When high-end brands offer horrible customer service and quality, another fashion related post. I never expected to write a review about the clothes which I wear and this article won’t focus on this per say, but rather on what to expect from some high-end brands. I read an article “Are your $200 jeans really worth it?” and let me first reflect a bit on it before I start to write about the issue I had. The article writes a comparison between $20 jeans and high-end $200 jeans. It claims that the $200 jeans are worth investing in no matter how much money you make. It gives a few good reasons, but based on my experience no jeans are worth $200, I had one pair. I know a handful of people who would never buy those $200 jeans since we all got bills to pay and at the end of the day, your hard earned money will surely not go in that direction.

High-End Brand horrible service and quality

So, here is what happened to me. Winter was around the corner and I wanted to buy a better quality winter coat which would last me for at least 5 – 8 years, if not longer. I have a few coats that looked brand new even after wearing them for 10 years. I wanted to stress this to show how well I take care of my winter coats. When you purchase a high-end brand coat ($500), you expect a lot in return. Most people cannot afford a $500 winter coat and most normal winter coats cost around $200. Just to make it clear, this is not the first luxury winter coat that I have bought.

After the coat arrived, I notice multiple loose threads and the reason I did not return the coat right away is because it was bought by a friend (for me) in another country and shipped to me across the world. It took over two months for the coat to reach me and for me to return it for a few loose threads would take another month and winter would be over. So, in the end, it just didn’t make sense for me to do this for a few threads. When I first saw the threads, I wondered how a $500 coat could have been shipped out in that state by the company itself.

Four months later, at the end of winter season, I noticed that one of the pockets got loose. The threads around the inner top part of the pocket got loose and the pocket fell into the socket. If I would have cut the threads, the entire pocket would have gotten loose and the coat would have been ruined. I decided to ignore the problem until next year, due to my busy schedule. This November 2016, I put on my coat and started looking for a place where I could get the pocket fixed and the loose threads cut. I was still wondering why haven’t I encounter any similar issues with my other luxury coats?

One day after work, I was putting on my backpack and I heard a rip. I ignored it at first because it was a faint sound and thought there was no way a $500 coat would rip. After I got home, I checked my coat and it really did rip. The threads in the seam around my arm and back ripped. When I was buying the coat, I consulted with the company directly concerning the style and size. They recommend the size, I bought it in that size thus this is not the reason the coat ripped. I thought it was important to write this since in most cases buying a coat a size too small is the reason a coat would or could rip.

After this experience, I decided to send an e-mail to the company since this is where I bought the coat and thought it would be the best way to resolved the problem. My end goal was to fix or repair the coat. I really liked the coat and wanted to repair it or exchange it if it was irreparable. The company at first offered two options:

Ship the coat to them to get it fixed Get it fixed by a tailor in the US.

I liked both options, but the problem was that I lived in Europe. I explain to them that I was not located within the US and that I could ship the coat from Europe if they would be OK with this. I got a response that they would like to send me a “fix it yourself” kit. I was shocked. I was not a tailor. I did not want to experiment with my own coat. I was expecting them to fix it for me, replace it or allow me to get it repaired at a local tailor shop.

Here is my problem with this situation. Why did I pay $500 for a coat? To have it rip on me after less than a year? To fix loose threads? The cost of repairing this coat would be around $100+. What customer service turns around and offers a “do it yourself” repair kit? I wasn’t too happy about the situation.

Some of you might be wondering, why am I writing this? When I shop high-end, I expect excellent customer service to come along with it. I expected them to resolve this matter in a smart and considerate way but they did the exact opposite. I am tired of brands trying to be high-end when in reality they are not behaving as one. I have bought many expensive coats and have had zero unpleasant experiences and this is what I expect at the end of the day with a $500 coat. I am still in contact with the company and am waiting for their reply.

Why is it that I have to threaten a brand in order for them to do what they are expected to do. I would expect this kind of behavior and quality from normal brands such as H&M, which make $50 winter coats, but from a brand like this, I did not expect it. Do we as customers have to threaten to sue brands to get what they promised? Why are they forcing us to publically rant about them when all they had to do is take responsibility and just fix the problem.

If you are interested in what brand this is, make sure to check back in a day or two if I do not resolve this problem in a timely matter. I am not happy with them at all and wanted to help my readers across the globe to see that some high-end brands do not offer the quality or even service that you expect. This is why I linked the article above, to prove that they are wrong. When I buy $200 jeans, I expect them to be perfect and last much longer than a year and in return get superb customer service. Normal people do not want them to be taken advantage of, maybe people with money do not care, but I care and I strongly believe that everyone that is going to read this article or that has read this article cares a lot too.

UPDATE:

The company, whose name shall remain anonymous, has replied and has offered to fix the problem. The problem has been fixed. Trust has been restored.