Done with NM

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Allisonfaye

Allisonfaye

O.G.
Oct 30, 2006
19,758
9,842
#1
Yet again, the item I ordered on sale was cancelled. In fact, it showed they had two in stock and I jumped on it because I had ordered it in January and they cancelled it then, too. I was chatting with the rep asking if they could apply a discount code for an item I just bought last week and they said no. I would have to return it and rebuy it. I said send me a return label. I am done with NM. I was already cut off from the chat once and just got cut off again. This level of customer service is terrible for a high end store.
 
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#3
^ I think it’s a bit of trickle down or the residue of the Covid/initial SIP.

I’m pretty sure quite a bit of folks have commented about retail wages. I know the CS at LV (call center not stores) pays slightly above minimum per hour to handle the calls.

I’m not sure what NM pays but I’m guessing Apple pays more and apple pays ok considering… not saying anyone in general but people tend to feel more bold behind the phone than irl so between that and the rising costs, I think you’re seeing that translate to the service you receive. Eg reps feeling burned out, new reps not trained to be more flexible, deliver that WOW (wells Fargo coined) experience. Not that that excuses it but the compan(ies) should not forget to prioritize the front line so to speak.

I had an item canceled on me with Saks, but they still honored the gift card you get for spending $x even though I didn’t, so it wasn’t that bad, though it sucks to see the item still online and be told it’s not available (they’re not investing as much $ to make sure the data is real time).

I will say banks/big financial firms are getting better. I wrote elsewhere of one but actually had to call a few in the last six months and whether it was weekend, late night or during the day I always get routed to someone stateside in Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc.
 
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#4
In the past, I preferred to purchase from NM compared to stand-alone boutiques due to the excellent customer service and more pleasant and easy shopping experience at NM. This means a lot, because shopping directly from the brand boutiques often comes with other benefits; most importantly to me, choosing the boutique over NM will allow me first chance at hard-to-find items that NM may not have access to.

There has been a big change with my fine jewelry and handbag purchase experiences and the after-purchase service over the last couple of years.

I only shop remotely with a personal shopper since my local NM store closed 3 years ago. I had an amazing personal shopper for the first couple of years of shopping remotely, because she advocated for me to get what I was looking for. However, when she moved on, I was assigned a new PS and it has been terrible. No communication on shipping handbags, no follow up when they sent the wrong item, once they charged my NM card with someone else's purchase and I only found out when I got the monthly bill. The worst is trying to get VCA bracelets sized after purchase, it has been miserable and unacceptable. They require me to submit my receipt, certificate of authenticity, and a photograph of the item before they will even start the process. These are items that I purchased through Neiman Marcus so they should have it all on my account! With the last 3 items I have purchased, I need to text the PS at least 8-10 times over and over again over the course of about a month in order to get a shipping label to send in my purchases for sizing, which is supposed to be complementary with purchase. It's really terrible service, and I usually am very easily-satisfied!
 
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#5
Allisonfaye said:
Yet again, the item I ordered on sale was cancelled. In fact, it showed they had two in stock and I jumped on it because I had ordered it in January and they cancelled it then, too. I was chatting with the rep asking if they could apply a discount code for an item I just bought last week and they said no. I would have to return it and rebuy it. I said send me a return label. I am done with NM. I was already cut off from the chat once and just got cut off again. This level of customer service is terrible for a high end store.
Click to expand...
They have a newer policy of not applying a discount code if the item is already on sale. It's happened to me too. I've returned and rebought items a few times recently.
 
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#6
lorihmatthews said:
They have a newer policy of not applying a discount code if the item is already on sale. It's happened to me too. I've returned and rebought items a few times recently.
Click to expand...
This item was not on sale.
I guess I just miss the common sense approach you get from Saks. The person on the other end of that chat doesn't know me from Adam of course. But to repeat the I am deeply sorry stuff from the script is irritating. I wish more companies understood that. At least Saks understands that if you are a good customer, they should think through such a ridiculous policy of making you return and rebuy which costs them $$ and me time and energy.
 
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#7
lorihmatthews said:
They have a newer policy of not applying a discount code if the item is already on sale. It's happened to me too. I've returned and rebought items a few times recently.
Click to expand...
Oh, I think you misunderstood what I said and then I misunderstood what you said. LOL.

So I ordered a dress on sale twice. Once it said it had one in stock and they cancelled it because clearly, they didn't have it. Then, I just ordered the same dress again on sale because it popped up again. It said they had two. Sure enough, they cancelled it again. So when they do that, they send you a 15% discount code, which usually I don't use because I don't buy that many things there anymore. So I had just purchased a full price item and it was delivered. I was asking them to apply the 15% code to the item. So I chatted with them and got cut off 2 or 3 times. They make you give all your info each time for 'security' but I used to be a bill collector and I know why they do that. It's to make sure they can find people if they default on their account payments. Anyhoo, the drone on the other end of the customer service chat has no authority other than to repeat 'I do apologize for that' or in the case of NM, " I am deeply sorry'. It's infuriating when you know they reading from that script and are not actually listening to any thing you say as you point out the absurdity of rebuying the same thing you just bought and returning the other one. And BTW, NM now charges for returns so in addition to the hassle, you get to pay for their unwillingness to use logic.

I went up the food chain and they gave me the discount.
 
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#8
Ugh! I experienced a similar issue back in Feb. I purchased a sweater that was on sale. 5 days later they tell me its out of stock. A couple days later they send me an email telling me the sweater is in stock. I purchase again, canceled again. Another email several days later telling me its in stock and to hurry! I just ignored it that time. Super frustrating and such a waste of my time. Online ordering has been around since the 90's, not sure why their inventory control is crap. They did send me a 10% coupon. Never used it.

eta, I guess not really similar :doh:, just frustrating.
 
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#9
Ah, I get it now.

You do have to be fast when you get those "your item is back in stock!" messages. I usually don't get in on time.

Glad you were able to get the discount on the dress though. :)
 
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#10
FWIW I have purchased and bought a duplicate a handful of items both at NM and Saks within the past year or so. It's just easier to buy the same item at the lower price and then return the one that you bought at the higher price.

But I'll do that at any store that doesn't want to give me the lower sale price.
 
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#11
They'll even tell you that's what you have to do so OKAY, sounds like a bigger PITA for you than a simple price adjustment. But if that's what you want and how you work, so be it. It is a pain for me to make sure they credit the higher priced item.
 
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