When Steven paid Neiman Marcus $682 for a Bugaboo stroller, he expected to receive a new model, not a used stroller with worn wheels and axles coated with hair.
Neiman Marcus immediately offered to take back the stroller and issue a credit, which should have resolved the problem. But one Neiman Marcus manager, Mia Beasley, tried to go the extra mile and ended up making things far worse. Mia promised Steven that she would find him a new stroller and, if necessary, eat the difference in cost.
Mia couldn’t find a new stroller, and when Steven pressed for action, she disappeared entirely.
Steven cc’d us on his letter to Neiman Marcus:
Dear Mr. Tansky,
I am writing today to inform you of an experience I recently had purchasing a stroller online at Neiman Marcus. The lack of customer service and quality of the product was surprising, to say the least, considering your company’s extraordinary reputation.
On May 23, 2008 my wife and I purchased a Bugaboo stroller from the Neiman Marcus online store. We are expecting our first child in November 2008 and thought Neiman Marcus would be a great place to purchase our first item for our child. The stroller was purchased at an excellent discounted price of $682, including shipping.
We received the stroller on May 30, 2008 and to our disappointment the item appeared used. The wheels were worn out on the front, the wheel axel had human hair covering it, and some of the handles were worn out. The item was also not in its original packaging; it appeared to be thrown in a big box and sent out. My wife and I were thoroughly disappointed.
On May 31, 2008 I placed a call to a customer service agent explaining the situation and he offered to give us a credit for the purchase and to pick up the item. I explained to him that we were unable to find the stroller anywhere else at such a great price. I also asked if there was anything else he could do for us besides giving us the credit. He then put me through to his manager, Mia Beasley. Mia was very helpful on that day and told me that she would give us the credit immediately and order us a new stroller from one of the stores as soon as the funds cleared in our account. She also stated that they would eat the cost difference of the new stroller given the unsatisfactory condition our stroller had been received in. I was very pleased at that moment, but this is where the customer satisfaction ended.
The funds were released to our bank account on June 4, 2008. My wife and I called Mia Beasley on June 5, 2008 and left a message stating that our funds had been released. Mia Beasley called us on June 10, 2008 and asked if we were still interested in the new stroller, my wife answered “of course, we have been waiting anxiously for you to call us back.” Mia stated that Stephany Patrina would be in contact with us that same day to place the order. Mia once again told my wife that Neiman Marcus would assume the cost difference between the new stroller and the discounted stroller we had purchased. Stephany Patrina never called us. My wife attempted to call Mia Beasley on June 11th, 12th, 13th, and 17th without success. Several voice messages were left on those days.
Mia finally returned our call on June 17, 2008 after a fourth message was left for her dating back to June 11th. When Mia spoke to my wife she explained that they were having difficulty locating the stroller at one of the stores and were unable to provide us with a new item. Mia Beasley also told my wife “to Google the item and try and find it at another store”. I, at this point, was very upset with the lack of customer support and urgency to get this matter resolved by Mia Beasley. I called her back and left a message expressing my unhappiness with the results thus far, and threatened to go above her to another manager, director, or directly to the CEO. I expressed an interest in getting the matter resolved within twenty four hours. Mia angrily returned my call stating that she was “very disturbed by my message”. I guess she was disturbed by the fact that I wanted to get the matter resolved and I was threatening to go above her authority to get it done. I was at wits end with the process by this point. I then told Mia that she should not have made my wife and I a promise that she couldn’t keep. Mia then claimed that she had never told us that she would replace our purchase with a new stroller and also claimed that she never told my wife or I that they would eat the cost difference.
At this point I was quite aggravated with Mia and the customer service, or lack thereof, that I had received. Not only was Mia totally reversing what she had said, but now she was calling my wife and I liars. I then told Mia that I was going to have to take this above her to her manager and possibly the CEO of Neiman Marcus. Mia then told me that she didn’t care and that I could take it to whomever I needed to.
On June 17th at 5:00 pm EST, I gave it one more shot. I called Mia’s manager Maggie Barker and left a message to call me back immediately regarding this situation. I still haven’t heard back from Maggie as of the date of this letter. Not exactly the world class customer service I expected from Neiman Marcus.
You will be happy to know that my wife and I did get our Bugaboo Stroller for $700, only $18 more than what we would have paid at Neiman Marcus. The difference was a lot less aggravation and a positive experience. It was purchased from an unknown company called mystrollers.com. They might not have the world class name that Neiman Marcus possesses but the customer service and the product was delivered in a world class manner. We received the item only twenty four hours after placing the order. The product was new, in its original packaging, and the shipping was free. I hope that Neiman Marcus is proud of the fact that they were outclassed by an online start-up company. I feel as if Neiman Marcus owes my wife and I some sort of apology. I am not sure, however, that anything can change the experience that cost your company this purchase, and may have cost Neiman Marcus customers for life.
Sincerely,
Steven
(Photo: Getty)
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NM refunded their money once they learned that they had received poo poo product. Done. The End.
Mia wanted to go the extra mile, but unfortunately cannot locate this item. Being that it’s a high priced stroller, I think the OP to expect nothing less than perfection is a little out of control. It’s not like she’s trying to locate a loaf of bread.
This is extra credit and unfortunately Mia is having trouble. If they hadn’t refunded the money, then sure, throw your shit fit.
Frankly, the fact that Mia is trying to go out of her way, successfully or not shows much customer service. They refunded the money and really don’t owe the OP anything more.
it’s a stroller for god sake… not the yet to be born baby’s breathing apparatus. Jesus. @fjordtjie:
@hypochondriac: Most $600+ “strollers” are not just a stroller. They tend to be systems that double as car seats, high chairs, etc… They’re also designed around ease of use; one handed folding, portability, upgradablity, etc… It’s not like you’re paying $700 for an umbrella stroller, it’s a lot more than that. IMO the overall quality of (some of) these products plus the added utility and savings (e.g. not needing to buy a separate car seat) make them a good buy, if you can afford them. It’s not for everyone, but it isn’t as outrageous as a lot of people here seem to think.
@SOhp101: I was thinking more of iPhones and iBooks, but even with iPods, I’m not seeing a two to three times price differnce between comparable products (at least, not in a quick poke through Newegg). Yes, you can buy a no-name mp3 player for $20, but I’m not talking about the cheapest stroller you can find, I’m talking about a good quality product that’s less than half the price.
@MissTic: They didn’t get bad customer service, they just didn’t get the exceptional customer service they’d been offered. Also, while it was taking too long to get the exceptional service, I’m willing to bet when he “..left a message expressing [his] unhappiness with the results thus far..” he did so in a manner guaranteed to stop a CSR from going above-and-beyond. They should get an apology, but this just doesn’t strike me as Consumerist-worthy.
@hypochondriac:
It’s $700 because its what you need to have if you want to hang out with all the other affluent parent. I live in a fairly high end area of Miami and these strollers are just like having the “in” designer bag for the moms, it even has less features than the lower priced strollers.
goes to show you, doesnt matter what store you buy an item at, be it wal-mart or neimans, you can have idiots work for you anywhere.
Maybe Neiman Marcus ignored Steven because of his poor grammar.
First of all, $700 for a stroller is absolutely ridiculous. Secondly, if I were bending over backwards trying to locate an item for a dissatisfied customer and they turned around and treated me like dirt, I’d go back on my word too. Sounds to me like Mia was really going the limit and when she couldn’t find the item, was simply asking for a bit of help in locating another stroller that would be sufficient, and the guy flipped out on her for something that wasn’t her fault.
@ohyeahright: Here’s a big difference in your example.. A treadmill has motors, sensors, electronic controls, and lots of heavy metal. A stroller is a damn stroller. Make it transport your spoiled child and not collapse causing their demise. Done.
@Dobernala: No but they are made in Taiwan & China just like your
typical bourgeois stroller you can get from Target! This Steven douche needs to read
Parenting, Inc.: How We Are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper
[www.amazon.com]
As the old saying goes…. a child that has everything appreciates NOTHING!
Two things I see going on here.
1. Someone with money and no sense on how to keep said money. Stop spending stupid amounts of money on crap you won’t keep for long anyhow. If you have TONS of money to throw around, how about spending the $550 in stupid overspending here to babies that don’t have CLOTHES or FOOD.
2. A pregnant woman who is in the middle of nesting. Ho-ly crap, this can be downright scary. Avoid at all costs.
Also, I’d put good money that the “problems” with this stroller that was sent out were magnified 100x in her complaints. “Worn out” = scuff marks.
Yes, buying a stroller does involve some one-upmanship.
When we had our lad there were two male co-workers with wives expecting at the same time. We would argue the merits of different strollers with the same passion and focus on minutia as if we were debating automobiles. My friends went with the more expensive Perego (the Italian sportscar of strollers) while we went with a bigger and cheaper Graco more akin to a big comfortable Chevy sedan that took everything we threw at it. Comfort, features and durability vary widely and are not necessarily correlated to price.
Most of the posters here are a bitter bunch of a**holes! Who cares if he purchased a $150,000 diaper genie. If he was sent a used item advertised as new, just refunding his money isn’t good enough. He deserves what he ordered in the first place, no matter what it was!!
The CSR wasn’t going out of her way to get them a new stroller, she was fulfilling the obligation that was never met in the first place.
The comments here are really pathetic, as I’m sure you WalMart stroller pushing folks don’t purchase ANYTHING that other people would consider frivolous…
@parad0x360: A Consumerist reader who advocates shopping at Wal-Mart?
i don’t know why everyone is complaining about the price of this stroller, if you educate yourself on the product it has a cell phone sound suppressor so you wont be interrupted while at the philharmonic
That stroller cost more than my reserve parachute. $700 for a stroller? Wow. Would have been better off getting a $200 one from Target and putting the different in the investments for the kid’s college fund.
You people all live in the wrong cities if you’re outraged by $700 for a Bugaboo. Here in Chicago the neighborhood I live in (Bucktown, Wicker Park) looks like a frickin’ Bugaboo superhighway on the weekends.
I personally went with a cheaper stroller but I don’t see the big deal here. It’s no different than someone buying a $40,000 car and I see a ton of those around here too.
I’m having a difficult time even identifying with those people who can’t get past the $700 price tag. Regardless of how much you make, and what products you buy, bad customer service is bad customer service.
When I buy a product and get something I didn’t order, I expect customer service to bend over backwards. Here’s the timeline:
May 23, 2008: The OP orders the product.
May 30, 2008: The OP receives the product, but it is not only obviously used, it’s disgustingly covered with other peoples’ body hair.
May 31, 2008: A call is placed to NM, and the rep offers to refund the OP’s money and pick up the stroller. The OP asks if something else can be done, at which point the OP is put through to Mia, the manager. Mia offers to refund their money, and as soon as the money is refunded, they can purchase a comparable stroller, and NM will eat the difference. The OP is happy with this arrangement.
June 4, 2008: The money is refunded.
June 5, 2008: The OP calls to inform Mia the money has been refunded.
June 10, 2008: Five days later, Mia finally returns their call, and tells them that someone will contact them that day.
June 11, 2008: After not receiving the call as promised, a call is placed to Mia. No reply.
June 12, 2008: Another call is placed, with no response.
June 13, 2008: Another call is placed, and again, no response.
June 17, 2008: Yet another call is placed, and a response is finally received telling them that they could not locate a stroller and to buy it elsewhere.
June 17, 2008: Argument ensues.
It took 3 and a half weeks for the OP to find out that NM could not make good on their offer. Meanwhile, NM had their money for 12 days, the OP had to expend time and energy tracking down NM’s customer service, and the OP received no compensation for NM’s failure. In addition, they waited another 13 days to order the stroller from someplace else while they expected NM to make good on their offer. The OP’s purchase is irrelevant. The fact that the baby is due in November is irrelevant. The only thing relevant is that it took NM 25 days to fail this customer utterly.
At least the used one did not have rat heads in it…
@Darkwish: …yeah, everyone who bought that 700 dollar stroller got it used, clearly. This wasn’t a fluke event or anything.
Come on people, what if he wrote about a 250 dollar stroller, or 130 dollar stroller? What then? It doesn’t matter what he paid originally; price isn’t what this article is about. This article is about a CSR manager getting belligerent with customers for trying to hold her to her word – no one trying to retain a customer should tell them to go Google it.
@SMSDHubbard
That’s worth considering, and true. My point was that this stroller is multi-functional, and there are a lot of other more expensive, more frivolous, less useful purchases that don’t make the commenters all critical and pissy.
now I know why my kid did not get into Harvard…Damn stroller from Zayers.
@PunditGuy:
I’d rather have Allison Stokke!
[www.whattofix.com]
so many lessons learned, as long as you can get past the $700 stroller. really, my car is worth about half as much.
1) The point is that they got lousy customer service from NM on this stroller. If I was paying $700 for a stroller, I would make damn sure the customer service was excellent if something were to go wrong.
2) I don’t care what kind of features are on the stroller, $700 is way too much to pay for one. I’ve found travel systems online (car seat plus stroller) for cheaper at other places. For me, the only feature a stroller should have is that it holds the kid and you can cart him around.
@JennQPublic: First off, if I could say I have never spent a crazy amount of money on clothes, then I could cast judgement on a $700 stroller. But, alas, I can’t.
I have a feeling this is a “It is Neimans, they should bow down to us because we are spending money in their store” situation. These types of people are usually 1) New money with no clue how to handle it or themselves, 2) Don’t shop at a store like Neimans on a regular basis and have unrealistic expectations, or 3) White trash with entitlement issues.
Mia did the best she could and the customer was still not happy. Deal with it. Advise to Mia: Next time find out what level of card membership they are. If it isn’t at least Platnium, don’t waste your time.
I had to laugh after reading these posts and then reading the definition of bugaboo from [www.merriam-webster.com]
1: an imaginary object of fear
2: bugbear 2; also : something that causes fear or distress out of proportion to its importance
envy really is the worst sin as it clouds our minds of reason
WOW! thats what you get when you buy a 700 dollar stroller! haha, no just kidding. Man thats expensive. Go buy a Graco, which is durable and about 1/7th the price..
thats as much as the CAR im looking at buying too..
@thelushie: Hmm, first arrogant ass, learn to spell.
Second, get some empathy and maybe even some compassion. Just because someone may not have platinum whatever does not mean they shouldn’t get good service like anyone else.
Third, stfu
.@godlyfrog: Exactly and perfectly right. Great post.
@thelushie: “Mia did the best she could”
If “the best she could” includes lying to customers and accusing them of lying, and not following through on promises, then maybe she shouldn’t be working in customer service. At least not at Neiman-Marcus.
And it looks like the customer did “deal with it”. They found another vendor for the stroller, and probably won’t shop at NM any more.
@Alger: Preach on!
The idea that the OP was willing to spend 700.00 on a stroller shows just how gullable that they are. Silly people just silly.
We have a bugaboo, but we paid a whole lot less than that (around the price of the top of the line found at target or walmart). Craigslist is your friend.
We expect we will get 100% back selling it to the next owner.
They are really good strollers, and functionally different. Just not enough to justify $700.
Why are people hating on these folks. You’ll be surely working for this child someday, after he/she grows up, goes to elite pre-school, elite private school and Ivy League university. After spending a couple of years expunging liberal guilt in the Peace Corps he/she will pick up a joint JD/MBA, and then he/she could end up as an investment banker, where he/she will play God with your pitiful retirement savings. I for one welcome my Manhattan overlords.
While I too find the concept of a $700 stroller (and a bargain at that price!) mind-boggling, I don’t begrudge the OP for wanting what he paid for. On the other hand, calling repeatedly because an above-and-beyond promise wasn’t kept quickly enough … well, call me a redneck, but I can’t help hearing the OP pronouncing the store’s name as “Neiman Mahcus.”
If the $700 item was a laptop of a home stereo system, nobody would be howling about how they couldn’t work up any sympathy. If the guy had bought a stroller from Walmart or Target and gotten a used one, half the comments here would be “OP deserved it because only idiots shop there”.
Jesus. It’s like people think that there’s a graded test in every Consumerist thread, where your high score depends on how loudly you can inform the rest of the internet that a) the OP is stupid and wasted money b) unlike you, who are smart and frugal.
On the actual post, Neiman-Marcus markets itself as having sterling customer service. And offering a refund doesn’t do much when the item cannot be obtained for the same price elsewhere. Lying to the customer doesn’t exactly help matters.
So let’s sum up for the people who can’t get past the $700 stroller part:
NM sold a used product as new. – BAD
NM took the used product back and issued a full refund – Good
NM offered to replace the stroller with the same or next model up for same price – Good
NM ran into problems getting the same stroller and withdrew their promise for a better one – BAD
It ends up with NM looking like crap because they made a promise and didn’t keep it. For Walmart, this is not a big deal. For a store like NM, this is unacceptable.
I would have never considered buying such an expensive stroller. I bought a $50 stroller for my own child several years ago, and it worked just fine for us.
Then I read this story, where a child was hit by a scaffolding collapse on a busy sidewalk. The very expensive stroller folded up like a cocoon around the baby, and bore the brunt of the impact. I believe it was a $600 stroller, as I read in a later interview, the mother was obviously very happy she had spent the extra money.
[query.nytimes.com]
I know the chances of an injury like that are very low if you live in the suburbs or a rural area, but on busy NYC sidewalks where scaffoldings collapse, cranes tip over and kill people, cabs jump curbs, and street sweepers suck up dogs on leashes, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have an armor plated stroller…
I think what it really came down to was him leaving a message when he was “upset” and “at [his] wit’s end.” When Mia said she was “very disturbed by [the] message,” it was probably because he was angry and ranting when he left it. At that point, she was no longed interested in going the extra mile.
Yeah, she dropped the ball, yeah, NM screwed up, but it’s not like this guy got totally ripped off. We are only hearing his side of the story, but reading between the lines, I think he was partially responsible for her sudden disinterest in going above and beyond.
/$700 is still ridiculous.
And yeah, if you work for a company that sells itself on excellent customer service, you don’t stomp off in a hissy because a customer is angry at your company, and, if you can believe such a thing, leaves an angry VM message when you ignore him for days.
If “Mia” wanted a job where nobody is allowed to be mean to her, she shouldn’t be a CSR. Perhaps she missed the part of her training where they explain that the best way to deal with an enraged, frustrated customer is to apologize and then make things right.
I’m a pretty easy going person, but I would have been livid if I were the OP here.
Neiman Marcus tried to cheat this couple by sending them used, worthless garbage and charging them for it, keeping their money for days and days, balking at doing the right thing.
Neiman Marcus is 100% wrong here. People shop there in large part because of the service. If they are going to call their customers names, send out shoddy junk, and not fix the problems they themselves created, there is no reason to shop at Neiman Marcus at all.
@SF_iris: When you buy from a place like NM, you expect to be treated differently. You’re paying for that privelidge.
Also, LOL @ all the jealous people in this thread. “OMG $700 for a stroller!” If that’s what they want to pay and can afford to pay, who are you to tell them to spend differently? GO MAKE MORE MONEY AND GET YOUR OWN $700 STROLLER! Damn this couple for making good money and working hard! They should have to give it all away to poor people who have done nothing for the gift, just like we should steal oil company profits!
Next up on SNL: Two A-Holes Buy a Stroller
she was already screwed when she paid out $600+ for a baby stroller!
@ImCrying: If they can afford to buy a $700 stroller, they can probably afford to deal with the hassle and snobbery of shopping for it too. Don’t cry to the plebes when you have a problem. Go call your lawyer or something.
Those of us on lower incomes have more to lose than someone who can burn $700 on a overpriced stroller. Give me a break.
If someone wants to spend $700 on a stroller, so be-it. My wife and I purchased a Bugaboo for about $150 less than that, and, for us, it is worth it. It’s a damn nice stroller. Yes, there are cheaper strollers available, but we chose to purchase a high end one.
Does this mean that we will spoil our daughter? Absolutely not. She will not be given an allowance at any age, and will be taught the value of a dollar. But she will also learn that if you work hard and invest wisely that you will be able to splurge from time to time. Nothin’ wrong with that.
Where is that great article on how the stroller manufacturers used to sell the same strollers for $200.. then one day one started charging $1000, and it was like a revelation to the market – suddenly there were tons of super-expensive yuppie strollers. They realized the market was inelastic – parents will pay a lot if they think the ‘safety’ of their child is involved.
-Ben
@Dobernala, not really following: it’s OK for a business to cheat and lie to a customer as long as the customer has more money than you do? Or if people spend more money than you would on an item, screw ‘em if they don’t get it?
If the OP had bought a $70 stroller from Walmart, y’all would be sneering that he was a dumbass and what did he expect to get for such a low price.
HOW IS GIVING THE CUSTOMER WHAT THEY ORIGINALLY ORDERED GOING “ABOVE AND BEYOND”??!!!
Please, someone explain that to me.