We were in Hyderabad a couple of weeks ago. Our visit was coming to an end and we were on the weekend anticipating our return early Monday morning. It was the last weekend day and like we were used to the Garden city, we thought we will keep our last bit of shopping to the last day. Unfortunately, Hyderabad sleeps on weekends unlike other cities.
We then decided to go ahead and shop for pearls having come to the Pearl City itself. When we reached Ameerpet, we found out to our horror that the jeweler Puchela Pearls, our friend’s referral, was not open. We then were wondering if someone else was open so that we could try our luck someplace else. Our driver took us to a shop by name Magan Pearls & Jewels that is adjacent to Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton, on Green Lands Road in Begumpet. We were thankful that some shop was open on a Sunday and headed right in to be greeted by the proprietor, Sunil Gupta.
Sunil Gupta was very cordial, courteous and helpful in his neat showroom. He was always smiling and cheerful. When we expressed our desire to purchase a necklace and some strings of pearls, he like any other businessman claimed best quality of pearls in town. He also showcased his collection, one after the other to the extent that we were tired. I was surprised at the rates he quoted for necklaces that were anywhere between Rs.3000 to Rs.7000. Puchela Pearls had quoted around Rs.450 to Rs.600 for different kinds of necklaces and these rates were exorbitant. I asked him that the rates were very high compared to Rs.25-Rs.40 for a gram or pearl. When I enquired, he told me that each carat was Rs.30 – that meant each gram was around Rs.200!!!
I was not sure about how things worked on pearls and we had seen enough and more variety and I was kind of embarrassed having seen more and not deciding on what we wanted. Sunil Gupta also managed to confuse me on the gram versus carat mode of weighing pearls. At last, we chose a necklace set that my wife liked. Sunil Gupta quoted Rs.4700 and we dropped a whole lot of other purchases we had planned due to the costs. He also claimed that the pendant in the necklace was made of nine carat gold. I bargained a bit and brought down the cost to Rs.3500 finally. In between, I called the Proprietor of Puchela Pearls and he informed that he is opening his shop for a few hours and I promised him I will pay him a visit as promised earlier. I was feeling sheepish that I had gone ahead and purchased some stuff already from another shop – but anyway, he was not open at the time and I didn’t know he would open later. We bid adieu to Sunil Gupta and headed towards Ameerpet, both my wife and I happy that we did a decent bargaining. Once we were in, we saw some necklace sets and pearl strings that were a shade better than what we had purchased and shocked to find rates anywhere between Rs.450 and Rs.600. Not a single piece went above Rs.1000!!
I didn’t know how to ask him to evaluate the stuff we had already bought from Magan Pearls and Jewels and I knew we were royally cheated. We had paid at least Rs.2900 extra and I was kicking myself and didn’t know what I should do. I desperately wanted his opinion on the necklace set and also a plan to retrieve the additional money. I was thinking if I should file a police complaint on him or fight with him and what if he closed shop in the noon and had gone? I had to act fast and do something instead of living with that feeling.
Fortunately, not suffering from some useless qualities of men, my wife pulled out the set bought from Magan and showed it to the Puchela’s owner. He first informed that the pearls were “OK” and not necessarily of the best quality (unlike what Sunil Gupta had claimed). Then he asked us how much we had paid and it was his turn to be shocked at what we had paid. He told us we were cheated and in Hyderabad, we need to be careful while shopping. The mistake, he said was to buy at the first shop we went into, especially after knowing some approximate rates.
I decided to go back immediately to Magan Pearls and Jewels and headed to the cab. I asked if the proprietor of Puchela Pearls could join us, but understandably, he wasn’t comfortable. Both my wife and I told him we will return and continue our purchases and left.
When we reached Magan Pearls, thankfully it was open. My mind was now agitated and noisy. I didn’t know how I should handle this – rough or smooth. I had made up my mind that if this Sunil Gupta character didn’t return my money and take back the necklace set, I will file a cheating case against him with the police. I was contemplating if I should reach for one of father’s influential friends in Hyderabad if things go bad.
I was however more hopeful after seeing that unlike on our first visit earlier that day, there were quite a few number of customers including some foreigners. I guessed that it would be easier to handle the situation than when the shop was empty. He would rather save his bigger business than saving a couple of thousands. I called Sunil aside and told him I was not happy with what I had purchased and that I was very uncomfortable with it. He asked me what made me feel that. I didn’t have the patience or the frame of mind to let him know about his cheating on pretext of quoting price on the basis of carats for something measured in grams. I told him that the pearl set didn’t really cost so much and the pendant was not of nine carat gold. He then rushed to assure me that things were OK and he could reduce the price further. I was surprised that he had haggled for selling it at Rs.3500 earlier and was now willing to reduce it to ’’whatever price’’ I was comfortable with! I wasn’t interested and insisted that I was not comfortable with the deal - I wanted a return & refund. He then offered to provide a “Certificate of Authenticity” for the pearls and hastened to seal and sign it off for me. I returned it to him and told him that I didn’t want anything else from him other than returning my money and take the set back. He asked why I had changed my mind. I told him that there were two choices – he could either take it back then without that useless discussion or I will have to take the rough route and create a scene. I was skeptical if he will fall for it, but he did. He told me that if I were so unhappy, he would exchange it. He pulled out the new crisp currency notes I had myself given a while earlier, hush-hushed and took back the necklace set from me and the receipt. I checked the notes and counted them to Rs.3500 and put them back in the wallet with a lot of relief.
When we both stepped out, the thought I had in my mind were of relief, gratitude to the proprietor of Puchela Pearls and a lot of thanks to my wife who didn’t have the inhibitions I had – she was instrumental in we not being cheated. She had spoken out, wasn’t afraid of us looking like fools or embarrassed like me.
The learning from this experience are these – go around a few shops and enquire, preferably have some local contact to help you shop and most important - if you are in Hyderabad shopping for pearls, do not enter the shop of Magan Pearls & Jewels owned by Sunil Gupta, he’s a cheat.