Goodbye Louis Vuitton

fianceOfLVgirl

New Member
Aug 5, 2009
4
0
My fiance was recently put through the ringer by Louis Vuitton, and after trying hard to get some satisfaction, we are literally left holding the (broken) bag.

The following is an email that my fiance sent her friends about the experience. What follows is a follow up from me about what has happened since her first call with x of the Garden State Plaza LV store. We would love for you guys to help us get this issue resolved, afterall, shouldn't companies be doing all they can during tough economic times to hold onto their customers so they are still there when things turn around?

Please note that my fiance loves her bags, and she has many of them. She works hard for her money, and indulges by buying a new bag or swanky pair of shoes. It is her thing, and I'm guessing that many of you share in her passion!

I look forward to reading your thoughts on what she/we went through.


From my fiance to her friends:

I just had a really bad experience with the customer service at Louis Vuitton, so much so that I will be boycotting their products here on out and thought I should share my story with all of you.

Long story short, the pull to my zipper broke last year. I brought the bag for repair and when it came back the zipper wasn’t closing properly. After months of dealing with the broken zipper, I finally brought the bag for another round of repairs. Frustrated, I was told they would try to repair it in the store, but if they couldn’t do that they would call me in a few days to let me know the bag was being sent out for repair (to add to my frustration I had a bad experience with the staffer that helped me as she couldn’t find me in the system and basically made it seem like I didn’t buy the bag or something…meanwhile they had spelled my name wrong and that’s why she couldn’t find me in the system). Any who, not surprisingly I never got a call to let me know what was going on with the bag and I had to call the store to find out that the bag couldn’t be fixed in their store and that it was being sent back to California for repair. I was then told the bag would be back in 6-8 weeks.

Well I just got a phone call from the store informing me that the bag was out for repair and in order to fix it I would need to pay $155. As you can imagine I was totally shocked and upset as no one mentioned that there would be any cost to fix the bag (the receipt I received was even marked $0). After explaining the situation, I asked to speak to a manager as I was hoping they would do something to make up for the lack of communication. Well he was a total jerk and his answer to me was that I should look at it this way: I could pay $155 for a new zipper or $700 for a new bag. As you can imagine this isn’t the customer service I expected, so I said I wouldn’t pay $155 for a zipper repair and told them to send the bag back. As a result I’ve decided that I will never purchase another Louis Vuitton product ever again and wanted to send a buyer beware to all of you (please pass along to anyone else that you think may find this information useful)…I expected a certain level of quality/customer service when I purchased the bag a few years back and just learned a very expensive lesson…just b/c you spend a pretty penny on something doesn’t mean you are going to get what you pay for.


Shame on Louis Vuitton…

FOLLOW UP FROM ME:
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After my fiance hung up the phone with the manager at LV, she called me, crying. After we spoke for a few minutes I called the customer service number and had a three way call with their CS person and x, the manager of the store. He was a bully, and didn't seem to care that he made my girl cry! He went as far to say that I was not the customer, that my fiance was, and that he didn't even have to talk to me. WHAT?!

When I wasn't getting the response I was hoping for I asked who was higher up the food chain at LV. It was explained to me that a report would be filed with the appropriate executives. This was the end of the line. Well, that wasn't what I wanted to hear.

After the call wrapped I logged into my LinkedIn (professional networking website) account and emailed a brief overview of what happened to five LV executives. Was this crazy of me to do? Perhaps, but the guy made my fiance cry!

A few days later I received an email from Louise Firestone, the General Counsel of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. She stated the following: "I am sorry your fiance is not happy. I am not the appropriate person to deal with this; she should contact LV Customer Service."

So I replied:

"Thank you Ms. Firestone,

And therein lies the rub. The customer service department was contacted, on a three way call with the store, and when I had to put the call on hold for a moment, rather more of a mute than hold, the store manager stated, "this never happened", and the CS person said, "I know, I know". Did the call never happen? The incident?

It seems that the issue has died on the vine, but as a small business owner I can't accept that this is where this issue will end. If I treated my clients as we were treated by the representatives of your company, I would not have any clients!

Is there someone in the organization that my fiance may be able to contact about this? Sure, it is only a zipper on a bag, but providing exceptional customer service is an aspect of a luxury brand that was missed this time around. Since Friday this story has been picked up by a very popular blog, and I would like very much to be able to post on the blog that LV responded quickly to address the issue.

We would rather not run around in circles, and I would rather not see my fiance stick the bag in a drawer only for it to be forgotten about.

Thank you very much for your time,"

AND then the amazing happened. My phone rang, and it was Ms. Firestone. My first thought was that this was going to get resolved, but then she spoke and she scolded me! She said using LinkedIn to file a customer service complaint was unacceptable and then explained that she has nothing to do with LV and couldn't help me. She did offer up the name of the President of LV along with his mailing address. Thanks Ms. Firestone.

THEN 2 days later I got a call from Alexandra Winokur, VP at LV. Again I thought there would be resolution, but she wasn’t able to help at all. She stated that she knows the store manager and that she had not received any complaints before about him. I quickly directed her to YELP.com and suggested she do a search for the Garden State Plaza store and read the two complaints on YELP about the store, and specifically x the store manager.

As of today the bag is being shipped back to the Garden State Plaza store where we need to pick it up from. I asked if they could ship it directly to my fiance, but they refused. They said that they do it this way to avoid fraud.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]AND that is where the story ends. Please share your thoughts!
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Hi Maisiebelle. Great question. The bag is a little less than five years old, and before you say anything, I agree! It is a five year old bag, and zippers break, so we should get over it. However, when she brought the bag in last year for its first repair, the bag was sent out, and she was told the zipper was replaced (LV claims the pull was replaced, and not the zipper. It looked new, and even the clerk in the store commented on it being a new zipper). Pretty shortly after getting the bag back, it was malfunctioning again. She waited a while to bring it back because she just cycled the bag out of her daily routine.

The breakdown was in how the store communicated to my fiance how the bag was going to be handled, and any costs associated with the repair. When she brought the bag back the 2nd time at no point did anyone say anything like, ok, we are going to send the bag out to be looked at. If the zipper pull is the issue we can fix that for free, but if it is the entire zipper, then there will be a cost associated with that type of repair.

That was never stated. The clerk left her, and me too b/c I was there with her, under the impression that LV would handle it and get the bag back to here ASAP.

$155 isn't much money, but the way to the store handled it compounded by x's tone with my fiance and me didn't make it any better. I even suggested to x, and everyone I have spoken to since that the store clerks should inform customers that repairs are not free.

Please note, that Alexandra from LV informed me that they do not warranty their products, so whether it was 5 days or 5 years from the point of purchase the bag broke, they don't fix bags for free.

Also please note that my fiance is nearly obsessive compulsive with everything she owns. She puts things in the boxes or bag they came in when she isn't using them, she cleans everything religiously, and frankly everything she owns looks and operates like new.
 
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Yes, shame on LV. Many lower brands provide such better service. I'm in the same boat as you with LV's customer service, they were even rude to my husband one day he came into the store with me and he wasn't even shopping! Anyhow, I've consigned most of my LV through fashionphile.com, you may try the same to get rid of your LV easily and get some $ back.

Sorry for your frustration! I feel ya!
 
I appreciate that the customer service was lacking. I wouldn't like to be treated like that either.

I think what started in a miscommunication over the cost of the repair has escalated into the manager not giving the excellent customer service that we expect from such a large luxury brand.

I think that your fiance was fortunate to get the first repair done for free. Especially if they don't normally cover zipper repairs. It was obviously a gesture of goodwill. The time between your fiance realising that she wanted the zipper fixed again was maybe too long and LV decided that it should be paid for this time. I can appreciate that but I still don't agree that the bad attitude was warranted by the manager.
 
WOW!! That's a horrible story! I TOTALLY DISLIKE THE SA'S AT GARDEN STATE PLAZA LV!! I had a really bad experience with them as well when i was purchasing my bag last month. The woman was extremely rude to me, and gave me an attitude from the moment i walked in. I wound up leaving, and then drove to the LV that I usually go to. I usually go to the boutique in Neiman Marcus at Short Hills Mall. I love all the SA's there, and they are extremely helpful. A really long time ago(like 5 years ago), I broke the zipper pull on my MC Mini HL. I took it to the Short Hills Neiman Marcus boutique, & i got it back with a brand new zipper & zipper pull about 2 months later. It was free, so I have no idea why GSP tried to charge you for it!! I really hope everything works out for you and your fiance! You definitely shouldn't boycott LV all together.. just that one store.
 
I had a zipper pull break on a very old Coach bag, making the zipper useless. They sent it to their workshop, put in a new zipper and re-conditioned the leather so it looked brand new. All free of charge. LV should be ashamed of themselves. I am horrified to hear they are not standing by their product. I hope this gets resolved for you. Good luck.
 
It is truly disappointing when a luxury company doesn't back up its product. A handbag is meant to operate, not just sit on a shelf. When it doesn't operate, it does not fulfill its duty.

It is rather distressing to me to hear of the poor customer service in these high-end brands, as I have been considering an LV.

Good luck with the resolution. You and your fiance may want to take a look at some of the other brand options on this forum. There are a lot of good products and customer service out there.
 
I think charging for repairs usually does depend on the SA. I think they ARE supposed to charge, but if you have a good relationship with an SA they will do it for free -- or if the SA is a nice person.

I agree though, for the cost of the bag they should do basic repairs for free. I could see them charging if the whole canvas needed to be replaced, but something like a zipper should have a warranty on it.

Further, NOONE should be treated badly by an SA.. it's just insane. We pay their salaries with our purchases!
 
Hi!
Just wanted to pop in and say that we have a policy not to name names of individuals in stores when complaining about them on here as they're not here to defend themselves thus making it only one versions of the story.
You are more than welcome to discuss your experience here, but please leave out person's names of who you are complaining about.

Thanks!!!
 
I have had the same problem with customer service. They have been horrible to me! I found a few sa's that have been nice and I have bought a lot from them since I don't have a store here. But then customer service caught on I guess that I wasn't going through them first and emailed the stores that I have bought from to tell them I have to call them to order! I was so mad,hurt and insulted! I had just bought a mahina and that's how they treated me! I also have turned to other sites now fp and eb. I feel for ya. Who treats there customer's like that? I don't want to have bad feelings when I carry my LV's!
 
I'm sorry to hear about your experience. But I have to agree with some of the other posters, it is a shame that LV does not stand by their products. Coach, for instance, pretty much has a lifetime guarantee on their products. I think you just have to pay $25shipping/handling fee and they will attempt to fix the defect. If they can't they for some reason, they will give you a credit for your bag that can be used to purchase a new bag. If a company like Coach can do this, there is no reason why a company like LV can't.
 
I agree, I have also had a few really bad experiences with LV. It is a real shame that they continue to treat customers like dirt and like they are doing the customer a favor by allowing the customer to buy their products.
 
Hi Swanky, thanks for the heads up. How do I edit the posts?

They have been edited for you.

I understand your tenacity in contacting other Louis Vuitton employees - to be honest, if they didn't want to do anything about it, they should have just ignored you. I can't believe a GC would have the time to call - perhaps it is a sign of lack of things to do ?

Have you also considered contacting BBB É