Couch & Co. Jewelers

Apr 20

In their own words

“We’re one of the few places in the area that still fixes jewelry ourselves, by hand in the Shreveport/Bossier area—jewelry, watches, and my mother restrings pearls. We’re doing it ourselves, in our community. We’re not shipping it out to who knows where, where it can get lost. We’re doing it here, where you can meet the person that’s going to be fixing your jewelry.”

-Ashton Couch

Jason’s Interview with Ashton

Jason

Today we get to talk to a third-generation family jewelry business—Ashton Couch from Couch & Co. Jewelers in Bossier City, Louisiana. How'd you get into the industry?

Ashton

I’ve grown up in the Freeport/Bossier area, my whole life. I was in the TV and film media industry for about five years, where I worked and saved enough money to buy my uncle out of our family business. The business was originally started in 1974 in this area by my grandparents. In the 90s, my father and my uncle bought them out. And then I bought my uncle out of the business. Now, me and my father own it, trying to continue on this forty-five-year legacy in the area.

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Jason
What is it about jewelry that you love so much?

Ashton
I love to make people happy. The greatest thing is when you get tears of joy. Girls are getting married with grandma’s ring, that my grandfather made and worked on. And then I got to make and work on. And we have tears of joy. I get to make people happy every day.

Jason
When they come inside your store, what's the ambiance you're trying to create?

Ashton
It's family. We're not over here in a three-piece suit. We're not better than anybody. We work for a living and our customer base is the same way. We're here in blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a nice dress shirt.

Jason
What's your specialty these days?

Ashton
We focus on our repair business. We're one of the few places in the area that still fixes jewelry. My mother re-strings the pearls. We're doing it ourselves, in our city, in our community.

Jason
Tell me about some of the charitable giving that you do.

Ashton
We do a lot for our community. We need to invest back into our community, whether it's the small country school that needs a little bit of money for baseball or our local symphony. We work about three hundred yards away from Willis-Knighton Hospital. We're partnering with them to do a Heart Walk auction coming up in about a month.

Jason
What are three pieces that you love to look at when you're in the store?

Ashton
First of all, I love our great collection of pre-owned high-end watches. The second piece I love to look at is engagement rings. I love to look at them and imagine the story on the girl’s finger. I want to imagine the story and the happiness this is going to bring. It's a life-changing event. My third favorite thing is our knives. We have a great selection of knives.

Jason
You've probably had a lot of proposal experiences. Tell us about a fun experience.

Ashton
I have seen guys get engaged in our store, which is always fun. I've been part of—when I was in the TV and film industry—guys getting engaged on TV. One time, we had a guy fall out of a boat and pop up with the engagement ring that he’d had hidden in his pocket.

Jason
What does customer service mean to you?

Ashton
Customer service means being treated the way I want to be treated. Don't shortchange anybody. Treat everybody equally. We're all equal in this world.

Jason
Can you tell us about your custom design experience?

Ashton
We want to make it about them. It's their ring. No matter what you want, we're here to build exactly the ring that you want. This is the purchase of a lifetime. We do everything we can to personalize it, from adding birthstones to any type of gemstone. We source all of our diamonds ethically.

Jason
This is your chance to say whatever you like to Meet the Jewelers. What would you like us to know?

Ashton
Just come in and meet my family. We're not gonna try and sell you. It's not a high-pressure sales environment. I love my job because I get to stand around and talk to people every day. We're out in the community. We're part of the community.