Complaint Review: Nordstrom

Every year, I look forward to the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and this year, I decided to go in for the pre-sale since I'm a Nordstrom's card holder. Mind you, I've been a Nordie's shopper ever since I could remember and choose to buy everything through Nordstroms for the convenience and the level of service. It's unfortunate that I have to share this report today.

During the pre-sale, I had my eye on a Rebecca Minkoff purse and I was told by the sales rep that the Port color is to die for and even though they didn't have it in store, they had it available for order and it's better that way since I'll receive an new one (instead of one that's been out on the floor) shipped directly to me. Without a second thought, I placed the order, got my receipt and was told to expect my bag within 3-6 business days. I was very anxious to receive my bag and checked my email profusely for an email confirmation for shipment.

When I didn't receive that in a few days, I was worried and decided to go on live chat to see what's going on. Here's where my experience went sour. I was told that my order was "stuck in the sytem" and that there's a possibility that it could be canceled due to unavailability. Within moments, I received an email saying that my order was canceled. Hmm, that's very fishy. Why wasn't I notified ahead of time and did the item become unavailable while my order was "stuck in the system"?

I was then told by the rep that there's nothing that could be done except for me to keep checking back and hopefully get lucky. Really? She just told me moments ago that she say that there were a few stores with inventory but none in the SF Bay Area. Why couldn't it have been ordered from one of the stores? They couldn't even offer to notify me when and if the bag becomes available again.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by great service from Nordstrom previously, but this incident turned an enthusiastic consumer into a very disappointed consumer. I don't think it's right to give a customer a receipt and a promise that the item will arrive within 3-6 business days and then cancel the order (only after I reached out). I used to rank Nordstrom at the top for customer service but all good things come to an end and looks like customer service is starting to decline.