writermama
10-06-2004, 09:37 PM
I just had a bad experience with Breakout Bras (breakoutbras.com). It was a surprise because I had previously had three good ordering experiences with them, but this was the first time I had ever attempted a return or exchange and the experience was so bad that I will never order from them again.
In June, I placed an order with them. One of the bras in the order was temporarily unavailable and shipped separately from the rest of the order. It arrived in mid-July. The day after it arrived, I tried it on and it didn’t work for me so I returned it via USPS. I admit it, I goofed. The line was long, the baby was fussy and I just wanted to get out of there. I didn’t get delivery confirmation. Big mistake.
Two weeks after I sent the return, I started sending email to ask if the package had arrived. I got a response to the first email; the returns person was out of the office but would get back to me if I tried back the following Monday. I called around the middle of that week and left a message. My call was not returned.
A week later I sent another email. No response. (In contrast, whenever I had sent an email with a question about sizing I got a response within hours.) Two weeks later I called again. I left a detailed message with a nice woman who promised that my call would be returned soon. My call was never returned.
Last week, I sent my 4th email. Finally, a response. The person who processes returns claimed it was the second attempt to respond to my email. She or he wrote, in a somewhat tartly worded response, that according to their logs, there was no record that the package had been received and without a tracking number there was not much she or he could do.
I admit that I should have sent the package with delivery confirmation. I also admit that it is possible that the USPS lost the package. And I even admit that it’s possible, however unlikely, that Breakout Bras sent emails to me that I never received. Even if they have problems with both the US Mail and their email system’s mail server, however, that fails to explain why they did not return my phone calls.
(Perhaps the system for logging returns works better than their communications procedures, but if their ability to return email and phone calls is any indication, the most likely explanation is that they received the package but failed to log it properly.)
If they had responded to my emails or returned my phone calls, I probably would have been willing to write the lost package off as my mistake and I would have ordered from them again. I am sad that I can no longer justify continuing to shop with Breakout Bras when it seems only one aspect of the company seems at fault, but such miserable customer service in the returns department outweighs the good prices and good service in sizing and sales.
I apologize for the long post, but I hope it helps someone else who may be thinking of placing an order with Breakout Bras. I wouldn’t say don’t do it, but proceed with caution, don’t expect even adequate customer service with returns, and make sure you track the package.
-Karen
Lesson Learned: Never again will I never return merchandise without delivery confirmation – even if the baby is screaming her head off.
USPS.com has a special section for merchandise returns where you pre-print shipping labels that include delivery confirmation. You can even pay for shipping and insurance so you don’t have to stand in line at all.
In June, I placed an order with them. One of the bras in the order was temporarily unavailable and shipped separately from the rest of the order. It arrived in mid-July. The day after it arrived, I tried it on and it didn’t work for me so I returned it via USPS. I admit it, I goofed. The line was long, the baby was fussy and I just wanted to get out of there. I didn’t get delivery confirmation. Big mistake.
Two weeks after I sent the return, I started sending email to ask if the package had arrived. I got a response to the first email; the returns person was out of the office but would get back to me if I tried back the following Monday. I called around the middle of that week and left a message. My call was not returned.
A week later I sent another email. No response. (In contrast, whenever I had sent an email with a question about sizing I got a response within hours.) Two weeks later I called again. I left a detailed message with a nice woman who promised that my call would be returned soon. My call was never returned.
Last week, I sent my 4th email. Finally, a response. The person who processes returns claimed it was the second attempt to respond to my email. She or he wrote, in a somewhat tartly worded response, that according to their logs, there was no record that the package had been received and without a tracking number there was not much she or he could do.
I admit that I should have sent the package with delivery confirmation. I also admit that it is possible that the USPS lost the package. And I even admit that it’s possible, however unlikely, that Breakout Bras sent emails to me that I never received. Even if they have problems with both the US Mail and their email system’s mail server, however, that fails to explain why they did not return my phone calls.
(Perhaps the system for logging returns works better than their communications procedures, but if their ability to return email and phone calls is any indication, the most likely explanation is that they received the package but failed to log it properly.)
If they had responded to my emails or returned my phone calls, I probably would have been willing to write the lost package off as my mistake and I would have ordered from them again. I am sad that I can no longer justify continuing to shop with Breakout Bras when it seems only one aspect of the company seems at fault, but such miserable customer service in the returns department outweighs the good prices and good service in sizing and sales.
I apologize for the long post, but I hope it helps someone else who may be thinking of placing an order with Breakout Bras. I wouldn’t say don’t do it, but proceed with caution, don’t expect even adequate customer service with returns, and make sure you track the package.
-Karen
Lesson Learned: Never again will I never return merchandise without delivery confirmation – even if the baby is screaming her head off.
USPS.com has a special section for merchandise returns where you pre-print shipping labels that include delivery confirmation. You can even pay for shipping and insurance so you don’t have to stand in line at all.