Gipper Prom — Local services in Crystal Lake

NEVER SHOP AT THIS STORE!!! Purchased dress here on Thursday, March 23. Was told they needed to keep it in stores to "fix beading" & it would be ready for pick up by Monday at the latest. The next Tuesday, March 27th, I called, spoke on the phone w/ the one of the workers, who told me it wouldn't be done until Friday but that I should be able to come pick it up Friday (4 days after they first said it would be done) & they would give us a call. Friday comes around, no call. Still no call on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. I called them on Monday & spoke on the phone with the OWNER of the store who was extremely disrespectful towards me inquiring about my dress. She told me it was done, & insisted extremely rudely that they had called each number we provided them and left at least one message, when neither me nor my mother had ever received a call. However, the dress was done, I was finally able to bring it home, so I let this go despite feeling very disrespected. My dad picked the dress up for me, brought it home, & when I put it on IT WAS NOT THE SAME DRESS. The dress i tried on in stores was so loose I had to hold it up while walking, this one was way tighter. The back is lace up, the first time I tried it on the girl helping me said "oh it's not laced right but I don't feel like fixing it so i'm just going to leave it like that" I asked to be sure "but it won't fit any different when it's laced up the right way, correct?" and she assured me it would not, the only difference would be the pattern of the laces themselves. When I had it laced up at home, it did NOT fit the same. The sides of the fabric near the laces stuck up, almost like the fins of a fish. Believing maybe we laced it too tight, we loosed it to the point of it being way too loose on me and not fitting and the back of the dress still did this. Then we noticed was the bottom of the dress was extremely wrinkled, as though someone had thrown it into a corner and left it for days. Being that the dress has beading there is no way for us to fix this. Another issue is the top part (two piece dress), which is completely uneven. One side of it reaches down to touch the bottom piece, while on the other side there is about an inch of skin showing. Obviously uneven. Also, despite how they told us they were fixing beads, there were at least 3 large beads noticeably missing from the back of the dress. So I call the owner, tell them everything and they demand to see me in the dress. Explaining that this will be very difficult, as my mom works 4 jobs, I have school & work as well, & it is over an hour drive for us, I ask if I would be able to have my dad bring it in and pick up a refund for it. They decline, however PROMISE me a refund if I show up, in person and try on the dress and show them the issues with it. So my mom took off work so we could drive there, and explain the issues in person to the owner of the store , only to be accused of lying about our reasons for wanting a refund and also being denied the refund they had already promised me. They do, however, tell me that I can do a dress-for-dress swap, and pick out another one in the store that I want. So after hours of trying on dresses, I finally found one I love, only for them to try to charge us $100+ for that. I explained that no, we were told it would be a swap, that's it. After already being promised a refund, then denied said refund, we argued that we should not be charged extra as the whole situation is ridiculous. The owner herself & another male screamed at us, telling us that we need to get out of the store and stop complaining and causing a scene because we didn't get what we wanted when we complained. We explained that no, we were promised something MORE THAN ONCE only to be DENIED at the last minute. They then practically THREW my original dress (the one they promised a refund, then a swap for) back at my mother, and threatened to call the cops if we didn't leave. MORAL OF THE STORY- DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS HORRIBLE PLACE. THE OWNER IS A LYING DISRESPECTFUL WOMAN WHO SHOULDNT...

Lengthy read but necessary details: Drove out to Gipper (over an hour drive) to purchase a prom dress. The process is easy. The front desk rep, Ella, was very professional and friendly. Signs are posted how to fill out form so you can write down which dresses you would like to try on ( 8 slots given ). A good amount of dresses are on display with different color options. After choosing 8 dresses, we took form back up front and were told that there would be quite a wait due to amount of customers. Understandable since it was a Sunday. After a 50 min wait, my daughter was taken to back dressing rooms. No family or friends are allowed in back to help. We were informed that her sales consultant would help in zipping up and clipping dress if necessary. Myself and other daughter were able to find seats at dressing room entrance and were able to view all girls coming out to stands and large mirrored area. Here is where the issue began. My daughter came out with first dress, and since it was on the bigger side she told me one of the sales girls clipped the dress and walked away. The 2nd dress was done up sloppily since my daughter said she couldn’t reach the back and had no help. This was only the 2nd dress and no sales person came out with her even though all the other customers had personal one on one consultant giving their advice/opinions to teen and their family. I had respectfully voiced my opinion to one of the sales consultants about my daughter not having a consultant and I received a smile while she walked away. The next 2 dresses went the exact same way, no consultant so I proceeded to make adjustments and tie up the backs myself. By the time she was trying on the 5th dress, my daughter states a consultant knocked on her door stating her hour was up ( in all reality was less) and she had to leave the dressing room area. No where was there a sign or instructions given at beginning of registration that there was a time limit. The list given of 8 dresses in a 60 min time frame is about 7 minutes per dress! That is doable if you have assistance which my daughter was not provided. Between dresses I observed at least 3 other customers trying on dresses more than once in order to make a final decision. One in particular was already trying on dresses when we were given a dressing room. My daughter was so disappointed that she just walked out and didn’t want to complain. I as a mother (again respectfully since I also work in customer care) complained to front desk rep, Ella, and she asked me if I knew my daughter’s sales consultant’s name which I explained that since she never came out once and never even introduced herself. Ella stated that my daughter’s experience was not acceptable and that if she wanted to come back she would walk her to the back herself and find her a sales consultant that would take care of her personally. Ella had also informed me that a manager was informed and that she would speak to the absent consultant. My daughter walked out to the car since she felt disappointed and ignored. I informed her of her options, but since she had a bad experience she didn’t want to go through it again. Unfortunately this is not the experience we had hoped for from Gipper since it was recommended by a friend and noticed their social media postings. Since we had explored 2 previous prom dress locations we expected the same professionalism but was sadly disappointed. With the prices of these dresses, courtesy and customer service should be extended to all regardless. You would think that a manager would have called back to extend an apology to keep our business but 2 weeks later still waiting. Upon reading some previous google reviews and responses , we might have avoided this experience. Hope this review prevents others from receiving the...

Unacceptable Quality and Customer Service

I am utterly disappointed and frustrated with their lack of accountability and disregard for their customers.

Initially, we were drawn to Gipper Prom by their seemingly beautiful selection of dresses. However, the illusion of quality quickly shattered when my daughter wore her chosen dress for the second dance, only 5 months after Homecoming. What should have been a memorable evening turned into a disaster as the dress began to unravel at the seams.

The loops for the straps, crucial for keeping the dress in place, were coming undone after just one wear. It was a humiliating experience for my daughter, who had to endure the embarrassment of a dress falling apart in front of her peers.

Hoping to resolve the issue, we reached out to Gipper Prom for assistance. But instead of offering a solution, they brushed off our concerns and refused to take responsibility for their faulty product. They offered no apology, no refund, and no attempt to make things right. They stated that the stand behind their products as long as they haven't been worn. What a statement! Your product is well made as long as someone doesn't wear it?

It is utterly unacceptable for a store to sell dresses of such poor quality at such high prices and then refuse to stand behind their products. My daughter deserved better than to have her special night ruined by a dress that couldn't even hold up after one wear.

I strongly advise anyone considering shopping at Gipper Prom to look elsewhere. Their lack of integrity and customer service is appalling, and they do not deserve your business. Save yourself the disappointment and shop elsewhere. You don't get what you...