shopping

I've complained here a few times about terrible customer service (WaMu, I'm looking at you: WaMu sucks is one of the top search phrases that brings people to my blog) so I thought it would be only fair to post some good customer service experiences.

I'd been eyeing this sweatshirt from Supermaggie for quite awhile, so when I noticed they were having a sale, and I needed a new hoodie, I ordered one. It arrived a bit over a week later, wrapped in tissue paper that was sealed with flower stickers. My order included a hand-written, personal thank you on a beautiful card that the company had designed. It was such fantastic packaging that it improved the order, I think. The quality of the prints is great, and the hoodie is super cute and cozy.

I also recently bought some dresses from Shabby Apple. They're an online dress company that makes cute dresses that are actually work appropriate. Because of my narrow shoulders, I frequently find that most dresses are too low cut to wear to work unless I wear a tank top under them. Which is fine and all, but I like wearing dresses in hot weather because they're cool, and wearing a tank defeats the purpose. Anyways, the point is, Shabby Apple's dresses are designed to not be too low cut to wear to work yet still be cute and not frumpy. So, I ordered a few things to try on. When my order arrived (very quickly), one dress fit perfectly, one was a size too big, and one just fit weird. It was a cute dress, but I couldn't tell if it was the wrong size or the wrong style for my body type. I emailed the company the next day to ask their advice, and they were so responsive--I got a reply within an hour of their office opening, and the person asked me a ton of questions about how the dress fit, what sizes I wear for other clothes, etc. Part of the problem was that the dress gaped in the back and she even offered to measure the dress to make sure it hadn't been cut wrong. Ultimately I decided to return it because it just wasn't quite right on me, and she offered to refund me, give me store credit, exchange the dress for another one, or send another size. I am super impressed with this level of service and will definitely be ordering again. AND they donate 5% of their dress sales to a microcredit organization for women in India, where many of the dresses are made.

I know rants can be more entertaining posts, but this is the kind of service that means I'll be ordering from these companies again, and it makes me want to tell my friends about them as well.