Complaint Review: Pearl's Place

We have never dealt with Fred Schulman until we sent an email to the wedding gown manufacturer on 9/7/04. The manufacturer contacted Fred Schulman, who in turn contacted us for the first time on 9/8/04. We had only dealt with Elaine, a co-owner, and Jordan. After being assured of "No Problem" with rush orders (as advertised in the store's website)when contacted on 6/17/04; after not receiving the bridesmaids dresses as of 9/2/04 and being offered a refund on the deposits (which we accepted); after having received a wedding gown in Diamond White (light ivory) and a white veil (when we ordered a white dress and a white veil); after being treated with the utmost disrespect and in the most unprofessional manner; and after this store being the ONLY problem we've had with planning this wedding, we contacted the manufacturer of both the wedding gown company and the manufacturers of the bridesmaid's dresses. Below are those emails which thoroughly explain the unbelievable problems we have incurred with Pearl's Place. Thanks to Colonial Bridal in Jennings, La., David's Bridal throughout Louisiana and in Houston, and Neiman Marcus of Houston, everything is now, as of 9/10/04, ready to roll for the Sept. 18 wedding. As to the "revised circumstances of the wedding" that Fred Schulman conveniently used as a scapegoat per se, our first grandchild is due to arrive in February. We could not be more blessed! Now here are the emails that should explain it all.(To the manufacturer of the bridesmaids' dresses) We have unfortunately experienced extremely unpleasant dealings with Pearl's Place in Metairie, Louisiana. Where your company is concerned is the misinformation that the owner is communicating to the customers. Our order for five bridesmaids dresses was placed in May, 2004, for my daughter's wedding in June, 2005. In June, 2004, her wedding date was moved to September, 2004. When I first contacted Elaine (co-owner) about getting the dresses in for the Sept. date, she said that everything would be in on time and that everything would be taken care of. At the beginning of July, I received a deposit copy from one of the bridesmaids that had the wrong wedding date on it. When I called Elaine to make sure everyone at their store was on the same page, she claimed that I had never talked to her about the bridesmaids' dresses, and that there was no way for her to get them in time for the wedding, and even if she could, there would be a $30 per dress rush charge. I then checked with Colonial in Jennings, Louisiana, and in my presence, the owner called your company. Your representative said that, if ordered that week, the dresses would be in by August 27. I then called Elaine at Pearl's, told her I wanted my deposits back, and that I would order the dresses from Colonial. She was most arrogant and rude, and said that she called your company and that the dresses COULD NOT be in by that date and that NO ONE could get dresses faster than she could. Now she was not only telling me what your company couldn't do, she was telling me what another retailer could and couldn't do! I reiterated that I was THERE when the owner of Colonial called your company and, yes, that owner could indeed get the dresses in by Aug. 27. I told her to refund the deposits and we would order through Colonial. She then amazingly told me that she would get the dresses. I asked, by Aug. 27? She replied, yes. Secondly, after reviewing the information on your website, I noticed that we could get a free swatch of fabric through the retail dealer. (I also noted on your website that rush and super-rush orders were listed as an offered service.) My husband called Elaine to request a swatch so that we could get the shoes dyed. She told him that for $5 she could get a swatch for us. My husband then informed her of what your website stated. She then agreed to get the swatch, however we have never received it. We instead took the shoes to Colonial to have them matched and dyed. She has never spoken to us since and has evidently referred our sale to Jordan. We have had numerous other problems with Elaine which have lead to the absolutely worst business experience we have ever encountered. One to note is that we received a call from Jordan on Aug. 20 in which we were told that the wedding gown would be in Aug. 25 or 26, so we planned to drive to Metairie (3 hrs. away) on Aug. 27. We called before we left and were told the dress did not come in. My husband called the manufacturer in New York. Of course, he could only deal with the store personnel, but requested that Jordan call him so that they could resolve this problem. Amazingly, 20 minutes later Jordan called and said the dress had just arrived! Now our request to you. As you have probably gathered by this time, we do not trust the owners of this establishment. We were told the dresses were not in Aug. 27, and that they were due by the end of August. Well, today is the last day of August. When we called to inquire today, we were told by Jordan that he checked with your company and that the dresses were shipped out and would arrive Sept. 3. From the information on your website, these people are doing you an injustice as well as they are to us. Could you please help us and check on this order. Since "It's the Little Things that Matter" on your website are not taken seriously by Pearl's Place, and the fact that Colonial said how reputable and dependable you are, I really feel that your company is not at fault. We really appreciate any immediate attention you can give this matter, especially since our daughter's wedding is September 18.(Addendum to original email) Since my original request for help on August 31, 2004, an additional incident has transpired. As stated in my original message, my husband called Jordan of Pearl's Place Tuesday, August 31, he was told that the dresses were shipped out and were due to arrive Sept. 3. He also at that time told my husband they would come in sooner if he wanted to pay $70 a dress to get them shipped overnight. (Well that was intelligent!) Of course, my husband said no. Today, the mother of the groom reached her peak of patience on this matter, since we have received no word on the dresses,(her 2 daughters are bridesmaids) and called Jordan. He told her that no one ever said the dresses would be in on Aug. 27, that the reason the dresses weren't in was because my husband wouldn't pay the overnight shipping charge, and that she needed to get her stories straight. He was also unprofessional and catty enough to say it wasn't THEIR fault that the wedding had to be moved up! She told him that she would pay the shipping charge (bluff). He seemed excited, put her on hold, only to come back and tell her he couldn't because they had already been shipped. (Hello!) She said she then became quite irate. I called Jordan and calmly explained to him and reminded him of what had transpired since May. He became agitated as the truths unfolded, responding with outlandish statements that really became quite comical. One was that the problem was that we don't understand. The dresses were to be cut on August 27, not shipped! As he realized that I did not believe (and actually laughed at) his ridiculous comments, he became more agitated and said that WE had been such a problem that they had considered refunding our deposits. I responded, "Go right ahead, and you can also send us the $300 "rush charge" you sucked out of us for the wedding dress." (that's another story) He then said that he would refund my money and I said that that was great. We hung up, I drove 1 1/2 hours away to a bridal shop, and bought 5 dresses off the rack for my daughter's wedding in 2 weeks. (This emails was to the wedding gown manufacturer)Just to let you know--Elaine and Jordan from Pearl's Place in Metairie, Louisiana, have been for us the nightmare of a lifetime. We ordered one of your dresses for our daughter in May, 2004, for her wedding in June, 2005. In June, 2004, she found out that she was pregnant and moved her wedding to Sept.18, 2004. I called Elaine at Pearl's Place to see what our options were, as we had paid half of the cost of the dress in May. She said it depended on whether or not the dress had been cut. She said she called your company and that the dress had not been cut. She suggested that we order a size 12 when my daughter was a size 6. I said that was unreasonable so she agreed to no less than a size 10. She also charged us a rush charge of $300.00. After many unbelievable problems with Elaine concerning the bridesmaids' dresses, etc., we were then referred to Jordan. Jordan called our daughter on Aug. 20 and left a message that her dress would arrive on Aug. 25 or 26. We then planned to drive to Metairie on Friday, Aug. 27, to get the dress. My husband and I had to take a day from work (I am a teacher, he is a principal) to make the 3 hr. trip, and my daughter had to skip a day of pharmacy school classes to make her 5 hr. trip from Monroe. We were unable to go on Sat. because she had a shower in Lake Charles. Because of the numerous problems that we had had with Pearl's, we called to confirm that Friday morning. Jordan said the dress had not come in. That's when my husband called you to see what was really going on. You said to have Jordan call you. We don't know if Jordan really called you or not, but 20 minutes later he called my daughter and said the dress had just been delivered. Amazing! Being the trooper that he is, Jordan ran to hide as we were walking in the door. Of course the dress was two sizes too big, and it didn't look as white as I thought it would be, but I thought maybe it was the lighting in the store. We asked for the veil we had ordered, paid the balance, and left. We hired someone else to do the alterations. Well, Friday, I took the veil out of the bag, put it against the dress, and to my horror, the dress ISN'T white. We ordered a white dress and a white veil. Before I called Jordan, I checked with another store that carries your line to ask in what fabric colors that particular dress was available. I was told white, diamond white, and ivory. I don't know whose dress we were given, but it wasn't ours. The dress didn't even have any tags on it when we picked it up. We paid a $300 rush charge for a dress we didn't order. Since I figured it would be easier at this point to replace a veil than the dress, I called Jordan to do just that. He was most uncooperative and insisted that I ordered a white veil and I got a white veil. I said that I ordered a white dress and a white veil. He then said that the dress fabric just looks that way. I told him that the dress comes in white, diamond white, and ivory. He said, "No, it doesn't." I reiterated and said that I had called another store with that line and they told me the fabric choices. He said I had been given misinformation. I replied that the only person that gave me misinformation was he. He continued with a barrage of ridiculous scenarios as to why he would not fix this problem. I told him I wanted a veil to match the dress or a refund for the veil. He told me to talk to Courtney next week. I said I'm talking to you now. He said the same thing again and "Have a nice weekend" and hung up. My parting words were, "You'll hear from my attorney." My husband and I went to another store, which was very helpful. They could get us the same veil to match the diamond white dress that we were given. Our attorney said to call Courtney first to see if she would offer any assistance. My husband called her and she obviously had been informed of the problem. She offered a refund or another veil. However, she also said that we ordered a white dress and that the fabric just looked that way. My husband explained differently to her that we ORDERED a white dress, but that is not what we received. She finally seemed to understand and said that we needed a diamond white veil. It is due at our home on Tuesday, Sept. 14. (The wedding is Sept. 18) (1) Why didn't we get the dress we ordered? (2)Jordan told me that you were so upset with US that you were ashamed for my daughter to wear one of your dresses. I had to laugh at that one. I also told him he was lying. Surely you wouldn't say something like that, but regardless, Jordan isn't helping your business or reputation either. We have our attorney taking over this situation, and are expecting our $300 "rush charge" to be refunded immediately. We have a dress, but not the one we paid $300 extra to get.

I was made aware of this report, when frankly this was the date that the revised order was made on this gown. This customer changed a size request on a gown that had been in production for some months, due some revised plans of the customer. In order to protect the customer I will not reveal the circumstances. But we did call our suppliers and the charges were valid. All stores have these same charges and they are honest. We want to say the we did get the gown in an amazing time period in the new size and do not feel the comments are valid. In fact to settle this item we are going to refund the rush charges on this day, which is the day that I have been made aware of this report and comment.

I also want to mention that we and our companies moved "heaven and earth" to get this gown in the needed rush time. I certainly believe that this customer is upset due to the revised circumstances of this wedding.

We do want to mention that we help thousands of brides each and every year and are one of the most respected stores in our area. We trust that the refund of all rush charges will satisfy this matter. I do want to mention that we have helped, this very year, hundreds of brides with rush weddings and have that reputation with so many.

Pearl's Place