The Marni Truffle Balloon Bag....always got tons of compliments, but hardware kept coming loose
I was pretty clear about an unpleasant shopping experience I had at the Brunello Cucinelli
factory store in Italy.
So I figure it’s only fair to share a totally pleasant shopping experience that … surprisingly enough… also involves Brunello Cucinelli.
Shall I start at the beginning?
A year ago I purchased a Brunello Cucinelli jacket at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. I bought it for a big meeting, but ended up not wearing it. A beautiful piece, just lovely, but I figured if I haven’t worn it yet, I probably won’t.
Tags are still on. Other than in the dressing room, it’s never graced my body.
Neiman’s has a stellar customer service reputation. I know their return policy. Which is: “No questions asked.”
Up the escalator to couture. Woman asked if she could help me. She took my details, and my jacket to the back to look up the purchase.
“Those are great shoes, are they Marni?” asked Kelly Warner, another sales associate.
“No, they’re from Macy’s,” I did a little two-step in the yellow sandals. “But I do like Marni. In fact I have a Marni bag I bought from you folks, which I love.
“Except that it’s out for repair…For the SECOND TIME.”
“You should return it,” said Kelly Warner. “That’s wrong.”
“I bought it two years ago.”
“Doesn’t matter. Bag like that should not break twice. Would you like to introduce you to the handbag manager?”
Before you can say ‘Brunello Cucinelli’ we were on the escalator downstairs. Where I met Marc Williams, manager of designer handbags for their Beverly Hills store.
“Handbag like that should not break in that way, especially twice,” he said. “how about this, you pick out something to replace it…..if you like. On Monday I’ll look up the record of your bag in the system and issue you a credit for it. We’ll probably mark it down to Last Call prices. And if that happens I’ll give you first dibs for it at that price.”
Fabulous.
Brunello Cucinelli folks in Italy could learn from Neiman’s!
