Anyway, I digress. Sometimes I shop at Coldwater Creek. Almost every time I go in there, I am the youngest person in the store. Sometimes by 15-20 years. At least 80% of the store is off limits to me. The clothes can be very loose fitting, too boxy, frumpy or far too bright. Sometimes when I try things on, I feel like I should be going on an AARP cruise to the Bahamas, or moving to Miami. Call me vain, but I don't want to look any older than I am! That said, there are always a few things each season that actually look good on me. So I shop. And I shop on sale, or with coupons, because Coldwater Creek is outrageously priced! What person in their right mind would pay $65 for a t-shirt? Or $99 for a very average sweater? Seriously? Do only older people have that kind of money? Coldwater Creek definitely caters to the older crowd. Still, I have found some wonderful things.
I've also found some not-so-wonderful things. I had to amp up my winter wardrobe when we moved here. It's much colder for much longer here than I was use to. Sometime in 2009 I purchased pair of black pants. Just plain black pants. And they were awful. After just a few wears and washings, they pilled, stretched, and seams came undone. I'd tossed the receipt, so I kept them. I repaired them. I mended the pockets that tore after the 2nd wearing. I'd worn them no more than handful of times, and then eventually stuffed them in the bottom of a drawer, never to be pulled out again. Recently I took them out to toss them, but instead put them in a bag to go through later (sometimes I'm weird that way). Same thing happened with two long sleeved shirts I bought in late 2011. Pilled up, faded, hardly worn. It was a disappointment. I liked what I bought, I'd paid quite a bit of money for them, and wanted to wear them. Not only did the items look horrible after a few washings, they were so rough they irritated my skin. Most of what I've bought at Coldwater Creek has been good quality, but not these!
So, last week I read about their quality guarantee. Bring anything back, any time, for a refund. Really? Here's their official policy (taken right off their website):
"At Coldwater Creek, we want
you to shop in confidence knowing that your purchase is Always 100%
Satisfaction Guaranteed. If, for any reason at any time, you choose to
return your selection, we'll cheerfully refund the purchase price, help you
with an exchange, or credit your account." ***
And they are not kidding.
I decided to gather up the 3 disappointing items that I somehow had not gotten rid of and take them into the store. I had no receipts, nothing. As I said, these items looked awful, even though I had only worn them a handful of times. Nothing else I own from Coldwater Creek looks as bad as these did. Even my heavily worn items.
They gave me over $75 in store credit! Can you believe it? The store clerks kept apologizing that they couldn't give me a refund because I didn't have any receipts, but I didn't care. Store credit, for the full price I paid for each item, was more than enough. I now have an new pair of capris and shorts for summer, and several new tops.
Even though I think the store is pretty overpriced, it is very nice to find a store that sticks to it's very generous return policy. It's pretty amazing, actually. I'm not going to randomly return other items without receipts because I've "changed my mind," but it was nice to be able to return a few poor quality items. Nice going, Coldwater Creek. Nice going.
***please note that these policies have changed. I am adding this because I've been fairly disappointed with Coldwater Creek as of late. I thought their return policy was extremely generous (probably too generous), and I've taken several things back that were a complete disappointment. The return policy has changed (as of September 2013) and now reads (as posted on their website) : "Valid on store, online and catalog returns: All regular, sale-priced and clearance merchandise that is unwashed, unworn or defective, may be returned within 120 days of purchase." I am not surprised that they changed it. 4 months is still fairly generous, but it is not the same as it was. I am no longer sure about the 100% satisfaction guaranteed, either. As far as my experience goes, I did not discover how horrible the items I have returned were until after I had worn them or washed them. I also think that the calculations of dollar off coupons is very deceiving when merchandise is on sale. I went in with a $20 off card for my birthday. It just so happened that the entire store was all on sale for weeks. There was nothing I could do about that, but it also meant that anything I purchased during my dollar off coupon window was on sale. When my products were rung up, the $20 was deducted off of the ticketed price, not the store "that day" sale price, which applied to every item in the store (again, no fault of my own). My dollars off ended up being worth $10 off the final price instead of $20. There was no verbiage on the card to state that the money would be taken off of anything but the final price. No other store that I know of calculates prices on coupons this way. Customer Service inquiries have, at this time, not been returned. The quality and selection of clothes have also gone downhill in my opinion. Belts pull apart after a few months. Pants have far too much spandex/elastic in them and don't fit after an hour. Shirts are thinner than they use to be, and don't last as long (which is a shame, really, since shirts from their store fit me and the sleeves don't shrink in the wash). I doubt I will be shopping there in the future. After advocating for them, I just wanted to put it out there that changes have been made, and that my opinions of the store have changed greatly in the last 6 months.
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