**Let me start by saying I don't believe in slandering someone publicly. This is why I haven't used her name/shop name in all of my conversations. I have had people privately ask and I have told them but I don't think I can publicly announce who has done this. It wasn't something that happened multiple times, just an unfortunate incident.**
The above was typed this morning. As of this evening I will tell you that it was Petunias. She should not be allowed to get away with such disgusting customer service and not have any kind of repercussions. Even if it it just little old me and very few of her clientele read my blog. Our exact conversations are included. Copy and pasted straight from Etsy or my email. I am in pink. She is in black.
The above was typed this morning. As of this evening I will tell you that it was Petunias. She should not be allowed to get away with such disgusting customer service and not have any kind of repercussions. Even if it it just little old me and very few of her clientele read my blog. Our exact conversations are included. Copy and pasted straight from Etsy or my email. I am in pink. She is in black.
I recently got a really cute skirt from one of my favorite people on Etsy. I have never had an issue with her stuff before and it is SOOO adorable. We had a photo shoot with said skirt on Wednesday and we all got pretty dirty. I threw all of the clothes in the laundry and washed them Thursday morning. I pulled the stuff out to put it in the dryer. Oh man. I pulled Eric's shirt out first and I thought what's that shadow? I start inspecting it and realize it's yellow. I start pulling more things out and realize his shirt, my white button down, B's white button down, B's blue shirt with white sleeves, B's blue/gray/white plaid, J's white ruffle skirt and her purple/white striped shirt all have some degree of yellow on them. The all white stuff was terrible. I was pretty certain it was all from the skirt because it was the same yellow gold as the skirt.
I sent a message to this person, on Etsy, just to inform. Like I said, I've never had an issue with her stuff before and she is such a sweet person, in person, that I wasn't mad, just irritated. I had the stuff soaking in bleach and figured I would only end up with 1/2 ruined shirts because those couldn't be bleached.
This was my exact message::Hey I just wanted to let you know that the yellow/gold colors on the
large skirt I just got bled HORRIBLY. I washed it this morning with a
bunch of other stuff and I have 2 shirts that are *probably* ruined and 4
white shirts that I am bleaching right now (1 was a cream colored
sweater and might be ruined). I have never had any issues with your
stuff before so I don't know if this was fabric from a different line,
wasn't pre-washed or what happened. Just wanted to let you know in case
you use it again.. If you have any tips for getting it out other than
bleach that would be great!
Her (initial) response::That is very strange as all of my skirt fabric is prewashed and I didn't have any problems with it. (Yes. That is it.)
Then a little while later I got another one::Was it this skirt:***
I know this fabric is prewashed and I have a ton from this line of Joel Dewberry fabrics. Several darker fabrics than this one and I have never had one run. I'm sorry to say, I don't think it was the skirt that bled onto other clothing. (Now I was starting to get really irritated).
I know this fabric is prewashed and I have a ton from this line of Joel Dewberry fabrics. Several darker fabrics than this one and I have never had one run. I'm sorry to say, I don't think it was the skirt that bled onto other clothing. (Now I was starting to get really irritated).
My response back::Yes it was.
The white shirts are the exact same color as the skirt. I had a pair of dark jeans, a dark jean skirt, 2 pairs of khakis, a pink pair of pants, a gray and pink shirt, a gray sweater, a pink/white/blue shirt, a blue and white shirt (the arms have some of the yellow on them), a blue/gray/white shirt that has some yellow on it and then the 3 white button downs and 1 cream sweater...and the skirt. Everything except for the skirt and my white button down has been washed multiple times before. I don't really see what else it could be..
Do you have any tips for getting it out of even the plain whites? They have been soaking in bleach since I sent the first message and still yellow. Does the RIT dye remover work better?
The white shirts are the exact same color as the skirt. I had a pair of dark jeans, a dark jean skirt, 2 pairs of khakis, a pink pair of pants, a gray and pink shirt, a gray sweater, a pink/white/blue shirt, a blue and white shirt (the arms have some of the yellow on them), a blue/gray/white shirt that has some yellow on it and then the 3 white button downs and 1 cream sweater...and the skirt. Everything except for the skirt and my white button down has been washed multiple times before. I don't really see what else it could be..
Do you have any tips for getting it out of even the plain whites? They have been soaking in bleach since I sent the first message and still yellow. Does the RIT dye remover work better?
Hers back to me::I'm sorry, I am 100% sure it was not the skirt. One of my girls even has that same skirt fabric and I never had a problem. I was at least 7 loads of fabric a week and in my entire life have only had about 2 pieces of fabrics ever rub off. That was a navy and red and even then it was only slightly where they rubbed against something else. I'm sorry, I don't have any tips for washing. (Now I was super ticked.)
I had bleached everything and it didn't touch the yellow. These pictures are AFTER I bleached them.
The ruined clothes. And the culprit.
All of the laundry...nothing else was the same yellow/gold color.
I took pictures of the clothes and posted them on FB with this message:::I need some opinions::I recently bought a
skirt from someone I have spent hundreds buying custom
clothing/bows/etc. I washed the skirt with a ton of clothes (which I
have always done before and never had an issue) and it turned 4 shirts
and a skirt yellow (prev white) and partially ruined 2 other shirts that
had white in them. I sent this person a message and told her just as
an fyi in case she used it again, not
expecting anything but perhaps an apology. She sent back that she is
100% certain it was not the skirt and pretty much nothing else. No
apology, no nothing. While I was mildly irritated before, now I am
PISSED. PS. I have bleached all of the clothes and they haven't
changed a bit. I am going to try the Rit dye remover next... What
should I do? 1.about this person. 2.any tips for my clothes?!?!
The responses I got back were absolute amazement. Everyone was appalled that I did not receive an apology and told me to never shop there again. I'm not going to lie this is my favorite response "OK lets see if I can help..
1. Donate 5$ to the elect Obama 2012 campaign be sure to include the
persons name, email, and phone number. Hourly emails, and daily phone
calls about moving our country forward in the same backwards way we've
spent the last four years will help you feel much better. Just a
thought." Bahahahaha. I laughed out loud. I could never do that but, alas, it was my favorite response.
This is the email I sent to her::
I just wanted to follow up on our conversation we had the other day. I attached some pictures of the clothes that I took after they came out of the wash. The first two are a close up of the ruined clothes and a picture of the whole load. As you can see there is nothing else in the load that would have caused them to turn yellow and we do not have well water. I am extremely disappointed that you didn't apologize for the incident. I understand that it isn't "your" fault but you are selling the item. I have been very pleased with all of your stuff until today and, quite honestly, didn't want anything from you other than an apology. I also understand that you have never had a problem with that line before. However, there is a first for everything and it happened today. I was going to try to recreate the incident by washing the skirt with a white washcloth but have been told by a couple people that make clothes, if it was already washed it probably won't run again. I find it hard to believe that you can say, with 100% certainty, that it wasn't the skirt. I do not think that you handled the situation well. You have a lot of positive feedback on Etsy, you would think you would want to keep it that way. All of the ruined clothes were clothes that we just used for family pictures and are very nice clothes and essentially brand new.
I have since washed the clothes in the Rit dye remover and the white clothes are 100% clean. I dipped the white sleeves of the blue shirt and that one is fine as well. The only shirt that is ruined is the plaid. The last picture is of the clothes after using the dye remover (missing the skirt because my daughter was wearing it). By using the dye remover and it cleaning them, that tells ME with 100% certainty that it was definitely a dye that stained the clothes. Not something else. Like I said before, and the picture shows, the skirt was the only thing that color in the load of laundry.
I have talked to many people about this situation (not using your name/business) and they all are appalled at your responses. Several have encouraged me not to shop with you again and to also spread the word about your shop. I haven't spread the word that it was your shop but I have had people ask me, privately, who it was. Everyone can understand that mistakes happen, it's what someone does when that mistake happens that is important. In a customer based business, the customer is always right. A bad situation is going to spread a lot more than a good situation. Something my husband said to me, that he says to suppliers, was "I find out how good of a business you are based on my first problem I have than I ever do when things go right.
Problems always happen. It's not the problem that makes or breaks the situation/relationship, it's the resolution." I don't know, yet, what exactly I want to come out of this situation but a lot is going to be determined by your response back to me. It would make me sad to never buy your clothes again because they are so cute and you have been the sweetest person, in person. If this is the way you are going to handle things when there is a problem, though, I don't see what other choice I have. Please let me know your thoughts on this situation after reading all of mine and seeing the pictures.
While I think it was mildly harsh I think I was extremely kind with the way I worded it. Her response back to me::
I am sorry to say I am still 100% certain it was not the skirt. I have a ton of experience washing fabric and with this line specifically. I have not had a problem.
I am sorry you are unhappy but I cannot apologize for something I do not believe came from the skirt. If I believed it was in any way possible it was from the skirt I would let you know that.
At this point we will just have to leave it at disagreeing.
I am beyond appalled. How can someone be so blatantly ignorant?!?! This is a prime example of rude customer service. I forwarded emails to Etsy general support, emailed their blog and emailed their press support team. We'll see what happens.
And these are the fixed clothes with the plaid being the only ruined shirt::
This is the email I sent to her::
I just wanted to follow up on our conversation we had the other day. I attached some pictures of the clothes that I took after they came out of the wash. The first two are a close up of the ruined clothes and a picture of the whole load. As you can see there is nothing else in the load that would have caused them to turn yellow and we do not have well water. I am extremely disappointed that you didn't apologize for the incident. I understand that it isn't "your" fault but you are selling the item. I have been very pleased with all of your stuff until today and, quite honestly, didn't want anything from you other than an apology. I also understand that you have never had a problem with that line before. However, there is a first for everything and it happened today. I was going to try to recreate the incident by washing the skirt with a white washcloth but have been told by a couple people that make clothes, if it was already washed it probably won't run again. I find it hard to believe that you can say, with 100% certainty, that it wasn't the skirt. I do not think that you handled the situation well. You have a lot of positive feedback on Etsy, you would think you would want to keep it that way. All of the ruined clothes were clothes that we just used for family pictures and are very nice clothes and essentially brand new.
I have since washed the clothes in the Rit dye remover and the white clothes are 100% clean. I dipped the white sleeves of the blue shirt and that one is fine as well. The only shirt that is ruined is the plaid. The last picture is of the clothes after using the dye remover (missing the skirt because my daughter was wearing it). By using the dye remover and it cleaning them, that tells ME with 100% certainty that it was definitely a dye that stained the clothes. Not something else. Like I said before, and the picture shows, the skirt was the only thing that color in the load of laundry.
I have talked to many people about this situation (not using your name/business) and they all are appalled at your responses. Several have encouraged me not to shop with you again and to also spread the word about your shop. I haven't spread the word that it was your shop but I have had people ask me, privately, who it was. Everyone can understand that mistakes happen, it's what someone does when that mistake happens that is important. In a customer based business, the customer is always right. A bad situation is going to spread a lot more than a good situation. Something my husband said to me, that he says to suppliers, was "I find out how good of a business you are based on my first problem I have than I ever do when things go right.
Problems always happen. It's not the problem that makes or breaks the situation/relationship, it's the resolution." I don't know, yet, what exactly I want to come out of this situation but a lot is going to be determined by your response back to me. It would make me sad to never buy your clothes again because they are so cute and you have been the sweetest person, in person. If this is the way you are going to handle things when there is a problem, though, I don't see what other choice I have. Please let me know your thoughts on this situation after reading all of mine and seeing the pictures.
While I think it was mildly harsh I think I was extremely kind with the way I worded it. Her response back to me::
I am sorry to say I am still 100% certain it was not the skirt. I have a ton of experience washing fabric and with this line specifically. I have not had a problem.
I am sorry you are unhappy but I cannot apologize for something I do not believe came from the skirt. If I believed it was in any way possible it was from the skirt I would let you know that.
At this point we will just have to leave it at disagreeing.
I am beyond appalled. How can someone be so blatantly ignorant?!?! This is a prime example of rude customer service. I forwarded emails to Etsy general support, emailed their blog and emailed their press support team. We'll see what happens.
And these are the fixed clothes with the plaid being the only ruined shirt::
