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Last Saturday was especially cold and blustery here in Chicago. After running various errands in the suburbs with Mr. Jasmine, I was cold and tired. Then he suggested a trip to Oakbrook Center, a fabulous outdoor mall in Oak Brook. Why the trip? Mr. Jasmine, the incredibly amazing man that he is, wanted to buy me my highly-coveted Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes.
I refused and refused to let him buy me the shoes until he convinced me that it would be a Christmas, birthday, and wedding present in one 
Charmed and touched, we proceeded to Neiman Marcus to find the special golden heels. The shoe department was virtually empty, save for several sales associates and one other customer. I found a black version of the shoes I was looking for and asked a sales associate if there was one available in gold. She said they were sold-out but that it could be special ordered for me. I asked if I could try on the black shoe to be sure of my size and another lovely gold pair I’d found. She agreed and left.
Much, much later, she returned. She didn’t have my size in either pair, so she’d brought the closest size they had available. She disappeared to tend to the other customer while I tried the shoes on. And when I say disappeared, I mean disappeared. She didn’t come back to see how the shoes fit or whether I liked them. She didn’t see if I wanted to special order the gold pair. She completely ignored me and devoted her attention entirely to the other customer, who was buying several pairs of Manolos. The other sales associates saw that I was not being helped, but did nothing to assist me. I sat there, feeling very foolish and upset that I was receiving zero assistance. I finally decided that I would not be purchasing anything from Neiman Marcus that day and Mr. Jasmine and I left. I don’t think anyone noticed or even cared that we left the shoe department.
I was so disappointed with my experience at Neimans! Every customer should expect stellar customer service no matter where she is shopping, but Neiman Marcus is especially associated with great customer service and care. So disappointing! And I found out that my special gold Manolos are completely sold-out in my size and cannot be special ordered. So I need to find a new gold pair for my wedding day.
Do you have any frustrating wedding customer-service tales? Please share!
Oh, Miss J! I’m so sorry to hear about both the bad service and the shoes being sold out! I had a very similar bad bad BAD service experience at Cartier when I went to get my ring resized at a local upscale mall in my area. I was so angered that I called the head of customer relations, who then rectified the situation. But otherwise, I would have been left to wonder when I’d get my ring back and made to feel like a second class citizen because I didn’t feel like going to Cartier all dressed up to the nines and wearing a gazillion pounds of bling to get good service! If you’re still feeling wronged, I suggest you do the same thing– not to get anything out of it, but to let them know that their service was subpar and as a customer you feel slighted. They’ll appreciate it.
As for your shoes, have you tried eBay? I also saw them in Bergdorf in New York. Check their website! Also, Manolos tend to run really really small, so you might be a different size than you think. I had to go a whole size up in order to try on a pair!
And how wonderful of Mr. Jasmine to offer to get them for you. A true keeper! 
I was at Neiman Marcus just the other day just looking at sunglasses. There were 3 customer service people watching me, and not 1 asked me if I needed help. I must have been there for at least 10 minutes on my own, and no one approached me. I couldn’t believe it. I will never purchase anything from that store! I went to Nordstroms right after, and the sales people were more than happy to help me.
That’s awful! I dont know what size you wear, but Bergdorf’s has the shoes in an 8 and an 11. I would think you could call too and see if they have them in one of the stores. Good luck!
I have the same experience just about every time I go into Nordstrom. I stopped shopping there for years since I got so frustrated, but I’ve recently started to venture inside again… and not surprisingly, I still get treated like crap.
Jasmine - I was at Oak Brook on Saturday as well from 1-4pm!! What time were you there? Bummer, we could have met up for lunch w/the hubbies =) Wasn’t it an absolutely crappy day to be at an outdoor mall!?
Mrs. Emerald– We were there right around that time– from about 2 PM - 5 PM. How sad– it would have been so fun to meet up with the hubbies and from how you’ve described Mr. Emerald, I think they would totally get along. Next time for sure! And yes, it was an absolutely crappy day for outdoor mall shopping– why do they have so many outdoor malls in Chicago?
Hi! I dunno what size you need, but I found that they sell them online at Bergdorf Goodman, Bluefly, and Barney’s….have you perhaps tried those sites?
that’s terrible. i hate it when sales people are being snooty.
well, they have it at bergdorf goodman (free shipping). hope your size is available:
http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod22000094&parentId=cat242904&masterId=cat50001&index=7&cmCat=cat000000cat200648cat203100cat203102cat50001cat242904
How strange!
I went to Barney’s in NYC two weeks ago to find the exact pair of manolos for our wedding! Terrible service…but I certainly wasn’t ignored.
The salesman would not let me try on the shoes in white (which was the only one in my size) because he insisted that it would not match my ivory dress. He argued with me! And refused to get the shoes for me!
And then when I decided not to buy them there, he said to my face “I told you so!” How childish is that?
Thank you ladies for all your thoughtfulness– you are all so sweet. I’m looking for a size 9– I have really big feet for my height I’ll try calling around some stores and seeing if I can find a pair.
I have had the same problems at that Neiman Marcus! I am always confused by poor customer service. Shouldn’t they all be wanting the sale? I also have no idea why Oakbrook is outdoors! They need to build a tunnel. I still love shopping there at Christmastime
Aw, I have bad experiences at that Neiman’s, too. 
Good luck with your shoe hunt- gold shoe lovers unite!
Oh, Miss Jasmine, I’m so sorry! I loathe bad customer service in all its forms. Those shoes are beautiful and I wish you the best of luck in finding them!
And I’m indignant on behalf all of you who had to suffer through bad customer service– when will these places learn?
I used to work at that same mall! And I have been snubbed on several occasions at that same Neiman Marcus. I was there a few weeks ago and a saleswoman in the dress department didn’t acknowledge me; she just stared at me and my mom. Finally, I said hello to her. She didn’t respond and kept staring so we just left.
You should contact the head of Customer Relations at Manolo Blahnik. Tell them how one of their retailers treated you and how disappointed you are to have missed out on your dream shoes.
Address: Manolo Blahnik
49-51 Old Church St
Chelsea
London
SW3 5BS
And cc the head of Customer Relations at Neiman’s on the letter:
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.
One Marcus Square
1618 Main Street, Dallas, TX 75201
And use your law firm’s letterhead!
I have found that a polite, but firm, letter (not email!) explaining a problem can work wonders. Good luck!
I’m so sorry! I agree you should reach out to customer service like beanchar suggested.
I thought I’d share my experience — I had a terrible time finding wedding shoes as I’m a size 5. I can never find my size in stores and am usually forced to buy on-line and hope they fit or send them back.
When I was shopping in stores in NYC for my shoes I had an associate suggest I try a size 6, after I’d said 3 times they won’t fit he insisted. When I tried them on his suggestion was — “Why don’t you drink some milk and grow?!” I WISH I was kidding. I was horrified, looked at my friend/BM and said “We’re leaving….now.”
Sorry - I know you leave the store with such a terrible feeling. I had a similar experience at Bergdorf and swore to never go back again.
p.s. I think a complaint letter is a great idea but probably not on the firm’s letterhead.
Apart from DB’s, most everyone else was great.
My NM story…my guy likes frogs, and we found a great pair of frog stockings in the NM Christmas Book. We ordered them as our gifts to each other and when they arrived found that one of them had been super glued. Now these were more than we normally spend, especially on stockings, but it was going to be our first Christmas, so I thought it would be cool to have something that matched (Mr. and Mrs. Frog). So I was pretty dissapointed to see a $50.00 stocking glued to cover a mistake in the fabric. I called their customer service and the lady was very nice, she offered to replace it and so on. I had to technically “buy” the second one and thye would refund me when they received the damaged one back. Well, I received the second one and same problem, just in a different place. With a week and a half to go before Christmas, I gave up. I wasn’t about to rack up charges on more of these cheaply made stockings.
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Mrs. Jasmine, Chicago/LA Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Attorney Engagement Date: March 24, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 20, 2007 Venue: Hotel on the westside of Los Angeles About Me: I'm a happy-go-lucky, imaginative spirit trapped in the body of a lawyer. I love reading, shopping, dining out, and exploring my beloved adopted city of Chicago with my fiance. We're planning the wedding of our dreams in my hometown of Los Angeles and we're excited to incorporate our cherished Indian/Pakistani customs and traditions.
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