Retailers and their customer service - good and bad.

[Peasant]

I've never had an issue with Campbell or DL. Always positive experiences. He sometimes takes a few emails to get back to me and other times he gets back to me in minutes. I imagine his inbox is flooded and I don't fault the guy for giving more of his attention to in-store clients. I've shopped in store as well and he and the staff were fine. Very personable and just normal dudes.

This is just my take on the matter. It should be known that not every transaction with them is horrible. Obviously. I wouldn't expect a refund from a store that doesn't have a refund policy unless they made an extremely large mistake. Sizing is always a risk despite measurements. This is what you have to contribute? An entire thread for your complaint and the only posts you have. Kinda lame.

[en0rm]

Is it really necessary to start a whole topic about your experience? We have had this exact same discussion a while ago, some people have had bad experiences many have had good ones.

I have always had good experiences with campbell and i enjoy going to the store. Amazing stuff and the staff is nice and helpful.

This is just getting to be a hate thread about DL because of some people with unhappy experiences, which i think isnt right.

[808]

I went to darkland not long ago and they were actually really kind and helpful. I guess people having problem with online experience...

[550BC]

this is probably the most unnecessary thread on SZ..

I had great experience with Campbell and Darklands over the past years.

[XXD]

I dont want this to turn into a hate thread, I just wanted to see if i was being unreasonable. (Which I believe I have not.) I acknowledge that some people have had positive experiences with darklands, which is fantastic. I however am simply sharing my experience

[jogu]

lol naturalalmonds i love that picture .
i bought from them about 8 yrs ago becos of all the marvelous feedback. my experience was shitty but i didnt say anything on here cos i thought my case was an anomaly . wasnt till last year i think when that other thread came about that i realized i definitely wasnt the only one . i couldnt figure out what had happened and im still not sure how my shopping experience there turned out so ghastly . i was really polite , succinct and didnt write 10 paragraph replies cos i was certain theres no way theyre gonna keep my money like this. i talked to my attorney friends about it and they recommended that i just accept the loss of money as it could cost more to try and get the couple hundred back becos of court fees, etc. it was a bummer

[naturalalmonds]

to add a side note, you guys making his staff ridiculous with those attached images. you are dumb fucks

Relax. You're obviously close with them.

[guardimp]

It makes you think when a store can have horrid service to a bunch of members, yet others are willing to sweep it under the rug. It's sad that people have to continue to deal with so many absurd store policies at multiple high name stores in Europe.

[Rick-A-Doodle]

this is probably the most unnecessary thread on SZ.

Considering the tagline of this subform is "discuss... where you buy it", I see no reason to deem this unnecessary.

Seriously though, if you think that you don't have to follow EU law in regards to returns then fuck off. Merchandise not as described, too bad for Darklands. Be more accurate when giving sizing information.

[dream]

Had the opportunity to visit Darklands a few years back and was a great experience for me. Wonderful spot (though hidden), large stock and had a great conversation with Campbell. He and his staff has also been very helpful through emails.

[upsilonkng]

i think having read a lot of stuff and talked to people over the years who have been to the store it comes down to this.
Darklands:

Good:
1.best brands, large selection
2.good customer service in person, knowledgable staff
3.great fit pics


Bad :
1.once u pay ur done, aint none of that coming back, ever, dont care where the store is located or the laws that govern these parts, fuck u , it's fuckin done and if u talk about it ur banned for life from ever giving us money that we won't give back to u again!!
2.not good w/ sizing advice online, not super informative , wont give measurements and will most likely mislead u to make sure that last item gets sold
3. holds grudges, won't take ur money if u talk bad about the above 2 things


I think we're clear on this right?

from my estimation no less than 8 people have mentioned that Darklands basically kept their money and they don't have the item, seriously can u imagine this happening in any retail store? how and who can defend this practice? that's just here who knows how many others. Imagine Barneys doing this? or Ink-Clothing? or H.Lorenzo or Layers? unimaginable?? yes because it's fuckin INSANE.
I don't care if it's 1 in 200 sales that they take ur money, it can't happen even once but every 6 months someone has a story to tell about Darklands taking their money and not giving them product or returning product and never getting their money back.

[Nickefuge]

Has anyone ever asked them why they handle business that way?
I imagine it to be more time consuming to reply to all those e-mails (on top of all the e-mails they get because of the lack of a telephone) than to simply upload a few size-charts and offer a regular online shop.
I guess they wanna be special and I appreciate that, but avant-garde does not translate to "shitty customer service" – at least in my book.

[550BC]

I am not close with Darklands nor am I friends..

We can always discuss your retail experience in the customer service thread, but to start a whole new thread about a bad experience with a particular store? Of course I would like get my money back if something isn't right, but there are a lot of stores who just give you store credit instead of a refund. get over it.. you can come here with all your EU laws and whining, but if a store already says they do not give refunds in their policy thats exactly like it is.

I talked with Campbell last summer in Paris and it seemed like a humble,open and kind person.
I also handled with him and Estefania online over the years, they gave me measurements with photo's to be sure when I asked about it.

I once paid them for a BBS coat on NagNagNag, it was out of stock after I paid. They refunded me instead of giving store credit.. just put some solid effort into explaining your situation why you want your money back instead of store credit. Their policy might have some flaws compared to other stores, but come one. give respect is receiving respect. I feel sorry if you guys had bad experience with DL, but no reason to hate and make them all ridiculous :/

[550BC]

I didn't ment to offend anyone though, if I did. my apologies

[guardimp]

It isn't one bad experience though, its akin to Kunk repeatedly scamming members and it being pushed under the rug. You can't make policies that ignore the law, I'm not sure what you fail to understand. In the cases Upsilonkng mentions it is the same as you being scammed. Asking someone to follow the law is far from whining, do you really not understand that stores have to follow the laws?

I highly doubt you lack of affiliation with darklands, considering your unwavering support for them to the point of wanting to hush up systematic issues in their business model. For your other example, to be given store credit from a cancelled order would be absurd. You didn't have any transaction with the store given they cancelled your order, for them to keep your money would be akin to theft. Any other person or store who offered this level of service would be a laughing stock. This is far from hate, rather a pretty standard evaluation of a great store in person with some of the worst service online.