08/20/09

Beautiful dresses, TERRIBLE service and attitude

by wstuart85

I had read prior reviews so I knew what I was walking into. The only reason I visited Laura's was that they were the only retailer in Kansas or Missouri to carry a certain designer I was interested in. Our sales associate was very helpful. She did make a comment about me losing some weight, which I found unprofessional. They have you parade the dress you like in front of Laura, and then Laura spends five minutes trying to sell you on the dress. Personally, I don't need her approval on my wedding dress I know what I like. After I had shown Laura the dress her husband brought us mimosas and told me that if I wanted to waste my time trying on more dresses they would be happy to entertain me, but they knew that the dress I had tried on was the one for me. I am glad I didn't listen to him as three dresses later I found my dream dress. The sales associate asked if I would like to show Laura , I responded with a quick no. No fewer than 5 minutes later Laura comes in our room and asks why she didn't see me with the dress on then went to go find the sales associate, presumably to scold her for not making me show her the dress. Laura was very stuck up and condescending. I felt like a second class citizen by the way she treated me. They cut the tags out of the dress so that you can't know the name of the designer preventing you from shopping around. I asked what size the dress was I tried on, they responded with an I don't know. After they left the room my MOH told me the size, it was on the paper tag they attach, that has the code for the dress but not the name on it. Before I left them I informed them of all the negative reviews they had received so hopefully they will change their attitude around.

• Pros: Beatuiful gowns
• Cons: bad customer service, demeaning

05/04/09

Very poor customer service

by jillrich

After buying a gown and paying in full in November, my daughter and I asked if we could get the gown bustled. (It fit perfectly, this was the only "alteration" we needed.) We were told that it would be no problem but we would have to come back at a later time to pick it up. Laura suggested that both of us pick it up so that my daughter could try it on and I could be shown how to bustle it. We explained that she (the bride) lives in San Diego and I lived three hours away but, if it was necessary to make that extra trip, we would call when we could pick it up. We were told that it would be done "in a few days", and to just call when we could pick it up. The earliest my daughter could return to pick it up was in April. She called in before making her airplane reservations to coordinate a date/time that would work. She went over the fact that the gown had been bustled, and we were picking it up, but wanted to try it on,etc.

When we arrived on the agreed upon date, the salesperson acted like she had no idea that we had an appointment. She then went to get the gown, brought it out, handed it to us and expressed complete surprise when my daughter said she wanted to try it on. When she took us back to the dressing room and uncovered the gown, it still had safety pins in it (from six months before!) and the bustling was not even done. The gown was a very heavy fabric, so the weight of the dress had been hanging by the safety pins for 6 months!!

After explaining that she flew in from San Diego and I drove 3 hours specifically to pick up the dress, had an appt, etc. we were told that the bustling would only take 15 minutes. We wondered, if this were the case, why couldn't that have been done when we were in town in November and the staff knew we had to make another trip in from San Diego to pick up the dress?

All in all, a very stressful experience. When you look forward to this very special experience with your daughter you want it to be fun and memorable. Instead it was frustrating and stressful.

• Cons: poor customer service once sale is made

01/08/09

Friendly and accomodating to ALL price ranges!!! Don't believe what you've read, they are GREAT!!!

by nmorris10

A friend and I stoped by their shop to just look at gowns. We didn't have an appointment, we just stopped to see if they could fit us in. They could have easily turned us away to come back for an appointment, but they greeted us with champagne and open arms! (SO amazing considering David's Bridal tried to talk us out of even setting an appointment because they'd be too busy). Laura and her husband gave us a consultation on the spot. My friend had a limited budget, so we told them she didn't really want to try on anything much above $1000. They DID NOT bat an eye at the price range! They said they immediately had some dresses in mind for my friend. It felt like shopping with life-long friends, they were so warm and caring, we were having a BLAST! They found my friend an AMAZING couture gown for under $1000. The person doing alterations is a designer and was completely amazing and talented. They are going to do some custom alterations on the gown so she will have a one-of-a-kind dress. They have set the theme for a fun and amazing wedding experience. We couldn't have been more pleased to go there. My friend is still walking on air from the experience!!!!

• Pros: So great and friendly, open to a limited budget!
• Cons: Make sure you pick your closest friend or family member to come, no groups allowed.