PDA

View Full Version : Poor Customer Service at Baby Gap



tucker
10-30-2001, 04:36 PM
Just wanted to share poor customer service from the Gap and encourage people to shop elsewhere.

Richard,

Thank you for responding. I have returned all of the items in question and will not be returning to your store. I never took issue with your 14 day policy. Had the items in question been worn or washed, I would not have considered asking for a price adjustment or returning and repurchasing the merchandise. I took issue with the fact that I was told BY YOUR EMPLOYEE your policy was 30 days and that your employees were unwilling to return and resell without the merchandise in hand given the circumstances.

It is my understanding that your stock price has continued to fall. I’m surprised in this economy that you would rather have merchandise returned and customers lost rather than making an exception to encourage buying. But…your choice.

Sincerely,



Dear Ms.,

Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate your feedback regarding our
price adjustment policy and will share your comments with the
appropriate area.

Currently we offer a one-time price adjustment when the original receipt is presented within 14 days of the date of purchase. Unfortunately, we do not make exceptions outside of the 14-day time frame in order to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all our customers. We cannot offer an exception to one customer that we do not offer to any other customers.

We absolutely encourage our customers to stop in during the 14-day time frame for the price adjustment and I am sorry you were not able to get into a Gap store during the time. I do hope that in the future you are able to take advantage of this benefit.

If you have further questions or concerns about this guideline, please
call us at 1-800-GAPSTYLE, option 4. Again, thanks for the message.

Sincerely,
Richard
Gap Customer Relations



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Hello,
I received very poor customer service from BabyGap.

I purchased $145 on September 27th and when I was in the store two days ago (spending more money), I happened to note that several of the items I had purchased were now on sale.

I asked an associate if they would refund the difference and she told me that they would provided I had a receipt and it was within 30 days.

Today when I went back in to make the transaction with my receipt, I was told that this can only be done within 14 days of the purchase. So, I asked if I could return the merchandise (none of it has been worn) and then repurchase it at the sale price. I was told that this is frowned upon, but that they could do that. I was also told that this could only be done if the item was still on the floor for sale in that very same size.

I told the sales person and the manager that I knew which items they
still had on the floor for sale and which they did not and that I would really appreciate them returning those items using the receipt and then would repurchase at the sales price so that I did not have to drive home, pick up the clothes, and drive back wasting my time and gas, particularly since the sales person had not told me I needed to bring the items in.

I understand that this is just another way to get around the 14 day
issue and wouldn't normally be done, but I would think that for someone who spends $200 in three weeks, is told you have a 30 day policy, and is not told to bring the merchandise in, you would make an exception and either credit the difference or return and then resell the eligible merchandise at the sale price. The employee and manager both told me that they would not help me. I informed them that I would be returning everything ever purchased from the store that hadn't been worn and would take my business elsewhere and they told me that there was really nothing they could do.

I just had a baby. I also have a new nephew and six of my friends have
had babies in the last six months. Is this really the kind of service you want to provide to your customers? If so, I will share with them and ask them to share with others so that we can find a another store to spend our money in.

Sincerely,

Actormom
10-07-2002, 09:00 AM
I am sorry you had such a poor experience at Baby Gap. I am a HUGE fan of all the GAP stores and buy probably 80% of our clothing from GAP. I have had nothing but fabulous customer service. I have seen shoppers doing exactly what you were proposing to do with the return and re-purchase. I think it is up to each individual manager, even if the corporate policy may "frown" upon this practice.

I have a large family. One of the reasons I choose the GAP is because of the great service I have always received. They have always been available to help me in locating sizes and styles, even if this means calling around to other stores. GAP products wash and wear like nothing else I have tried. (with 6 kids, I have tried them all) They have fabulous deals on their web site and in my experience, have been great with returns. I shop at GAP a lot and I think I am a somewhat demanding customer myself. Fortunately, I have experienced nothing short of great service.

Kate888
10-11-2002, 12:06 PM
I've been a pretty loyal customer to Gap and BabyGap. However, I recently had a bad experience at BabyGap, too. I purchased 3 fleece overalls and after one washing (not worn, as I always prewash new clothes), two of them shrunk so much that they were too small for DD (the one that didn't shrink was a different color and feels like a different material), and I followed ALL the washing instructions on the lable. When I drove 30 minutes to the store to return them (7 days after purchasing), the salesperson gave me a lecture, saying that I should line dry them, even after I showed her the lables. She kept going on and on about doing me a favor. In conclusion, she did let me return the overalls, but with an attitude, like it was my fault that the clothes shrunk.

Anyway, very disappointed with BabyGap's customer service. When I want to buy something, it's always nice. But when there is a problem, you'll see the "real" service...

Rachels
10-17-2002, 06:56 AM
I agree. I love baby gap clothes, but returns are a major headache.

-Rachel
Mommy to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

mspacman
10-17-2002, 12:44 PM
At least they let you return them! I bought a pair of Gymboree pajamas that shrank after the first washing. Because the tags were no longer attached (you're supposed to leave them on for the first washing??) they would not let me return them, not even for an even exchange. The two saleswomen were very snotty and insisted Gymboree's clothing doesn't ever shrink.

I will never, ever shop at Gymboree again and told my mother and relatives not to buy anything for my child there. What wonderful business sense, to tick off the mom of a newborn with years of clothes spending ahead!

m2tandk
10-17-2002, 02:30 PM
I have always had great customer service at Gap(any Gap store actually). I have returned so many things over the last couple of years! They have always been wonderful! I am so sorry you had a problem.

Gymboree, well, I love their clothes, but they do shrink easily. I had the same problem. I just never tried to return anything. I am a pushover with that stuff sometimes!

Kelly

ferretfan8
11-01-2002, 06:36 PM
Having used to work for Old Navy (owned by Gap) I can tell you that the magic word for many retail companies is "defective." If you go into the store and say something like, "I bought this but its defective" it will usually be returned without question.

I worked customer service for Old Navy as well as supervising our customer service Reps and cashiers. If the customer said defective we returned it with or without the receipt for the original price.

Tucker, I know you were upset that they wouldn't make an exception for you considering how much you spent but honestly, this is the reason I decided to work at Old Navy. It didn't matter how little or how much people spent, I knew that each person was going to be treated the same.

Having said that though, if when you came in and were able to point out that person who told you 30 days, I would have honored that as that employee had not received the proper training and should have been able to recite the return policy by rote. The employee would have been taken aside and made to recite it to me until they had it correct.

But, that is just me. :)

Caroline99
11-01-2002, 10:10 PM
Considering the average price of a piece at Baby Gap or Gap, $200 in clothing isn't all that much to drop there, IMO. When you shop at Gap, you're buying the style, not the customer service or the quality of manufacturing. It sucks that they wouldn't return the merchandise for you, but the policy is very clearly stated on their receipts and all signage within the store.

myllam
11-07-2002, 01:56 PM
I have to jump on the Gymboree rant. We were shopping at Gymboree and my DH was holding my DS. My DS suddenly spit up a little of his milk (not a whole lot mind you) and it landed on the floor. Well the store clerk acted like it was the worse thing she had ever seen (I can believe she works at a store that sells specifically to babies/kids)! The other clerk at least had enough sense to hand us a couple of paper towels to clean it up. When I was paying for my merchandise the first clerk made a snide comment about the incident to the clerk who handed us the paper towels. Needless to say, I didn't finish my purchase! This was several months ago and it still irritates me to think about it!

Monica
mom to 15 month old Brian