Fakier Jewelers

Apr 1

In their own words

“We built this area to be a green space with a landing pad for a pergola. During the construction phase, the light bulb went off, and we said, ‘If we put a fence on this pergola, we could give our customers locks, and engrave their name and wedding date. Then throw the key in the water.’ Today, it is the biggest hit. Every day people are out there taking pictures. People propose there, get married underneath, then they throw their keys in the water.”

-Greg Fakier

Jason’s Interview with Greg

Jason

Today we're talking to Greg Fakier from Fakier Jewelers. How did you get into the industry, Greg?

Greg

Well, we're a third-generation jeweler. Back in 1979, my father was diagnosed with cancer and he asked my brother and I if we wanted to get into the business. We were 16 and 17 at that time, and we elected to do it. That put the wheels in motion for us to learn the business. My brother Glen, he learned the back side, the repair side, and I learned the front side and maybe in a year, we would do the opposite. My father passed away and we never had a chance to flip flop. That's where it all started. We both enjoyed watching my father, my grandfather.

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Jason
What's the experience like when somebody walks through your doors?

Greg
We always treat our customers as family, and we enjoy seeing every single person that walks in the door. When we have a customer that comes in the store, we don't try to sell them things. This is not our goal. We don't have a method, we don't try to apply an approach or a sales method on them. We want to help them find what they want and guide them to make their decisions. We want them to have the same experience as if they were walking into your house.

Jason
What's the ambiance like?

Greg
Well, it's funny. We did build a new store two years ago and it's gorgeous. My wife, who works in the business, I'll have to give her the credit. It has a home feel. We have counters that are on the same side as the consumer, this is important because we're looking at the jewelry at the same level.

When they want us to explain a piece of jewelry to them, it's a lot easier when you're looking at it at the same level instead of looking at it upside down. Our store is set up like a home. We have different rooms. We have a sofa. We were joking around the other day that we were going into the living room. It really is something to see and current as current can be.

Jason
Any key brands that you want Meet the Jewelers to know about?

Greg
We have Rolex, but we’ve cherry-picked what we want our store to represent. We're not about the brands, because in our town, we are the brand. We make jewelry in our own facility. We buy jewelry from some beautiful brands—Uneek, Simon G, Fope, Mastoloni, and the list could go on and on. A lot of these brands build items exclusively for our store. They can count on us for high quality. They can count on us for very good designs. We have a lifetime warranty.

Jason
I'm sure you've had so many engagement experiences. Can you tell us about a fun proposal?

Greg
Because our store’s on the water, we had an area that was going to be a green space because we couldn't put a parking space in that corner. My wife says, "Well, let's put a pergola in that green space." We built the landing pad for this pergola out of concrete. Before the pergola was built, we were standing on it and saying, "Look how beautiful." And the light bulb went off—we said, "If we put a fence on this pergola, we could be giving our customers locks, engrave their name, their wedding date, throw the key in the water." Today, it is the absolute biggest hit. It's the most photographed spot in our community. We have people every single day out there taking a picture. We've already had weddings underneath there. We've had people propose there.

Jason
Are there any pieces that you want us to know about?

Greg
We just built a five-carat emerald cut. The customer layered it with the stackables, it's a huge center stone.

Jason
You’re a staple in Louisiana with a great reputation. Tell us what causes, or charitable acts do you think we should know about?

Greg
Fifteen years ago now, my brother Glenn passed away due to a pulmonary embolism. At that time, my wife and I established a charitable foundation. There’s an area in the store where every purchase helps fund that foundation. That foundation has four causes, one cause is for my grandfather, who died of heart disease. One segment is for my father, who died of cancer. One segment is for my brother. And then my little cousin, who died of childhood cancer. All the purchases and private donations go to those four segments. It is a lifetime gift.

Jason
Here's your chance. Say whatever you’d like.

Greg
If anybody's intrigued with our store and they want to do business with us, we would love to have them be our customer. We would like to do business with you. Every associate in here is like family. You can make a friend with anybody in the store and we will help guide you to whatever item you want, engagement ring or a necklace, whatever it is that you're looking for.