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Absolute Bridal & Formal

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Absolute Bridal & Formal Reviews (2)

I thought I would stop by Absolute because I saw an advertisement. I walked into the store and was politely harassed by the employee working there. I was looking for both a flower girl dress and a wedding dress. The employee continually asked me to make an appointment in the afternoon. I explained I couldn't because I was from out of town and couldn't hang around waiting for the appointment. The employee practically followed me around the store asking "are you sure you don't want to make an appointment", over and over again. I had no intentions of pulling any dresses out, I simply wanted to look.

Review: Late in the afternoon on February 26, 2014, I was shopping in the Absolute Bridal shop with my fiancé, looking for a wedding dress. We looked at several dresses and had been shopping for most of the day. I admit, I was tired and the sales clerk picked up on my frustration and my fatigue. She asked if we had been looking around and we had and while in this store I didn’t really see anything that “grabbed” my attention. After discussing what I was looking for, the sales clerk told me she had something that sounded perfect. She went and pulled a dress off of a rack and upon showing it to me. I was not impressed with the dress. However she insisted that I try the dress on telling me, “You can’t really see the dress until you try it on.”

I then took the dress into the dressing room and upon coming out wearing the dress, the sales clerk “acted” as though it was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen and even though it was obviously I was NOT impressed with the dress, she continued her “hard sell;” dressing me up with jewelry and further taking advantage of, I truly believe my fatigue and frustration from shopping all day. At this point, she offered the dress to me at ½ price of the $699.95 “retail” cost of the dress. Knowing this was a reasonable price, I asked if I could take some pictures to send to my family and friends to get some opinions. I was told that no pictures were allowed, which should have been an indicator to me, however, I was tired and overwhelmed and agreed to purchase the dress.

After looking at the dress for several days, in my own space, I knew I was not happy with the dress and tried to sell the dress privately. The problem I ran into, and something that never occurred to me until I was asked by a potential buyer, is that the dress has no designer tag, no size tag, no tag identifying where the dress came from/cleaning instructions – no tags whatsoever. I called Absolute Bridal and requested information regarding the designer and was informed they do not disclose “their” designers. I asked why this was their “policy” and was told “just because,” which made me question the ethical business practices of this company. To add to my suspicions of this company’s business practices, one option offered to me was, Absolute Bridal would consign my dress.

I have tired several times to speak with someone to resolve this situation. I have had a representative contact Absolute Bridal to try to resolve this situation. Absolute Bridal refuses to speak with myself or my representative to try to resolve this matter, leading me to further question their ethical business practices.

Therefore, in summary, the reasons I question Absolute Bridal’s ethical practices are as follows:

Hard sales tactics

Neglecting to inform customer of “consignment” policy – therefore not knowing if the dress purchased was in actuality a consignment.

Neglecting to come forward with information about the dress in order to assist the customer to resolve the incident on her own.

Neglecting to communicate with the customer, and/or the customer’s representative, to resolve the situation in a reasonable, businesslike and equitable manner.

Sincerely,

[redacted]. Desired Settlement: Refund or it least in store credit.

Business

Response:

[redacted]The customers complaint seems to be blaming Absolute Bridal for ??? Assisting her until she ultimately purchased a gown... that she was not satisfied with. I have no explanation for a customer doing such and clearly it is not our responsibility to do anything other than what she explained; present our products in a manner whereby our customers can see them and make the appropriate buying decisions that are best for them. We cannot tell in the end WHY a customer ultimately does purchase, however as a business and a specialty store that only deals in 'special order' items and obviously also an EVENT oriented business ie Weddings/ proms/ formals etc.. we also cannot accept items in return.

Because of the afore mentioned, As a business we have a 'NO REFUNDS/ ALL sales Final policy, it is clearly spelled out and explained on our invoice - which Ms. [redacted] signed. If we did not have THIS specific policy, it would be inviting people to USE our items on a given day, and then return them after. Though not all customers 'would do such a thing, the invitation to do it cannot exist in our type of business.

In ref. to Ms [redacted] want for us to disclose our vendors information, it is not unethical- We simply have a right to not disclose that information. One of the things that makes us unique is the fact that we provide vendors that are not IN the public eye as much- we have chosen to do this FOR our customers - So that they will not see themselves in dresses that are 'advertised' all over the internet- thus providing them a more 'individual' experience.

We are required under the Clothing and textile consumers act to maintain records of our vendors - for 'safety reasons' ie in case it was discerned that a particular fabric or ? Was hazardous to public safety- which we Do. Keeping our 'ingredients' to what we do, is like keeping a receipe a secret..once you give it away, you know longer are special and since we are, We will maintain our company position on this.

For Ms [redacted] information however, when advertising online, normally it is simply 'wedding gown' sz _ and the price along with a few descriptive pictures. It is Very unlikely the online shopper is seeking a 'name' of a

designer since the reason they are there in the first place is 'price' a large percentage of the time. It is also not 'normal' for even IN STORE customers to ask a designers name. We do on occasion have customers ask, however in the end the Bride or prom goer is interested in how THEY look and feel in the gown, not the designer.

We do our best to assist customers find what they want. Our customer service has long been one of our best features and it will continue to be - As Ms [redacted] admitted, she had been shopping most of the day, but obviously did not purchase. We thank her for her business , however We find it hard to believe Ms. [redacted] purchasing her dress had our customer service been other than acceptable.

In the wedding and formal business, 'things change' about 25% of the time. Cancellations, postponements and breakups. As a business that has to maintain consistency in business practices, accounting and inventory - we could not possibly consider the in relationships or customers simply changing their mind ,as part of our daily practices. We are sorry for whatever happened in Ms. [redacted] situation to change her mind.

V. Nicosia

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

First, the complaint against Absolute Bridal is HARD SALES TACTICS. Knowing I, the customer, was already tired and frustrated, the sales associate PUSHED a dress that I was not really happy with until she made a sale. I was unhappy with the dress from the beginning and this was made VERY clear to the sales associate. The implication by Absolute Bridal that it is NOT their responsibility for customer satisfaction is an unacceptable, as well as unethical, business practice

The customer’s complaint seems to be blaming Absolute Bridal for ??? Assisting her until she ultimately purchased a gown... that she was not satisfied with. I have no explanation for a customer doing such and clearly it is not our responsibility to do anything other than what she explained; present our products in a manner whereby our customers can see them and make the appropriate buying decisions that are best for them. We cannot tell in the end WHY a customer ultimately does purchase, however as a business and a specialty store that only deals in 'special order' items and obviously also an EVENT oriented business ie Weddings/ proms/ formals etc.. we also cannot accept items in return.

The “No Refunds/All Sales Final” Policy is understandable; however the reason for said policy is unreasonable. For any company NOT to assist a customer in the resale of an item purchased is also unreasonable and an unreasonable business practice, especially for a small local store.

Because of the afore mentioned, As a business we have a 'NO REFUNDS/ ALL sales Final policy, it is clearly spelled out and explained on our invoice - which Ms. [redacted] signed. If we did not have THIS specific policy, it would be inviting people to USE our items on a given day, and then return them after. Though not all customers 'would do such a thing, the invitation to do it cannot exist in our type of business.

In general, MOST people DO ASK about the dress designer when purchasing a Wedding Gown. When I posted this dress online, I had several inquiries as to the designer and in Absolute Bridal deliberate withholding of pertinent information, I was unable to resell the dress purchased from their store under duress.

In ref. to Ms [redacted] want for us to disclose our vendors information, it is not unethical- We simply have a right to not disclose that information. One of the things that makes us unique is the fact that we provide vendors that are not IN the public eye as much- we have chosen to do this FOR our customers - So that they will not see themselves in dresses that are 'advertised' all over the internet- thus providing them a more 'individual' experience.

In response to Absolute Bridal’s assertion that they have a recipe, ALL restaurants will give a recipe to a customer if they ask. For example, a friend of mine once ate at a [redacted] and enjoyed the meal so much she asked for the recipe, which the Chef personally gave her. Therefore, their ascertain is unfounded and therefore can be construed as they are hiding something from their customers, intimating an UNETHICAL business practice.

We are required under the Clothing and textile consumers act to maintain records of our vendors - for 'safety reasons' ie in case it was discerned that a particular fabric or ? Was hazardous to public safety- which we Do. Keeping our 'ingredients' to what we do, is like keeping a receipe a secret..once you give it away, you know longer are special and since we are, We will maintain our company position on this.

Obviously, Absolute Bridal had not had much experience in selling used products online. If they did they would know that in the description YES, they are correct – you list “wedding gown, Size?, price, pictures and a description of the dress”. HOWEVER, when speaking to people who respond to the advertisement, you must answer questions they ask, such as, “Who designed the dress?” It is not my practice, as it is for Absolute Bridal, to misinform or lie to a perspective buyer. If it is in fact Absolute Bridal’s policy to lie to its customers, which again would be an unethical, if not illegal, business practice.

For Ms [redacted] information however, when advertising online, normally it is simply 'wedding gown' sz _ and the price along with a few descriptive pictures. It is Very unlikely the online shopper is seeking a 'name' of a

designer since the reason they are there in the first place is 'price' a large percentage of the time. It is also not 'normal' for even IN STORE customers to ask a designers name. We do on occasion have customers ask, however in the end the Bride or prom goer is interested in how THEY look and feel in the gown, not the designer.

As to the ascertain that Absolute Bridal assists their customers to find what they want, I believe it is heir practice to HARD SELL their customers into purchasing product Absolute Bridal wants them to purchase, in order to “get rid of” stale or old slow moving merchandise. The Dress that was PUSHED on me the day in the shop when I was obviously tired is an example of their hard sell practice.

We do our best to assist customers find what they want. Our customer service has long been one of our best features and it will continue to be - As Ms [redacted] admitted, she had been shopping most of the day, but obviously did not purchase. We thank her for her business , however We find it hard to believe Ms. [redacted] purchasing her dress had our customer service been other than acceptable.

Regarding Absolute Bridal’s accusation toward my plans, I take that as a personal offence considering my wedding WILL take place on September 13th of this year. In their lame attempt to accuse me of a “change” in my plans, they are attempting to take the onus off of their business practices. To be perfectly honest, MY mind about the dress never changed. I did NOT like it in the store, but was pushed into the purchase by a VERY pushy sales associate and as my fiancé was with me, she can attest to this horrible sales practice.

In the wedding and formal business, 'things change' about 25% of the time. Cancellations, postponements and breakups. As a business that has to maintain consistency in business practices, accounting and inventory - we could not possibly consider the in relationships or customers simply changing their mind ,as part of our daily practices. We are sorry for whatever happened in Ms. [redacted] situation to change her mind.

In conclusion, Absolute Bridal is trying to put the responsibility of their bad business practices on the customer rather than address their business practice of Hard Selling to tired, frustrated customers; neglect of disclosing information regarding their “merchandise”; and their lack of customer service when it comes to product dissatisfaction. I would also like to point out that they completely avoided my point of not knowing if this was a consignment dress that I purchased or not. I am not satisfied with the outcome to do I feel as a legally disabled person I was taken advantage of and discriminated against due to my sexual preference. I feel there is something absolute bridal can do whether its I give the dress back and I get in store credit for the amount or cash back I would even be willing to settle on a agreed upon amount upon return of the dress even if its not the full amount.

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Description: FORMAL WEAR, BRIDAL SHOPS, SHOES-RETAIL

Address: 1015 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, 24504

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