Maryland-Baltimore

Customer Service @ Alfred Angelo Store!!!

This is my first review, I couldn't wait until after the wedding.

My bridesmaids (4 BM's) bought their dresses from the Alfred Angelo store in Glen Burnie.  I called before we went to get their store hours, the lady I spoke to was a little rude but it didn't bother me that much.  When we went  the sales ladies were very busy.  Noone offered to help us so we did our own thing.  No biggie, we ended up finding dresses pretty soon, however, we had to wait 30+ minutes for the girls to be measured. 

While we were waiting, there was a pretty heated argument between a customer and a sales lady.  As the customer was trying on wedding dresses the very thin sales lady felt the need to tell the customer that she was "too big" for the type of dresses that she liked and was trying on.  The customer became very upset.  I felt so bad for her, I just wanted to give her a hug.  She embarrased her infront of her family and friends and other customers.  The girl went back into the dressing room, I believe she was crying (not sure).  The sales lady ruined a very special day for her and had no right to make that comment.  It was not only what she said, it was how she said it.  Very rude!!!   This of course made one of the girls that she was with very mad.  She went up to the sales lady and addressed the comment that she made.  This then turned into a screaming match.  I couldn't believe the sales lady stood there and argued with her like that.  Talk about unprofessional! Everyone in the store basically stopped what they were doing to watch.  However, the girls finally got measured and we left.

Now, what really set me off -  My future sister in law (who is 17 years old) got a call from the store on Thursday.  They said that the dress just came in and that she had to pick it up immediately or they would send it back.  She could not go that day so it really worried her, she is 17 and didn't really know how to respond.  She told her mother and her mother called them.  They told her she had to pick it up by tomorrow (Friday) or to put money down for alterations or they would send the dress back - no if's, and's or but's about it.  So they had to rearrange their plans for Friday and rush up there. (I didn't know about this until yesterday bc they didn't want to tell me to cause any other stress, etc.).  Saturday I spoke to my sister who said she was trying to pick up her dress but didn't really have time - she said she received a rude message from the store Friday evening and that she had to pick it up immediately or they would send it back.  She called them Saturday and told them she was unable to make it and they gave her until Sunday.  My friend contacted me last night, her cell phone has been broken for a few days, she got it fixed yesterday and had several rude messages from the store stating that the dress came in on Friday and they have been unable to reach her and that if she does not pick it up by Tuesday it will be sent back.  The fourth bridesmaid has not received a call.  I am sure she'll receive the same nasty message.   

These 3 girls (my sister, best friend, and FI's sister) - have no interaction with each other and all have the same exact story. I heard one message and it was very rude.  It's like these people who work there do not know how to talk to people or have any consideration.  These girls work, go to school, etc. They cannot just drop what they are doing and pick up a dress that day or the next and I don't like that the store made a threat that they would send the dress back immediately!  It wasn't like the dress has been sitting there, they stated that it just came in and that was the first time the store called them.  These girls are taking time out of their lives and money out of their pocket to be a part of my day and I don't feel that they should be treated like that.

I contacted the store today to find out their dress pickup policy.  They stated that they have 15 days to pick it up after the first call.  I then went into my story/complaint and the girl basically dismissed it.  She just kept saying that I wouldn't believe how many people don't pick up their dresses, etc.  She did verify that they just came in on Thursday and Friday and they it was only one call made.  She could not answer why my bridesmaids had to pick it up immediately,  why they were not given the 15 day policy,  or why the messages were so rude.  She could not answer my questions and then she rushed me off the phone because she was "busy."  Oh but she did tell me that my fourth bridesmaids dress came in and that she only has until Friday to pick it up so I should call her.  I asked her if they called her yet (she said no) - i asked why not and why is she not given the 15 day policy? - Of course she couldn't answer.  

I will say that the store has a great selection, colors and sizes but if you are looking for customer service I would not go there!

Sorry this it is so long - just venting,

Re: Customer Service @ Alfred Angelo Store!!!

  • edited December 2011
    Wow - that is ridiculous!! I'm sorry you had such a hard time with them - it's kind or discouraging for me because I fell in love with these BM dresses from AA for my girls, and planned on heading to that store sometime soon. I really hope they don't give me as much trouble as they gave you. I'm pretty sure these people are working for commission so they should go above and beyond expectations, and even if they aren't - It's a business. You are a paying customer, and without the customers there wouldn't be a business and they wouldn't have a job. I can't believe they treat people like that. Well atleast your big day is almost here - GL!
  • tonyettetonyette member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for writing!!  I plan to go into that store on Saturday to try on some dresses for myself!! I CANNOT stand rudeness or bad customer service! I will have to weigh my options!! Again, thank you for letting us know!
  • edited December 2011
    Wow, that's awful.  The Glen Burnie store opened pretty recently, right?  My BMs tried on dresses at the Harrisburg store and they were nice.  I went to the Lancaster store and they were ok, but it was also pretty busy that day.
  • vjcjenn1vjcjenn1 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I just bought a BM dress there.  I was trying to talk my friend into ordering from Pearls Place.  At the store, our dresses came to 164 with a coupon and tax.  They would have been 117 from Pearls Place.  With S/h it would have been 45.00 I would have saved.  My friend just didn't seem comfortable with it so I didn't push it.  But any brides out there, I actually used Pearls Place myself when my bridesmaids ordered their dresses and it is totally worth it.  you will have no problems
  • Amy52582Amy52582 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Wow that's really crazy! I've been in there three times - once to find my dress, and twice for my bridesmaids and we had great experiences each time.  We had appointments each time though, so maybe that helped.  All of our sales associates were great, but the receptionist was not the most friendly.  Never really had a problem with her though - it was just a noticeable difference between her attitude and our sales associates'.  My dress should be coming in in the next few weeks so I'm interested to see how they will handle that. Sorry you had such a bad experience :( 
  • edited December 2011
    The moment I began reading your experience, I was immediately taken back to my experience with Francesca's bridal, because they did the same thing to me!

    While they weren't rude per se, they still called the day the dress came in and demanded payment immediately, over the phone! When I said that I wanted to wait until I could come in the next week and see the dress to make sure it was even the right dress (and to ensure that there was nothing wrong with order; because I told her once they had my money, they had litllte insentive to handle any issues to my satisfaction)  before paying the balance, the sales person went into this whole spiel about how I signed a contract to pay the balance upon arrival, and howmy not paying was putting them in 'bad position" and crap like that. Oh, did I mention that the dress came in the Friday before Christmas?

    So, Iike your BMs, I had to stop in the middle of my holiday planning to deal with that situation. And guess what? There were two errors with my dress, and like I predicted, once they had the money in their hand, they were slow to address my concerns in a way that I was comfortable with.

    In the end, the biggest error was corrected, but I cannot recommend them...sometimes bad service is  not only saying or doing something rude, it can also be what a company doesn't  do to satisfy their customers! Your experience was terrible, and I'm sorry that you also had to deal with a situation like that. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior. I would most definitely make public that poor treatment on the Wedding Wire.
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  • edited December 2011
    Yea thats crazy. I haven't had any bad experiences there. My bridesmaids dresses actually just came in and they all got their calls today, but they didn't say they had to pick them up immediately.
  • edited December 2011
    I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience!  My sister and I went there just to check out the bridemaids dresses and our experience was okay.  A month or two later we were at Niko's Bridal in Baltimore and we discovered that their Alfred Angelo dresses were cheaper than the actual Alfred Angelo store!!  We've had great experiences at Niko's and the prices are cheaper so we're definitely ordering thru them instead of the AA store.  Thanks for the warning!
  • edited December 2011
    I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience there!  I actually went into that location with my future MIL.  She was looking at dress options for herself and no one bothered to even say hello to us.  *sigh*
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • edited December 2011
    Thank you for the warning!! I was planning on making an appointment there since I live near by...but I don't think I will now! I can't believe the sales person would make such an innapropriate comment about someone's weight. That's repulsive.
  • ajerome21ajerome21 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Update:  So my friend went to pick up her dress last night and she sent me a text: "Wow different atmosphere, when I gave them my name they were so friendly and helpful, nothing like when we went there or the phone calls."  So maybe my call did help.  When I called they pulled up my name and all the bridesmaids came up so maybe they put a note on the names.  I am still curious why they didn't give them the 15 day policy. 

    Every situation is different, I went to the store twice and like someone mentioned I didn't even get a "hello."   I understand the sales people were busy so it didn't really upset me but the calls did.  We are paying customers and the only interaction we had with their staff was negative.  I just know if I ever need to buy an A.A dress I will be going to another store to buy it. 

    Rands - I remember your story, that was just awful!!!
  • edited December 2011
    That's good that it seems to be better. But I can't believe you talked to that person on the phone who just finished explaining their 15 day policy and then proceeded to tell you that your bridesmaid had 7 days to come get her dress. Do these people ever think about what they're saying? Seriously, some people should not be allowed to interact with customers.
  • swelchphrswelchphr member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for sharing your story.  I had planned to go there, but now will reconsider!
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  • iamstephiamsteph member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I went there yesterday to try on dresses (my first time trying on dresses). I had an appointment, and showed up a little early. I was barely in the store before someone came over to help me. I told them I had an appointment, and she went to find someone to help me with trying on dresses. I waited for about ten minutes, and took that time to browse the dresses and bridesmaids dresses, though I already had in mind a few dresses from browsing their website (I later found out they were understaffed, and being I showed up a few minutes early, I didn't mind the wait). The girl that helped me was soooo nice! I was nervous about trying on dresses, and she really put me at ease. I ended up trying on five dresses, and she was very quick to go pull them and help me into them.  I was there for only an hour (I'm not one to stare at myself in the mirror for long periods of time haha!), but at no time did she make me feel rushed, despite the store being busy. Afterwards, I browsed the bridesmaids dresses some more, and several times someone asked if I needed help. 

    I didn't buy my dress yesterday (I liked them all!!), but with the service I did receive, I would not hesitate to buy my dress there. I guess I could only hope that after it's paid for, the service remains the same :)
    Married December 18th, 2010 :)
  • edited December 2011
    I've been to this store 4 times. Each time the experience was a bit different. 

    First Trip - went in with my MOH and we didn't have an appointment. We were greeted  as soon as we walked into the door, when they found out that we didn't have an appt they said they would try to fit me in, but it would be a few minutes before they had anyone available. After 20 minutes or so we had a consultant come to help, and I was able to try on 6-7 dresses and narrow it down to my top 4. It was crazy busy though and towards the end I was definitely feeling rushed.

    Second Trip- I went with my Mom, this time with an appt. I tried on not only the top 4 from the Sat before, but also found 2 others that I wanted to try on. We narrowed it down to those 2 new ones, but I couldn't decide. The consultant helped me in and out of those 2 a few times each before I finally made my choice. The atmosphere was MUCH more relaxed since it was a weekday and there were only a couple of other people in the store. They even ended up staying open late for us.

    Third trip- I went back with our Mom's and the girls. We had an appt, but in all we had the MOH, 2 BM's, 2 Moms, and a FG. They would only let us use one dressing room, and on multiple occasions the consultant rushed us, stating that we only had an hour long appt. She even at one point stated that she hoped she would still have a job in the morning since she was spending so long with us. I told them up front when I made the appt 2 weeks in advance that we would have 6 people trying on dresses, why they only gave us an hour with one dressing room, I don't know. But I had even scheduled this trip for a Friday because I knew we wouldn't want to go on a Sat or Sun due to how busy they get on the weekends.

    Forth Trip- FMIL wasn't able to make up her mind Fri and decided she wanted to go back and look again. She called to make an appt, but was told that it wasn't necessary since she would just be looking at MOG dresses. We showed up and when we told the sales lady that we didn't have an appt, she rolled her eyes at us. We looked around again until some one was able to help us. FMIL picked out a few more tops that she wanted to try on, but the skirt that she wanted to try was being used by someone else, so we had to wait for that. We waited 30 minutes and finally got it. FMIL had only tried on one outfit when the consultant that was supposed to be helping us informed us that we needed to hurry because the next set of appointments would be coming in soon. FMIL snapped back that it shouldn't matter since she wasn't able to start trying things on until 10 minutes prior, so she should still have another 50 minutes to make her choice.

    It seems to me that they have completely different attitudes when it comes to the brides vs everyone else.

  • edited December 2011
    I want to start out by saying that that I am no stranger to the retail business. I was a part time sales girl who worked her way up to manager in a matter of 6 months , so I know a thing or two about customer service. The customer service that I received at AA was wonderful!!!!!! I went in on a Saturday as a walk in bride, and they were absolutely swamped ( that speaks volumes about their quality, and customer sevice)! I asked to just bare with them for a few and was told that they would get a stylist for me. I did have to wait for about 15 mins, but that was nothing to me because as I said I did not have an appointment. My stylist soon came over to greet me and she was very pleasant. She started off by asking me very pertinent questions. Where's the wedding? When is the wedding? How do you see yourself on your special day? What elements do you want in your gown? What's your budget? Ect...... All of these questions helped my stylist find my perfect gown. Now I am person who was not blessed with height and some of the gown I had picked looked absolutely ridiculous on me because I am so short. However my stylist snuck a couple picks of her own in for me to try on. The gown that I decided to pick was not even a gown that I had originally thought about trying on, but it was absolutely gorgeous, it elongated my torso, and just made me feel stunning. Everyone in the store told me how beautiful I looked ( customers and staff). I could not believe how easy this whole process was going. I thought the whole process had to be more difficult then it was, so I decided to look around some more. I tried two other shops that day, David's and Betsy Robinson's . David's customer service was not the greatest and there selection looked cheaply made. I could not even be seen at Betsy Robinson because I didn't have a appointment, that made my decision to purchase at AA that much easier!!!! I went back that day to order. They told me that my dress would take 8 to 10 weeks to come in and it actually came in on about 7. I was called when it came in and I still had two extra weeks to go and pick it up! All my brides maids got their gowns from there and we are just wanting for them to come it! My over all experience at AA was great, their prices were reasonble, the selection was great, the staff was friendly and understanding, and my needs were met. I often find that people are more likely to report a complaint, then they are to report a compliment. I am an AA bride and proud of it! I also know that the customers who often complain are the ones that are unreasonable, or want you to move heaven or earth for them, they seem to think they are the only women in the world who is getting married lol.... But ladies don't let other peoples judgment of AA keep you from visiting them, make your own judgment!
  • edited December 2011
    Why drag up a year old thread? Do you work at AA?
    9.17.2010
    planning

    image
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