Tuesday 5 February 2019

Fame & Partners: An Honest Review

 

Continuing the theme of customer service. I feel like I'm becoming one of those old people who just complains all the time, but I don't think it's difficult to make your customers happy. Even a simple apology softens the blow if you can't get a refund. 

But today I talk about Fame & Partners. I needed a dress for an event. Their dresses are more expensive than I'm normally consider, but as they were having a sale and have a complete refund policy with afterpay payments available, I thought I'd give it a go. 

I ordered the Ara Dress in forest green with basic customisations (raise neckline, shirt style, hem line etc - I didn't order fit to measure). It currently retails for $399 AU with extra $$ for changes, but at the time, the website had a discount applied to prices. However, the price continued to change (even though it shouldn't have) every time I looked at the dress. I was deciding between two colours and had both in my cart - both had the exact same changes and should have been the same price. But one ended up at $70 more in my cart. I'm unsure how this works. When I did the math, neither were the total they should have been, but were in fact cheaper than expected.

I ordered the dress and was told I'd receive a tracking link once the dress had been sent. However, I never did - and one day a dress randomly arrived from Hong Kong (or thereabouts as I can't fully remember) at my doorstep. There's no mention of where the dresses are actually made. The websites are based in Australia and the US, so I assumed it was made there too, depending which you ordered from. But that wasn't an issue at all - I only mention because of where the box came from. The packaging was nice and clean, and the dress was of good quality. The fabric was so soft and the changes were perfect. 

The dress just didn't suit me and I decided to send it back. The return process is easy. You fill out the form online and they give you a number. Return postage is free. I was a little paranoid and decided to pay an extra $4 for tracking (knowing they had to sign for it too was extra piece of mind). Considering the price, the last thing I needed was for no proof of the dress getting back to them. 

In the FAQ on their website, it says you'll receive an email to confirm your return has started. I never did receive said email, and I could see it had arrived. It would take around 15 days to process my refund, but three weeks went by and I still hadn't heard anything. I went to the contact us link on their website but the chat box wouldn't pop up. And when I went to my orders for help, the link wouldn't work there either. I freaked out for a moment thinking I was being scammed.

I ended up contacting them through an email address on the order email they sent me. (I also contacted them via their facebook page, but they replied days after everything was sorted out). The emails went smoothly and customer service was very nice. They checked with the warehouse and confirmed my dress had arrived and would process my refund. I expected to them have to wait the full 15 days, but by the next day my after-pay had been cancelled and my refund in my bank account.

I probably won't buy from them again, just based on price and the service I received. However, the dress was gorgeous so no complaints there (do check the size guide though - don't take a chance with something so pricey). They would benefit from removing the information that you'll receive emails throughout the progress. I'd say all up, it was an okay experience.

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