Elizabeth Johns — Local services in Harding Township

I cannot believe the incredibly rude encounter I just had with Melinda, the owner of this salon. In December, I ordered a very pricey ($450) flower girl dress for my daughter, which arrived in March for a May wedding. We went in for my daughter's fitting on March 11th and paid $100 up front for alterations. A few days later the world shut down for coronavirus and my brother decided to postpone his wedding until August, so I immediately called EJ to try and stop the alterations on the dress, as I wanted to be sure the dress would still fit in August. After checking with the seamstress, the woman on the phone assured me the dress had not yet been touched and she would put a note on it to hold off until our next fitting, which we scheduled for July. Unfortunately, in June, my brother's wedding was officially canceled for good. I called EJ and asked if the dress could be returned since the alterations had not been done. They explained the strict no return policy, which I accepted, as I had signed it when I purchased the dress. I was in the area today, and finally had some time to pick up the dress. When I went in, I explained to the women at the desk that I understand there are no refunds on the dress, but asked if it would be possible to refund the alteration fee of $100 since the work hadn't been done. When the woman brought the dress upstairs for me, she apologized and let me know that the alterations had, in fact, already been done, so she didn't think she could refund the cost. Once again, I explained that I had called a week after our appointment in March and was told they were not yet done and was assured that they would hold off until the next fitting. The woman called the seamstress who said no one ever told her not the alter the dress. They asked her when she did the work and she couldn't remember. Once again, I calmly explained my situation, so the women up front called the owner, Melinda, to come upstairs. This is where the experience turned sour. Melinda came up and said, with obvious intent to argue, "I understand you have an issue." I explained the situation and Melinda rudely responded, "Well, the work's been done so what do you want me to do about it?" Again, I let her know that I had called and was told the work had not been done and had asked to stop it. Melinda asked who I spoke to and I wasn't sure of her name. So she condescended to me, saying, "So, you don't know who you spoke to? It couldn't have been that important if you didn't get a name. I would've asked for a name and a confirmation email if something was important to me." I was taken aback and said, "I'm sorry. I'm not lying to you about this. I just trusted your people to actually do their job. I'm not sure why this is such an issue. I am not arguing about not being able to return the dress. But now I'm stuck with a $450 dress with a $100 alteration fee that my daughter isn't even going to wear." She looked at me coldly and responded, "So? I have women who have spent thousands of dollars in here and I can't help them either." I stayed calm and said, "As the owner of a business myself, I know everyone is losing money right now. Things are tough. But this is not the way to keep customers. I think you should be working with me on an acceptable resolution." She said, "I'm not going to engage in this anymore. We will give you back the $100." I thanked her and she started to go back downstairs, then turned back and said, "What business do you own?" I then told her the name. She asked me to repeat it and then snidely remarked, "Ok, I'll remember that...because I'm going to go write it down." Well, Melinda, I hope you enjoy this review. I'm going to be sure to write it down in as many places as possible, in the hopes that others will be forewarned of the rude and nasty owner they will deal with if they have any issues at all with their experience...

SECOND AND FINAL UPDATE: About two weeks after posting my review - Melinda, the owner, responded to my google review and asked that I reach out to her. Considering she had my name and info, I was a little put off that she would not just call me, but in the name of owning my negative review, I called her. I expressed my frustration with the process and while defensive, she ultimately took ownership of my negative experience and apologized. She initially offered to cover my dress preservation but I indicated I already preserved my dress and furthermore would not trust their handling of my dress further. Ultimately, Melinda and I agreed upon a refund of the almost $700 I paid in alterations. I received the check yesterday in the mail.

While I don't appreciate how I was treated with regards to the staff that handled my alterations, I do appreciate Melinda taking ownership and providing a refund. Accountability is important and I respect the fact that Melinda acknowledged the issue. I also want to note that Melinda never asked me to remove my review or update my review as a condition of receiving the refund. No business is perfect, and I hope Elizabeth Johns corrects the issue so no other bride goes through what I went through.

UPDATE: I wrote a review about a year ago about my experience working with Rachel at Elizabeth Johns. She was fantastic and I stand behind that, and she left between when I purchased my dress and when my dress arrived for alterations. From the moment I showed up for alterations once my dress arrived, it was just a nightmare. Google puts a character limit on their reviews, but the entire store is on my yelp review if you want to read the saga there. Basically, Elizabeth Johns recommended "delaying" my alterations until I was a month out because I was dieting, then crammed all of my alterations into one week due to the seamstress not finishing the work on time, did not tell me the work was not completed, had me come into the shop with no dress to try on, and ultimately my dress did not lay properly on the day of my wedding. The bodice of my dress did not lay flat (lace overlay) and it was a basic issue I raised at every single fitting that was simply overlooked. There was clearly an internal staffing issue going on between the seamstress and the staff that made it extremely uncomfortable, and language such as "we were going to rush to finish so you had something to try on" was used which was alarming considering this was a $5000 wedding dress, not a book report.

My advice would be avoid alterations through Elizabeth Johns at all costs; you're not getting any level of expertise by having the alterations done there, and they are not accommodating of your time. Once they have your money, all of the customer service goes out the window, and you likely won't get what you paid for. It's unfortunate because they carry many fabulous brands, but it is apparent their business model is simply get you through the door to make a purchase and then there's essential zero emphasis on bridal service or frankly any customer...

I am a mother of the groom; he is my only child. I adore him and his bride, my future daughter in love. I started looking for a dress online, I tried dresses on in department stores and bridal shops, and it was disappointing and frustrating. Then I walked into the magical world of Elizabeth Johns. I was met by smiles and warmth from everyone before I was introduced to my fairy godmother, Christine. From that moment on the entire experience was enchanting. Christine made me feel like an important part of this wedding and that we would work together to create the perfect look for me. Christine let me try on everything I wanted. She explained why some styles flattered while others just fell flat on me. Then ‘bipity bopity boop’ I had my Cinderella moment; it was on my bucket list and I didn’t even know it. Once we chose the dress and the material my vision of myself changed. I had never felt so beautiful. My husband had tears in his eyes when I said yes to the dress. I carried around a swatch of material. Looking at it made me smile. I was on pins and needles waiting to hear when she arrived. Christine helped with suggestions on shoes, jewelry, shapeware and followed up to make sure my dress was on time, the wedding was so soon. When my dress arrived and I saw her for the first time. She looked so big on the hanger and on me. But Christine had brought in a woman with magic hands and the ability to make your wishes come true, Tatiana, a woman who can spin gold out of straw Tatiana saw my vision, just as Christine had. She started pinning my dress and molding her to fit my body. Tatiana was the finishing touch turning me into the happiest women in the world. She even created a wrap out of the extra material from the hem. My husband came to the last fitting and had tears in his eyes again when he saw me. I had a smile so big it hurt my face. EVERYONE at the wedding mentioned how beautiful my dress was and how stunning I looked. The groomsmen caught their breath when I joined them for pictures. No one else had a dress like mine. They could not. She is one of a kind, material and dress made just for me. Whether you are the bride, the mother of the bride or groom, a guest, a debutant, a girl going to prom or just someone who really likes dressing for dinner, you will find the ensemble that shows how beautiful you really are at Elizabeth Johns. Everyone in the store becomes a part of your support system. The women who greet you at the door, stylists and seamstresses, always with a warm welcoming smile on every face made me feel like they were so happy to see me. And I thank them all for making me feel beautiful and special as mother of the groom. Sandra Desiderio...