Here's the story I did for Global on Friday, June 9th on brides with the Wedding Bell Dress Blues. A buyer beware if you are in the market for a wedding gown or bridesmaid's dress. Email me with comments at: sos@globaltv.com
It's supposed to be the time of a woman's life: planning for her wedding day. Figuring out every important detail for the big event. Including selecting just the right dress.
But for some brides living just east of Toronto, pre-wedding bliss has turned to bitterness.
"I would not wish this on anybody!" said Nancy Cyros.
"I've never seen anything like it," offered Jennifer Miched.
"You never saw one happy face, unless you were just joking around about how awful this place was," said Amanda Clark, a bridesman of Cyros.
The women are all talking about a bridal dress store in Ajax called Sherwood Bridal. It's one of five bridal stores owned by the same family.
"Service was terrible, I was embarrassed to have my family and friends come," said Miched, who will be married next Thursday.
Many recent customers who called us said the store took dress orders but didn't deliver as promised, which they say put their weddings at risk.
Nancy Cyros got married last Saturday. She and her wedding party went to the store a day earlier to pick up some of their dresses and expecting them to be ready as they were promised.
"Unfortunately on the Friday we went, nothing had been done," Cyros told the Global Defenders from her parents' home in Oshawa.
Cyros and family spent seven hours at the store last Friday, refusing to leave until they had the dresses completed at closing time.
Jennifer Lowe says she was given the runaround several times about her wedding gown.
"I paid for it seven months ago, they told me it was here, why is it not here?", said Lowe.
She too finally got her dress but she says only after multiple calls and waiting hours in the store.
Store employees couldn't explain the brides' frustrations when asked but operations manager Jeremy De Mel says at least 99 per cent of his customers are happy.
"We go well above and beyond for our customers," said De Mel, who willingly answered questions about the complaints. He said many customers may not realize that alterations don't begin until they have paid for their dresses in full. He told us some customers also don't appreciate the fact that it can take several appointments and fittings to make a wedding dress just right. He also says that unlike other bridal stores, Sherwood Bridal does alterations free of charge.
Jennifer Miched's wedding party bought seven dresses at Sherwood Bridal but she's not buying any excuses.
"This should not be happening," she said. "It's been horrible."
Miched said her mother's dress never arrived, even though she had paid a rush fee when she ordered it this spring. Eventually, Miched's mom went to another store to get a replacement dress on short notice.
When your dress isn't ready and the wedding is right around the corner, it's not a laughing matter.
"I don't want my sister-in-law to know (that the dress isn't ready)," said Ashley Collins, sobbing inside her car parked in front of Sherwood Bridal after discovering the alterations on her dress were not done. She was due to leave for Sarnia in a few hours.
"Let everybody know they're awful!" said Collins, who was eventually delivered the completed dress in time for the wedding of her brother. De Mel told us she had arrived earlier than expected to pick up the dress.
How does De Mel account for the volume of complaints sent to the Global Defenders?
De Mel says that many women were made afraid about the possibility of delayed dresses after some disgruntled customers created fear in the store last week.
He claims more than 99 per cent of his clientele is satisfied with how the store handles customer service. And he says the store services about 4,000 customers per year.
"We have many customers that are extremely happy with us and would be happy to provide a letter of recommendation to any media outlet or customers which in some cases they have done," said De Mel.
But Nancy Cyros says in her experience, the store was not equipped to satisfy her order.
"They're great up front," says Cyrus. "But when the times comes and the pressure is on, they can't cut it."