Complaint Review: Filson Outlet - Burlington Washington

Let me start by saying Filson makes a quality product. It is expensive but will last you a lifetime. With that being said I was a huge consumer of Filson gear. I live in Seattle Washington and have had the privilege of frequenting the flagship location. On a recent road trip to Canada I came across the Outlet Store in Burlington Washington.

Every time I walked in this store (3 times) it has been a horrible experience. READ THE YELP REVIEWS!!! No one will great you, they act very s****.>

Each time I have spent over $500 dollars on luggage and jackets.

There are 2 incidents where I was cheated and misled.

The first experience I was at the store, bought a pair of 1000 mile boots. Now if you know anything about these boots you'll know they are not cheap, to the tune of $350 bucks. They were discounted to $220. I bought them and once I was home I noticed they put them in the wrong box. Also, if you know about these boots the box is very nice, it comes with a felt wiping cloth and is way more than just a shoe box. Its important, especially if you are given a gift! I called them and explained this. It took about 3 attempts trying to get the store manager Robyn Williamson to call me back. Once she did it was my fault, I should have checked before I left. It was not her problem. I explained they were a gift and it was important to me. She located the box and wanted to charge me to ship it!!! The problem was they had put the brown shoes in the black box with the wrong size. I ended up buying another pair of boots to get the box sent to me. Once I received the boots she wrote through the receipt NO RETURN ITEM AS IS!! This was completely un acceptable. They have a return policy, nothing is sold AS IS!!! You cant just write that on a mail order!. The boots were used, scuffed, and damaged. Nothing was ever done!

Now current day.

Below is a quick Synopsis of what took place.

Thursday November 20th 2014 around 12:00 pm I went to the Filson Outlet to pick up some more luggage and return my jacket that didn't fit . I was greeted by a very un friendly customer service rep named Brian Bartholick. From the moment I walked in the door he had a very smug attitude, Like I was bothering him. I barely got out 3 words before he started reprimanding me about no receipt, I tried to explain my wife had called and spoke to Robyn. He told me he did not care who I spoke to, I needed a receipt. He then looked at the tag and said, " This is not even the tag we use" I grabbed another item in the store and said it looked exactly the same. I asked what he was implying? I received no response. I asked him please look at it, I said "Its brand new", I assured him it was purchased there, I lived very far away and was just asking to get a jacket that was an appropriate size. I was not tying to get my money back. I was going to spend more money as well! He grabbed the return policy posted in an acrylic plastic stand and told me to read it as he handed it to me. Very passive aggressive.

He than grabbed the jacket threw it in the original bag I bought it in and reached over the counter with the bag and held it up as if he was implying me to leave. I said to him "a month ago when I bought my wife's coat a couple belts, a pair of boots you treated me entirely different". I told him he was being passive aggressive and I would like his name as its not ok to treat people this way. I would expect this at Wal Mart but Not at Filson, and even if it is an Outlet I would not expect sub par treatment. He never uttered the word "I'm Sorry" . Nothing even close to an apology.

This could have been handled so differently. Even if he was unable to do anything, I believe he could have been more professional. He clearly treated me as I was trying to do something wrong, or thats how he made me feel. I left that store feeling cheated and wronged. It was a bad experience, I would go as far as saying that was the worst I had ever been treated at any store EVER. I believe Brian needs more training in dealing with customers and dealing with adverse situations.

I called the downtown location and spoke to Jason Mckenzie. He told me he was very sorry, to email him and he would send me a packing slip for the coat. He made me feel like he would handle the situation, I felt relieved and confident he would make good on his word. Three emails without on response. Its been a week and he has still not gotten back to me. Needless to say he is not a man with integrity or where a mans word is all he has. The fact is this company is a scam. I now have a 3 week old $350 dollar coat that doesn't fit. This is how they treat their customers. I advise to stay away from this company.