A Stressful Bride
Earlier this year in March I went to The House of Dipali anxious to design my own invitations. At first everyone at the store was extremely helpful and I felt completely at ease as a bride should feel when she is spending well earned money. After looking through samples of books with invitations, I had decided on the design I wanted for my wedding. The woman who was assisting me was very courteous and accommodating. I proceeded to place an order for invitations at $6 a card.
About 2 weeks later I was called into the store to choose a different fabric as my first choice was no longer available. I was reassured at that time not to fret. I asked the manager (Raj) when my invitations would be arriving and he informed me of May 12. I repeatedly asked him if he was sure that it would be ready at that time and his answer was consistently YES. As the promised date was approaching, I repeatedly called to confirm the pick-up date. I was then told that there was a delay and the invitations would now arrive on May 20. At this point I was quite displeased.
I realized that had I not taken the initiative to call, The House of Dipali did not have any intention of making me aware on the status of my delivery date. Since the incident with the change of fabric, no one from The House of Dipali has ever called to provide me with any updates on my order. I find this appalling as I was paying a costly amount for my invitations and yet they did not feel the need to provide me with adequate customer service. As a bride, I was very angry and upset.invitations are crucial and most importantly, they should be mailed in a timely manner. However, I tried to calm down telling myself, Everyone knows when the date is so everything will be okay.
I then called on May 19th to confirm pick-up once again. To my dismay I was told that it was not arriving on that day either. At this point I was livid. Under the circumstances any customer would have been. What made the situation even more infuriating was that I did not even receive an apology. Nor did they offer to compensate me in any other way for their mistake and the inconvenience on my end. I asked for the tracking number so I can take the matter into my own hands and get a status for delivery. Upon checking the website, the invitations were scheduled to arrive on May 25th. My wedding is in July.
By proper wedding etiquette, the invitations should be mail 6 -8 weeks before the wedding date. This is especially imperative for my wedding. Many family and friends are out of state and abroad. These guests need sufficient time to make travel arrangements. As angry as I was, I was more embarrassed about the delay. I decided to send out a massive email explaining to my friends and family about the problems that I had incurred. I wanted to make sure that everyone had kept the date available.
On May 25th, I called The House of Dipali numerous times throughout the morning in anticipation of mailing my invitations that afternoon. For every call I was given a vague response. The woman who answered each call informed me that she was not aware or responsible about any shipments. I was amazed that any establishment would employee an associate that could not properly assist a customer. She herself was rude with every call and eager to get me off the phone. I finally received a message at 4:00 PM informing me that I could come to the store to pick up my invitations. I called back and informed them that I was working and would therefore be at the store by 6:30 PM sharp to pick up the invitations.
When I arrived I kept my fingers crossed that the nightmare would be over, but it seemed like it just began. I couldn't believe how many of my cards were bent and even had smudges. At this point I was so upset, but I just wanted to get out of there. I then asked to see my reply cards. At that time I was told by Raj that there were not any reply cards. Raj proceeded to tell me that reply cards were not necessary especially being that the establishment was mainly for Indian clientele and that they are not used in the Indian community for weddings. I can not even begin to describe what I felt at that moment. My invitations had already arrived much later than expected, more than half of the invitations were not in presentable form and then I am told that reply cards are not necessary. I felt like smoke was coming out of my ears. What kind of business were they running? When I had submitted my sample for the printing on the invitation, I also provided information for my reply cards. I had demanded that my reply cards be done that night. Raj said that the earliest they could have it ready would be the next day at 11:00 AM, but realistically at 3:00 PM.
I was so angry and let down. I asked him, Will you have the exact color of my card with the same font and silver writing? His answer was, Yes of course. We do this all the time. As I was about to leave we talked about payment. You would think as a manager he would say Listen, for all of the inconvenience and stress, I will deduct $150. Raj did not mention anything remotely close to that. I told Raj that I would not be paying the full remaining balance as the merchandise I ordered was not a complete shipment. I explained to him that my calligrapher was now being inconvenienced as it was Memorial Day weekend and for that I was to pay her $100 extra. I also informed him that I wanted $150 deducted from the full order to compensate for the extra charges to the calligrapher (which was due to their negligence). Raj said that the best he could do was to deduct $50. I found this insulting as it would not help me in any way for all of my inconvenience.
On my initial visit to The House of Dipali, I gave a $100 deposit upon signing my contract. I only felt obligated to pay a remaining balance of $250 for inadequate service and merchandise. I was so upset and needed to calm down so I went to one of my best friend's house. When we opened the package we found that 43 out of the 100 cards had either a glue leak or pen mark. I was in shock. I honestly could not fathom the situation getting any worse. What kind of work was this? I could not believe for all of my hassle for the past month that there was any way I could be more disappointed.
The next day everything got worse. Raj did not come until 4:30 PM while I was promised that 3:00 PM would be the latest. Once again what I saw was appalling. My reply cards were made on white paper when my invitations were in a cream color. I was promised that this printing company was really reliable so it leads me to think that Raj never brought a sample of my actual invitation to properly match the reply cards that were being made. I have never been so annoyed. It was Memorial Day weekend and my wedding was less than 2 months away. I needed to send out as many of the damaged invitations as possible. And I now had to locate a printing company on my own in hopes of having matching reply cards made as soon as possible.
After calling over 20 stores, I finally found a place opened on Memorial Day and ended up paying $150. All in all, I have never been so inconvenienced. I can not comprehend how I was neither provided with customer service or a satisfactory product. The House of Dipali did not feel they were at fault for any of the hassle. I already went over budget placing the order for the invitations because I was initially impressed with their sample. Now I am over budget even more paying for another set of reply cards, an extra fee for the calligrapher and extra mailing expenses for over night delivery to assure that my out of state and abroad guests receive their invitations in time. No bride should have to go through this. The wedding planning process is never perfect or ideal.
It is only natural to have a few bumps along the way. However, in this particular instance with my wedding invitations, it is unacceptable. I was a paying customer who was confident with the establishment and their products.in return I was treated quite rudely and completely disregarded for any of my disappointment. Please make sure that brides are aware of The House of Dipali and do not to give them any patronage. Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
An annoyed and stressed bride!
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