Sunday, October 12, 2008

"Hello Skinnyjeans" and its particular brand of "customer service"

After reading about how wonderful "Hello Skinnyjeans" were, I ordered a pair on August 3. I waited and waited -- and waited and waited -- for the jeans to be delivered. I emailed the company on August 24, and Catherine Hart told me then that the jeans would be ready "in another 1-2 weeks." After not hearing anything again for a month, I emailed the company again on September 25, and Celine at the company told me that I'd get the jeans in a week.

Today, I emailed the company to say that I wanted my jeans by Tuesday, or I wanted a refund.

Catherine Hart sent me this email in response:
We are finally in stock and I can transmit your order to the warehouse now. Conversely, I am happy to cancel your order and refund you as no one wants pissy customers. You paid by paypal which forces immediate payment and I’m thinking of canceling it for that reason. Let us know asap.

Catherine Hart
hello@skinnyjeans.com
My response to her was as follows:
Yes. This particular pissy customer is tired of dealing with a company that promises one thing and never delivers. Please refund my money today.
I'm sure that the jeans are great. The customer service, however, is not. With all of the good brands of jeans out there, why spend money on brands that don't care enough to (1) notify customers when there's a delay or (2) follow through on their promises?

Let's see if Hello Skinnyjeans is better at fulfilling its promise of a refund than it was at actually delivering the jeans.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your situation sounds exactly like mine. I ordered from them in July and paid with PayPal. I was told (after countless emails to them) that my jeans were being sent out in September and was even given a tracking number. I waited a couple of weeks and the tracking information never changed and it became very evident that USPS had never received anything from Skinnyjeans. More emails and phone calls (unanswered of course) and I finally filed a claim with both my credit card company and PayPal. Catherine Hart only then offered me jeans with a different inseam than I had ordered and when I declined, she told me "WE DON'T WANT YOUR BUSINESS". She wrote that she would refund my money immediately and I am still waiting. I'm sure this a repeat of the 'misinformation' I received from this company in September and I will have to follow through with the claims to see any of my money back. I hope the word gets out that this is a terrible retailer...I'd say more but I'm afraid of being sued!

Anonymous said...

I had the same experience with this company. I resorted to filing a claim with PayPal and they credited my account.

The best advice for anyone is to keep on top of the delivery time-frames because you only have a certain amount of time to file a dispute with Paypal or your credit card company. After that deadline, your only recourse is by filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

By the way, check out their Company ratings at BBB, we are not alone; many have already filed a complaint!

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable. My experience was almost exactly like yours except I sent three emails that received the "1-2 weeks" response. When I ratched up my tone in the fourth, I received a FORM response 2 weeks later that mentioned anyone who had paid by credit card (as I had) and had ordered more than a month ago (oh yes) would need to resubmit their information if they wanted their jeans.

I didn't bother.

Unknown said...

Success at last: www.dianemerrickshop.com has Hello SkinnyJeans, and I ordered them and got them inside of one week.

Score:

Diane Merrick Shop customer service,
priceless

Hello SkinnyJeans customer service, less than zero

Anonymous said...

Nancy, How do the jeans look? I've read a bunch of negative (and positive) reviews on the fit. Many have complained of creases under the butt and behind the thighs. Please share your thoughts on the fit.

Unknown said...

Hi, Anonymous! The jeans that I finally got didn't really work for me, because I've got really muscular thighs (at least, that's what I call them on my good days). Therefore, they kept riding DOWN my legs. I hear that a lot of people like these jeans. As for me, though, I'll stick w/Gap and Old Navy. Thanks for writing!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking of ordering and then loked at all the negative postings. Nancy, in your reply to Anonymous you did not mention the style of jeans you ordered...bootcut, sandal cut, etc. Maybe that makes a difference in fit for some body types?? What do you think? I am intrigued by the concept, though somewhat less so now that I've read the postings. Possibly I'll try diannemerrick.com.

Unknown said...

Hi, Maria--I ordered the dark wash bootcut ones. I'm sure they'll look great on some other people. I didn't like them, though.

Anonymous said...

I had the same thing happen to me!
She also told me that she will stop taking pay pal! And my issue with them happened in April of last year! She also yelled at me, saying that I do not understand how long it is to make the jeans. And there were numerous emails back and forth with fake tracking numbers.
I just dont get this company. And I do not get why they advertise in all the magazines if they can not deliver. And on their site all the reviews are fake as well.

Anonymous said...

I had the opposite experience with Hello Skinny Jeans . They were prompt with my delivery and followed up with a very nice note. I hope this is posted so that others can see that the company is definitly worth ordering from and by the way, the fit is wonderful....

Unknown said...

I have read all of these negative comments on this company but still decided to give it a try. My conclusion was that ordering jeans on the internet is a little risky as you do not know how they will ultimately fit but my experience was pretty positive. The original pair I ordered in blackwash turned out to be a little short so I returned them to get a longer pair. I have to say that i did not experience the difficulty that the other writers did. Perhaps all of the negative comments have been taken into account because I got the second pair of jeans promptly and was really pleased with the fit and look....

Anonymous said...

I'd advise you to search their site for retailers or do a search in your city. Here in Seattle, I notice that they are sold in small boutiques.

You'd also do better to try them on yourself. The salesgirl at the place I found them urged me to try on a smaller size and I told her that was not the first time I'd been given that line and that her flattery would not help the sinking feeling I'd get in the dressing room like so many times before.

Tried on "my" size and they fit well. She urged me to try on the smaller size and, to my surprise, they fit perfectly. I mean, as if they had been custom made for me.

Well worth the price.

Don't give up on the jeans. Just go elsewhere for them.