- What is the clarity of the diamond in that ring?
- Are the pearls in this necklace cultured?
- How much will it cost to get my wedding ring re-rhodium plated?
- How precious is orange calcedony?
- Why does this necklace look tarnished already?
- How many years will it take before I notice distinguished signs of oxidisation?
- I need to buy my girlfriend/fiancé/wife a last minute birthday present. I have $300. What should I get?
- I need to buy my wife an anniversary gift. Money is no object. What can you suggest?
- Ive been a loyal customer for more than 20 years. Why don't Georg Jensen do a discount?
- I should probably get my wife a push present. Do you have anything cheap but nice?
- I've never seen these type of earrings before - how do you put them on?
These are a selection of questions I have been asked while working as a Christmas casual at Georg Jensen in Westfield Bondi Junction. Obviously it was a short term position but even so, there was actually no formal or proper training in jewellery given beforehand. What I wanted to know I had to read or research online. If it werent for my manager being a laid back pommie I probably wouldnt have even got the job; I have such little retail experience, let alone a background in high end jewellery sales.
So whilst trying to uphold the quality and professionalism of the boutique brand that it is, some of the questions I have listed I have been able to answer in full confidence, while some I have blagged completely. Some I have made up a convincing answer with little truth and others I have just stared blankly at the customer/jewellery just trying to think of a plausible answer.
It was really a case of being thrown in at the deep end with this one. But it was a job nonetheless and a good job to write on the CV!
I was having to pick up things very quickly while watching how the others dealt with things. It was hard learning that way as there was so still so much I didn't know about. I was asking questions for the first two weeks about anything and everything until I slowly started to feel more confident.
In time, I smashed my sales target (albeit a tame one) by double in the first month, making about $25k while earning a little commission too!
The best thing about working there were the team - a close knit one of the most diverse personalities you could pick out of a hat. Peter, the manager, very new to the company himself having just moved from a different jewellery brand 3 months before, is a 30 something married bloke from Lancashire who emigrated and settled here a few years ago with his wife and they now have two kids. He's extremely intelligent (but doesn't like to show it) but also he's still a proper young lad deep down. With a very rude and sometimes disturbing mind he can make anything a laugh and is very chilled out and easy going. And you need a manager like that in this industry, trust me!
Marina is assistant manager and one of the most loveliest girls I've ever met. She moved over from Russia in her early twenties and as well as being so kind and lovely, she is stunningly beautiful. She used to be a model back in Russia and has the cutest little accent. She's a few years older than me unfortunately and so would no doubt prefer the bronzed, gym-frequenting Aussie hunks that parade round bondi in their little swimmers.
Garth is a casual employee but has been with the company for about 5 years now. There's nothing he doesn't know or can't tell you about Gerog Jensen. Same goes with a lot of other things as well... Or so he would argue. He really has had a rich upbringing and so many interesting and crazy life experiences. He is always telling stories and anecdotes with the rare ability to make the most boring ones sound interesting or hilarious . A proud gay man of 41 I think, he always has his strong view and opinion on everything. Not afraid to argue, assert his presence or even reveal the disturbing details of debaucherous accounts during his mid-twenties. Underneath all the gay bravado, the bitchiness, the lypo and facial surgery, the rich and wealthy businessman boyfriend in America, he is actually a very kind and thoughtful man, as most gay men are. A big softie at heart, but won't let you know it.
Emma and Camille are two young Aussie casuals who are both lovely and have different personalities. Emma has finished a uni degree in fashion design and will be looking formal graduate job soon like me. She is really nice and quite funny in her own way. She has the Aussie surfer dude boyfriend (lucky guy) and is dead easygoing.
Camille is just about to start uni in arts and law I think so she will be moving on pretty soon. She is very confident and despite being quite young, not afraid to let you know what she thinks if she doesnt agree with something. Which is a good thing, but it did reveal a fair bit of immaturity sometimes. She's fun to get along with and have a good laugh at things. I think she thinks she's a lot older and experienced than she actually is, which has made things difficult for Peter sometimes.
So that's the team! They've been great to work with and have really made what could have been a drab, dull sales job really fun and easygoing, so I've been really lucky to work there. Ironically, out of all the places I dropped my CV off at, this was the one place I thought I didn't stand a chance in. We actually waited outside the store wondering if it was worth it or not!
And now Tom and I each have a sleek new watch to wear, which I got a killer discount on. Oh yes!
Weird Georg Jensen Fact:
One of my customers was so obsessed with the brand that she named her child Jensen.
It has a lot of loyal customers, some of which are snotty upperclass airheads while others are kind thoughtful and very respectful.
Disturbing Georg Jensen Fact:
Witnessed a woman arguing and getting very defensive after being called "Mrs". She insisted she be called "Doctor" when being addressed, in the snottiest rudest tone ever.
Its been a fairly balanced ratio (in the time I worked there) between horrible customers and polite customers, but that's retail for you, as they say.
Hilarious Georg Jensen Fact:
Had a woman come in to the store asking me if I'd like a psychic reading in exchange for some jewellery. She was completly dolalley. She started going off on one about how I am "the sun" and have the all the energy in the universe to achieve eternal happiness. I played along and said I don't own the shop so I couldn't give her any jewellery, to which she apparently bestowed on me the gift of light and said "with this power, you will own the company in two weeks and then I will return".
She never did. In fact after she left the shop, I saw her go next door to Tiffanys.
Heres me with Peter, Marina and Garth. Camille doesn't like pictures and Emma wasn't there that day unfortunately.
I know what you're thinking.. I haven't shrillived down in height with all this extra sun...they are just a very tall bunch!
Shortly after this, Peter finished his shift and suggested me and him go for a quick drink at the pub. This actually turned into 6 drinks accompanied by some hilarious banter and comparisons between Australia and England. I opted for a beer called Pure Blonde (which I'd heard was quite nice) and seemed to get drunk extremely quickly. I put this down to being off my game a bit, having not been out for a big drinking session for a while but after we'd finished and I found myself swaying down the isles of the supermarket trying to remember what I needed for tea then wandering all over the pavement on the way back home I knew something was not quite right. I subsequently found out, after collapsing in the bed while Tom googled the offending beer, that it was a carb-free variety so the alcohol was so much more pure (hence the name). And it had hit me like a tonne of bricks! I don't think I've ever been that drunk during the day, especially out in public. Must have looked a right state.
We've organised another night out this evening which should be a good laugh but I've told myself I am most definitely not mixing my drinks like I did the last time. I did wonder if it was all worth it when I was straining my back and stomach which my head down the dunny the next day.
Typical day in the back room of the store.
Little memento to remember my time there :)
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