Bridal and Tuxedo Shoppe SUCKS! (pretty long)

Santorini2011

I have written several positive reviews on this store so it is only fair to share this DISHONEST and HORRIBLE experience from today.

The store offered a 50% off one item in the store sale today.  It applied to all gowns except the Disney Line.  My dress is their "signature" Sophia Tolli dress.  i was told at the WJBR bridal show as I was given the coupon that as long as I purchased the dress in the store and it wasn't an order,  I could get  it 50% off.  Incredible, right???  I left the show and rushed to the store.

So...there were 3 salespeople standing there talking when I walked in.  I stated that I wanted to purchase the ST dress that I tried on several times.  I asked Carmela, who I had worked with and had been nice previously, to sell me this dress.  She played stupid and said she didn't know what dress I was referring to.  keep in mind, it has been their primary website photo for over a year and it fairly unusual looking.   My 2 BM and I looked all over the store.  It was nowhere.  I asssumed it had been sold. I explained that I would not be buying any other dress except that one and didn't want to order it without trying it on again.  They suddenly "found" my dress.   Long story short...the dress was pulled from the floor and placed in the back  SO IT WOULDN'T BE SOLD AT 50%.  Talk about slimey...

Despite the fact that I was wearing the dress in the store, THEY REFUSED TO SELL IT TO ME!  I was told that the coupon does not apply to this dress because "it was their signature dress and they could not let it leave the store". 

The coupon was very clear that any gown (except Disney) was 50%. They flat out refused to allow me to purchase it!!!!!  I argued this point and was told that was why the dress was not on the floor.  At one point, Carmela agreed to sell it but kept saying it would be VERY hard and EXPENSIVE to alter the length and it wasn't worth the cost of the seamstress.  Then she retracted the sale after I insisted that I was still interested.

I said that I understand they didn't want to lose it in the store so I suggested they honor the 50% and order me another dress (I pay alterations so it was nothing else out of their pocket).  Their solution was I leave empty handed or order the dress at full price.  The only concession was they would waive the $150 hollow to hem fee on a new order.

Oh yeah...they also refused to match prices with B&G and said the B&G would sell me a knockoff.  Way to bash anoter store...

I went back to the WJBR show and spoke to the male owner.  I did it at the end of the show when no one was around to be more respectable.  What a jerk!  He called me a liar in a roundabout way!!!  He stated there was no way that  that had occurred and refused to listen as I explained that I had full payment ready but the sale was refused. He is manner was demeaning and disrespectful.   THEN HE WALKED AWAY FROM ME!  Never offered to look into it or anything.

So, they wouldn't budge on a couple hundred dollars that they had a coupon for.  Now they lost the sale of 5 BM dresses, 1 MOG, 1 MOB, 7 tuxes, 1 flowergirl, and 1 ring bearer outfit.  WHAT GENUISES!!!

I was NOT a bridezilla.  I was calm and polite through the whole ordeal but looking back, I wisj I had ripped them all a "new one" and made a scene at the bridal show.  UGGGGG!!!

I will never recommend Bridal and Tuxedo shoppe again!

soontobeschooley

Wow!  I'm sorry you had such a bad experience!  How frustrating.

I would report them to BBB honestly.  It was rude and unprofessional.

wicked+faery

wow...i would review them on any & every site u can! dang!!!

good luck on finding another store that sells ur dress...such sleaze...

Ms.BriarRose

Ditto Wicked.  Post this on Wedding Channel, as well as the Philly board/Baltimore board (with add ons about what the store was).

I am so sorry that this happened to you.  I really hope you can get it from B&G, or another store.  Do you know if B&G sells ST?  I can't remember.

I feel so bad for you right now.  And this makes me really, really mad.  I can't believe they did this!  I also agree you need to report them to the BBB!

Also, I would recommend calling WJBR and talking to the show coordinator.  They need to do something about this because it gives their show and station a bad name.

EiDuffy

yikes! hope you can find your dress elsewhere and without any more hassle.

paprika28

Wow- having bought my dress from them, I find this odd... but unfortunate for you. I can see the issue if you were trying to buy a regular floor sample, (i.e.- not discontinued, as the coupon you mentioned sounded like it was for if you were buying one off of the floor) where most places won't sell their sample until it's discontinued because then they won't have a sample to sell to more people.

HOW they handled it is the crappy part. But, had they come out to you and said, 'it's not on our floor samples, blah blah blah', would it had made a difference to you? Selling appliances is completely different, I completely will come out and say it, but over the years, selling such high ticket merchandise, we used to run in to something like this all the time.

And how the male owner handled himself at the show was very unprofessional, I agree.

I would not go so far as to 'spam insult' them, with bad reviews all over the internet, however maybe contacting the BBB to let them know what went on, and maybe calmly contacting them without the hurt from them 'hiding' the dress? It really might make a difference.

JayElleJayCee

i feel like you were already calm and nice.. and that just gets people nowhere unfortunately! maybe you could talk to the owner of the store and try one more time??  geez. what a disaster! i can't believe how you were treated not once but twice!! what a double whammy! I agree with contacting both the radio station and BBB. Do you know of any other store in the area that carries the dress?

[Deleted User]

Wow.. What a horrible experience! I totally agree that you need to report it to bridal show coordinator. That would make any bride not trust any promo, or offer given at the event. Good luck finding your dress elsewhere. I am sure that you will find something spectacular!

Santorini2011

That is a good idea to contact the show coordinator.  Sadly, there are very limited authorized retailers for ST.  I am scouring other states and will just eat the cost of taxes. B&G are going to see if they can order ST since they aren't authorized either.

Paprika-Having worked in upper managment business, I would understand not selling the sample as well. I am tried to rationalize this in so many ways.  However, it is bad business to not post this as an exclusion, esp if it was their "signature dress", if they had no intention of selling it.  I cannot understand have a sale that states one item 50% off if they don't want to sell samples. 

Overall, like stated previously, I have praised them for being helpful on so many occassions tht it is only fair to review the negative as well.

MBR-I will def. review this on WC too.  Good suggestion!

Santorini2011

I just read one part

The whole store is samples that were all on sale so it really didn't matter if it was a regular sample.  If they didn't want to sell any samples, they should have offered the first ordered dress of each style at 50% off.

Thanks for the support guys

paprika28

Santorini- I wasn't trying to be 'that person', and I'm glad you didn't take it as that. Because after I went back and reread what i wrote, I would have gone off at me.

When I bought my dress there, the only floor samples that were for sale were the ones on the 'clearance' rack. Everything else was just that- a sample. You'd try it on in the store and they'd order it for you if you loved it. I guess I misread what you wrote, because I would have assumed that it meant the clearance, selling right off the floor models. The only reason I got to take mine home that day was because the one I fell in love with was a clearance dress- the one I almost bought was just a floor sample that they would have had to order.

My mistake. They may have had too much clearance merchandise and their goal with that coupon was to clear out of that. I don't know. i wasn't in the situation, and I can only offer my advice & comments.

smilormarie

Good to know.  I tried on dresses there.  I have other options to pursue.  Good luck finding your perfect dress again.  Consider trying yes bridal www.ybridal.com. I am considering ordering my dress from them and have read good reviews.  Maybe they have somethinh similar.

Ms.BriarRose

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_delaware_bridal-tuxeddo-shoppe-sucks-pretty-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:77Discussion:ada4f3c4-edbd-4a5d-8e7b-eb03b5ccbb17Post:0b0679d9-9f0f-4cfe-bbd2-b15d95b3c606">Re: Bridal and Tuxedo Shoppe SUCKS! (pretty long)</a>:
[QUOTE]Good to know.  I tried on dresses there.  I have other options to pursue.  Good luck finding your perfect dress again.  Consider trying yes bridal <a href="http://www.ybridal.com" rel='nofollow'>www.ybridal.com</a>. I am considering ordering my dress from them and have read good reviews.  Maybe they have somethinh similar.
Posted by smilormarie[/QUOTE]

While the store was bad, I would never ever recommend ordering offline.  There are just too many things that can go wrong- and many of the "bridal" stores are actually shops in china that produce knock-offs, not the real thing.  I have heard (and known) several girls who ordered offline and ended up in a bad situation.  While there are some who have a decent experience, it's not worth the stress.  There are stores in DE/PA/NJ that can help- don't order offline.

Santorini2011

To pass this along...my bridesmaids are amazing!  Each starting calling stores in a driveable distance to hunt down this dress.

www.jbbridals.com is a brick store in Chambersburg that has it for several hundred dollars less...YEA!!!  It is pretty far away but they will ship the dress for $30.

Anyone hunting or price-comparing might want to call them.  They are having a sale through 1/31.  Mallory was who we talked to and she was super helpful.