Catan Fashions

02/20/12

Worst customer service.

by T87 at Citysearch

I was very disappointed in the service I received at Catan Fashions on two different occasions.

Last year, I was struggling to find a dress that fit my expectations for my destination wedding. About four months ago, I purchased my gown from Catans. It was "the perfect dress" because it was the only short dress I had found with all the design elements I was looking for. I knew that that was the one and told the girl I wanted to try it on immediately. The girl who was assigned to me

was obviously new and had no idea what she needed to do during the fitting. I tried the dress on and fell in love with it. Then I was ready to try headpieces. She didn't know how to even put on the different birdcage veils or how to use the clips in my hair. In addition, after trying on the dress and deciding to order it, it wasn't until I was at the service desk that she realized she was supposed to measure me before ordering. She didn't know HOW to even get my measurements. I had to return to the room, undress, and have two ladies (my assistant and lady at desk) measure me, before I could even finish my paperwork. It was an inconvenience, but I was hoping it was a fluke because she was new. I brushed it off and left.

So, fast-forward a few months, and I receive the phone call that my dress is in. I plan an entire weekend to come to the Akron/Cleveland. I was assigned another young lady to help me prepare for the fitting. I told her I wanted to look at headpieces but I was having a hard time finding one I liked because of my pixie haircut. She took me out to the headpieces, sat down a tray, said "put whatever you want on there," and walked away. She offered no opinions or assistance and even seemed annoyed when I later asked her if I could try on more. Inside the fitting room, I had to ASK for everything! She did not go out of her way at all. I had to ASK her to pin my dress, which was baggy on me. I had to ASK to talk to a seamstress regarding my alterations. I had to ASK her to help me pin the headpieces. I had to ASK her if there were any other options I could try. I had to ASK her about alterations packages. Every time she had to leave the room, she became even less helpful, like I was a waste of her time. Then, to top it off, I could even hear her gossiping with another employee outside the room. I'm not accusing her of gossiping about me or my situation, but it was very unprofessional nonetheless.

I have worked years in customer service and understand the sales industry. I was not expecting her to know all the questions I had in my head -- I didn't expect her to be psychic. I did, however, expect her to inform me about services offered, make suggestions, and ... be helpful, not annoyed. My family was upset with the treatment, as was I, which put a damper on my big day. Trying your dress on for the first time should be one of the most magical moments for a bride and we all left upset and discouraged.

Due to my poor experiences on these separate occasions, I decided to take my business somewhere else. I am having my dress altered and even customized, but I am planning on having it done by somewhere other than Catans. Although I fell in love with a birdcage headpiece at Catans, I will be trying to find a similar one somewhere else. I will not be ordering the bridesmaid dresses that I liked on the website or allowing my mother to get her dress there either.

I wanted to share my experiences at Catans with others. I realize that this will not stop the flow of business you, Catans Fashions, will receive and that some people may not take it as seriously, but I hope you realize that I was at Catans, excited about my wedding day, absolutely in love with my dress, willing to spend almost any amount of money to make that day "perfect," and I felt like I was not good enough for your time.

11/21/11

Very disappointed. Wish I shopped elsewhere

by mbsw at Citysearch

I recommend you avoid Catan's if possible. I ordered a dress as part of a trunk sale and was told that it would be ready in two months. Five and a half months later, I'm still waiting for delivery. Catan's ordered the wrong size. I went to my first alterations appointment, and the seamstress forgot to take notes. I went to a second appointment to just repeat what we accomplished on the first. By the third appointment, the seamstress told me she forgot to work on the dress. So, it took four appointments to accomplish what should have taken two, requiring me to repeatedly take time off of my afternoon from work. For the $600 it cost me in alterations, the seamstress did not take up the dress. Instead, she pushed a $60 slip on me. So, I got to pay for the slip and ease her burden. I mentioned multiple times how I wanted the cap sleeves shortened, and they just threw tape on me, and charged me. Well, my wedding photos contest that tape doesn't work. The alterations fees are too high. Catans overworks its seamstresses and doesn't pay them enough. I don't fault the seamstress as much as the company. When I wrote the company about the difficulties, they didn't bother to respond. I guess you don't have to when you're part of a regional oligopoly.

10/28/11

Please! Do not go here!

by 3434pelph at Citysearch

I can't stress enough not to go here. They ordered my dress incorrectly, lied about it, and offered me no apology. I found a dress I loved, only it came with a corset back and I wanted a zipper. They said the manufacturer didn't make a zipper and they would order a size bigger and charge me a hundred dollars to have their seamstress alter it (The manufacturer does make a zipper for no extra charge). I never received a call when my dress came in so I called, and they said it just came in that day (yeah right) and I asked them not to alter it to a zipper until I tried it on. They said they would never alter anything until after my dress inspection. When I went in for my first fitting I put on the dress expecting it to be a corset. However, it was a zipper back, and about 6 inches to small. I was very confused and asked the woman helping me why it wasn't a corset (I told her about the phone call I had made), she offered no apology and said that the manufacturer had made it with a zipper and that they had not altered it themselves. She then insinuated that I asked to order the wrong size (that didn't check out) she then said I gained weight and remeasured me saying I had gained a few inches (I was measured a 2 days later and my measurements were the same a when I originally ordered the dress). Still, without apologizing, she and another woman blamed it on the manufacturer's sizing and said they would send it back to the manufacturer, but they had to call on Monday because it was too late to call them that day (I had driven two hours and had to make a late appointment). I wanted to see what actually happened, so I called the next day hoping to talk to another employee, and was told again that it was the manufacturer's fault and they had called after I left and talked to them (the manufacturer was closed so they couldn't have called). This employee did apologize, and when I told her something seemed off, she offered to look into it. She called later that night saying that they had not ordered it a size larger like they should have, that their seamstress did alter it in the store after it came in with a corset (after I asked them not to), and asked me to take my money back. I did get my money back but not enough time to order the dress with a zipper before the wedding. Apparently they'd rather lie to make a few extra bucks than run a respectable business.

08/08/11

no pressure

by Hutchen at Citysearch

Very helpful & let us shop with no pressure!

08/01/11

amazing experience

by palmtreesun at Citysearch

We had Chukie as our consultant and she was wonderful! It was just an amazing experience. Thank you!