House Of Brides - Beware!
For all you soon to be brides out there, a warning goes out to anyone shopping at any House Of Brides store in Chicago, IL. They also have a website, boasting "the world`s largest bridal mall". Let me tell you that this was the absolute worst shopping experience I had ever had in my entire life! The website has very, very good prices on nearly all designer wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. I printed out a copy of the bridesmaid and flowergirl dress I intended to order and took it to the store in Schaumburg. I wanted five bridesmaid dresses and two FG. The snotty receptionist told me the dresses were ugly and gave me a quote $100 per dress higher than the website. She also could not guarantee me shipping, and told me that she had never even seen their very own website. Their wedding dresses were dirty, and the consultant offered me a slip so dirty I would not let it touch my skin. After an hour of being treated rudely, I left. The consultant never once attempted to help me with anything, even though I had made my appointment six weeks in advance. Everyone at the store was extremely rude and arrogant. Unfortunately I drove four hours to get to the store. The great thing is, I found my dress the same day at the BrideSmart across the street. When I got home, I looked on the Better Business Bureau`s website and was appalled at all of the complaints all five stores had lodged against them. One store had even closed down after 111 complaints in 18 months!! So brides, beware of this store and their website! The website is merely a ploy to get you into the store where the dresses are much, much higher priced. And the way the consultants and other workers treat people while they shop for the "happiest day of their life" should not be tolerated. Good luck to all of you, and don`t visit those stores!!
Posted by jodi; updated 10/23/07
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Im posting here as a warning to all brides: please, PLEASE do not buy from HOB!
Im not a bride, but i worked at the Glen Ellyn salon in the shipping department. Yep, if you ordered online, i probably shipped your order. First off, the whole company is filled with nepotism. Both my bosses were brother and sister, and their parents (the B`s) were the ones who own the place. The one manager, Alysa, has her husband working there too, and their other sister also works from time to time. Non-family members are sh*t to them, and they could care less if youre dying, theyll still step all over you.
I will admit, half the time the vendors just didnt send the dresses in on time... But the other half of the time they were just sitting on a `unknown` shelf. The organizational system there is so ridiculous, its no wonder they have so many complaints. An average day, wed have the delivery man bring us about 100 boxes filled with dresses, and it was our job to match the paperwork with the dress and ship it. Half the time, the paperwork wasnt even there.
The saleswomen working in the salon part of the Glen Ellyn location loved to steal dresses hanging on the racks in the back of shipping. Theyd do just about anything for a sale, including selling a dress that has already been ordered and paid for. The management of HOB knows this, yet nobody is fired (probably because THEYRE all related, TOO!).
Alysa is there almost 24/7, yet she likes to say shes unavailable to customers just so she doesnt have to deal with them. Even if youre an employee and you need to ask her for something, she will rarely give you the time of day without looking incredibly pissed off.
One thing i find strange is for the 5 months i worked there, i still never found out their true last name. I do know its a polish name (the B`s) but even on my paystubs it was chicken scratched out. I think they do this to avoid lawsuits or to confuse pissed off brides.
This is definatly a prime example of people who should NOT be in management or retail. The whole family is very selfish and shady, and they have no clue how to properly conduct business. Im surprised theyve been around as long as they have... They must be paying somebody off!
Im glad to say i have found a new job in a wonderful company where i dont ever have to deal with management like this ever again. So, brides beware for real! buy from ANY salon but this one, for they are truely shady!
Posted by A; updated 10/23/07
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I ordered a wedding dress in april (5 months ago) and havent received confirmation yet, do you think they havent placed my order? I spoke to Judy via email several times and she jut gave me the run around. I just want my money back now.
Posted by Vanessa; updated 09/06/10
