Marlene's Dress Shop — Local services in Collingswood

Extremely disappointed in my experience at Marlene's. My mom had an appointment to try on mother of the bride dresses and from the moment we walked in we had a negative experience. The employee who greeted us at the front desk seemed bothered and generally unenthusiastic. A warm welcome into a small business can completely make or break an experience. When we were taken back to the dressing room and gown display area, it was complete and utter chaos with both other appointments and walk ins. If you are in busy seasons due to prom as well as weddings, you should hold a strict appointment only policy. Giving your customer undivided attention during an appointment is important when they are shopping for such a momentous life event whether it be a wedding, prom, or other occasion. The MOB dresses were well organized however the condition of the dresses was disappointing. While I understand some wear and tare is unavoidable when samples are being tried on often, the state of these gowns were far beyond that. Our consultant was less than helpful and was called away to other customers as well as associates continuously. I basically acted as my moms consultant. I helped her in and out of gowns, hung dresses back up on hangers, etc. When our associate advised multiple times she would hang dresses if we handed them to her, she was never outside of the dressing room when I was ready to hand her something. When my mom first come out of the dressing room to look in a larger mirror on the floor, the consultant asked another employee "where all of the clips went" so instead she just held the dresses tighter to fit her with her hands. How can you get a good idea of how a gown feels and moves with someone holding it rather than clipping it? At some point in the appointment our consultant informed me she's been doing this for 30/35+ years. I was truly unimpressed and wouldn't be advertising that given the level or service being provided here. To make matters worse, while my mom stood infront of one of the mirrors on the floor looking at a dress, both another customer AND ANOTHER ASSOCIATE stepped right infront of her to use the same mirror. I can let an oblivious customer slide, but to have an employee be so rude and unprofessional is inexcusable. While my mom was in the process of taking off the last gown in what we thought would be her first round of try-ons, we heard our associate tell another employee that a customer waiting could have the dressing room my mom was in as soon as she came out. We did not even get to look for a few more gowns to try as we did not get to look through all of the selection from the get go. You are supposed to be allotted an hour appointment and we were in and out of the shop in under 45 minutes, therefor we had a dressing room for MAYBE 30 minutes. Needless to say we felt rushed and the experience was stressful and anything but enjoyable. Lastly, if you have a few dresses you decide are your favorites, they do not save them in their system or even bother to write them down. Needless to say the customer experience here is severely lacking compared to other similar shops in the area. This shop needs to get their act together and they should be embarrassed that this is how they conduct business. We will obviously not be returning and I will HIGHLY recommend to others that they do not waste...

I walked into this place because I saw a beautiful prom dress in the winda. I asked the woman (don’t know her name) if i could try it on. She then tells me that it was the last one and it was a size 10. I informed her that it was my first time ever prom dress shopping so I had no clue what size I was. But it seemed like I was about the same size as the mannequin, so I told her I think it’d fit. She proceeded to tell that the price was $750, and asked me if I was okay with that. I told her yes I was okay with the price. Mind you, I was dressed in baggy sweatpants and a baggy tee, not to mention my hair was in a messy bun. I felt as though she wasn’t taking me serious because of my appearance. I had a feeling that she didn’t want to go through the process of undressing a mannequin if so wasn’t being serious. She gave me the dress and I tried it on. The dress was perfect. I looked so snatched. I was so happy to show and after I told her what the word “snatched” means she continuously told me how snatched I looked. I told her that I needed to call my mom to show her. After a few minutes of me trying to get a hold of my mom, I notice the woman began to become frustrated. I think she had a feeling I wasn’t actually going to purchase the dress which was not the case. She actually told me to just take it off at one point. I was going to purchase it as long as my mom approved. But since I couldn’t get a hold of my mom, I don’t want to spontaneously purchase a $750 dress, considering it was the first time I ever went prom dress shopping. I asked her if she was able to hold it for me and she rudely responded no. Then I asked her the return policy, and she told me that “it’s a small boutique we don’t do returns,” which I completely understand but there was no need for the attitude. I work retail and I couldn’t imagine talking to customers in that tone and getting away with it. She clearly only to cared about making a sale and she didn’t not care about her customer’s experience. If I wanted to, I could have purchased the dress right then and there. However, like I mentioned earlier, I didn’t not want to impulsively purchase the dress knowing I was unable to return it. After all, I did not purchase the dress. Not because I couldn’t afford it, or because I didn’t receive my mom’s approval, but because this woman’s attitude became very pushy and I did...

I completely agree with how one other customer felt, she wrote a review on here commenting about feeling “unwelcomed” in the store. I can’t obviously assume it has to do with my race or background but seeing how other customers were treated (being the same race as the workers) compared to me....There seemed to be something very off... and there was a different tone of attitude towards me and the other customers. For the store itself.. The dresses are so beautiful and I admire them so much! The store itself is very adorable. But gosh I felt so terrible asking one lady a question about a dress and her response was so rude and she almost looked at me like she was disgusted. I was also browsing at some of the dresses on the side but one lady working there bumped into me (she was walking backwards looking at something) but as I asked if she was okay. She just stared at me and didn’t say anything and brushed herself off.. and walked away.. (may I keep in mind it’s the same lady who I asked a question and she sounded annoyed or disgusted at me) I lost it a little when I saw that same lady talk to a girl similar to my age but in a sweeter more caring and concerned tone, “are you finding anything okay?” after hearing that one from the one lady I was like “yeah I’m out. I’m not gonna waste my time here if I’m not going to be treated equally like other customers.” Whoever ladies were working there today. One at the desk didn’t have a mask on as I entered the store even though there were other customers there. Much more to be said, but let’s keep is simple. If you are a white, you are definitely welcomed here. If you’re a person of color. You’ll probably feel uncomfortable shopping here due to the staff. Hope you all know your worth and know that you’re a blessing. Have a nice day.

**3 years have passed and it still baffles me at how they don’t know how to address this review as well as others. Completely irresponsibly.

I always let everyone know from my area to never come here. After my horrible experience. Hopefully this small shop has changed staffing and their approach towards guests & customers, since...