CASE (Consumer Association of Singapore), the non-profit body that protects consumer interest did spot checks on goldsmith shops to uncover any case of them cheating on consumers by overstating weight on gold jewelleries or passing off substandard quality gold as pure.
It was reported that they conduct such checks regularly.
They informed consumers that they have the right to ask the staff to weigh the jewellery in front of them to make sure the weight is as stated. They further adviced that any price tag should be removed before weighing.
So true. Why didn't I think of it?
Sometimes when we buy things that need to be weigh, we never suspect if the shop owners did something to the weighing scale to deceive you. We just trust them.
Even if they weigh the item in front to show you, you can't be sure there's nothing wrong.
I remember the few times I was at a few goldsmith shops, I just trusted what was indicated on the price tag as the weight.
Now that I know about it, I wonder why no staff ever bothered to advice me about this? This is helpul knowledge that I can use in future.
Is it too troublesome for them? It could be, especially during busy periods. Imagine having to weigh every item to show to consumer.
That probably explain why I only went to thr really establiahed brand in this business.
But is it worth the effort?
Definitely.
First, no other people in the industry is doing it. If you are the first to do it, you set the industry stndard.
You create greater trust for yourself. No doubt the goldsmith I went to is an established brand. But if I know that they are doing something which no others are doing, I'm going to trust them more. Now that I know about it, I'm going to ask them to do it in future, even if they are big and established.
By teaching your customers about this, you are helping to protect their interest. They will appreciate you for your advice and reward you with more businesses.
Think about how you can help protect your customers' interest.