Jon's Bridal Warehouse Tampa, FL

[Dannysgal2003]

I had the worst experience there. My “bridal consultant” looked through the racks of clothes with me insisting I try on strapless gowns. I’m on the zaftig side so strapless gowns do not really appeal to me. I informed my sales lady that I like plain and simple styles. What does she select as must try on gowns? Dresses with all the bells, whistles, lace, and beading that you can imagine. Again, not my thing. One of the gowns that she picked had a chiffon overlay that was torn and dirty. Of course, this was the dress that the “consultant” loved. Did I mention they wanted $750 for this very used dress? Another dress I tried on was much too small for me. I liked it but I didn’t love it. The sales person ran off to ask the buyer if she could order a larger size for me, you buy the dresses off the rack there – what you see is what you get. She told me the buyer tried to accommodate the “big girls”. Gee, thanks. She ran off before I could say don’t bother and left me in the middle of the store with my bum hanging for the whole world to see for about ten minutes. Why, you ask, did I not go back into the dressing room to put on my street clothes? Because you are not allowed to be in the dressing room sans consultant. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Beware!

[anybritt]

That is really terrible. I had a terrific experience at Jon's. My consultant, Tessie, was fabulous. She was very honest with me about which dresses suited me and which ones did not. She was patient and really listed to what I was looking for, while encouraging me to try on styles that she thought would suit my frame. The rest of the staff was very helpful and efficient. I love my gown and it was EXTREMELY affordable...nevertheless brand new, just in that week! I would give this place a chance if you are in the Tampa area!

[marcal]

I live in Tallahassee, but I had to go to Tampa for a friend's birthday and decided to visit Jons. The experience was...interesting.

My consultant was Rebecca. It seems in this store as with others, the consultant can make the differenece between a pleasant experience or a horrible one. My consultant was very fake. She had this plastic smile, and I (along with my bridesmaids) saw right through it. However she was helpful in several regards. She took time to look at the pictures I brought. We looked through the racks together and picked out a few dresses. Later she came back with additional dresses that were similar to the pictures I had showed her. One of the dresses that I wanted to purchase was Maggie Sottero's Avalon. She brought a knock off version. It looked wonderful on me, and I fell in love with it. The problem was the price. The dress retails for about $800-$900. They wanted 650.00.

Luckily I didn't decide to buy it there. After doing some research I have been able to find the original designer dress (thanks to these message boards)with a certificate of authenticity for way less.

The morale of the story: ask if the dress is a designer or a knock off and go into the store knowing what the designer dresses are selling for. Why pay more for a knock off when you can get the real thing?