses work for them.

If you want decent jewelry & trained associates, don't go to any department store that carries Finlay! Couple years employment in the Chicagoland area under my belt, & one of the happier days of the last 12 months was when I left.
I got very almost no training in the product at all, rarely saw the boss (I was nights PT, and he often left before I got there. Hard working man, though--I have little criticism of *him*), and some of my customers knew a lot more than I did about the actual stones. Policies often seemed contradictory, and were not employee-friendly--and that was the opinion of all of my co-workers. Boss was put upon by his superiors, who never seemed to give him reasons he could pass on to us when we were fuming--I should think his blood pressure must have been pretty high. Ridiculous sales goals, as well. The host store's policies were sometime contradictory to ours, & it didn't seem as though anyone had tried to straighten it out; when we were overridden by store managers, we knew we were likely to get in trouble with Finlay, so we made the managers initial the receipts to make it clear. (Cosmetics never seemed to have that problem...)

As for gem quality, like I say, I wasn't very well trained, but you could probably find better diamonds almost anywhere legit (we did have a comparison chart with GIA's ratings behind the counter to explain what 6AA meant). Some of the darker pearls were fairly obviously dyed, but otherwise seemed good. Better luck with the clear semi-precious stones--topazes, amethysts, etc.
Sales structure was highly convoluted, though it may have also been the store's set-up: minus 50% minus 10% minus 15%, for example--most people thought it meant minus 75%, not 10% off the half-price, and then 15% off that amount. I've never compared with any other jewelry store, so I can't make price comparisons, except that I was told at least once a week that out prices were terribly high. Every 6 months or so, someone would say we were so reasonably priced.
I told my former co-workers that I never will buy anything from Finlay; & likely not from any department store, since so many of them have Finlay! I will go to an actual jeweler, instead.

I went through almost seven years of hell working branch managment for this company before I was done with them. I have read many of the below statements and there are a couple things I would like to respond to. First I have a back round in diamondtology and gemology and can tell you that yes their diamonds and most of there other jewelry are low grade. Certified diamonds only mean that they are charted and classed by a gemological institute which does not mean they are of a higher quality than the diamond pieces in the case. Matter of fact if you notice the certs that Finlay carry are rated SI2 to I class with G-H color which is low grade. The A-B chart Finlay uses is a recognized diamond grading chart and is just a conversion of the more well known SI chart. The reason the diamonds are usually a lower quality in Finlay stores is because unlike the larger corporate jewelers, Finlay buys natural Emeralds, Rubies and Sapphires when these other jewelers buy them as created stones and spend all their money on diamonds. Yes you will find a lot of the same pieces across all jewelry stores because they all buy from the same vendor fairs every year and deals are made where they have to buy so many of one type of item or have agreed to a package deal with the vendor that may include lesser grade pieces. I know from experience that much of what Finlay carries is garbage as I watched the low quality gold of entire series of many cheaply made pieces darken, dull and desintagrate weather they were still in their packaging, in acid free lock boxes or in the show cases. Many would drop stones just from being picked up and I even had a couple embarrassing instances where the merchandise fell apart into many pieces in my hands. I always checked other branches to see if they were having the same results with pieces and then reported these findings to the head office and sometimes to the buyers or the director of store herself and instead of them issuing a recall they would do nothing and ignore any request or complaint I made. Some of the worst pieces are what they call door busters usually in gold boxes. These are usually some of the pieces that were included in packaged deals and were of very poor quality and usually had diamonds in them that looked like rock salt in which we would usually have to send back half of them as multiple stones usually fell out or the gold would crack. During weekly confrence calls complaints over the workmanship of the weeks chosen door busters were always issued and were dismissed by the regional and director of stores when she attended. We were then told we had to smile and push them no matter what and were hassled daily to make sure we where making our quota and told to push the protection plan with it so when they did fall apart we wouldn't have to take the loss. I was outraged at the deceptions they were constantly trying to make us pass to customers and told them many times outright that they were junk. I refused to do this at my branch and many times was harassed to increase my numbers by both regional, director and host store manager alike which I would never ask my staff to push as they felt the same about the merchandise.

I tried to return a Christmas gift of a Finlay necklace with the gift receipt at an Elder-Beerman store for a store credit. The necklace could not be exchanged or returned for credit. I won't buy

I worked in the Fine Jewelry department at a Bloomingdales in Atlanta for 2 weeks towards the end of 2005. It seems that Finlay has their share of disappointments but mainly through employee relations and behavior. I was hired during a high transitional time, the department manager that was recently terminated apparently had stolen thousands of dollars in merchandise and seemed to be the main focus of constant conversation within the department. I have worked many years in retail and have served several high end retailers but it seems that Finlay/Bloomingdales at Lenox Mall lacks the tools to control the behavior of their staff and apparently their managers. Rumors were flying around regarding the previous manager was hanging with store security to possibly sway them to sexually harrassing employees to just out right harrassing employees in regards to personal matters. During the 2 weeks I was with Finlay I found my training seemed overshadowed with politics and I felt that I was not given the proper training to be successful in my position, I was being trained by a district and regional manager as well as various "visiting" managers so one could guess that most of my training was a bit scattered. I felt the entire time I was being set up to fail but I guess that's just the way of corportate retailers. Lesson learned, this little lady will never stray from locally owned businesses again.

I have done research into Finlay's merchandise and I have found that Finlay carries much of the same merchandise as Roger's Jewelers and other competing fine jewelry stores. Finlay's prices are also very competitive-many times, Finlay's price is lower. To say that Finlay's jewelry is junk is to say that Roger's Jewelers' jewelry is junk. Finlay has a variety of diamond qualities for every budget including very excellent certified diamond peices. Most of their precious gemstones are natural which I cannot say about many other jewelers. At least in the area I live in, majority of the local jewelers have turned to created gemstones instead of natural. I think that some people simply hold a grudge against Finlay and stand determined to muddy the name. Finlay Fine Jewelry is a business and, as every business, will do what is needed to survive. I beleive that most associates are very helpful and well-trained according to Finlay's On-line training system. If the associate is not helpful, then perhaps that associate is not fit to work for the company. I have to say, Finlay must certainly be doing something right in order to grow into over 1,000 stores nationwide.

Yes they may have some unique jewelry but its WAY overpriced for the quality. Also if you work for them they will treat you like crap. You will work your hardest for them and then when you leave they will give you bad references and keep you from finding other work.

Finlay DC in Orange, CT treat their employee's like dirt. They do not appreciate the work they do for them. The managers are complete jerks, they think the're gods and better then there employee's they also have no respect for anyone. As an employee i was disrespected on numerous occasions. Everyone was treated like they were in kindergarten we were not allowed to speak to our co-workers. If your looking for a job i dont recomend anyone to apply at finlay. As for there merchandise it sucks!

It is unfortunate that the quality of the merchandise is offensive, stone quality is poor and the employees lack any motivation. However, if the customer can't afford real jewelry and are upset at the thought of wearing plated costume ..I GUESS Finlay's junk is the next best thing. Avoid this crap - but if you don't know... you get what you pay for!

finlay has a lot of unique pieces to offer a jewelry collector. the quality isn't always the highest so that everyone can enjoy the pieces. however, you can find designer pieces at reasonable prices. as for the sales, it's retail people! who isn't on sale these days. these are hard times. oh, and i have never gone without getting my full hours worth of break time.

Their jewelry is overpriced, it's made to be sold on sale. Diamond quality on some of the pieces is eh...not so good. But they also have a lot of very nice and unique pieces. As for treating their employees like slave workers, that's not true. They DO get breaks just like any other full time job, an hour for lunch, bathroom breaks, and whatnot.

Finaly's Diamonds are the worst quality i have ever seen. There prices are through the roof for the junk that one gets. They treat their emploees like slave workers forcing them to work 8-9 hr shifts without a break!

Sale practices and Regular Pricing are very deceptive and misleading bordering on fraudulent.