Minerva's Bridal — Local services in Edgewood

I went two times. The first time I had a wonderful experience. The woman I worked with was amazing, we talked, we loved her. She pulled different things based on what I was liking and did not like. She was awesome! I made a follow up appointment with her RIGHT there when I left. We made sure to book on a day that she was scheduled to bring my friends back as I loved one of the dresses she pulled for me. The day of the appointment comes, we arrive and no one has any idea of my appointment. It was not in the system (mind you I had gotten email confirmation), so I had to fill out the guest card again (not a huge deal, but just drilling the point), the consulate I had booked with was pulled to go work the other store, there were no notes on the 3 dresses I was here to specially try one so we went around trying to find them again. So we spent sometime trying to find the dresses. We found 2 of them but the 3rd one we kept looking for only to eventually be told "oh it was sold, it was a very special dress". And while I understand dresses sell, I was under the impression the floor dresses would still be there from my original appointment which I guess is not the biggest deal, I did not know it was a buy off the rack place, I thought I would be able to order different sizes, it sucked being told that my favorite gown was not there. I feel like notes should have been made since it was a follow up appointment, and someone should have called me to let me know that my consultant was not going to be there, and that one of the dresses I was going to specifically try on was no longer there. Even more so because we went into SO much detail about that dress and another about removing things and changes that I was thinking of in alterations and the first appointment was so nice because she pulled someone to go over that stuff with me and spent so much time with me and care to what I wanted. Instead they had no idea I was even coming nor what I was there to try now. On top of that, one of the dresses I did try on had a bug crawling on it. The girls who were there had no idea what was going on the entire time I was there, they were not welcoming, and the girl who wound up "helping me", I don't think was a consultant as she had no idea of anything. I was put in a dark corner with hardly any room, the room I was in before had dimmable lights to help see the sparkle, this did not have that it was very tight and cramped v the OPEN room I had been in before had plenty of space and there was only one other group in there. The atmosphere from the 1st appointment to the 2nd was night and day difference. This last time I could not wait to get out of there, we maybe spent 30 minutes between trying to find the dresses I was there for and leaving. It was awful, I wanted to cry I was so disappointed. The dresses were nice (except the bug on it) and I liked that they were more budget friendly but felt a step above David's. However, the 2nd experience...... I truly thought I was going to buy my dress there, the first appointment went so well, but the follow...

Let me start out by saying that the people I interacted with at the store (the manager, Jimmy, and my consultant, Tee), were awesome. That being said, this store’s policies are rigid, confusing, and downright bizarre in some cases, making the shopping experience here less than pleasant.

After a misunderstanding involving inventory information provided online vs. what they had in-stock, Jim and Tee ordered a handful of my favorite dresses to the store so that I would be able to see/try them on before committing to buying them, going out of their way to accommodate me.

I was told that I would be contacted when they had all come in, and that, of course, they would be reserved for me (rather than put out on the floor where others may buy them). Not really. The store owner came by later and apparently ordered the dresses to be displayed immediately, and in the order they were received, leading me, an instructor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, to agree to drop everything and rush down to Orlando mid-week and mid-semester for whatever number of shipments (luckily, it only ended up being one). I wasn’t expecting princess treatment or a miracle, but it couldn’t have waited for literally a few days?

A few weeks later, I called to place my order (something I thought would be straightforward enough, since I had already gotten fitted there). Again, not exactly. Apparently, their 3 ordering options (although all “Minerva’s”) had some random, ambiguous differences… Whereas the website listed a certain final price upon checkout, ordering over the phone/in-store was $75 extra (later explained as $55 tax and $20 shipping when I called). I was told that that tax would’ve supposedly been added to my online purchase AFTER the fact (meaning in addition to the grand total I saw before clicking “confirm order”), and the $20 shipping fee was “un-waivable” (according to the owner) because it included “benefits, like being able to put it on in the store.”

In actuality, a lot of wedding dress websites (and online stores in general) specifically say that sales tax doesn’t apply in states where the dresses aren’t manufactured (which I suspect could/should be the case here). And seriously? Shipping costs for items that are literally thousands of dollars, and not even directly delivered, in the name of nonexistent benefits (since it’s non-refundable anyway and is inspected for loose beading/pressed automatically during any alterations)? News flash: you get free shipping to your doorstep from nearly all retailers for spending just a fraction of that. No better way to seem cheap and to lose a sale than by haggling over an unreasonable $20 with a bride.

I ordered online and am just hoping that everything goes well enough for me to never really have to interact...

(This is not my google) I went into the store yesterday. I previously already bought my wedding dress, but accidentally showed my fiancé. So I had to go try to find a new one. Without even realizing that this store was the same store I originally bought my first dress from I went in and tried dresses on expecting for me to just have to buy a second one. The woman who helped me Made me truly believe that her boss was going to allow me to exchange my dress in since it still has the tags on it and in the bag. My dress cost $600 more than the dress that I wanted to exchange it for. I even wanted to do an even exchange And she told me that it was for sure going to happen and that the manager was super understanding. Needless to say, he said absolutely not and only offered me 20% off. I’m not super upset with the fact that I couldn’t trade the dress in although it is very disappointing, I am pretty upset that the employee made me believe that I was going to get the dress of my dreams without any hassle and be able to exchange it with no issue But then proceeded to call me and tell me that it was not going to happen. Yet again shedding more tears. So either she has absolutely no clue what she is talking about or the big boss who refuses to help out brides that are in desperate need. Truly not understanding why I am unable to exchange a brand new dress with tag still attached never worn and never altered For a dress that is $600 cheaper than that. I never expected them to refund me any money. I was OK with losing out on the $600.. So if you go here, hopefully you don’t expect to be taken care of.

I guess I’ll just add to this since whoever replied to me continued to be rude. Rose was the worker who helped me and my friends and she is the one who said “we will be able to help you and get the dress exchanged, I’ll tell my boss that you were crying your eyes out and I know that she will be okay with it” not sure what you consider false hope but to me that was it. When I emailed you about the exchange, which was almost a week ago, that was because it looked weird to me. Then when trying it on again my fiance walked in and saw it. So yes it was two separate occasions. Mind you, when I came into the store and found what I thought was my perfect dress on Monday, I had no idea that it was the same chain of store at all until the end when rose told me herself. Which is why he got me all excited because she realized that the dress still has tags, never worn and never altered. So if you need to disrespect anyone for “misunderstanding” then you do that, but everyone on google deserves to know how you guys treat your customers. Especially since I wasn’t even allowed to try the dress on in store when I purchased it, that should’ve been my...