Any brand you are falling out of love with? If so, why?

[jchiara]

I've actually fallen out of love with the LVs that everyone else is carrying. So I got rid of my Mono Speedy 30, Damier Speedy 30 and BH. I felt foolish walking around with everyone else's bag.
Maybe that sounds silly, but I just decided to keep the ones that you never see.
I fell out of love with Kooba a long time ago....

 

[lovebags2]

Agreed!! And I would have to add Kooba to that list - I bought an authentic Sienna back in the day and within 2 wearings, the whipstitching on the strap was breaking apart. And then one of the studs on the straps fell off soon afterwards. Grrrrrr.....

I also have dealt with Bulga problems. They sent me two bags instead of one once (the same bag) and I could have kept them both easily, but rather I shipped the extra one back to them immediately (on my dime) and called them to let them know it was coming. The person who answered the phone did not offer to reimburse my shipping, much less thank me for my honesty (and this is when Bulga was in its first year or so).

RM however absolutely takes the cake. I don't possess, the energy, time, or desire for listing all of that company's CS and QC issues. I am frankly embarrassed and annoyed at myself for sticking to that brand as long as I did in the first place.

I don't do things like return handbags that I didn't pay for just so that others thank me, but I really think that some of these companies would benefit from some serious customer service training for their employees. Good customer service can even go a long way towards repairing any damage done by poor craftsmanship, etc. (A simple, sincere "I'm sorry, this shouldn't have happened, what can I do to make it right?" and prompt action on the part of a CS rep is all that's needed, really).

It's an indication of just how out of touch some of these companies are with their consumer base when they don't even realize just how many more loyal customers they could keep with some basic CS training, especially in the current economic times.

Hi Lo,

I agree with you 100%. Good customer service can go a long way. I"ve always felt that mistakes do indeed happen but it's how you treat your customer afterward that I'm more concerned with and I don't just look toward my own experience but how other PF friends are treated too.

I"m glad both of us have taken a step back to look more objectively at designers we wrongly placed our loyalty.

I'd rather pay double or a triple price on a bag and feel positive about the entire experience which includes quality and CS!

 

[starkfan]

Good for you
I used to be a major fan of Cole Haan bags, but I'm finished with them. I had an AWFUL experience with them today...it wasn't so much the salespeople, but the corporate policies. It honestly seems like they don't care if they lose a customer.

Even though I'm still attracted to their bags, I need to put my foot down and say NO MORE. That's exactly what happened to me with Rebecca Minkoff. I used to avidly collect RM handbags, but after the plethora of CS/QC issues, I was finished. There is no reason why we should be shelling out ANY amount of money whatsoever to a company who obviously does not care enough to keep its existing customers happy.

Frankly, I am tired of having such bad experiences that I have to go out of my way to complain about it. That really shouldn't be happening. It's so strange to me how so many companies are willing to drop customer service before losing a buck.

IA, this is an atrocious attitude to take towards customers, and one that I've experienced with RM. (And I think I can safely say that I'm hardly the only one who's felt that! ) Even if it's a customer with just one bag from your brand (as was the case for me with RM), you still do your d*mndest to make sure that customer is satisfied and treated well. After all, every loyal or repeat customer has to start off with one bag, right?!?! (Heh, okay, unless you buy multiple bags from a designer right away!)

I've long ago sworn off RM because of their CS and my personal experience with them, and I've also sworn off another "mid"-range brand here on tPF because of their CS. For the second brand, it was a combination of word of mouth that was going around as well as bits of my experience with their CS that threw up red flags for me (e.g. responses that don't always give the best first reading, sales attitudes that felt borderline pushy). CS really is so incredibly important, both in the pre-sales and after-sales areas, that it astounds me when brands don't bother maintaining or even just evaluating their standards in those areas.

(It's a good thing that the other brands I still love haven't given me any major reasons to be concerned! )

 

[fashion_mom1]

I think it is interesting how many people fell out of love with RM. I got caught up in the craze, bought a Nikki only to turn right around and sell it. I didn't get the hype.

 

[accio sacculus]

LV & Coach

 

[honuhonu]

I had a brief desire to buy a LV bag over the holidays - DH even wanted to spend close to $2K on one for me, but I just cannot justify that price for a canvas bag that the company will not stand behind....my brief imaginary love affair with LV is now over!

 

[thedseer]

I’m not sure that I’m necessarily falling out of love with RM (though I don’t really like the new stuff), but I have no desire to purchase anything else RM. I have a bunch that I will be purging, but I’m very happy with the few that I’m keeping, and don’t foresee myself getting rid of these any time soon. I just don’t feel the need to have a ton of different ones, and I mostly like the older leathers/hardware which are harder to find (and I pretty much have all that I wanted to find). Plus, although I have not had any issues with CS/QC, knock on wood, I’ve been very disappointed with how others’ issues have been handled. It’s a major turnoff.

I’m also becoming more interested in other designers (particularly Mulberry & BV), so that’s part of it too.

 

[Danzare]

I'd say LV, and just about anything monogram.

Plus, I think LV bags are quite overpriced, and I'd rather save up some more and buy leather than splurge on canvas.. still keeping my Speedy 30, though.
It was my first designer bag and I'm definitely not repudiating it...I remember feeling so proud of carrying an 'adult' bag, even more since it wasn't that wide-spread here in Italy when I got it. The big hype only began a couple years ago..

 

[gratefull]

^^^ Funny you say that, It's the same with me. I have so many now and joining TPF has now helped me see that I truly don't need/want bags as much as I did, before I joined 5months ago. I actually don't buy bags much since I joined and I find that a bit strange.

Hey, me too!

Being on here fuels my love for bags, but I see I don't need to buy them all!

I guess what happens is that I see some on here that I think I really want, or "have to have", and then don't get them because of the money, etc...
Then what happens, miraculously, is that I don't have the urge for the particular bag anymore! So I can see that the urges are normally a passing thing.

 

[Pradameinhofgang]

LV - not because i've had recent bad exp with them, but to me they used to be an aspirational brand for me a number of years ago... now i'm lucky in that i have a few LV bags which are standards such as Neverfull, speedy and Noe. they are my everyday, running round with the kids bags, stand up to wear and tear and aren't precious enough that they can't occasionally get wet or be near kids with sticky fingers... i guess i'm not out of love with them, just i don't get that thrill when i carry them any more like my hermes bags...

 

[Coach10619]

Over the last year or so, I have started falling out of love with handbags in general. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, but, I'm not as obsessed with them as I used to be. I used to buy things just because I got them for a great price and I ended up having a lot of stuff that sat on my shelf for over a year so, I sold off everything that I bought and never used and I have swore to myself that I will never buy just because I find a deal on something again and I haven't so far.
My collection is now just a fraction of what it used to be but, I use and love everything I have now! I am pretty satisfied at the moment.

 

[pro_shopper]

I've fallen out of love with LV. I don't know why. I just don't like anymore.

ITA! It just happened

 

[Cest Si Bon]

Over the last year or so, I have started falling out of love with handbags in general. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, but, I'm not as obsessed with them as I used to be. I used to buy things just because I got them for a great price and I ended up having a lot of stuff that sat on my shelf for over a year so, I sold off everything that I bought and never used and I have swore to myself that I will never buy just because I find a deal on something again and I haven't so far.
My collection is now just a fraction of what it used to be but, I use and love everything I have now! I am pretty satisfied at the moment.

Good for you! I've noticed that the bag-obsessed periods of my life have been due to the lack of excitement, adventure, and well.. LIFE in my life. Depressing but true. I also have an appreciation for art and beauty in general, but not usually in a way where I'll obsess over it or spend a good portion of my time on a bag forum.. :/ But I do love bags and this forum... I guess I just wished I had something of more substance to obsess over.. lol?

 

[Cest Si Bon]

Work and/or school will do that to you though I guess carrying a nice bag helps make everyday a little sweeter

 

[melikemochi]

Good for you! I've noticed that the bag-obsessed periods of my life have been due to the lack of excitement, adventure, and well.. LIFE in my life. Depressing but true. I also have an appreciation for art and beauty in general, but not usually in a way where I'll obsess over it or spend a good portion of my time on a bag forum.. :/ But I do love bags and this forum... I guess I just wished I had something of more substance to obsess over.. lol?

Now that I re-examine my bag-obsessive periods (now I'm talking REALLY obsessive), I have to agree that this is more of less true for me too. But I still feel excited about bags when I am living my life and do find that nice bags make everyday sweeter.

As for falling out of love, I've always admired Coach for their quality workmanship and thus durability of their bags, not to mention that in my experience they do completely stand behind their bags and will take care of you if a problem does arise (even if its a year or 2 later). But its been a good while since I've purchased anything from them because the styles just havent appealed to me. I want something that I can use for many years to come and IMO the bags seem dated.

I have a love/hate relationship with LV. Although their bags (most of them) are timeless, I keep telling myself I won't buy anymore because the quality is a hit or miss and so is their CS. Its really tough to get them to take care of you in a satisfactory manner (most of the time they don't) unless you get lucky (which has happened on ocassion). I cannot help but expect them to take a firmer stance behind their products as a premium designer. They don't give me confidence they will take care of me if a problem arises so when I do buy, I buy "at my own risk." I do throught phases of not buying because I'm "over" LV but then sure enough a few months later I'm a customer again.

Target bags - I thought, "I'm not going to discriminiate against non-designer bags. I'm sure its fine." I bought it for $20, used it for less than 5 times, the glaze on the handles was entirely cracked and peeling.