Member- peanutleigh
- 5 years ago
First of all, I’d like to say that I’m not the type of person who complains often or tries to take advantage of a company etc. For example, I’ve never once in my life sent a meal back at a restaurant and I barely ever make returns. With that said, I only call customer service when I feel I’ve been cheated as a customer which is very rare.
I have never had such a horrible experience with customer service in my entire life. At such a luxury brand I would expect so much more, but I was sadly mistaken. The ladies I spoke with on the phone were very sarcastic and didn’t seem to care about my situation whatsoever. So, let’s start from the beginning…
My boyfriend proposed to me about 2 years ago and being an excited bride to be I jumped the gun and bought the $845 Christian Louboutin Hyper Prive pumps in white from CL’s online store. Unfortunately things with my boyfriend didn’t work out and a wedding never occurred. Since it was too late to return them, I figured I’d keep them and hopefully sometime in the future I’d be able to wear them. So in my closet, in the dust bags & box they sat for the last 2 years. Last week I had a friend over to get ready for a night out. As we stood in my shoe closet admiring my collection, she asked if I still had the CL wedding shoes. I opened the box to show her and was horrified to see the toe and sole had turned orange. Upon closer inspection it looks as though this is glue. Right away I took pictures and emailed the Louboutin customer service department. Being such a high end brand I wasn’t at all worried and figured they would fix or replace them no problem.
I received a phone call about 2 days ago from a CL customer service rep in New York and she explained to me that since it’s been over 2 years there is nothing they can do. I explained to her that the shoes have never been worn and even sent her pictures of the bottoms which are in mint condition. I was then told that even though they are in brand new condition this is not a mistake on their end, the product is not defective, and nothing can be done. She then asked, “how have they been stored?” I told her they’ve been in the dust bags & box in my closet, etc….
This is the part that really upset me. She told me that their shoes should never be stored in the dust bags and box for over 2 years. Really?! On the Christian Louboutin website it says word for word “Store your products in the Christian Louboutin dust bag provided to you when not in use.” She replies “I shouldn’t have to tell every customer not to keep them in the box for over 2 years, it’s common knowledge that they need to be taken out once in a while to be aired out.” At this point I couldn’t even believe this was happening. I kept telling her they were stored as directed and never even been touched since I got them. Then she said “well I don’t know, maybe your house has a lot of moisture. For all I know these could have been stored in a leaky attic.” Seriously? I don’t even have a “leaky” attic and if I did why on earth would I put an expensive pair of shoes up there?
This went on back and forth for about 25 minutes where I spoke to the rep and her supervisor, who were both extremely condescending and rude. I felt like she was almost laughing at me under her breath, I wish I could have recorded this conversation because it was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. They kept saying this isn’t their fault/problem and this is the normal “WEAR & TEAR” of the product. Normal wear and tear? They’ve never been WORN!! I kept fighting that something like this shouldn’t happen for the price I paid etc. I asked if this happened to you wouldn’t you be upset? and she said, “Yes but I wouldn’t call and complain after 2 years, what do you want us to do?” I told her I don’t want a refund I just want the shoes to be fixed or a new pair of the same style.
She explained that based off the pictures they probably can’t be repaired but they can be dyed a different color. Again, I told her over and over that I don’t want a different color all I want is for my WHITE shoes to be white, not orange. I was told there is absolutely no way they’d send over a new pair. She kept suggesting that I send them in to be dyed a different color by their preferred shoe cobbler. I don’t want this done but I figured I’d ask if the cost to do so would be covered by them and of course she said the shipping costs both ways and cost to dye the fabric would be out of my pocket.
I don’t even know where to begin. This is extremely frustrating because in my past experience with customer service if a product of such a high price is faulty or breaks after it’s never even been used the company will fix it and if it cannot be fixed they will replace it. So in this case where the shoes can’t be fixed they should offer to replace them, not suggest I pay to have them dyed! I don’t want them dyed, I just want the WHITE shoes that I paid hundreds of dollars for. Is that so much to ask for? I’m not only angry that they refuse to replace a product that is clearly faulty, but on top of that they were SO RUDE. I feel cheated 🙁
Please tell me if I’m being ridiculous or not because they made it seem like I’m being a complete crazy person. When I worked in retail years ago I was taught that the customer is always right. Does that not apply anymore?
Please take a look at the pictures I’ve attached – it’s even worse in person.
