Loom on 7th ave sucks

anonymous

This store has truly great items. However, I don't suggest supporting the small business that forces their customers to pay for things that one of her employees took back as a return but she wound up not approving of. I purchased a dress that was very expensive for me. I bought it as a special gift to myself because it was my 31st birthday and I was starting graduate school for social work. That was my justification for spending more than I should on a single item. I brought it home, tried it on with a few outfits, showed it to my boyfriend, etc... decided that it really wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The coloring was different, fabric, etc. So, I took it back knowing that I was ony going to get a merch credit but knew there were many things I could get there because I love the store and there is great variety, especially to buy gifts for other people. So I did. The employee took it back and I bought a couple items and took the rest on a credit. Well, I went in there yesterday to get a gift for a friend's birthday and what happened?! The owner pulled me aside, got the dress I returned, told me it had been worn, she can't sell it and I need to pay her for it and she will not honor my $90 credit. Soooo, instead of just getting the dress dry cleaned if it smelled like an apartment and had a tiny bit of deodrant on it (which happens even in store's own dressing rooms!) she was going to have the employee split the cost with her for taking back the item and just eat that money. The owner threw that on my shoulders that now instead of them paying for the mistake, I have to pay for it! I'm sorry but I shop at small businesses to support the family-owned places and not the chains, but I was forced to pay a shitload of money for a dress I returned and did not wear! In the long run, I would have spent a lot more money there. But, oh well, she got her money and now not only myself (which she said who cares anyways I don't need customers like you) but all of my friends in the neighborhood will not be shopping there any longer either. So good luck with your snobby, little over-priced shop!

rose

So, if you had to pay for the dress, where is the dress now? Do you have it?

I can understand the store not taking back the dress if it smelled like an apartment and had deodorant stains, but since they did take it back, that should have been the end of it.

anonymous

exactly. that is all i'm saying. if they wouldn't have taken it back in the first place, fine. but they did. i do have the dress and the other items, since i paid for them.

precious williams

wow. that is terrible customer service!

alafairnadia

wow! I'm totally shocked. as you said, she could have paid a few bucks for dry cleaning and tossed the dress on her sale rack, once it had been taken back. instead she lost several customers, perhaps several potential customers, and made an ass out of herself.

lame.

idlewild

If you paid by credit card just cancel the charge and explain the circumstance.

doublediamond

wait, what? How is that even possible? You returned the item. End of story. You go back shopping with your store credit and now they don't want to honor it and made you pay, and, then you paid them? Ho Lee Crap!

So, you bought a few items with that store credit you initially received, right? And then did she make you pay the original price of the dress or did she "discount" the stuff you already bought with the credit?

This is horrible. What happened that you felt compelled to pay for the dress, or did she give you back the dress and said that it's now $90 - what your store credit amounted to?

I actually no longer buy clothing or shoes at any store that won't allow for a full refund. Once I bought a dress at a store, took it home and didn't like it and was forced to get store credit. It took an entire year for me to use up that credit. Meanwhile, Bloomingdale's had the same dress, along with a full refund policy.

anonymous

well, i am not exactly sure why i felt compelled to pay for the dress. i gave in because my options were to either leave and throw $90 in the garbage (the remaining credit), or pay for the items i bought additionally and take home the dress that i didn't want. i was flustered and the impact of the additional $90 hadn't hit me, i guess.

i am sorry to say it was completely the store's responsibilty to take the fall for the staff person taking something the owner wouldn't have. the transaction was done. i just regret that i gave her any more money. i should have just left and thrown away the credit.

thanks for the responses because i was literally in tears...

it is sad that i felt bad for her and her store more than i worried about the fact that i barely have money as a graduate student! she acted as though the money meant so much more to her as a small business owner than it did to me. as though i was one of the rich yuppies who live in park slope, which could not be farther from the truth.

alafairnadia

it doesn't matter who you are, honestly. you could be the wealthiest person on earth. if a business accepts a return it should just accept the return. period. the fact that this particular business accepted a return and then decided not to accept a return just means that they are unprofessional. if I were you I'd call the better business bureau.

rose

This sounds really unethical to me. Perhaps you should file a complaint with the city department of consumer affairs.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/complaint.shtml

doublediamond

Anonymous wrote: well, i am not exactly sure why i felt compelled to pay for the dress. i gave in because my options were to either leave and throw $90 in the garbage (the remaining credit), or pay for the items i bought additionally and take home the dress that i didn't want. i was flustered and the impact of the additional $90 hadn't hit me, i guess.

i am sorry to say it was completely the store's responsibilty to take the fall for the staff person taking something the owner wouldn't have. the transaction was done. i just regret that i gave her any more money. i should have just left and thrown away the credit.

thanks for the responses because i was literally in tears...

it is sad that i felt bad for her and her store more than i worried about the fact that i barely have money as a graduate student! she acted as though the money meant so much more to her as a small business owner than it did to me. as though i was one of the rich yuppies who live in park slope, which could not be farther from the truth.

Aww geez. Don't beat yourself up any more over it. You were clearly the better person in this transaction. Ugh, I'm soooo mad for you!

HEY, Send your story to consumerist.com!! It will get a lot of views that way and more people will avoid her store. Not that this site doesn't get a lot of views, but consumerist is all about fighting back against bad customer service.

meanderthal

A card or letter to Loom from each potential shopper here wouldn't be a bad idea.

Edited to add:

Loom
115 Seventh Ave.,
Brooklyn, Ny
718-789-0061

anonymous

I think you should go back and talk to the owner and explain that you spoke to several friends who thought the situation was outrageous and that you would hope as a local business she would honor a return. Why not just tell her what you posted, that you were so surprised and you don't know why you agreed to pay for a dress that you don't want and didn't wear.

And then I too would report her frankly to consumer affairs. But in the interim, if you can cancel the credit card transaction, I agree with the other poster, I would do that too.

I had a friend who worked for her and told me the owner is VERY unprofessional--but I still do pick up the occasional gift there.

gigi

Subject: oh my

I shop at Loom often and was both uncomfortable and annoyed after reading your post. Honestly, I probably would have caved in too just because I would have been so shocked that she had the nerve to do that; I would just want it to be over. The employee was clearly at fault and should have been reprimanded or whatever. I would write a letter to the owner first rather than going straight to the BBB or some other organization/outlet/venue. If she is resistant and refuses to make it right, then she deserves bad publicity. I don't know if there are similar experiences out there but I'd still feel bad if my one bad experience had unfortunate consequences for the owner - who of late appears preggers.

gigi

Subject: Re: oh my

GiGi wrote: I shop at Loom often and was both uncomfortable and annoyed after reading your post. Honestly, I probably would have caved in too just because I would have been so shocked that she had the nerve to do that; I would just want it to be over. The employee was clearly at fault and should have been reprimanded or whatever. I would write a letter to the owner first rather than going straight to the BBB or some other organization/outlet/venue. If she is resistant and refuses to make it right, then she deserves bad publicity. I don't know if there are similar experiences out there but I'd still feel bad if my one bad experience had unfortunate consequences for the owner - who of late appears preggers.

I meant annoyed with the situation, not your post!

quijibo

you can also leave a review at Yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gk0No9CGkOYK0Z7SmTOtjA

Loom currently has 4 out of 5 stars from 1 review

raw

Subject: F Loom. Shop at Bloomingdales.

If your story about Loom boutique on 7th Avenue is true, please contact local media and pitch a story about Park Slope boutiques that provide wretched, unprofessional service and prove that shopping at Bloomingdales in Manhattan -- where you can return anything anythime -- is the customer's best bet.

Does the owner of Loom on 7th Avenue have a pixie/crew cut? And a head problem? If she truly did punish her employee, she's the only one who should feel guilty for being such a BAD, HEARTLESS person. Shame on her!

raw

Subject: Even if you smell, you are entitled to full credit.

GiGi wrote: I shop at Loom often and was both uncomfortable and annoyed after reading your post. Honestly, I probably would have caved in too just because I would have been so shocked that she had the nerve to do that; I would just want it to be over. The employee was clearly at fault and should have been reprimanded or whatever. I would write a letter to the owner first rather than going straight to the BBB or some other organization/outlet/venue. If she is resistant and refuses to make it right, then she deserves bad publicity. I don't know if there are similar experiences out there but I'd still feel bad if my one bad experience had unfortunate consequences for the owner - who of late appears preggers.

I'm not sure that the employee should be reprimanded. If the employee was following store policy, the employee should not be punished.

Even if the dress buyer had worn the dress, it could have been re-sold, unless she stained or ripped it. I know of many clothing stores that send out their clothes to be dry cleaned weekly. Lots of men's and women's clothes in stores have deorderant stains on them.

When I sold garments, sweaty customers would try on shirts for two minutes inside the store and "stink them up" and buy nothing. There were many lipstick stains on unbought blouses. As a business owner, building dry cleaning costs into your budget is clothing retail reality.

raw

Subject: Re: oh my

GiGi wrote: I shop at Loom often and was both uncomfortable and annoyed after reading your post. Honestly, I probably would have caved in too just because I would have been so shocked that she had the nerve to do that; I would just want it to be over. The employee was clearly at fault and should have been reprimanded or whatever. I would write a letter to the owner first rather than going straight to the BBB or some other organization/outlet/venue. If she is resistant and refuses to make it right, then she deserves bad publicity. I don't know if there are similar experiences out there but I'd still feel bad if my one bad experience had unfortunate consequences for the owner - who of late appears preggers.

Write a letter to the owner? Ha ha ha! Talk about confusion between the client and service-provider relationship. The cash-paying customer has suffered enough. The owner should be writing an apology to the client and not vice versa.

You can file a complaint online with the Better Business Bureau:

http://www.newyork.bbb.org/

anonymous

Subject: Re: Even if you smell, you are entitled to full credit.

raw wrote: I'm not sure that the employee should be reprimanded. If the employee was following store policy, the employee should not be punished.

I totally do NOT think the employee (who is probably making a dollar above mininum wage) should be held responsible--even if she was not supposed to take the return. I will definitely be more careful about what I buy there.

anonymous

the owner actually has long hair.

i put a review up on yelp.com. thanks to whomever let me know of that site. i never used it before, actually. i was thinking perhaps citysearch, as well??

not sure about the better business bureau. i think i might try the bank tomorrow. i never realized you can actually contest a charge. is that true even though i voluntarily gave her my card? if i need to make a report to BBB, i will.

don't think i want to make a call to local media people either against small boutiques in brooklyn in return supporting a place like bloomingdale's. no offense to anyone.

cyn707

hey guest, what a terrible story. i can't believe the owner had the nerve to do that, both to you and her employee.

once i bought a pricey bag at loom, and within hours the clasp on the strap just fell apart. i brought it back the next day and showed them the strap. they said they would send it out for repairs, which would take about 2 weeks. mind you i had only owned the bag for several hours. i pointed to the identical bag on the wall and asked them to just swap my strap for the one on display. they refused, saying they wanted to sell that one. i made a fuss that they should take care of their paying customers first instead of potential customers. after much back and forth they reluctantly gave me the other strap.

it's too bad their customer service sucks, as they store has a nice selection of bags and gifts.

anonymous

that is ridiculous (about the strap)! I never heard of a place that wouldn't give you a new bag and worry about the repairs for the other bag to wait on, not YOU to wait!

god she is horrible and i am still so sick i gave her my god damn money. why did i feel the slightest bit bad!??!

if anyone writes to her that would be awesome! we could really organize together and at least maybe she would change her policies for others not to suffer in the future and the hands of that snot.

anonymous

Subject: Experience Shoplifting in Reverse at Loom

Anonymous wrote: that is ridiculous (about the strap)! I never heard of a place that wouldn't give you a new bag and worry about the repairs for the other bag to wait on, not YOU to wait!

god she is horrible and i am still so sick i gave her my god damn money. why did i feel the slightest bit bad!??!

if anyone writes to her that would be awesome! we could really organize together and at least maybe she would change her policies for others not to suffer in the future and the hands of that snot.

The owner of Loom has nearly $100 that belongs to YOU in HER wallet. The owner of Loom stole $90.00 from you! She's one step up from a pickpocket, a thief!

I will never ever buy anything from Loom. Anything Loom sells I can find online.

dailyheights

Does anyone know the people from Loom? If so, can you point them to this thread? I have no reason to doubt the original poster here, but I'd like to get the Loom perspective on the issue.

anonymous

Loom should not pretend to have a return/refund/credit policy. They should post a sign saying all sales are final.

anonymous

Subject: Loom response

I just want to know how the original poster knew it was the owner she was talking to. Can you describe her? I am friends with both owners (a married couple) and will pass this thread on to them.

I would like to come to their defense bc I have never had a problem there (and I only recently became friends with them). I would never pay their prices for something I wasnt sure I was going to keep. I shop at Loom and Kiwi and if there is something I love but is expensive, I bring my boyfriend back with me and see if he likes it before I take the plunge. I have also brought my daughter with me to Loom (during the week when it is less crowded) and they have always been nice about it and they play with her. I do take notice if I am in the way though and I know when to leave if I am taking up too much space. I work in the fashion industry and know how hard it is to make money (75%+ markups) so you have to look at it as they are trying to make a living just like everyone else.

And the story is sad, but it is an extreme case. Maybe they were having a bad day. I have seen and heard the stuff they have to put up with and retailers really do take A LOT from customers. Once there was a woman who bought a wallet, left the store, came back 30 min later, said she didnt have the wallet and insisted they give her another one (she claimed they never gave it to her). They then replayed her the security tape showing the employee putting the wallet in a bag and the customer putting the wallet in her purse and walking out. She still stayed and contested the video and wouldnt leave without a wallet.

There are always two sides to every story and I think both need to be heard. If everyone who had a bad experience shopping posted on here and people rallied behind them to not shop there, we wouldnt have any stores left. There are bad employees everywhere (who really wants to be paid minimum wage?!?) and people have bad days. I hope we hear a response from the owner soon.

dailyheights

thanks bklynmom!

eggcream

I would have pulled out my cell phone then and there and called the police.
You had the store credit in your hands as proof. Return policy is store credit then that is what they owe you. The owner just doesn't like returns else why the big deal unless the dress was damaged. Regardless of the condition of the dress though the sales clerk did take it back and gave you a credit. The owner should take it up with her employee not a paying customer. Poor business attitude.

Everyone should feel free to buy an item no matter what the price without pressure of returning said item. I don't need a reason to do so either. If you want my business then accept my return with a store credit or refund. That will get me back as a return customer. Being a small owner doesn't entitle you to scare tactics.

That's why I too usually prefer shopping at Bloomingdale's or other large dept. stores. They at least know the customer is always right.

How can one take up too much space in a store?

doublediamond

Subject: Re: Loom response

bklynmom wrote:
And the story is sad, but it is an extreme case. Maybe they were having a bad day. I have seen and heard the stuff they have to put up with and retailers really do take A LOT from customers. Once there was a woman who bought a wallet, left the store, came back 30 min later, said she didnt have the wallet and insisted they give her another one (she claimed they never gave it to her). They then replayed her the security tape showing the employee putting the wallet in a bag and the customer putting the wallet in her purse and walking out. She still stayed and contested the video and wouldnt leave without a wallet.

There are always two sides to every story and I think both need to be heard. If everyone who had a bad experience shopping posted on here and people rallied behind them to not shop there, we wouldnt have any stores left. There are bad employees everywhere (who really wants to be paid minimum wage?!?) and people have bad days. I hope we hear a response from the owner soon.

While I accept there's two sides to every story, what I've read here is bad customer service and I've been given no reason to doubt our poster. A customer has every right to complain about bad customer service and has no need to give the store the benefit of the doubt and assume the owner was having a bad day because in business, having a bad day doesn't count. Every transaction needs to be done in the most professional manner as possible if you want the business to succeed. This is especially important for small business owners whose livelihood is on the line. Businesses don't just sell product, they sell themselves and how they treat their customers. This is what keeps people coming back and to some, it is even more important than the prices in the store.

It's a customer's perogative where to spend his/her hard earned money. I absolutely want to hear about a customer's negative experience so that I can judge for myself whether I want to take my business there or elsewhere.

anonymous

yes, i know it was the owner as she told me. and yes, they are a married couple.

whether i was 100%, or 75% about the item i purchased is irrelevant. as the other guest posted, she should say ALL SALES FINAL then.

listen, i would be pleased to hear the owner reiterate her side of the story on this thread. of course there are two sides to every story and of course she is a small businees owner who has probably dealt with a whole lot of crap and whole lot of bull.

all of that aside, in this particular circumstance, i was none of those things. i honestly did not wear the dress and i feel incredibly cheated. i am allowed to feel that way and anonymously post this for others to be warned. i am not attempting to sabotage her life and her livelihood, however, i have considered to post more reviews and file a complaint to BBB. i have that right. the dress looked perfect to me when she showed it to me days after the return, minus the deodrant marks that i must have gotten on there, which could have been rectified by dry cleaning as many retailers do.

as myself and others have stated before, the BOTTOM LINE is, i returned the dress and had a merchandise credit at the understandable and forgiveable mistake of her employee (who by the way may very well be happy and otherwise great at her $12/hr job, as if there are not people who do bad jobs in this world and get paid a ton, so who's judging?) i was then confronted and forced to pay for the dress by the owner. i do not know a single small business owner (both my father and close friend are ones) that would have done what she did.

she doesn't need to make a living by not taking care of her customers who shop there often, which i did.