What is with the prejudice against Davids Bridal?

The deal is that a lot of people on the boards have negative reviews of them and have had experiences there.

They are a big chain, and they act like it. The Target or Walmart of bridal if you will. You go in there, they forget your appointment, everything looks cheap, no one gives you attention...

And to summarize:

Their service is so awful! You get treated like crap!

Their alternations department is low-quality and not skilled (so I have heard on here)

AND their dress quality is obviously lower. The fabric you can tell looks cheaper, and feels cheaper and the dresses just look lower-quality (and this is coming from someone who did almost buy a DB dress, I did love it, you just get what you pay for)

I have been there twice in my search for bridal gowns and REALLY dislike them as you can see!

They treat you like cattle.

I'll admit a lot of it depends on your consultant at DB.

The first time I went the the consultant was absent the entire time. I think it's because at the time I was only there with 1 bm and she figured I wasn't worth her time. She left on lunch without a word and no other consultant was asked to help me. I pulled my own gowns and thankfully had my BM with me so I could actually get into some of the dresses. Left as a VERY unhappy bride.

Came back later with my mom and BM, had a different consultant. She was AMAZING! Listened to everything I had to say, pulled the dresses I asked for, gave honest opinions (not just trying to get the commission). While in the dressing room I heard the old consultant come over and argue with the one who was helping me, when I came out the nice one was gone and the old one was back. She was extremely pushy about accessories and all these things I just HAD to have. Even told me if I didn't get this and this I'd look fat and lumpy in my dress... EXCUSE ME?

Lots of people have had good experiences.

Lots of people have had crappy experiences.

I've had crappy service there. Every person that I know personally who has gone has had crappy service there. And no, they did not all go to the same locations. I don't even think it is fair to compare them to Walmart in regards to customer service - I've been to Wally Worlds across the country and even some abroad, and have always recieved, at minimum, RESPECTABLE service. I can't say that for David's Bridal.

The fact of the matter is, those crappy reviews are going to be the ones you hear about more than the good ones. That's bound to happen with any type of review, though.

I've had a good experience with them, but not everybody has. Personal preference.

My whole wedding party had great service at multiple locations so comparing them to a chain like Walmart is bogus...

Personally, I had a great experience at David's Bridal. My consultant was amazing and everyone else was friendly and helpful, plus I love my dress and it was well within my budget

DBs are franchised, so everyone is going to have a different experience depending on the store. Even so, their training and hiring seems to be all over the board, so people have very inconsistent experiences at the same store.

I've had consistently wretched experiences at DB and my bridal consultant was a hosebeast. She pulled overpriced dresses at the top of my budget, was triple booked, and was rude and pushy and salesy to boot. My SIL tried to order FG dresses off their website and had ridiculously awful experience as well. And any time I've gone into a DB for a BM dress or for any other reason over the last decade I've had a similarly awful time. But I have friends who've loved their DB experiences, some at the exact same stores I've visited.

Just depends on who you ask. It's really a shame that as a company, they can't get it together and be more consistent.

I've been to DB in several locations, including Orlando and Charleston, SC, and had great service every time. There are no "extras," like they offer at some boutique salons (like glasses of wine and robes between fittings, etc), but they have a good selection and their dresses were priced in a range I was willing to pay.

I didn't find my wedding gown there, but I wanted affordable BM dresses for my girls and we got an adorable dress for 60 bucks. I'm very happy with it. It's very unique...not satin like most lol. In no offense to any of y'all with satin, just not my thing and very common. So I was pleased to find something different.

I don't get it either, because a lot of brides here are David's Bridal brides and always say it when they show off their dresses. If they had that bad of an experience, I wouldn't say where I got my dress.

I am a DB bride though, and I had a great experience (WAY better than the local consignment bridal boutique (that stresses that you don't need an appt!)

Marylin T: And as far as things looking cheap, that's really rude. I don't think things look cheap. SO MANY OF US are David's Bridal brides, and you are making it sound like our dresses look like crap and are cheap and aren't worthy of being bridal gowns.

I love my dress, I think it's well made, and I think there are many of us brides who love our gowns and got that at David's Bridal.

I think it's important to be a bit more considerate when discussing DB gowns as a whole (and not one you may have purchased) because some people get upset easily or worry what other people think and now may be wondering "Maybe my dress isn't...

Con't: good enough" or "will people think my gown is cheap looking?"

I don't care what kind of store you're at, customer service is customer service, and it shouldn't matter if you're at a chain, a discount store, etc. Bad customer service=lower sales. I don't understand why they don't get it.

My plan is to look at DB, but I'll tell you, if my service is anything like others I've heard, I will not purchase my dress there. I've heard the same thing about our local DB.

I was wondering the same thing. I went shopping their and had an amazing experience and found my dream dress on sale! I hate that others have had such bad experiences but my experience was great. My sales lady even called me the next day because she and my family talked about horse back riding and she wanted to come bring her daughter. To each their own I guess, buy I wouldn't judge them til you experience them one way or another.

I got my dress at David's Bridal and had a great experience. My consultant was very helpful and attentive. She even wrote down names of some hair and makeup artists in the area because I got married in a city where I don't live.

I have been to David's Bridal with my bridesmaids and as a bridesmaid myself and had less than wonderful experiences, but I think it comes down to the person. I never expected to be treated like a queen while I was in there. I think some brides expect the Kleinfeld's experience when they are dress shopping - a robe, 2 hours with your consultant with their complete attention, fancy dressing rooms, champagne, etc. That's not the way David's Bridal operates. If you expect that, of course you will be disappointed.

I also don't feel that their dresses are cheaply made. That was a pretty rude comment. I loved my dress, it was well made, and it was beautiful.

I'm hoping to set an appt for it this week well see how mine goes. I can't wait for one to call me lumpy, I'm not a pleasant person when you push things on me or say rude things lol

I had an awesome experience at Davids Bridal. The lady that was helping me seemed like she didn't care about the commission at all and wanted to just make sure I was happy. Instead of trying to sell me am over priced veil she said if I even wanted to just go to michaels and buy one from there. I found my dress and it wasnt even one I originally had on my list. The only thing I'm worried about now is I am hoping it doesn't look cheaply made like people say Davids bridal looks

I just have to chime in. I had a GREAT experience at David's Bridal. I went in the store and explained that I was from out of town and had no intention on buying a dress and didn't need a consultant. I didn't want to waste anyone's time/money. I was nursing a hangover from a wedding the day before. I had on no makeup, hair in ponytail and blue jean shorts w/flip flops (yeah, I looked grand). Well, they gave me one anyways. She never treated me like I was just browsing, she was super sweet, helpful, and just awesome. I ended up buying my dream dress and it looks anything but cheap.

Their alterations department did not leave a good impression on me.

I have had a great experience at the DB I have gone to, I just picked up my dress from alterations yesterday, so that marks the 6th trip I have made there, my consultant was very nice, she worked with me for 2.5 hours, the manager was a lovely woman, the alterations women are all nice and cheery and they did a great job on alterations