Davids Bridal - My Experience and Your Opinion

[zorlack76]

Well, I just filed a Better Business Bureau complaint online. The first part sayd that they will respond within 3 days and that the store has 14 days to respond to them...but the last thing on the website said that they will get back to me within 30 days. Hmm...my wedding is less than 30 days away, so I hope they can expedite it.

[sperger]

Good for you to file the complaint! I had a similar experience to many of the girls before and just left not feeling that we had any kind of service. It was a weekday, and it still felt like a zoo! I said a quick prayer for you that you 'll get the dress in time!

[mplscold]

I have purchased from DB in the past and although I didn't have the terrible service that you did, IMO DB is the "Wal-mart" of Bridal stores. Its what you end up with by trying to save money which is sad but true.

[meghan]

Thats horrible that you had to deal with that...I would definitely let everyone know this story if I were you...Write something to the paper even if you can!! Let them know how they ruined your wedding dress experience.

[bearbunny]

I bought my dress at DB - but I haven't gotten to the alterations yet. My overall experience in the store was actually very good - customer service was good, dress selection was good...no complaints. I agree it is a bit of a different experience from a private bridal shop but it is great for bride on a budget.

 

I hope it all works out for you - please keep us posted. And you should definitely take it to the next level with whoever you have to - your experience should not have been such a nightmare - I don't care how much you spend on a dress - it should be top notch service period!

[autjo]

Great move with the BBB. We all spend so much money on these dresses and David's Bridal makes it seem so trivial. When in reality it really is a big deal! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience

 

Well this definitely isn't my first rant on BDW about how stupid Davids Bridal is. I usually call them the Old Navy of bridal boutiques but I think that is probably being too nice. I have been to several of them in Texas and Arizona with the same level of service or lack there of in all of them. Only one of them that is in not such a great part of town has actually been nice and helpful. If I wasn't such a cheap butt and actually found the perfect dress there I would have definitely gone elsewhere.

 

The first time I went dress shopping I went by myself and the sales girl was soooooo incredibly rude. She had the nerve to tell me in a really snotty voice, "maybe you should bring someone with you next time so you don't waste my time" and then she stopped helping me altogether! The link below is when I picked up my dress and a whole story about how stupid the girl was.

 

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t41617

 

I think that as long as people know what they are stepping into when they shop at Davids you can get a pretty good deal. My girlfriends had warned me about alterations and after all of the negativity in the store there is no way in hell I would let them actually touch my dress!

[K'osh]

I bought my dress from a DB in New York just across the border. The sales lady did haul out dresses but was never around to answer any questions I had about the dresses. When she did show up I made it really clear that I did not want a train....ended up buying one with a train though because I really loved it.

When I checked on the internet the next day it said the dress I bought could be ordered without a train (why didn't the sales lady tell me this). I called the store...they said no problem...they will re-order the dress without a train and credit the $50 to my credit card when I come pick it up.

Couple months later I get an e-mail saying my dress is it...YEAH!! Except it is the wrong one...it has a train. When I call the store the lady tells me that I have to come into the store, receive the credit and then they'll order the correct one. I explained that I'm a 2 hour drive away, I don't want to make the extra trip to get the credit and asked why they can't give me the credit over the phone. She says it's not their policy and that "in case I didn't know a lot of their customers are from Canada".

In the end I called and complained to the manager and she did end up giving me the credit over the phone and re-ordered the dress for me. Now I'm just waiting for it to come it...fingers crossed it doesn't have a train.

[CrystalM]

I had similar issues with DB. I was a BM for my best friend. I went in with her to pick out the BM dresses and the dress chosen fit me just fine. We got it in and I tried it on again and the top part was just a bit big (I lost maybe 5 lbs). The girl insisted on altering it, she took measurements and my friend said I should let her. I insisted that it wasn't a big deal that I could eat a whopper and milkshake and put the weight back on. For a 5 minute argument with the seamstress, they started saying that I signed a paper (??) saying they could alter it, but never showed it me and couldn't produce such a critter when I demanded to see it! They tried to tack $150 on it my bill for alterations that were never done (said they shortened it - i'm 5'8" - I never need crap shortened!)!! I threw a fit in the store, got the manager involved, they asked me to leave (same - never swore at anyone!), I refused to leave without the dress (they ran my credit card), they called the cops, and I filed a police report for theft in front of the manager. She removed the charges and threw the dress at me.

 

So this was about 5 years ago. I didn't even consider buying my dress from them. I bought my dress from Jessica McClintock. Well I need a cheap TTD so I decided to pop in. The woman at the front desk was beyond obnoxious. I could spend an hour just gripping about her and the way she dealt with customers. It took her 25 minutes to find the dress on the computer for a bridesmaid - who had the style number and color on a piece of paper - and there wasn't an issue with the computer.

 

The girl who helped me with the dresses was fabulous. I actually told her she needs to find a bridal boutique to work at instead of the "wal-mart" of bridal gowns.

 

The manager stopped by when I was wearing the dress that I decided I liked and she was actually pushing the sample dress on it - it's lace and beaded - the beads are falling off as I'm wearing it, and part of the lace was torn under the arm. I asked how much, I can easily fix it on my own for a decent price. $49.99 off. I said no thanks, i'd rather pay $50 more and get a perfect one. Her response "Well, none of them come in perfect so you'd be better off with this one anyway" I used to work in retail - you never, ever, ever, EVER talk bad about your products!!!

 

So, after that, I have the style number and everything so I'm going to try to find it online/used for less - I LOVE the dress otherwise I wouldn't bother with anything from them

[GracieBebe]

Do you have any local news stations that do those help the consumer bits. Maybe you can report it there and they can do a story on it. This sounds like something that the news people would love to air. Poor little bride about to get married being bullied by a big chain wedding store...Her dream wedding "altered" by a large corporation, etc.

[KarenM]

I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that! It's really good you filed the complaint & I hope they refund your $ for the extra alterations that shouldn't have been necessary in the first place! And there's no excuse for them trying to throw you out of the store; saying they felt threatened. Seriously?!?

 

I actually just bought my dress at david's in Paramus, NJ and wanted to share my experience b/c I was so surprised by how good an experience I had. I had gone to the one in Manhattan once and that wasn't good - made me not want to go back at all, but some friends talked me into trying in Jersey so we made an appt there last Fri night. The store is huge (2 floors) & both the woman answering the phone (Rita) & my consultant (Mani) were so super helpful. I had printed out some of the dresses I like from the website and Mani pulled them all & several others she thought I might like (as did my friends). She gave me a longline bra & told me to pick out whatever shoes I liked (out of the ones they sell) to try on w/ the dresses too. I couldn't believe it - I actually felt like I was in a real bridal salon, not the McDonald's of wedding dress stores (that's what I refer to it as). Anyway, I was there much longer than the hour appt & she never rushed me. The manager came over 1/2-way through my appt to start giving her input & was also very helpful, not pushy, and had great feedback. I love the dress I bought & actually felt really good about giving Mani the sale - she so deserved it.

here's my dress, btw:

David's Bridal - Allover beaded lace trumpet gown with empire waist and cap sleeves.

 

I just ordered it so I won't know about their alterations for a while, but if there's a problem I'm sure you'll all be hearing from me again. Unfortunately it sounds like there's so much variation in the customer service between stores, with most of it falling on the bad side. They really should do a better job of hiring people who actually like helping women find their wedding dresses (as Mani does) and don't just treat their job like a cattle call.

 

Good luck to you - I hope this gets resolved quickly in a way that you're satisfied with & that your dress turns out beautifully!