Sincere Solicitation - LuShae Jewelry

I have taken it upon myself to review a select handful of companies on this site, usually because they have crossed me in some way or another. Examples include Microsoft Xbox Live, Comcast, and Photosource of Sacramento. I have had occasion to give positive feedback as well to a handful of excellent businesses like Apple and Action Camera of Roseville. These companies never requested a review, but due to exceptional service in both extremes, they have received one. And I don’t believe the larger corporations (even Apple) care much what I think, never mind what I publish. But At least one smaller business does appear to care as someone from Photosource’s URL searches Photosource, me and/or my blog’s name frequently. I get hits every month directly from photosource.biz.

I study communication and I concentrate on ethics, morality and truth. When it comes to organizational communications, most would agree that those three qualities are seriously lacking at the insanely large end of the spectrum, but they are more easily found in much smaller companies. The organizational ethos of small businesses are less likely to be embodied in an anonymous corporate persona, but rather mirrors the ethos of the owners. With more direct control over who is hired and fired and a far more personal stake in the company’s success, a small business owner has much better control over how his or her business operates, and especially in how that business treats its customers.

Despite the fact that I do not regularly review goods and services here, I get commercial requests on a regular basis. Usually it is an offer to pay me a pittance for a banner advertisement on my blog. Although I have nothing against using this spot for commercial gain, I have no interest in reducing my integrity by advertising something I don’t believe in. To date, no such offer has met that that standard. And many of those offers are out and out scams – too easy to detect to even congratulate myself for my cleverness. Recently, however, I received an unsolicited email that was decidedly different. It was an invitation asking me to review a sample product from an online jewelry company. Sarah, with jewelryartdesigns.com (AKA LuShae Jewelry) offered me a free sample of any product in the company's online catalog, asking that I only write my honest opinion, “good, bad or ugly.”

If it was a scam, it was a well-written one and I could not see how I would be exposed in any way. Aside from providing my home address for shipping, no other information was requested or provided. No credit card numbers, no Social Security number, not even my age was requested and shipping was not tacked onto my free order – it was entirely complimentary. So I took the bait. Any small business that is willing to take the time to reach out via this medium with a well written, humble and catch-free request has earned my attention. I responded on January 13 and receive my complimentary gift coupon via email the same day. Within a day or two I placed my order and yesterday (Jan. 21) it arrived in my mailbox.

My review will be coming shortly, but besides reviewing the actual piece itself, I can say this about Jewlery Art Designs: Their website is exceptionally clean, easy to use and professional; their commitment to customer service is obvious; in short, they know who they work for. I can recommend them even in the interim, prior to taking a closer look at their product (and if first impressions are accurate, expect a similarly glowing review) because a dissatisfied customer will not remain so for long with them. Yes, they are that kind of company. The bend-over-backwards kind of customer service that has gone the way of the dinosaur is alive and well at Jewlery Art Designs. And that is more than half the battle to succeeding in business. Go check them out at LuShae Jewelry.