Sorry this is so long-- I'm just super livid. Cliff Notes: bridal consultant couldn't shut up, diarrhea of the mouth, her two most offensive comments below are bolded.
WTF. I just had the WORST dress shopping experience. I know a couple of the consultant's comments were obviously off color, but I'm also trying to get a read on whether the ENTIRE appointment was just weird (my first one). This is what happened.
This was a Nordstrom Bridal Suite in NJ.
I went with my sister/MOH "K" and friend S. The consultant had a short form for me to fill out about my style preferences and wedding details. Then she proceeded to go on a really long-winded explanation about how there are 18 Nordstrom Bridal Suites in the country, Seattle has the biggest selection, NJ doesn't have every dress you see online... yadda yadda. Then she walks us through the whole floor, stopping at EACH RACK and giving us a full-on description of the designer. This was like the whole first half hour of the appt. And she was going full-steam never even stopping to ask what I liked. I really don't think she asked for my opinion even once during the whole appointment, not even when I was actually wearing dresses. It was diarrhea of the mouth the entire time.
Another customer came in demanding a BM dress return, so the Con told us to choose 6 dresses on our own and bring them back. Sure, so we did.
The talking went on and on, I would try on a dress, she wouldn't even ask me or K and S what we thought about it, and then she would just babble on about some random details of the dress. She was also really fixated on alterations costs, like "cups would be $16" or "A hem is usually $250," or "When you get a lot of layers in a dress, that can put the alterations up toward $700." She COULD NOT SHUT UP.
After Dress #2, the first really weird comment happened. Con: "So you have a 2015 wedding." Me: "I know it's a little early, but--" Con cut me right off: "Oh, it's not that early at all, it takes so long to order a dress.." She talked for at least ten minutes about all the details of ordering wedding dresses, how the store aggregated the orders every two weeks, Chinese New Year affects production in Feb, on and on and on. THEN she goes, "But you also don't want to be that bride who goes all around wanting to get the experience you see on TV, then those brides just ghost and don't return our calls. Then another bride with a 2014 wedding couldn't have that appt because you had it, and she's going to be asking, why was a 2015 bride in here? But oh, I don't mean you of course." K, S and I are all staring at her with our eyes bugging out of her heads but she did not get the hint. So somehow we have to hurry up because it takes so long... but I am also taking away an appt from an earlier bride and apparently looking for the TV experience? What the what?
The worst comment came towards the end of the appointment. So my sis had pulled sort of a princess-y dress with a poofy skirt that I didn't love but she wanted to see. Con was gone again (a walk-in had come in and was trying on BM dresses) so S zipped me into the dress. I had to stand there and hold it up because it was practically falling off. Con walks in and without even asking what anyone thinks, says the following: "Oh, I told you that was really a dress for a petite bride. Everybody loves it on the hanger but the only brides I've seen really pull it off are those really tiny brides, it's just a dress for a size zero. I don't mean to be rude, I just mean it's one of those dresses that looks best on, you know, like a size zero tiny bride." All three of us were shocked silent and just looking daggers at her, but she kept on talking, completely oblivious.
WTF bitch. First off, I am damn cute. I can pull off whatever the fuck dress I want. The sample was like two sizes too big on me, so I don't even know WTF she was talking about. After the first two dresses which were slightly too small, all five of the other samples were too big and she had to do the fold-and-clip deal to keep them up. But really-- what is going through your damn head that you would make a comment like that? How do you really think that's going to work out for your sale at the end of the day?
Oh and I forgot. Halfway through the appt she brought in BM dresses to show S and K. Seriously! Bless my sister, she said: "This is really JC's day, I don't want the focus on me. We'll worry about BM dresses later."
Then she awkwardly went for the hug at the end of the appt.
The sad part is, I found one dress (no, Con didn't find it, I pulled it off the rack because she barely helped with anything) that I really like. I won't say I love it yet, but I'd want to come see more from that designer. But now there is no way I want to go back there, and it's exclusive to Nordstrom, so I can't find the line anywhere else.
Also just to head off potential questions: we were not "looking for a TV experience." Kleinfeld's is actually closer to my house but I chose Nordstrom for the gowns I'd seen online, the price range, and it seemed less intimidating. I am financially prepared to put a deposit on a dress on the spot if I fall in love. We did not expect/ ask for royal treatment, we are all in our mid 20s and not giggly or immature at all.
ETF typo.
"I'm not a rude bitch. I'm ten rude bitches in a large coat."