v rude store manager in LK Bennett

[Whoneedssleepanyway]

I took a cardigan back to LK Bennett today as after one wash it had shrunk badly and some small holes had appeared on the seam near the neck.

As soon as I showed it to the manager she became very hostile and said they are very careful about the stock they display and would not have sold something in that condition and then started questioning me very agressively as to how I had washed it, the instructions said hand wash 30 degrees, I had washed this cooler than 30 degrees. She basically then said very patronisingly please take me through the steps as to how you washed this and then found the holes as I want to understand how this happened, I said "I washed it, laid it to dry on the airer, went to get it to iron it once it was dry and saw it had shrunk and noticed little holes", she then said "so it sounds like it got caught on something", at this point I did say to her "you seem to be implying that I have done something wrong to the cardigan", she refused point blank to give me a refund or credit note, at which point I quoted legal rights to her as a consumer, she then said it was her right as a company to send the cardigan to a technical expert to have it tested to see if it had been washed properly, I said really and then she just said "fine have your money back". I am so cross that she basically made out I was lying to her and treated me like I was trying it on in front of other people in the store. I am not really sure what the purpose of this thread is but am just really annoyed and needed to let off steam.

Am late to this, but saw the link in another thread and came to have a look. I am truly over the treatment some of you have had at this shop! I proper complaints have been made.

I recently had a very positive experience in the St Albans shop. The assistants couldn't have been nicer when I was fannying about deciding did I want this pair or that pair of shoes. They had endless patience and were the epitome of professional. Same experience at the shop in Leeds.

oops my post was meant to say "I hope proper complaints have been made." sigh.

Oh, I'm sure they're not all terrible, Charlie. I just would hope someone would complain when faced with some of these examples above. Twitter is good for this. I think their hashtag is LKBennettUK, but am not sure.

That's the third thread on shocking service in LK Bennett.

Had to return item to LK Bennett Dundrum Dublin. Have to give credit where it is due - this time they were really nice . Totally hassle free.

I have suffered from some truly terrible service from LKB (heel broke on boots after one wear. Shop hugely begrudgingly sent them to get fixed. Came back with the same heel on bent and glued!! Also on another pair, leather came adrift after 5 wears and manager barked at me "well, you are not getting your money back!!").

Have also had stellar service (notably the one in Westfields). It IS a gamble as the quality is not great and some of them can be vile about trying to swap or get a refund. I have heard quite a few stand up rows in shops about poor quality and the refund policy.

It is interesting to me that this has happened recently as I felt that, since a change of ownership/personnel at the top, better customer service practices had been put into place. Clearly not the case!

Someone very kindly forwarded us the link to this thread so I wanted to use this forum to openly respond to your comments.

I am so sorry for the negative experiences that have been listed above. Obviously we expect all customers who come in to store to be treated with respect, welcomed warmly and helped with anything they need. You can be assured that I will be raising all the issues listed with the relevant area managers.

I also wanted to assure you all that it is important to us that people enjoy shopping with L.K.Bennett and are happy with their purchases. Because of this, in our stores we offer a seven day refund policy for all unworn non-sale items (which is in addition to your consumer statutory rights), with proof of purchase - if you lose your receipt we will also accept a credit card or bank statement. In addition to this, we also offer an exchange period of fourteen days.

If there are ever any manufacturing issues or faults with your L.K.Bennett products we want to know and help you. These items can be taken in to any L.K.Bennett stand alone store and the staff will assess the item and assist you. We also have a customer services team that can be reached via email [email protected] or phone 0844 581 5881 (within UK office hours). On occasion, items will need to be sent in and reviewed by our technicians at head office, in order to determine whether or not the fault lies with the product or if it has been damaged after purchase.

Again, I want to apologise for any unpleasant experiences you have had in the past with L.K.Bennett. Our brand prides itself on quality products and we want the shopping experience to reflect this. Our customer services team is always available for any concerns or feedback you have; we always want to know if you?re not happy with anything about your experience with us.

I do hope that you will take a moment to visit one of our stores again in the future and see that our staff are well trained, courteous and want to help. I also want you to be assured that when you make a purchase with us, you can be confident in the quality of the product, and our commitment to stand by this quality.

Kind regards

Manuela Carniello
Retail Director
L.K.Bennett

I used to shop there regulary before I had my little ones and now I only visit a couple of times a year but I have always received amazing service!
I am perfectly aware that items on sale can't be returned and this is not unusual with higher end brands, I always have the habit now to triple check return policies everywhere I shop now as I hate being in those situations, on the positive side it helps me make a final decision there and then which results in me saving money :) because it I am not sure when I'm in the shop then its obviosly not meant to be.
I have shopped in several different lkbennett's and every time I have had faultless experience. Sorry to hear you have been so unlucky ....

Ah bless, Manuela,
But to be honest, that's just a little bit of waffle isn't it? The way your staff actually deal with people on a day to day basis and the impression they've left on those of us that have experienced poor service isn't going to change by that copied from a manual pr message.

I am surprised to hear that it is not an elite career and any job is elite, from cleaning to driving a train to being a director, this is an extremely rude comment and I take offence to it!

I have shopped with LK for several years now, mainly in the city store before I had my children ? I mostly shop at the their Northcote road store now, and I can honestly say I have never experienced anything but the best customer service even when I turn up harassed with my kids in tow.

LKBennett - I find that on mumsnet there are shops/brands which come up time and time again as not providing good customer service. Yes, there are always some customers who have had a good experience but the fact that your store often appears must be more than just a few disgruntled customers.

I have emailed your customer service department in the past and had no response at all so my experience is that its not just as individual store level that you let your customers down.

Like many busy customers I am used to being able to buy an item, take it home and if it's not right or I find a fault returning it hassle free. I don't shop with you because I can't take the risk that I'll end embroiled in a discussion with an assistant who think's she's better than I am and possibly out of pocket through no fault of my own.

Out of interest, how usual is it to expect customers to hand over items for your testing? If you don't trust me to be honest about a fault with an item I certainly wouldn't trust you to be honest about it once I've handed it over.

boden give you 3 months to return stuff in...just saying
7 days is pants

You've hit the nail on the head Marquesas. There are lots of other shops that we can spend our hard earned cash in. They may be getting a surge in sales from the Kate Middleton effect, but if they can't back this up with polite staff and a decent returns policy then they won't get repeat business - we'll get our nude courts elsewhere

I won't buy from LK Bennett after reading this thread. The story about the woman being escorted off the premises by a security guard is absolutely disgusting.

^ actually Boden now give you a full year, I think.

LKBennett, 7 days for non-sale items to return is ridiculous, most companies offer 7 days for sale items and 30 days or more for non-sale. You know, people have other things going on in their lives. What happens to items bought as a gift? My nearest store is an hours train ride away, I'd be livid to have to make an extra train journey within a few days just to return an item to a store because the colour did not match an item or if I discovered a fault. I for one consider customer service during and after a sale of equal importance and if I needed a reason to spend my money with other retailers who offer this kind of service, you have just given me the rationale to do so.

Manuela, for a retail director you are either way out of touch with how people shop, what the market place is offering or you don't care.

Manuela - your staff are not courteous. They are very rude a lot of the time as this thread shows. And the quality of your clothing is very poor in my experience.

I have not bought anything in LKBennett since the heel came off a pair of £250 boots after one wear and I managed to persuade your assistant to give me a replacement and exactly the same thing happened. Having to have a fight over a product which is clearly not fit for purpose is really not acceptable.

Take offence all you like, Aspen. Though I suspect that those unfortunate posters on this thread who have been treated rudely by L K Bennett staff probably have more right than you to be offended.

Aspen. Are you taking offence because you are, in fact, an LKB shop assistant yourself?

Funny how the gushing posts come immediately after the company get wind of a thread.

I bought one thing from LKB - a cardigan. Worst quality item I've ever owned. Looked 20 years old after one wash. Awful.

The Daily Mail loves Kate Middleton related stories, so might be very interested in this thread...

This does sound rather unpleasant. It also seems strange to go through all that just do give you the refund after all. I do think there must be people working hard for their customer services though, so I'd try not to forget them...

Always found the staff to be snooty, rude and unhelpful. I've also had to argue the toss about returning faulty goods. Will never shop there again.

In the past few years I've moved from the cheaper end of the high street to the more expensive end (new look/oasis/river island to Hobbs/LKB/jigsaw type move).

I expect, now I'm paying substantially more, to receive higher quality clothes and better customer service. Not worse.

This thread, and LKB customer service, has been an eye opener for me. Why would I pay more for poorer terms and service than cheaper shops offer??

I'd have also expected LKB to have wanted to ensure that all their clothes sold were of the highest quality, and therefore have bent over backwards to remedy any situations where this let them down. Sees they are far from this.

If your higher prices don't offer me assurance of quality, I'm not paying them.

I take offence as I spent many years working my way up the retail career ladder. Yes "career" ladder!
Its a very demanding job as well as rewarding. Unfortunately on occassions when a customer can not get their own way regardless who is at fault it is they who become agressive and rude and cause a scene. We too have a job to do, those working on a shop floor are humans after all.