David's Bridal Experience. Is this normal?

They may have all been busy. Typically for stores like David's Bridal you would schedule an appointment ahead of time. That way you would have a consultant all to yourself who would help you through the whole process.

I'm not a big David's Bridal fan either, but in their defense, most bridal shops are super busy on weekends and typically take appointments. The consultants were likely helping brides select their gowns instead of taking time out of their appointments for a MOB dress. I understand it's annoying, but the brides were their priority.

See, if the store was busy or there had been a shortage of staff, I totally would have gotten it but they weren't. There were several employees standing around chatting together. I saw maybe 3 other groups on the sales floor but they weren't getting any attention either. There was one bride with a sectioned off space for her fittings and a consultant working with her. In general, it just kind of seemed like poor customer service regardless.

That seems to be a typical David’s experience but not a typical bridal store experience by any means. I work in a bridal store and we have countless women come in who have stories like this, or worse, from David’s. I had a girl start crying telling me about her experience at David’s because she was a plus size bride and they told her to not even bother looking around because of her size. I have girls tell me constantly that no one helped them or even greeted them.

A typical bridal store experience will have someone staying with you, talking to you, helping you pick dresses, and helping you try them on. They should be with your from beginning to end. Even if the store is busy. We had 6 brides in our store yesterday at the same time and only 4 of us working but each girl got attention and help throughout the entire process. Being busy can make it a less one-on-one experience but we don’t use it as an excuse to ignore any customers completely. David’s doesn’t seem to have great standards for their customer service.

That’s one reason I don’t want to do business with them. Same thing happened to me when I was looking for my colors.

Maybe that's the case if you're a walk-in. I had a totally different experience because I scheduled an appointment. I had my own stylist who picked things out, got me appropriate undergarments, and helped me in and out of dresses. Good experience overall.

I got my dress from David's. The first time I went to the city and I felt pressured.
The 2nd time I went to a different location and the consultant was amazing

I got my dress there, but had an appointment so I had someone with me the whole time. I noticed a difference from when I went as a bridesmaid about 1.5 years ago to now. They almost went bankrupt and closed and I think some employees quit in fear of not having a job. Plus it is Prom season, so that added into the mayhem in my store.

I would say they do seem to have lost a lack of urgency that they seemed to have before. Typically most retail stores you go into never leave you alone for a possible $20 sale, whereas wedding dresses tend to be hundreds, which is weird that they never once asked how you were doing.

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Same here, I had a great experience overall as well. I say always book appointments if you want to avoid the lack of customer service.

Davids Bridal wasn't great in the multiple times I had to go to the store. Honestly, I don't recommend them if you want a great experience but I do recommend them if you want a budget dress. I got my wedding dress at Davids and was soooo not happy with my experience as a bride. It was awful. But, I found a beautiful dress for a great price and I couldn't afford a boutique dress so I sucked it up and moved on.

When I went in with my mom for a dress we also had little to no help and we got stuck in a tiny corner room to try things on. My mom loved a dress but decided to keep looking. We went to J.C. Pennys next, and my mom found THE SAME DRESS that she loved at Davids Bridal for $60 cheaper. She bought it at J.C. Pennys and used a 25% off coupon as well.

I'll never go back to Davids unless I really have to for something.

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I think a lot of people who aren't engaged go try on dresses just for fun so making an appointment definitely helps make them realize you're close to purchasing a dress. Unfortunately, "just looking" doesn't motivate sales people to help you.

You are not out of line but I think they could have been busy especially if you didn't have an appointment and also I think it is dependent on the location. I have heard a lot of people have issues with DB but the one closest to me (about 30 minutes away) is awesome. I have never had a bad experience

I went to try on dresses at David's and it was the worst. The consultant had no clue what she was doing, and just repeatedly kept asking me to "rank the dress between 1 and 10". Literally the second I stepped infront of a mirror she would ask. never helped me in or out any dress. When i tried on one that was too big, she started to pin the dress on my SIDES instead of my back! Like huh?? My mom had to take the clips from her and do it herself! Then the second I showed interest in a dress she would ask "are you saying yes to this dress?" like no lady, I haven't even had this dress on for a full minute, calm down!

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Similar experiences are what tinted my view of David's Bridal before I even went in. I am a seamstress and I have had many plus size brides come to me after having negative experiences while shopping. I think one of the things that got to me about this experience was seeing my mom getting frustrated by the whole deal. She has been turned away or treated differently at many stores for being plus size. Since I am making my own dress and handling a lot of my wedding myself, my mother is adamant that she take control of hers and doesn't want me to worry about making her one.

Last year me and my bff went shopping for bridesmaid dresses without the Bride. We had an appointment and went on a weekday and the service was really good.

Maybe they were busy with brides, where they make the most money.

For whatever reason db doesnt seem to care to much when its not a bride or bridesmaid.

I’m so sorry you went through that experience. Probably was that store, dfinitely BAD customer service. I’ve been to 3 different DB stores with and without appointment. Went 1st with no appointment, store was full and every 10 min had someone asking if I needed help, giving suggestions, etc. 2nd was looking for my dress, with appointment. Same experience. 3rd was with with no appointment, just remembered last minute that had to buy the undergarments. They told me where to go, a sales lady came by like 5 min after and was with her the whole time. Store was like a Black Friday, but they were super accommodating and nice.

The few times I’ve gone to David’s for BM dresses I never expected them to really help me so I wasn’t put off by it. I knew I didn’t have an appointment and I’m the kind of person to look for someone if I want help or opinions so it didn’t bug me.

During my time for a wedding dress, they gave me as much attention as I was looking for and was very helpful.

2nd time with Bridesmaids- Less helpful. All of the girls tried on different styles and I could tell the consultant lady was irritated with that fact, but WhoTFCares?!

3rd time, I scheduled another appointment (at a different Davids' bridal) with one of my bridesmaids to find a dress and we met our consultant and that was that. She didn't help us out at all, it was me going over to the racks finding dresses and picking them according to what my friend was trying on. When we were about to check out is when the consultant came over, we just walked right by. Didn't need any help from her at that point!

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This has been my experience as well. I've read lots of horror stories about DB, but I had the best experience there!!

Having said that, I believe the location makes a huge difference. Good customer service starts at the top, so anyplace that has bad customer service probably has a bad store manager. The DB location near me is on top of things always. Also, they are really busy every time I've gone in there, so they always recommend making an appointment, whether for a bridal gown, MOB attire or BM dresses.