DRESS IT UP

Dear Shop Owner,

I am wondering what kind of business you are running. I had come into your store over two weeks ago, looking for a dress to wear to my sister's wedding. I found one that was perfect, except for the fact it was one size too big. After what seemed like a lengthy conversation, you told me you could get one from a store 3 hours away (although you first suggested I DRIVE there to get it myself). I suggested you have it delivered here since I was paying over $250.00 for it. You told me that your store policy requires a 20% down payment on the dress, which I readily paid. You told me you would call when the dress came in (in about a week).

I called your store last week, to ask about the status of my order. The clerk simply said, "Have we called you?" I said no, to which she snipped, "Well we'll call you."

Yesterday I was at the mall, and decided to check on the order status. The first question was "Did we call you?" Me, getting a bit pissy, told you I'm leaving town for two weeks, and I would rather find out NOW when the dress would be here. You flipped through your little binder, couldn't find it (because apparently you filed it by my first name, not my last name), and then finally found it and declared the dress was UNAVAILABLE. I wasn't sure what that meant, since you were standing there like an idiot. When I asked for clarification, you checked your computer and said that the smaller size I needed was sold already from the store you were supposed to get it from. I asked when you knew about it, and apparently two days after I first came in.

Now, here is my issue. You KNEW the dress wasn't coming in, but you didn't call me. When I called you last week, you could have found out then it wasn't coming in, but you refused to look. When you knew it wasn't coming in you didn't offer me back my 20% down payment, which you should have considering you weren't trying to get the dress from another store elsewhere. After I got in your face, you look in your computer and see there are several dresses in the size I require, in other stores in Ontario, which is three Provinces away. I ask if you can get it from there. You hmmm and hawww, and I remind you that you still have my money, and that you should have called me when you found out you couldn't get the other dress. You tell me that you can fax the store in Toronto, but it'll take a few weeks to get here. Then you tell me you can't guarantee that I'll have it in time for my sister's wedding.

By now, I'm ready to pop a vein in my head. I try hard not to yell at your ignorance, since my children are with me. Your clueless clerk tries to show me other dresses, which are totally hideous. One is metallic bronze (am I from the 80's and a streetwalker?), and another is a black and white polka dot fru-fru dress that would be appropriate for a 16 year old girls' Sweet Sixteen party (I'm 31 by the way). I demand I get my money back, and you are shocked. After all, why should it bother me that I may or may not have a dress five days before my sister's wedding. You then suggest I buy the larger size and alter it (we went over this already - you can't alter a dress that is hand beaded by the seams). THEN you insult me by telling me that the size small wouldn't fit properly anyways, even though I have over an inch on each side in the larger one.

Decided to be distinguished, I leave your store without punching one of your clerks in the head or kicking the crap out of a mannequin. I would just like to add, I will NEVER set foot in your store again EVER! And if this is your idea of customer service, I'm shocked you are still in business.

Sincerely,
Unsatisfied Customer