Customer Service/Quality Control issues post here.

[Jenova]

..........or substandard in some way that has not been pre-agreed with the client (for example disfigured, excessively dry, scuffed or badly matched leather).

 

[rosieroseanna]

..........or substandard in some way that has not been pre-agreed with the client (for example disfigured, excessively dry, scuffed or badly matched leather).

No question of a doubt! Are you serious, BE send out bags that are faulty or not what people ordered and refuse to refund them?! I was planning on maybe ordering a bag but don't think I will bother now, not worth the risk!

 

[Jenova]

Now now - I didn't say that BE refused to refund in such circumstances - just that the things that I mentioned should be cause for a guaranteed refund in a BE Couture bag as well as a stock bag.

 

[tlloveshim]

No question of a doubt! Are you serious, BE send out bags that are faulty or not what people ordered and refuse to refund them?! I was planning on maybe ordering a bag but don't think I will bother now, not worth the risk!

This thread is for CS issues so while you as a potential customer should be aware of some potential issues that have occurred, I recommend you spend some time in the remaining sub-forum and read the many reviews from women who are very happy with their bags.

I personally have had 1 issue with a bag and the issue was worked out to my satisfaction quickly and easily. BE is attempting to resolve the issues as the CEO/designer has posted and is giving us the opportunity to give her feedback. It's a growing company and I am pretty sure that Jackie isn't going to let her business sink over a few easily remedied CS issues.

So while there are some issues that need resolved please don't use this thread alone to determine if you're going to order from BE or not. Please do more research first and then determine what's best for you.

And my comments are by no means meant to diminish anyone's negative experiences with BE.

 

[pinkdiamond]

Hip, are all of your rings gold or just the side ones? On mine (root IB) it's just the side ones, but it really bothers me, and I'm not OCDish at all (I wish!). I think it bothers me because I'm so much not a BE gold hardware girl, while brass is usually FINE with me, so I definitely notice the gold. Sadly, even the gold zippers bother me, but I'm hoping to get used to them.

I want to get my rings replaced, but I think BE should pay for it (am I dreaming? I don't know.) It's their mistake. So, I haven't broached the subject yet with jackie as she said it was a holiday in Italy and that she'd get back to me. However gga got a ton of info about it, so maybe jackie's forgotten about me. I'll shoot her another email today.

hi jenny, re: Jackies post to you in the other thread, i would be very grateful if you could post pictures of your hardware so I can see how different gold and brass are. I am not sure about the explanation about the silver being different also. It sounds like this is more marked in the gold, and since i am a gold girl I would like to see the difference

 

[K.Z.]

Maybe BE needs a set of standard policies to handle defective bags? It sounds like some of us continue to receive excellent customer service and others have not had the same service. I hope those of us who have had only good experiences don't assume that everyone else has the exact same experiences. Although I would hope for that to be true, it is clearly not the case... I think right now BE's resolutions are purely subjective according to the circumstances and the customer's communication skills.... If someone was sweet and shy, they might mention the problem and hope for a resolution, but I bet they walk away when BE tells them their problem is acceptable. Sadly, it's the nice people that are getting walked all over and it shouldn't be that way. If BE could come up with a standard way of handling complaints, they could maintain their customers that aren't quite as assertive as some of our fellow Belenistas that clearly don't have a problem speaking up.Kwim?

The important thing to note is that this thread is for BE quality control issues and those people that are always happy with their BE experience should not get offended by those people who have issues. Please don't try to diminish anyone's issues just because you haven't had any. This thread's purpose is not to stop people from buying BE bags. It is a way to support our fellow Belenistas, and obviously a great place for BE to refer to when they want to make changes to keep their customers happy and satisfied.

I think these are very good points.

I've found most of the posts here, such as Susan Lee's and Ms.Lizardo's most recently, very informative. However, I'm still trying to understand why some of those who have been fortunate enough to have no unpleasant QC/CS issues get defensive when people who have had the misfortune to have these issues speak up. IMO, that only makes matters worse kuz the ones with problems feel invalidated and either give up under the pressure (and I don't know if that's the intention) or get more upset and loud in order to be heard.

Evidently, the experience of buying BE/BEC bags is not identical for everyone. And while the company should probably make it a goal to be as consistent as possible, for now, those who receive defective bags or something other than what they ordered should be supported and not invalidated or challenged to prove their case.

Just my two cents.

 

[finzup]

^^ I couldn't agree more.

 

[sgreg]

However, I'm still trying to understand why some of those who have been fortunate enough to have no unpleasant QC/CS issues get defensive when people who have had the misfortune to have these issues speak up.

In general, I thought critisism or people reporting faults is met fairly well on these forums. I think sometimes the critisism moves from being constructive to bashing, and that's when people start to get defensive. Sometimes it seems a little like that one person you find who goes around to all the Britney Spears websites to post BRITNEY SUCKS! on them. Yes, in my opinion Britney does suck (sorry to all the fans!), but you kind of feel a little defensive for her in those situations.

 

[tlloveshim]

Just to clarify, my last post was not aimed at anyone having QC/CS issues. It was aimed only at the person I quoted because one statement was taken out of context and turned into a broader comment than it was intended to be. It was an unfair assessment on the company that was not part of the discussion concerning the problems some of the posters here were having. I am sure the poster I quoted misunderstood the original statement. I hope that clarifies my intention and again makes it very clear that I am diminishing no one's issues because my own have been different.

This thread is for QC/CS issues and should be read and considered when someone is choosing whether or not to buy BE but it should not be the only source of information.

I am very pleased that this thread exists but I am even more pleased that BE has gotten to open a dialogue in a separate thread with us so that we can not only discuss the issues but we can make suggestions as BE moves toward a solution to those issues.

 

[Susan Lee]

I want to clarify (not because of anything that anyone has said here, just for posterity really) that my goal is NOT to give the impression that many things go wrong with BE and to put people off from purchasing from BEC. Far from!

My main goal was to bring to light that yes, mistakes can happen with BEC, and yes, sometimes those mistakes are not handled in the most "customer pleasing" ways.
I have had many wonderful experiences with BE (in stock line) in the past, and have gleefully posted many reveal threads proclaiming my love and joy. I do however feel that one should reveal all experiences, both good and bad, so others can be aware and take note.

Not to bash, not to turn others away, but to inform. Because the more informed one is about a purchase, the less likely mistakes will occur or confusions will arise.

 

[Jenny1963]

hi jenny, re: Jackies post to you in the other thread, i would be very grateful if you could post pictures of your hardware so I can see how different gold and brass are. I am not sure about the explanation about the silver being different also. It sounds like this is more marked in the gold, and since i am a gold girl I would like to see the difference

Sure pinkdiamond, I'll attempt to capture the difference. It's basically just the difference between shiny ("gold") vs brushed gold ("brass"). I don't know what jackie's talking about with the silver. I haven't noticed any difference, but I will go look.

 

[tlloveshim]

Not to bash, not to turn others away, but to inform. Because the more informed one is about a purchase, the less likely mistakes will occur or confusions will arise.

Exactly! And I must say that for myself I am happier right now to purchase stock bags or 2nd hand bags than do a BEC because of the issues being discussed even though I know that plenty of gals have had great BEC experiences! I have too but I want to be 100% sure that I don't end up with a bag I can't return because something went wrong beyond my control. I'm watching how these situations are resolved and that will determine if I ever do another BEC or just stick to stock bags. I'm glad you posted and I know your intentions were to inform and not cause harm.

 

[sgreg]

I want to clarify (not because of anything that anyone has said here, just for posterity really) that my goal is NOT to give the impression that many things go wrong with BE and to put people off from purchasing from BEC. Far from!

My main goal was to bring to light that yes, mistakes can happen with BEC, and yes, sometimes those mistakes are not handled in the most "customer pleasing" ways.
I have had many wonderful experiences with BE (in stock line) in the past, and have gleefully posted many reveal threads proclaiming my love and joy. I do however feel that one should reveal all experiences, both good and bad, so others can be aware and take note.

Not to bash, not to turn others away, but to inform. Because the more informed one is about a purchase, the less likely mistakes will occur or confusions will arise.

I personally didn't interpret your posts as anything but constructive and informative Had what you had experienced happened to me, I don't know whether I could have posted about the matter with as much decorum as you did.

 

[K.Z.]

In general, I thought critisism or people reporting faults is met fairly well on these forums. I think sometimes the critisism moves from being constructive to bashing, and that's when people start to get defensive. Sometimes it seems a little like that one person you find who goes around to all the Britney Spears websites to post BRITNEY SUCKS! on them. Yes, in my opinion Britney does suck (sorry to all the fans!), but you kind of feel a little defensive for her in those situations.

Good point. I've seen people go overboard and bash for the sake of bashing, just like I've seen people get defensive without there being any bashing...when someone is merely stating a problem with a bag. I guess it's to be expected both ways. There are people who get off bashing celebrities (and for us bags are celebrities ), and there are others who get off being fanatical about the celebrities they love. To them, that celebrity can do no wrong, while to the other, she/he/it can do no right. I think usually the truth is somewhere in the middle...

ETA: I think most of the people here are here kuz they like the bags and want to keep buying and enjoying them. They just want to feel confident that the chances of there being anything wrong with the bags are low, and the chances of having an issue quickly resolved are high.

 

[sgreg]

ITA with you, karmen. When I was 7, I had a german teacher who wrote in a school report (which I found as an adult in the shed, much to my amusement), believe it or not, "myname has performed poorly in her tests. It is my opinion she has no aptitude for German and is unlikely to improve, but I wish her good luck." whereas it would have been suffice to say "myname has performed poorly in her tests, and needs to improve. I wish her good luck!". To me, that is the difference between constructive critisism and bashing. I never did get any better at German, for the record. I'm off going topic, sorry.