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
    NDC Education Partner Program
    Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education
    Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners
    jeweler
    ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training
    skull rings
    KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    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
    Brad Huisken
    A quick note about technology
  • 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
    NDC Education Partner Program
    Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education
    Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners
    jeweler
    ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training
    skull rings
    KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    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
    Brad Huisken
    A quick note about technology
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured Articles Featured

MI jeweler can change and charge batteries

Paul Holewa by Paul Holewa
September 30, 2021
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Waterfall Jewelers
Waterfall Jewelers’ charging station went operational in July.

With Waterfall in the name of a jewelry store, a hydroelectric powered car charging station nicely reinforces the brand. Mark Ettinger, co-owner of Waterfall Jewelers and Gemologists, opted for the more practical than coal-fired energy source when he installed a charging station for customers with electric vehicles.

Mark is a third generation jeweler. His family has served the community since 1979 and counting. With two store locations (Waterford and White Lake) in the southeastern portion of Michigan, Mark and his family know the communities they serve well.

In addition to identifying trends in jewelry, Mark and his family have also tracked evolutions in other aspects of their customers’ purchasing power: Electric vehicles are gaining popularity among Waterford’s roughly 75,000 citizens. 

Years ago Mark purchased a hybrid. It offered fantastic mileage and was economical for his commuting needs. In the spring, Mark decided it was time to give customers who drive electric vehicles the opportunity to top them off while shopping for jewelry or items serviced at his Waterford store.

“We are always trying to look forward with trends both in the jewelry industry and other trends that our customers want,” says Mark. “And, we’re always looking for ways to add value to everything we do here at Waterfall Jewelers. Providing a free charging station for our customers was an easy decision.”

The decision may have been easy, but it took some planning and logistics to make it all happen. From idea to completed project the charging station took about three months to complete. And, as Mark and his staff discovered, the deeper they dug into the project the more it mushroomed on them.

“At first, we wanted to go with a high-speed supercharger,” says Mark. “We originally looked at Tesla and other high-speed direct-current chargers. But they needed a service voltage to the building of 420 volts and we only had 240 volts. The cost to change the service drop and the extra cost of the chargers was not feasible.”

Waterfall Front View
Waterfall Exterior

Determined, Mark did additional research to learn more cost-efficient options. He found that Level 2 chargers are fairly standard and have support networks with apps that are integrated into these stations.

ChargePoint and its network offered Level 2 chargers that provided upwards of 30 amps. And, owning and operational incentives through ChargePoint, the local utility company (Detroit-based DTE Energy for Mark’s store) as well as Federal government tax incentives took this decision from good to great.

Mark decided to assign two parking spots with access to the charging station. It is clearly labelled as dedicated parking. Some customers, however, with traditional internal combustion vehicles park in these spots. “But there has never been an issue with someone waiting for the charger,” says Mark.

With the equipment selected, it was time to hire a contractor. Mark went to a trusted electrician of many years and he got to work. The store’s electrical panel could handle the extra load that comes with charging an electric vehicle or two. The distance from the charging station to the circuit breaker panel required the electrician to run a fair amount of wire through the store.

Mark knew it wouldn’t take long for the front-end costs to pay off. The ChargePoint unit itself was $7,200. Each year Mark pays a $500 network fee. And, the electrician charged Mark $4,800 for the work to install the unit. The total bill for the first year of operation will be $13,000.

It’s a big number for sure, but DTE Energy will give Mark a $5,000 credit and the Federal government also offers him a 30 percent tax credit. “The unit will cost virtually nothing after the DTE credit and the tax credit is used,” says Mark.

ChargePoint and its support network allow Mark many options for terms of use, from Waterfall customers to the good people of Waterford. For starters, Mark could charge customers for the use of the charger. But he views the charger as a value-added service to his customers, so it’s free.

Waterfall Mark
Mark Ettinger, co-owner of Waterfall Jewelers and Gemologists.

Mark could also assign hours of operation for the charger to coincide with the store hours. But he keeps the charging station accessible 24/7, a decision that may change at some point in the future. For now, Mark offers the charging station as a customer and community service.

“It’s roughly $2 for 30 minutes of charging,” says Mark. “And, according to the ChargePoint app, there are other charging stations in town, but not any that are really close by.”

As hybrids and electric vehicles become increasingly popular, Mark is enjoying the caché of being one of the first businesses in town to have a charging station. He received some local media attention and customers, both electric vehicle drivers and otherwise, think the charging station is “pretty cool,” according to Mark. “Overall the feedback has been positive.”

Mark’s charging station has been operational since July 12. From then through early September roughly 25 people used it. To bring attention to the new added-value service, Mark and his staff posted a promotional notice on Facebook. The first customer to use the charging station would receive a $25 gift card.

“We put that posting up on July 13,” says Mark. “Someone used the charging station and got the gift card within three hours.”

So far the charging station hasn’t had any direct link to big sales. One existing customer who drives an electric car used the charging station and “purchased a nice set of diamond earrings,” says Mark.

For Mark and his staff, it’s more about customer service and the range of services that come with this refrain from essential retail. Plus, at this stage of the evolution of vehicles, Mark definitely likes the cool factor of being the only jeweler in town with a charging station. And, it’s always good when positive aspects of a retail jewelry store can create some word-of-mouth buzz in the market it serves.

Paul Holewa

Paul Holewa

Paul Holewa has worked as a gem and jewelry industry trade journalist for more than 20 years. He learned about the gem and jewelry industry firsthand in Bangkok and Chantaburi, Thailand, global hubs for colored stones, diamond cutting, and jewelry production. Paul called Bangkok home for 11 years. He has travelled to remote gemstone mining sites throughout Southeast Asia, as well as major distribution and manufacturing centers in that region. For most of his years as a trade journalist, Paul has specialized in writing small business management articles for retail jewelers. His specialty has been developing magazine news feature stories and online blog content to help jewelry store owners to manage their store more effectively and, more importantly, to sell more jewelry. Paul has written on a wide range of jewelry store management topics from sales training and staffing, to video marketing and social media campaigns.

Related Posts

Jeweler brings Midwest to the Southwest

March 1, 2023

Tara Fine Jewelry: Atlanta’s not-so-secret, best-kept secret

March 1, 2023

Finding the Big Ones; Zambian Trophies for the Ages

March 1, 2023

The Golden Girls of Gemstones

March 1, 2023

Latest News

Columnists

The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles

March 20, 2023
Other News

Mystery shopping results reveal opportunity for proactive consumer natural diamond education

March 20, 2023
Industry Events

Jewelers of America announces 2023 GEM Awards winners

March 20, 2023

Other News

ASA partners with BrankoGems Academy to offer testing loose and mounted diamonds and gems training

KIL N.Y.C. introduces the Cranium Ring

Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide

JCK Industry Fund announces 2023 grant recipients

How to drive more sales and referrals through social media

IGI moves to expanded New York offices and gem laboratory

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.