Dear Lakewood Scoop,
I am writing to you as a frustrated Baal Simcha. While making a wedding is something that everyone strives for, to walk their child to the chuppa knowing that child found their zivug and will iy”h be zoche to build a bayis neeman b’yisroel, there are a lot of stress and frustrations the come with that simcha.
We are not chas v’shalom complaining about the simcha itself or anything. However, when you spend time, and energy and finally come across the perfect piece, you expect it to be delivered in time with peace of mind, knowing that one thing was taken care of and everything is under control.
If I tell you that after demanding full payment upfront before the item was even in the store weeks in advance, being told not to worry, and promising that the gown would be there with enough time, the store didn’t contact her for three weeks. The store did not follow up even once with where the item was holding.
At that point, I was in touch and find out what the story was.
After several phone calls of being told to wait without an update, we decided to go in to the store to find out where the gown was holding. After all the wedding was in less than three weeks. We were in luck. The owner of the company was there that day.
However, the response was unacceptable.
Imagine going to a gown store that is supposed to SERVICE you, yes service being the key word. The customer is always right and should be treated with respect.
Not in this store.
The owner proceeded to yell on top of her lungs, “Who do you think you are? Do I need your money? Why did I take this order? I don’t need your business…”
That’s how they were treated in front of other customers. It was embarrassing to say the least when she continued on to say, “THAT’S the size you ordered? You look like you would need at least two sizes bigger than that.”
Besides being is a service business, should ANYONE Jewish or not ever be spoken to like that?? This is a Lakewood based gown store. Not Brooklyn, Five Towns or out of town. A Jewish owned store by a frum woman.
You have full payment of mine, the wedding is now approaching and now you want me to take my money back? After we spent hours looking at all local options, I wanted everyone to feel amazing for this special simcha and look their best and this is the response?
I couldn’t believe that this was the service, treatment, and the way a Jewish company owner talks.
I was begged not to say anything and that it should be in the week before the wedding and we had no choice this close to the wedding.
So wait we did. Days before the wedding we were told the gown was held up at customs, probably arriving a few days before the wedding. We ‘should’ have time to then still do alterations.
They then informed us that alterations, especially rush are NOT included in the gown price.
Image the audacity! You embarrassed my wife, ignored her, lied to her and now you want her to pay more? Maybe for the despicable behavior an apology would be in order. Maybe fix it on the house.
I can’t express my frustrations and how upset everyone is in my house was at what’s supposed to be the happiest time of their lives.
I am writing to you to see if anyone else has had issues similar to this or if anyone knows how to help in this situation.
I did NOT include the name of the company as not to damage them, but am very tempted in releasing it if it will make them change their ways and save other people from this experience.
Thank you for making us all uneasy about orders that we have at various gown stores. I don’t know if you were motivated by frumkeit or ignorance. But a letter of this nature casts aspersions on everybody that is in this business sector. A better way to deal with a problem like you encountered is by speaking directly to the owner. A letter of this nature is not going to improve the situation. It just serves to vent your frustration and anger for very little benefit.
Does the behavior from the place you ordered a gown from match the patterns identified in this message? Did they demand payment in full upfront with zero communication?
Do they dodge your calls?
If yes, don’t be uneasy, do something about it. If no, then you likely ordered from someplace else.
Regardless, it is important for anybody ordering a custom gown to be aware of what is normal and what is not and what to look out for. You shouldn’t hire a plumber without knowing what the industry standard is for fee structure and turnaround time, why should you order a gown and be led on? This isn’t casting aspersions, It’s creating awareness.
This actually creates a great opportunity for the “good shops“ they can now exclude themselves from this message by being upfront about fee structures, timelines, and expected communications.
Talking to the owner didn’t go very far the first time they tried, did it? Why would you try it again?
There is an important piece of nuance you seem to be ignoring here: A custom gown is a luxury good and commands luxury prices. When you are charging luxury prices, you must give your clients a luxury experience.
I have had a better experience importing goods through a mid tier importer than what this person is describing. My shipment was rerouted the wrong port, delayed through customs, mixed in with somebody else’s shipment and logistics company handling the import was clear with open communications the whole time. It was frustrating, it took six months extra, I did not get any refund, but I was not gaslit or yelled at in the process.
First of all the customer isn’t always right…
The full saying is: “the customer is always right in matters of taste”.
Rule #1 The customer is always right
Rule #2 If the customer is wrong see rule #1
Sorry, but you missed an opportunity of a lifetime. We all know that shom’e cherpasom vein mashivim- One who listens to themselves being degraded and does not respond, is Zoche to incredible things.
I don’t think this letter changes that.
At the time they were humiliated and stayed quiet, this letter only serves as a PSA in general to let people know what they might expect.
So much to unpack here. First, no one should ever insult anyone like that. She is clearly not a nice person. That being said, I’m not sure why you stress that it’s a Lakewood business and not a NY one…what does that have to do with anything? Also, the customer is always right when you need customers. Ever notice when you’re at a doctor’s practice that is super hard to get into with waiting lists that they aren’t bending over backwards for customer service? This woman, as you said is offering a product that no one else has (“the perfect piece”). No, she doesn’t need you, so most of your letter was coming from feelings of entitlement which you need a reality check. That being said, they way she treated your wife when she came to the store is unacceptable.
“Marbeh Nechasim Marbeh Daagah” just go to a gown gemach they are much cheaper and much nicer!
#TYH
Exactly! Ehrenfeld’s gemach offers top quality service with a smile and such discounted price, as well as gorgeous headpiece! Stop paying full price for cheaper options and everyone will be happier!
Ehrenfeld’s is the way to go.
The higher the expectation, the bigger the let down.
i took my daughter to a gown gemach after going to a gown store that wanted $3900 to wear a gown for a few hours, they mamish the the same gowns
Not every size is available at a gown gemach, especially the larger sizes.. I’ve been there…but BH, had a much better, hashgocha protis, experience buying and altering a large gown that was (“mistakenly”)on the clearance rack,for less than the price of a rental. The kalla who bought the gown from us, also had a great hashgocha protis experience as well. I’m sorry for the writer’s bad experience.
Before paying the rush charge, go to a Rav or a Bais Din
yes, why exactly is this letter here? Did you speak to a rav first? Maybe, but you didn’t say that. We’re supposed to assume you did and he OK’d it.
There is a gown rental in lakewood that gives top notch service! My kallah felt so cared for, the best customer service. Regalia- 276-714-6076. https://regaliabridal.com
no ads please
Did the gown arrive in time?
It must have! Otherwise they would have had one more complaint to add to the letter!
People need to understand that when a business requires full prepayment upfront, it often reflects a lack of confidence in the business owners ability to deliver an experience that leaves the customer satisfied. If a business were truly confident that it would meet or exceed expectations, it would have little concern that a customer would refuse to pay for services properly rendered.
Instead, demanding full prepayment shifts all of the risk onto the consumer. The customer is expected to trust that the business will fulfill its promises, while the business is unwilling to extend that same trust in return.
Unfortunately, we as a town allow local business owners to take advantage of us althpugh the blame is not solely on them because their are many customers who take advantage as well.
I must say the sour apples kill it for the rest. To end off – for anyone reading this – YES DISPUTING A TRANSACTION FOR A SERVICE OR GOODS RECEIVED IS THEFT. PERIOD.
We need to do better as a town.
Yes, down payment makes sense, but full? why?
Sounds like you were treated horribly. But I reserve the word “horrific” for real tragedies. Gowns for a wedding aren’t in that category.
Yes, I knew right away it wasn’t horrific (from the title!)
Why isn’t this Lashon Horah. The Torah says if you have an issue with someone regarding money, Beis Din is the place for it, not on public blogs.
no shaychus to loshon horah , learn the chofetz chaim
Just got to erenfeld bridal gemach in lkwd save time money and give the extra money to ur kids to go to erertz yisroel for a week or 2 kol tuv
Do you have a contract signed? Almost every reputable place will have a signed contract that outlines all these issues. If they won’t sign a contract, don’t do business with them.
Also, before you use a place, ask around about their customer service and policies. Sometimes the perfect “peace” of mind is worth more than the perfect “piece”.
No normal human being would ever behave like this. Obviously this person is ill. May this be a kaparah for your family. thank Hashem that it’s not your machatanim behaving like this. Boruch Hashem, you are zoichento marry off your daughter. May Hashem bless her with a Bunyan Adei Ad. For the rest of us, let’s learn a lesson from this. Be kind. Speak Kindly. You’ll make someone’s day or even year.
Bh just made 3 weddings in the last year total order of gown including 3 kallahs was 12 at Augenbrauns and had the most amazing experience . Sorry u had bad experiences
It became unacceptable the way these places started to treat people. The costumer should be treated in the nicest manner regardless of the situation. I am sorry you had to deal with this.
You had to belittle and insult NY and farockaway, etc.? Go place your own order on AliExpress for your gown. Find your own tailor for alterations.
Was thinking the same thing. As if all NY gown rentals yell at you like that with bad & late service. Sorry not true. Next time come to Brooklyn for a rental. You will get treated much nicer
Well, this experience sounds pretty horrifying, I’m curious as to whether there is another side of the story.
Obviously, this gown was being manufactured abroad and imported.
what I suspect happened was that since the employee knows how long it takes to manufacture and ship the warrant comfortable the timeline and they made that somewhat clear but perhaps not clear enough. Without a video of the original interaction with sound, this could devolve into a he said, she said scenario very quickly.
The way the conversation should have gone is sort of like this:
Your wife “I would like this gown to be ready for a wedding on X date”
Store employee “ between finalizing the design, time to make the gown, and shipping that is a tight timeline, but it should come in time“
Your wife “OK so let’s order it“
Store employee “because it’s a tight timeline if too many things go wrong it won’t come in in time. We don’t want to lose money on this just because of how tight your timeline is we’re going to have to require you to pay in full upfront”
Your wife “if I don’t have a choice, here you go”
Here is how I suspect the conversation actually went:
Your wife “I want this design in this size for a wedding on X date”
Store employee “ooh that’s tight, it should be ready in time though. Payment is due in full to submit the order.”
Your wife “OK”.
This is painful to read
this is so horrific that rabanim have called for a public fast day july 2, 2026 may klal yisroel no-longer have any pain or suffering!
there are such beautiful gown gemachs in Lakewood, with the same schoirah save your money next time
I bought a beautiful custom gown (I’m the Bubby and not a small size) at Tres Boutique and it was an excellent experience – came on time, no comments about my size (14), no problems with follow- up questions. I don’t know which store you used, but there are places where you won’t have aggravation..
In general, there has been a decline lately in customer service. When going into a grocery or a restaurant, and using the self-service checkout or order, most of the times there isn’t any paper to print a receipt. One has to stand a second time on line at a register to get the receipt. One store I shopped in recently, started rounding the change to the lower nickel. While it’s only 5 cents, it leaves a bad taste.
total decline in customer service! And when I complain I, the customer, was told that I am in the wrong for complaining and the rude behavior I experienced was in my imagination!! we had a similar experience on a much smaller scale at one of these “boutique” elitist places when looking for a vort dress for my daughter. We were so excited to find a “perfect” dress but out of our price range but she was so happy…we carefully looked at the return policy and clearly was told we had one day. We wanted to go one more place and there we found an even prettier dress at a fraction of the cost. When we showed up the next morning as soon as the store opened we were told we would only get store credit! It was under 12 hours! The dress stayed in the dress bag in the car the whole night! It said we had a day to return but the sign did not clearly state for store credit. We were supposed to know this. This was a few years ago and I am sure they updated their signs but when i tried appealing to the store owner I was treated like second class not worthy of shopping in the their store. End result my daughter paid me for the dress and she kept it and used it for sheva brachos. She wanted the kapparah and she was blessed with a beautiful marriage and children.
Reading this I originally felt bad for you. But the specific quote “not Brooklyn, the five towns, or out of town. A Jewish store owned by a frum woman.” Makes me think that this story is either very exaggerated or completely made up. First off, just because someone is different that you, doesnt make them less jewish, i feel like we should add that to the school curriculum here, given the amount of people who dont know this. Second of all, frum jews who do things your way are not the only ones capable of being nice, jews who do things differentfrom you, and believe it or not, people who arent jewish, have this capability as well. I feel like we should add that to the school curriculum too. You saying such entitled things makes me think you might be an entitled person all together, and this story is either false, or your interpretation of events in a way that nothing is yout fault.
need to hear the other side of this story. Why was owner so upset with this customer?
Thats why we go to Augenbrauns. You obviously haven’t met the owner Malky, the sweetest most selfless person I know, who makes sure every customer leaves feeling like more than a million dollars. If only all store owners were like Malky