As a member of the bridal industry I have a very important question that I would like answered by anybody that can give me a straight forward answer:
"What is it about David's Bridal that makes people want to keep shopping there?"
On an average basis, I see about 4 to 5 brides a day and each day at least one of them sits and complains about the David's Bridal experience. The $700 in alterations they wanted her to pay, the rudeness, the hidden fees, the lack of personal attention, the sizing problems, the chaotic atomosphere.....It's enough to make you wonder why anyone would continue to refer people there? And it's aggravating to me as a bridal salon owner (okay daughter of), when it's up to me to fix the numerous mistakes and get the bride back on her happy trail to the altar, simply because David's Bridal refused to offer her any additional service once her dress was purchased and gone!
I'd like to state that I am in no way knocking their product, because I have heard from a few people that their selection is quite great and I've seen friends get married in David's Bridal attire and the dresses are very pretty! But you can get pretty dress anywhere, why do people continue to go to David's Bridal if the service and the experience is so shitty?
Is it the fact that you can take your dress home with you right away that brides are willing to compromise service over convenience? Is it the fact that it's a large chain? Is it their prices?
Just a question. I'd truly like to know.
About Me
- Christi
- I currently reside in Bayview, which is a southern neighborhood of Milwaukee and although it's great, I find myself craving the city life more and more each day. I'm not at a place in my life right now where I have kids and a family that I need to look out for. It's essentially just ME, and the ME craves an urban lifestyle. Hopefully someday I'll be there. But for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying my fabulous little apartment. I recently switched jobs and am now proudly working for a Direct Response company out of Burlington, Wisconsin. For those of you unfamiliar with Direct Response Marketing: it's infomercials, in a nutshell. It's quite the commute for me everyday, but I love my job, so it all works out.
7 comments:
I never did the big wedding thing, so I can say for sure what's going on. But I suspect it's convenience and price that are drawing people to what sounds like a 'big box' for brides!
Here from Michele, hello!
Yes, I think many brides may be intimidated by the whole bridal salon experience so they'd rather go someplace where they can browse the racks without anyone paying much attention to them. I think it's the same with department stores vs. boutiques and little shops - some people prefer to shop under the radar. It's understandable.
And also, I think it's the prices offered by David's. Most bridal shops don't sell that many dresses for under $1K and lots of brides don't have that kind of money to spend on a dress.
That's my take on things. :)
Oh, and my mom got her dress at David's and it's beautiful and they actually treated us very well! Although the dress DID have a pen stain on it when we took it out of the bag and the bow was not attached very well - I guess you get what you pay for! (Not that $250 is a cheap dress but ...) However, they did fix both problems without too much trouble. So my only experience with David's wasn't too bad ....
It makes sense!
And your mom's dress is very cute, I don't think their stuff is crap...I just hear such terrible things about their service, it makes me wonder why a bride would be so adament about a great price but could care less how she's treated to get it.
And sure your getting a good price on your dress (say $500) but then you have to pay extra for the bag to put it in, and hundreds for the alterations. In the end, your paying about what a small boutique dress costs.
I'm glad you had a good experience there. I suppose it's people with your experience that keep them open =)
I got my dress and bridesmaids dresses at David's Bridal. I had a great experience. My dress was inexpensive and I had a great selection in my price range and size. I also got to try them all on and bought the one I tried on so I knew it fit perfectly. They also kept it and checked it for any spots or damage before taking it for good. Then, the bridesmaids dresses were so easy. They were true to size and the pieces were tried on at the store and order -- no problem. Also, my sister got hers in California and Amanda in MN and all my info. was in the computers. Nobody needed alterations!!
I am very confused about people complaining about there service -- my was so great!!! Some people love to complain no matter what especially with high stress things like weddings.
Also, most bridal salons make you pay WAY too much for alterations -- it's not a David's Bridal thing. I'm not working for the place or anything but just letting you know I have 0 complaints!
First, I enjoyed my experience at David's Bridal for Heather's wedding. I loved the dress, and I had a perfectly nice experience there.
But that's just me. I can't speak to other people's experiences.
For most brides, I think that price wins out a lot of the time. It's not about compromise or choosing price over service - sometimes it's about the fact that the bride wants to have a pretty dress but can't afford to go to a place that might have better service. I have known numerous brides where this was the case. There isn't always the option for the more expensive dress or a more expensive place. No matter what the service is. And when it comes right down to it, I think that most brides feel that it's more important for her to look and feel beautiful on the actual wedding day than it is for her to have exceptional service getting her dress.
That's my ideas on the matter. :)
Why can't I get more brides in with THAT attitude...that it's the dress that matters not the service. I probably wouldn't have to work so hard =) Or listen to the constant bitching about poor service at other places ha ha. Kidding, I like knowing that I'm making it an experience for them...not just another shopping excursion.
I do have to disagree though that brides care more about how they look that day, rather than the process of getting to that moment. A wedding dress is an expensive purchase! I think a lot of girls feel they should be treated as such. Then again, it's probably a "to each their own" thing. I get the boutiquy clientel her a the. The ones that desire personal attention and quality service, and are turned off by overcrowded stores. Others prefer as Erin said to "Shop under the radar" and don't desire attentive care as they do convenience of shopping. In that case your right, it's not about the service, it's about the dress. Neither is better than the other. I guess I just never heard the other end of the spectrum before. Thanks for pulling me out of my bridal boutique box =)
You guys are very fortunate to have no bad things to say. Kudos to you and your positive attitudes =)
I love David's Bridal! I got my dress on sale and my alterations were 150! I know that may sound like a lot, but I have a bad back and she re-worked the dress so no one would notice on my wedding day! My hem was 120 and she charged 30 to fix the back zipper to appear straight with my bad back! I think that is a great deal...so I have no idea why you would think it cost 700 dollars there...a bit extreme don't you think? These people went out of their way to make me happy and it was AFTER I bought my gown!
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