A David's Bridal Bride wonders where they got their bad rep

My daughter's DB dress...it was a THE DRESS moment! Just she and I...and we both cried our eyes out. Btw...momma picked it out...momma's know best!

So DB's is a GREAT place to go...if you do not mind lacking customer service and being made to feel like THE ONLY BRIDE. =)

(Sorry...did not mean to hiijack your thread!) LOL

@Kat From what I noticed with bridal consultants helping non-brides is that they don't truly care too much. They have very strict goals to make daily, weekly and monthly and if they could put the extra effort to make a $500+ sale over a $150-200 dress, they will put more attention to the bride (in my experience). Plus the way the commission works is they have to make their goal in order to get their tiny commission. I think the most they can get per pay period is 3 or 4% and the least is like less than 1% on the total amount sold. So they will always attempt for the higher sale.

But damn you look good in that dress haha.

From a customers stand point, I went to try dresses on and specifically told her I fit into their size 10 and was a 38B in their bras. She would only hand me a 42DD and size 22W and 24W. It was kind of disheartening. Then she only pulled clearance gowns under $199 like I couldn't afford any other gown, even though I was wearing my Chanel bag and never told her a budget. She then told me that maybe I should try other stores to find dresses that fit.. even though I had to hold the dresses she gave me up. She refused to pull the one and only dress I requested to try on... because it was in a size 10 and too small... lol.

I just have a pure hatred for them apparently hahah.

I had an amazing time shopping for my dress and my BM's dresses. After my dress shopping I requested the same girl because she was SO AMAZING. I want to send a letter to corporate that recognizes her. I was pretty demanding both times and never once did I even see her get flustered or upset.

With that said it is retail after all and not everyone is going to have that kind of experience.

I jumped on the DB bandwagon because a) I'm on a very small budget, b) Bridal Warehouse kind of sucks as far as policies and prices, and c) I'm a plus size bride, but only by a slight amount (until you account for the fact that once you hit a size 12, formal dress sizes will screw with your mind and self-esteem).

I also had a not-so-fantastic experience, as my consultant was literally hired a week before I tried on dresses. I'm not really a "the moment" girl, mostly because I think my size limits me to a handful of dresses, and I just wanted to pick one that looked decent on me and was flattering. They only had one awful, pointy bra in my size. The girl was nice, unlike the rest of the staff, who has continuously given me major eye-roll moments when I don't have an appointment for a bridesmaid to try on one dress just for sizing purposes. Seriously. The DB in the next city was more than pleasant when bringing a bridesmaid in sans appointment and on a Saturday. Weird!

On another note, I went in to the same store that I bought mine from with a friend who was also trying on dresses, and I thought it was awesome that the consultant was being super friendly and even silly with my friend, whose family was being ridiculous (grandma and aunts telling her she didn't look like a bride in the dress she actually bought, etc. etc.).

I was a DB bride..they were super helpful and I had a wonderful experience. I think DB seems to get hate because horror stories are "sexier" so to speak to share..they also stick in people's memories better than the good stories. But reality is that it can vary from one bridal store to the next, among consultants, boutiques etc. Also sometimes experience descriptions needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some people expect to be fawned over right when they step in the door even without an appointment.

I've been to several DB & bought my shoes there as well as BM dresses & various other things--guest book, garter, videography etc. I will say it was convenient for dealing with BMs who were abroad & in different states. Trying on dresses was ok. Going with my BMs & FMIL was much better (Natick MA). The consultant was helpful about pulling many dresses in different sizes so everyone could try on, etc. I also picked out my FG dress at DB (Conshohocken PA), which went ok.. I prefer to just wander around & look at stuff, & I always felt like they were chasing me around the store trying to sell me stuff. when I went to look at rehearsal dresses, the consultant was so busy with other sales that I gave up & left the store without talking to her again--I couldn't find her. When my FG (cousin) bought her dress (VA), the store called me repeatedly 2 weeks later to tell me we had to pick it up or they'd send it back.

My aunt and cousin were on vacation that week (dress wasn't supposed to be in for 6 weeks), and I'm in PA, so I had to pay them to mail it to her house. Just getting that done took me 20 minutes on the phone with them for some reason. Also the fact that they sold my information to every vendor on the east coast..

ETA: my other cousin (MOH) I had a really hard time getting ahold of until about 3 weeks before my wedding, and she was still able to get the same dress as my BMs in a darker color from a store in GA (where she is), so DB was great in that situation.

I have been to David's once in 2008 as a MOH. The bride I was with was shown 2 dresses that were horrible on her. I went to the prom section, found a white trumpet dress with black ribbon detail. It was $99 and was perfect for her! Then the consultant brought 2 dresses for me - that didn't even come close to fitting (plus size here). I found a dress and tried it on. So we found our dresses, but not with any help, and she made appointments for both of us.

That was enough for me. I really didn't want to go through that for MY dress.

Kahlcara: Natick, Mass was the one I went to!

I got my MOH & Jr. BM's dresses from their. At first the assistant was lazy, she said we could go look around & see what we liked. When the manager arrived, the assistant was very helpful & much more accommodating. I guess it's when & where you go.

@FutureMrsL...that makes sense. But with that being said, I would think that even the smaller purchases would be important as future customers (my case, exactly!) and full bridal parties. (Got my MOB dress there, too...though I altered it myself and added the silver to the chest, and a mini "train" to the back) I just think the main problem is...there are people in retail and sales, that really should not be. LOL

And thank you for the compliment...really was pleased!

For those who said they received less than stellar help with low budgets...I had what I told my sales girl, "an unlimited budget," meaning, the right dress...did not matter. (Keep in mind, their most expensive dresses are under $2K) She DID seem super disappointed when I found my CLEARANCE (under $500) dress. LOL

Yeah, it was always a kick in the ass when she tries all of the $2,000 dresses but then loves the only $99 dress in the store hahaha. I've seen some great finds in the sales rack, though.

I feel like it's so different than retail and that's why a lot of people can't even cut it. Hell, I couldn't anymore. It's being a mom, a friend, a stylist, a therapist, a wedding planner, a mediator, a photographer and basically a servant lol. I think a lot of my problems working here surprisingly were the brides. They made me want to gauge my eyes out. I've been yelled at for not holding her hand while she steps off the stage, for not opening her dressing room for her, for not being able to actually style her hair the way she wanted it, you name it. And maybe that's why there's a lot of rude consultants - they're just miserable.

It's not all fun and giggles like on Say Yes.

I went to David's Bridal, the lady treated me nice but treated my family like crap Plus when she found out i wasn't going to buy same day she gave my mom and FMIL death glares!

I've been to DB 5 times, spread between 3 strores. Twice for my wedding, three times for my BF/BM's wedding the month before mine. Every time we went, it got worse. Until we found the one out in BFE and only went there when the Manager was on duty.

PSA- Just because you're on a small budget, does not mean you can't buy from regular bridal stores. I went in to my dress shop, on a whim TOTALLY not ready to buy a dress, didn't want to spend more than $800. The consultant was putting me in dresses that were way out of my price range, and then I stumbled upon my dress.. that was $279 dollars, and they had a section of about 15 dresses that were also under $500.

Shop around, take your time, look at EVERYTHING you could even think you'd want to try on.

I won't step in that store again. Terrible service both times I went for my wedding. I won't give my money to a store that treats their customers like shit.

I love my DB dress and had a lovely experience. My BMs are getting their dresses at DB as well and for the first go around, again we had a great experience.

I tried on dresses in on DB store and had a lovely time, but truthfully didn't like any of the dresses. They seemed overpriced in my opinion for the material that I would be getting.

I went to get sized for a DB bridesmaids dress at another store and the consultant was terrible! She tried to put me in a size 14 (I'm a size 8 at that store), didn't believe me when I told her that so I put on the 14 which was falling off of me, she put me in the wrong dress and didn't believe me either until I pulled up the dress on my phone and showed her... it was just all in all a bad experience and I ended up ordering my dress from them online because of how terrible it was. I made sure my Bridesmaids dresses were from another designer - I chose Dessy.

I'm a DB bride. I bought my dress in October, then went back in November to look for MOH, BM and JR BM dresses. At the store I use I think the key is going during the week mid day. I had a wonderful experience when I found my dress. It was just my mom and I. We got there as soon as they opened. But when my girls and I went looking for their dresses it was a Saturday and extremely busy. Our consultant had way to much on her plate. We had to end up looking for our own dresses. I don't think its her fault. Its just pour planning!