Rough & Tumble — Local services in Portland

While the bags are made excellent and are high quality and fabulous, the customer service team is extremely lacking. I contacted them after my bag was stolen to see if they would honor the original sale price I purchased the bag for and they told me no, but this came after not being called back, was hung up on, my Facebook posts were deleted (and blocked fo making a very generic post) and e-mails simply not answered. For a local company they should think about treating their customers with respect. I conversation goes a long ways and this is not what I received. I was planning on replacing the bag I so dearly loved but after the treatment I have received I will take my money elsewhere...seabags, Alaina Marie, and Angela Adams all make high quality unique beautiful bags and I will support them day and night.

Very very disappointed...

As a note, I never yelled period, swore or was even remotely aggressive. I never EVER WENT INTO the store.

Here is the very nice e-mail I sent....

"Good Evening Natasha,

I am writing because I purchased a Medium size HP waxed cotton w/ leather bottom on July 8th, 2016 at a sale price of $229.99 with tax. At the time of the purchased I was so incredibly thrilled to be finally purchasing one of your handbags. I worked endlessly selling enough Pampered Chef as a side job to finally make this purchase. I was excited to be buying a quality made bag that was supporting a Maine local designer. Since that time, I have purchased several clutches and another handbag, I also turned my sister in-law into a Rough & Tumble lover.

Unfortunately on August 3rd, I ran into a pharmacy to grab a prescription for the children that I nanny for and someone broke into my car and stole my beloved bag. I am simply sick and heartbroken by this. I called to see if there was anyway that I could replace the bag at the sale price I purchased it for last year as you still have it on sale (just not as great of one) and Louise told me she could only give me $10 off, this was after telling me she would get back to me and never did, and then hanging up when I called. Now- I understand that this is not your issue, however, I would be forever grateful if you were willing to sell the bag to me at the sale price I originally purchased it for, I am willing to present you with the police report and the receipt. I literally loved this bag so much (I even have photo proof from a recent photo shoot I had done with my family, please see attached photos), it was the only one I used even thought my husband purchased me a sling cross-body in February. I am hoping to replace this as a birthday gift for myself. Thank you in advance!"

How is...

We have been Rough & Tumble customers since about 2008, when we walked into her first store in downtown Norway ME, we spoke with Natasha, the owner. That was the start of our purchases of her really nice, custom hand made bags with her sourced materials. I remember how prideful she was in sourcing what she was going to use. Now she carries a full line of bags, different sizes, styles, colors, and also her brand of wallets. My oldest daughter almost bought one, only thing missing is a brand ref or R&T mark on them. Even though my wife and kids have not used it, there is a designer station in this store, which is pictured and allows you to create a custom bag to your taste and liking. Signing up to their online email blasts, enables you to receive a discount code believe it’s 10% off on your next online purchase. Sorta hard to see or follow new releases of items as the social media presence appears to be a bit stale, only one of my messages over the past 2 days were answered, voicemails, and other outreach via social media requests have been unanswered. I did receive a rather quick response from Alayna, very much appreciated, Thank you. Early on we spoke about my company, shared some technical information with our online presence, eBay, Amazon and Etsy. Since then, I watched her company grow, never visiting the New Brunswick store mainly because of the distance. Overall my family certainly enjoys R&T bags, very durable and on this day, we left the store with a total of 5 bags for our own use.. I will state, the bags are very well built, well suited for every day use. Rough & Tumble knows their craft well. The new location from the old location, my first impression is certainly a lot more walking traffic out front even on this drizzly day as compared to the old location. Certainly more visible storefront, nice strategic location, right in the middle of the shops and stores that people continuously walk around. Lastly as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. You cannot go wrong with a Rough & Tumble item, it will outpace, outlast comparable items within its vertical. A 5 star for the products all the way, no question whatsoever, customer service needs to be more attentive. Great products, from Natasha...

I was so excited to have my new oilcloth leather combo large backpack for $300 . I took it out of the packaging and used it for one day, then noticed the seam had ripped . When I brought back to the store, 2 days later, I was told it was now considered a “used” bag — which, they would be happy to repair “ at no extra charge” I had been prepared to upgrade , but the customer service head, Jessica , would not even consider the thought —turning down a customer twice in the course of 2 mins, explaining to me that once again they.would be “happy to repair it at no extra charge”.there was no consideration on her behave of exchanging the bag! I’ve never in My life been so dismissed as a customer by gateway customer service manager. I’ve never had the experience of not being able to exchange a damaged item I JUST BOUGHT. I’m never buying another item again...