Above and Beyond

Kimera--it's a store in Brooklyn that has rightfully earned my praise. When I was in there last night, I effusively told the woman behind the counter "This is amazing! I am going to spread the word!" And what better forum than this?

Kimera sells beautiful handcrafted jewelery, clothing, pillowcovers, bags, and other items of artesania, many created by Brooklyn designers or by the store's owner herself. I have gone in a few times to find a gift for a friend, and always come out with just the thing. (I also secretly investigate the ins-and-outs of their pillowcases because I know that, if only I had a sewing machine and knew what to do with it, I could duplicate them.)

A while back I bought a pair of earrings there for a friend's birthday. When she tried on the gift I was so pleased: they looked made for the wearer. Then tragedy struck! (Are you feeling the dramatic tension here?) During the course of the birthday evening, one of the earrings was lost. Knocked out by her scarf? Fallen in the crowded restaurant, or cramped bakery? We'll never know. She'd had them for all of 2 hours! It was so depressing. We pathetically searched around on the street tracing our steps back over 5 blocks or more, to no avail. The restaurant could find no trace of it either.

Our last (and let's face it, slim) hope was that the store would have another pair and would agree to let us have just one. I called Kimera the next day and explained the whole sorry situation to them. They just asked me to call back in a week. When I did call yesterday, the woman on the phone instantly knew me: "Oh yes, the earring. We have one for you!" It was incredible! They had gotten a second pair from the designer and were willing to part with just one of them. When I expressed amazement, the woman just said "Oh, I'll make a necklace out of the other one or something." Talk about going above and beyond in your customer service. The shoe repair place downstairs needs to take a lesson from these ladies. Now you see why I have devoted a post to them--it's well deserved for the efforts they went to on my behalf!