Frustrated customers at Kay, Zales, and Jared say their wedding and engagement rings are stuck in 'jewelry jail' due to coronavirus-related store closures

• As Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared stores were forced to temporarily close across the country, many customers were left without the jewelry they had brought in to locations for repair.
• Since jewelry repairs are traditionally picked up at the stores where they were dropped off, many customers have been told that there is little that can be done until those locations are allowed to reopen.
• At least one customer described their rings as being locked up in "jewelry jail."
• "We're working tirelessly to safely reunite our customers with their jewelry across the country, working within different jurisdictions that allow employees to safely enter into stores wherever possible," a representative for parent company Signet said. "Our employees are invested in helping because they have been involved in the wedding or engagement process, and know how meaningful it is for their customers. Last week alone, for instance, we reunited nearly 350 customers with their jewelry — primarily rings for weddings, proposals and anniversaries."
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With Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared stores temporarily closed across the country, some customers who had sent in their rings for repairs are wondering when they'll be reunited with their jewelry.

Peggy McCabe dropped off her diamond ring, anniversary ring, and gold wedding band to be resized at a Kay store in Quincy, Illinois, on March 9. She was given a pickup estimate of March 26. But then, on March 21, she got an email that stores would be temporarily closed, starting the following day at 6 p.m.

Since repairs are traditionally picked up at the stores where they were dropped off, McCabe wouldn't be able to get her rings back until that location was open again.

She called the retailer's corporate office and asked whether she could have her rings shipped to her. She was told that wouldn't be possible.

"[Shipping jewelry] would probably add up to a very great expense for them. I understand, but you need to take care of your customers. This could last longer than originally expected," McCabe told Business Insider.

The Facebook pages for Kay, Zales, and Jared have recently been flooded with comments from customers describing similar situations. At least one customer described their rings as being locked up in "jewelry jail."

Some haven't seen their rings in over a month

For some, missing rings are just the cherry on top of a series of frustrating situations brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Raquel, who asked that only her first name be used in this story for privacy reasons, was supposed to get married on April 14 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. She brought her rings to a Kay location in Minnesota in early March in order to have them sized, cleaned, and soldered together.

Her wedding had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but she and her fiancé planned to get married in a private ceremony in the meantime. They had to do it without her rings, however.

"It has now been almost 60 days since I gave my jewelry to the store," she told Business Insider.

Raquel said the store manager she spoke with was apologetic and said she would do what she could to get her ring back to her.

Still, the situation has yet to be resolved.

"I actually feel bad for the store manager because she is obviously doing what corporate instructed her to do, but I am disappointed in the way it's been handled," she said.

A representative for Signet, the parent company of Kay, Zales, and Jared, said that the retailers have been making an effort to get jewelry back to their owners.

"We're working tirelessly to safely reunite our customers with their jewelry across the country, working within different jurisdictions that allow employees to safely enter into stores wherever possible. Our employees are invested in helping because they have been involved in the wedding or engagement process, and know how meaningful it is for their customers," company spokesperson David Bouffard told Business Insider in a statement. "Last week alone, for instance, we reunited nearly 350 customers with their jewelry — primarily rings for weddings, proposals, and anniversaries."

Meanwhile, the stores are promoting virtual consulting services that would allow customers to make new purchases online or over the phone. Those orders are able to be shipped to customers.

"It seems that currently, they are more concerned with making current sales, but those of us who have already purchased, not so much," Victoria, who also asked that only her first name be used due to privacy concerns, told Business Insider.

She said her husband had bought her a new ring to surprise her for their 10th anniversary. She dropped it off at a Zales store in Maryland to be sized and soldered on February 28, but it wasn't ready for pickup before all of the retailer's stores shut down.

Bouffard said that rings purchased online are sent from the company's fulfillment center rather than from the stores themselves, which is why they have been largely unaffected by coronavirus-related shutdowns thus far.

"The customers' jewelry that is entrusted with us for repair has traditionally been picked up in our stores. Since the stores temporarily closed, we're innovating every day to safely reconnect customers with their jewelry," Bouffard said. "This includes safe curbside pickup where possible, and our latest process — where we are able to safely retrieve customers' jewelry from the store, we then send it to their homes. We're always striving to evolve to meet our customers' needs."

Read the full statement from Signet:

"We understand that customers are emotionally attached to their jewelry, especially so in these extraordinary times. We help customers celebrate life and express love every day — that's why we reached out to as many customers as we could before our stores temporarily closed for safety and government reasons on March 23. Because the safety and wellbeing of our customers and team members is of the utmost importance, and while honoring all state mandates to do what we can to protect all people, we were able to return many items as part of our efforts. However, once our stores closed, we began finding new safe and innovative ways of reuniting customers with their jewelry because of the priceless sentimental value it holds. That's happening across the country, every single day. Following health, safety and government guidelines, we continue to innovate every day to reunite customers with their jewelry, where it is safe to do so, and on a case by case basis. We have reunited hundreds and hundreds of customers with their jewelry across the country — especially couples with wedding rings and engagement rings — and we will continue to do so until every customer is satisfied.

With regard to your question about the mailing of customers' jewelry, for jewelry that is purchased on-line, our fulfillment center sends newly purchased jewelry to customers' homes. That hasn't changed. The customers' jewelry that is entrusted with us for repair has traditionally been picked up in our stores. Since the stores temporarily closed, we're innovating every day to safely reconnect customers with their jewelry. This includes safe curbside pickup where possible, and our latest process — where we are able to safely retrieve customers' jewelry from the store, we then send it to their homes. We're always striving to evolve to meet our customers' needs."