COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT  Case # XXXXXX2560         Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon & Western Washington

Consumer Info:   Aston Martin, Evan                                                                       Business Info: Banana Republic

                                1402 Lake Tapps Pkwy 104-383                                                                

                                Auburn, WA  98092  - 360 713-1539                                                                                   

 Location Involved:   (Same as above)

Consumer’s Original Complaint :

This is an email I sent to Banana Republic Corporate to file a complaint. Their telephone call response bluntly stated they didn’t care and wasn’t going to help me.

——-

I’m Evan Aston Martin, I’m the President of Industrial Design at Surse Design Studios, and Vice President of private fashion label A. Martin & Company…

 I’ve been a long time Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic customer… I recently (3/30/10) purchased a $350 BR Monogram peacoat (Style# S/735574-00) at your Men’s 5th Avenue Coliseum Theater Banana Republic store. That seemed like a really nice coat to have at the time, after hesitating on purchasing it, I wore it occasionally for the next week. To work, out to dinner, shopping, basic light use. After a week of light wear, colleagues, friends, and I started to notice extreme wrinkles, bubbles appearing on the surface and stitching shrinking. At first I thought this was normal, because it’s cotton and cottons do that. After looking at it closer I knew there was something wrong. The lining started to separate from the exterior making bubbles appear on the surface. The coat hasn’t been washed or cleaned in anyway since purchasing it off the rack. Nor did it get wet or mis-treated.

 After showing it to a materials engineer where I work, and other experts in the fashion industry here in Seattle. We all came to conclusion it must be defective.

 So I decided to take it back to the store thinking I’d get a simple exchange on 4/10/10. I was wrong, this turned into a waste of my weekend and a stressful issue. When I walked into the Men’s store I asked for the manager (Aundrea Zeumault). She said (after looking at the coat not even for one minute) said it wasn’t defective when she sold it to me, and still isn’t. She speculated that I had washed it or dry cleaned it, that’s why it looks like it does. (I was thinking about getting it dry cleaned because of the wrinkles, but didn’t. I wanted the store’s opinion first.)

She was VERY rude and had a snotty/careless attitude towards me. She basically told me to get out of her store… I felt like I was slapped in the face and robbed of $350. I promptly called the 1-800 number on the back of my Banana Card to make a complaint… After 9 phone calls complaining about my experience and different advice from the agents.

I took the coat to the women’s store to ask for a second opinion from their manager (Ivy Acres) who was nice at first, but then started getting rude. She said ‘she’ believes it isn’t defective, and is just a natural wrinkling. (Who hires these people? They can’t even see a defective coat when it’s 5 inches from their face!) Bluntness aside,  She offered to steam the coat, I agreed. After 30 minutes of steaming it, it still looked the same… I asked her if she would buy it and wear it like this, she said no…!?! In the end, I wasted an hour in a women’s store, trying to not look like an idiot… Fuming angry at this point I left the store, with what my friends and I now call the coat, “a rag”. 4 more phone calls to BR-Style just made me angrier.

 So now, I cut up my Banana Cards. Here’s a video of me cutting them up here.  - I yelp reviewed, tweeted, blogged, gossiped, and facebook’ed my experience to people all around the world. I am willing to get a new BR card and appeal what I said on the Internet about my experience if I can get this worked out.

 I’m not going to wear this wrinkled coat (image here) around. So it’s just a waste of $350 hanging in my closet…

 I know you are all very busy, so am I. I just wanted to share my experience with hopefully, more brilliant people at corporate.

 Thank you for your time.

Consumer’s Desired Resolution:

Store credit, refund, exchange other form of compensation.

BBB Processing

 04/15/2010                web       BBB        Complaint Received by BBB

04/16/2010                NSW      BBB        Complaint Processed by BBB Operator

04/16/2010                Otto      EMAIL     Send acknowledgement to Consumer

04/16/2010                Otto      MAIL       Inform Business of the Complaint

04/27/2010                WEB      BBB        RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : April 27, 2010

Evan Martin

1402 Lake Tapps Pkwy 104-383 Auburn, WA 98092

Dear Mr. Martin:

 I am writing in response to your recent complaint filed with The Better Business Bureau regarding the Banana Republic Men’s Monogram Cotton Peacoat, style #735574.  At Banana Republic, we strive to offer our customers a world-class shopping experience, and I am sorry to learn of the events which made it necessary for you to reach out to a third party for resolution.  

                                We hope that you will accept our apologies for the disappointment you’ve had with your peacoat.  Although our merchandise undergoes rigorous testing and are inspected in accordance with our company’s stringent internal quality standards, we realize that there will be instances in which you are not completely satisfied with the performance of your purchase.  In such cases, our procedure is to take the item to a Banana Republic store for a manager’s evaluation.  Please be assured that our return policy is such that with or without a receipt we will exchange any defective merchandise or refund the price paid, once a manager at any Banana Republic store has deemed the merchandise defective.

                                According to our records, you’ve had the coat examined by the managers at two different Banana Republic stores, as is your option when you don’t agree with the findings of a first evaluation.  Both managers determined the coat is not defective and the wrinkling is a characteristic of the cotton fabric.  The coat displays signs of wear and, as such, could not be returned.  However, we understand that Ivy (phone #206-622-2303), the manager of the Coliseum Theater store in Seattle, WA, has offered to steam the coat whenever you want.

                                While we acknowledge that you clearly have a difference of opinion, we want you to know that our store managers have been empowered to identify manufacturing defects in all types of Banana Republic garments.  Our corporate offices stand behind the managers’ decision and are unable to override to offer the resolution (store credit, refund or exchange) you seek.

                                We appreciate that you brought your displeasure with the Monogram cotton peacoat to our attention as we always want to know how our products are received and we appreciate the additional opportunity you have given us to address your concerns. 

                                If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at 1-888-BR-STYLE, and follow the prompts to share your store experience. We are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Please note all hours are indicated in Eastern Time.

                                Sincerely,

                                Katherine Saunders

                                Gap Inc. Customer Relations

                                cc: The Better Business Bureau

04/27/2010                NSW      EMAIL     Forward Business response to Consumer

04/28/2010                WEB      BBB        RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL:

 (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

CUSTOMER RESPONSE

Dear Mrs. Katherine Saunders

Gap Inc. Customer Relations

I do not accept this response.

                                 In the end, the customer should not have to go through all this hell to be pleased. Gap Incorporated should offer me an exchange because if the customer thinks it is defective, Gap Inc. should accept that and make the customer happy. Like Nordstrom.

                                The world would be a better place if every company was like Nordstrom. If only…

                                All I want is an exchange, is that so hard to ask for? Policies should be made to tailor a customer’s needs and wants. Really, Banana Republic gets these coats made for probably $40 in china then sell it to people for $400. Is it really going to cause Gap Inc. go bankrupt for exchanging ONE peacoat? Seriously?

                                I will not be happy until I get an exchange. I will keep calling your 1-888-BR-STYLE number every day until you either block me or exchange my peacoat.

 Thank you.

Evan Aston Martin

President of Industrial Design – Surse Design Studios Inc.

http://evanamartin.net