Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jeweler brings Midwest to the Southwest
    Tara Fine Jewelry: Atlanta’s not-so-secret, best-kept secret
    Finding the Big Ones; Zambian Trophies for the Ages
    The Golden Girls of Gemstones
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Education, networking, hospitality featured at Spring Atlanta Jewelry Show
    Designer Brenda Smith announces new Black ’n Gold ’n Diamonds Collection
    JBT-logo-cover
    Richard Katz, Richline Group appointed Chairman of The Jewelers Board of Trade®
    Alan Revere
    AJDC elects Alan Revere as President
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
    business people shaking hands
    Networking for small business owners
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: A Clean Disaster
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jeweler brings Midwest to the Southwest
    Tara Fine Jewelry: Atlanta’s not-so-secret, best-kept secret
    Finding the Big Ones; Zambian Trophies for the Ages
    The Golden Girls of Gemstones
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Education, networking, hospitality featured at Spring Atlanta Jewelry Show
    Designer Brenda Smith announces new Black ’n Gold ’n Diamonds Collection
    JBT-logo-cover
    Richard Katz, Richline Group appointed Chairman of The Jewelers Board of Trade®
    Alan Revere
    AJDC elects Alan Revere as President
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
    business people shaking hands
    Networking for small business owners
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: A Clean Disaster
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

24 Karat Corner: Help wanted – stat!

Howard Kelrick by Howard Kelrick
May 31, 2015
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 6 minutes

After a few months of not being able to get away, I was happy to get out and see some people I hadn’t visited in a while. My first stop was to my friend Donnie’s store. Donnie and I have been friends since we both started in the business back in the bronze age.

When I pulled in, the store was busy with customers, and Donnie was trying to work with two different customers at the same time (a definite “no-no” on so many levels) and other customers were milling about waiting impatiently.

I took a peek in the back to see if the jewelers knew of the crush up front, but the shop lights were off and no one was around. I was even tempted to hop over the counter to help the waiting customers, but realized that would have only made the situation worse. So, I wished Donnie good luck and told him I’d be back at closing time, and left him alone with a store full of customers.

When I swung back early that evening, Donnie was exhausted.

“Glad to see you are busy!” I said as I walked in trying to put a good face on things. “Where were all your sales and shop people?”

“Gone!” was his one word response. “Buy me a beer and I’ll tell you how I got in this mess!

“I did have, as you know, two good sales girls. The younger one left to work at the Apple store in the mall, probably to sell watches. The other left to take a job that offered health insurance. She wants to start a family, and I don’t offer health benefits.”

“And your shop guys?” I asked, knowing this too would end badly.

“My head jeweler, who had been with me for thirty years, retired early. His assistant just didn’t have the skills to run the shop by himself, so I had to let him go. That might have been a mistake.”

“So, how is the hiring going?” was my obvious question.

“Not so good! It’s not like I’m running a shoe store like the guy next to me. My people have to know what they are doing, understand the security issues, know something about diamonds, know how to close a sale, and by the way, I need to know the people I bring in are honest and trustworthy to a fault. It’s a scary proposition, and apparently, I’m not very good at the process!”

The beer and the burgers came and it gave me a moment to assess my poor friend’s situation. While Donnie was obviously a sharp retailer with great buying and merchandising skills, his human resource talents were non-existent. And, he was beginning to realize that himself. So, that’s where I started.

“Donnie, it would be great if I knew some salespeople and bench jewelers to send your way. But, unfortunately, I don’t. But I can help you past this HR nightmare you’ve been running.”

“First, you need to attract candidates. And, you can do this with competitive salaries, good benefits, flexible work schedules, and providing opportunity for advancement, along with interesting and challenging work.

“Second, you need to retain your employees. You can do this by giving them the necessary tools and resources to do their jobs successfully, offering educational opportunities, rewarding them for career development, and giving them a clear path to grow in their jobs.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Donnie confessed. “Yet, I’m at a complete loss on how to make it happen.”

We finished dinner and walked to our cars. I told Donnie he’ll get through this, and when he did, he should sign up for some classes at the local community college or find a course on-line in human resources management. I even suggested to him that he might qualify for a scholarship for those courses from The 24 Karat Club. When he is ready, I told him, it would be my pleasure to nominate him. I also pointed out to him that continuing professional education for his employees is a wonderful benefit that improves the skill set of his staff, and builds employee loyalty and morale. And, The 24 Karat Club could help him there as well with scholarships that could cover the entire cost.

To encourage those in our industry to continue their education, improve their technical or managerial skills, The 24 Karat Club offers a variety of scholarships. If you or someone you work with would benefit from a 24 Karat Club scholarship, we suggest you contact one of our members to learn more about the nomination process. We especially invite store owners to think about their staffs, and how an investment in their education would benefit everyone. 

And, just maybe, I’ll sign up for a few courses in retailing, so the next time I have a chance to hop over the counter to help out a friend, I’ll know what I’m doing! And, if you or someone you know wants to re-locate to South Florida, drop me a line, and I’ll pass it along to Donnie.


Howard Kelrick is President of Finger Mate and a  board member of The 24 Karat Club, SEUS.  Finger Mate manufactures and installs expandable ring shanks and sells to retail jewelers throughout North America. Contact Howard at 954-458-2700 or e-mail Howard@FingerMate.com.

Howard Kelrick

Howard Kelrick

Howard Kelrick is President of Finger Mate and a  board member of The 24 Karat Club, SEUS.  Finger Mate manufactures and installs expandable ring shanks and sells to retail jewelers throughout North America. Contact Howard at 954-458-2700 or e-mail Howard@FingerMate.com.

Related Posts

Is the customer always right?

Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler

March 27, 2023

The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles

March 20, 2023

Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide

March 15, 2023

The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue

March 15, 2023

Latest News

Industry Events

Education, networking, hospitality featured at Spring Atlanta Jewelry Show

March 27, 2023
Columnists

Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler

March 27, 2023
What's New

Designer Brenda Smith announces new Black ’n Gold ’n Diamonds Collection

March 27, 2023

Other News

Richard Katz, Richline Group appointed Chairman of The Jewelers Board of Trade®

AJDC elects Alan Revere as President

Kingswood Company President and CEO Kristie Nicolosi inducted into Private Label Industry Hall of Fame

Hardrock Summit to return to Denver in September 2023

Iconic Jewelry Firms is theme of ASJRA’s 18th annual Conference

DMIA members meet-and-greet and hear updates from GIA, NDC

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Jewelry Trade Shows & Events
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.