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1. I can echo the unsatisfactory shopping experience many Louis Vuitton boutique customers worldwide have anecdotally reported. I have been wanting a classic Louis Vuitton monogram handbag for nearly 20 years, and I finally received one as a gift last week.

   The initial shopping impression was positive, but upon receipt I discovered that the bag I had received was defective insofar as the leather was visibly frayed along the handles where they attach to the base of the bag. The handles did not move easily because the leather was wound too tautly around the rings to which the handles are attached to the base of the bag.

   The sales associate was apologetic and willing to perform the exchange (I was not present). However, upon receipt, I again noticed a problem of an entirely different sort. First off, there was a black-brown stain nearly 1/4-inch in length. Upon closer examination I noted that adjacent to the mark the leather piping that rims the outer edges of the speedy-style bags in order to protect the canvas edges from exposure was sewn into the seam such that the leather, instead of being evenly exposed as with the balance of the trim, was eclipsed in canvas with only a thin sliver of the leather visible. This would place the point of wear-and-tear on the exposed canvas corner instead of on the leather edge as intended by design. As such, I deemed the seam, and the replacement product, in turn, also defective.

   I spent five years as a college and high school student working in a shoe and handbag sales and repair shop and during that time I took in many quality products for repair (people rarely take the time to repair inexpensive goods, but rather the items that are worth the trouble and cost). Louis Vuitton was not among the designer goods I took in for repair — ostensibly because they have their own repair facilities that they insist customers use — but many other international brands crossed my sales desk during those years running the shop while the proprietor took the day off. As such, I became accustomed to seeing how products wear, how they sometimes fail prematurely, what constitutes a “natural leather characteristic” vs. damage, and how a proper seam is stitched. So when I made the assessment that the workmanship of the first two US-made bags I had received was faulty, it is not an exaggeration to say that I did so with a higher degree of experience and certainty based upon prior professional experience in a sales and repair environment.

   Meanwhile, having heard the Internet rumors of lousy customer service at Louis Vuitton boutiques, I made the mistake of sending my fiancé to take care of the problem. Unfortunately, the SA that my fiancé had dealt with on two previous occassions was not present. Instead, my fiancé attempted to receive help from an available employee, a sales associate by the name of “Stephanie”, who nastily stated that the black-brown mark on the milky-white vachetta leather trim was a natural feature in the leather (a lie). Instead of a gracious, professional attitude, she offered a weak excuse that Louis Vuitton handbags are “handmade”, as if to suggest that handmade merchandise is not subject to quality control expectations (as a graphic artist and painter who has had work commissioned, I can also state from firsthand experience that I would never try to convince clients to accept shoddy work based on the explanation that my work is “handmade” — the price one pays is the price for skill, not inattention to detail.) Stephanie went on to say that if the products were not up to our “expectations” — standards that are incidentally no higher than those we hold for inexpensive leathergoods we might find in big-box department stores — that perhaps we could not be helped, and that our money should be returned (rather than the exchange my fiancé had requested). The SAs tone was so condenscending — this from a 20-something-year-old woman to a 46-year-old-man — that my fiancé was temporarily rendered speechless in dismay. This, shortly thereafter, was relayed to me via cell phone, at which point I requested to speak to the manager on duty. The leather goods manager who identified himself only as “John” then repeated the sales associate’s cynical opinion that store staff would be unable to help my fiance select a non-defective replacement unless I were physically present to chose from among “hundreds” of bags in their inventory.

   The message I received was twofold: First, Louis Vuitton boutique employees are not capable of competently assisting shoppers who are looking for gifts (remind them never to work in shops that sell engagement ring diamonds — those are even higher stakes and more demanding assistance positions as my fiance and myself know from recent firsthand experience). Second, we learned that Louis Vuitton employees apparently believe they are at liberty to reinvent store exchange policy at will insofar as they were unwilling to honor our desire for an exchange even though we were were well within the 14-day grace period during which to receive an exchange. So in the end, rather than honor store policy, of which no exchange limitation had been disclosed at the point of sale, my fiancé recounted how the staff snatched the bag he was attempting to replace and set it behind the counter only retreiving it for purposes of refunding his money, when what he wanted for the trouble of his third 60-mile round trip to the boutique was the courtesy of an apology and the professionalism to facilitate a no-hassle product replacement. Instead of the level of customer service one might expect shopping at retailers as modest as, say, KMART, the Louis Vuitton boutique leather goods manager took it upon himself to insert hard feelings and additional condition-of-sale hoops that we had to jump through in order to complete our business: namely, demanding my fiancé to leave empty handed with a resale conditional on returning a fourth time with myself in tow, who was by this time entirely flabbergasted and disgusted with their low class service, and fearful that complying with their condition-of-sale would result in a nasty scene of me yelling, crying or worse.

   Bottom line? Not only did this experience give us a horrible “first impression” of Louis Vuitton and their seemingly incompetent hiring and/or employee training practices, but it also destroyed the luxury goods mystic, conveying that one should NOT expect to get what one pays for when shopping at their boutiques (neither in service nor product quality). This nightmarish experience also destroyed the joy of a gift that was hard earned on the part of my fiancé, a luxury gift that was not merely the product of spare change rolling around in his working class pockets.

   How does my sorry experience relate to the post to which I am responding? As it so happens, I ran across the same author that the author of this post refers to, and in response someone posted earlier in mid June 2007 suggesting that perhaps LVMH has an unequal system of customer service — a theory that would explain the consistently poor service Louis Vuitton boutique patrons around the world have reported (abysmal service that apparently only improves in the presence of a bona fide celebrity, that is).

   I would like to take that person’s theory on the CustomerThink.com site a step further. What if the prevalence of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, or at least the perception of such, is driven by the fact that LV sales associates push inferior product on customers who are less likely to bring them frequent, repeat business (e.g. the middle class)? What if they reserve their first-quality merchandise for those who are wealthy in order to perpetuate the Louis Vuitton brand mystic, while providing lesser quality “grade B” merchandise to those customers whom they would prefer to dissociate from the brand?

   What I am postulating may run counter to prevailing wisdom as to why the counterfeit problem is so severe for LVMH in comparison to other luxury goods manufacturers, but between the lousy service and the patently unrealistic expectation that every LV product is perfectly manufactured at all times, it is quite possible that my expansion on the pre-existing unequal-service theory would explain the feeling many middle class owners of legitimate LV products report on the handbag and Internet blogs insofar as they speak of the impression that onlookers seemingly assume they are carrying a fake handbag even though they have purchased their Louis Vuitton products legitimately. Perhaps this perception is not accidental, assuming the handbag “undesirables” are sold are not up to the quality a more desirable customer would be accustomed to seeing and receiving. So while there are, indeed, many counterfeit Louis Vuitton handbags on the world market, it is perhaps equally possible that a portion of those seeming knockoffs are, in essence, legitimate products that Louis Vuitton intentionally passes off in hopes that their irregular merchandise will not be a financial loss, but rather will be perceived by their target customers as counterfeit so that only those items that are flawlessly constructed will be the items upon which the wealthy and elite base their product opinions and brand loyalty upon.

   It may be a long shot, but it is my opinion that an investigative business reporter or intrepid student should look into the possibility that a two-tiered customer service policy does, in fact, exist at LV boutiques. Reporter or not, I suggest that anyone who is willing to come back and report their experience seek employment at a Louis Vuitton boutique for the purpose of learning whether or not employees are indoctrinated into providing lesser service, if not lesser quality products, to non-targeted, non-desirable LVMH consumers. Why? Because if the poor service that customers at LV boutiques worldwide apparently experience is indeed correct, than the “bad attitudes” of boutique employees are unlikely to be the product of sheer coincidence. Where a pattern exists, one must acknowledge, after all, the possibility of intention by design. As such, it may well be that LVMH does not want their store employees to provide a quality shopping experience to customers on an equal basis. If this is so, LVMH employees, in turn, may be hired and/or trained for their ability to act rudely and argumentatively as a means to drive off undesired and frequently middle class shoppers.

   If anyone has worked for a Louis Vuitton boutique, perhaps they can confirm whether the poor service patrons such as myself report is by design or by incompetence on the part of poorly selected staff.

   Comment by anon — July 1, 2007 @ 11:46 pm

2. Wow, thank you for this detailed and very informative account of your experience with Louis Vuitton. I’m sad that the supposedly high-end brand that is LV has a lousy customer service. Let me pluck out your story from this comment page so that more people can read this.

   Comment by meikah — July 2, 2007 @ 9:06 pm

3. You’re welcome, meikah. I am glad to share my experience if it means that in the long run LVMH will see the need to improve employee selection and training.

   Comment by anon — July 3, 2007 @ 12:39 pm

4. That’s the purpose of this blog, really. To let companies know how their customers feel about their service.

   Comment by meikah — July 3, 2007 @ 6:53 pm

5. I can relate to your experience perfectly. I had just experienced a similar nightmare.
   I purchased a NeverFull Mid Size Louis Vuitton bag at Houston Texas Galleria Louis Vuitton boutique on Jul 4, 07 around 3pm.
   When I was ready with the purchase, the sale clerk named Zohre pulled out the Neverfull bag from the dust bag. I glanced quickly at it before she rung up my purchase. After rung me up, she then put it back inside the dust bag, asked me to wait, and brought the bag (with the dust bag) inside (out of my sight). Then she came back out and set it inside the shopping back before handed to me. Trusted the brand-name store, I had not carefully inspected the bag other than a quick glance when the sale clerk rung it up.
   That evening I had realized that I would want a hobo bag instead. So I brought back the bag the very next day around 5 pm with intention to exchange for a same size hobo bag. The good size hobo bag I like has been discontinued. So, I asked to have a refund. An associate manager named Linda took my returned bag inside (where I would not see her) for about 10 minutes. She came back and said she coudnot take the bag back since it was not in original condition. I was speechless for a minute or so and said yes it was. I didnot touch or do anything to it so it had to be in original condition! She pointed out a 1/8 inch mark on top of the adjusted side trap. From the time the sale clerk handed me the purchase, I had not touched it. They had sold me a defective bag! I requested to speak to another manager. A manager named Yvett bluntly told me the same thing that they would not take it back since it was not in original condition and that she reviewed the store video to make sure the sale clerk had followed the correct procedure. At this point, I asked her if she had a vedio of the bag inside out before she sold me. She said no. I then said so how do you know if this bag didnot have the ink mark before it was sold to me. Of course she did not have the answer. They handed me the customer relation’s phone number. I called right away when I was still at the store. A customer specialist named Chevron took the call. She listened to my nighmare and asked for my phone number to call back after she talked to the management team. I stood there waiting. After around 10 minutes, she called back. She said after listened to managers Yvette and Linda, she could not help since the bag was not in the original condition. I said you didnot have anything to prove that the bag was in ‘the original condition’ before it’s sold to me nor your store had a sign to tell customers to inspect their purchase inside out before leaving the store. Looking at the situation, it could fall either way. They rather give their team benefit of the doubt than consider their customer!
   After reading Anon’s comment, I am convinced that they had sold me a defective bag. Maybe I don’t look like one of their prefered middle class customer (I had dressed very casually that day;my husband and I were taking our children to the mall)and they tried to get rid of their defective bags to undesired shoppers (consistently with other comments regarding their tiered customer service).
   I had read Anon’s comment earlier, I would never shopped in an Louis Vuitton boutique nor buy any LV product. What I experienced is unethical and no different than fraudulent. THe story has not ended yet. I could not sleep for 2 nights thinking of what happened. It has caused me mental distress. I decided I won’t stop until my voice is heard. Yesterday (Jul 9, 07) , I called their customer service again. This time a lady name Mikka took the call. She called me back after around 2 hours and guess what! After talking to managers Yvett and Linda, another supervisor and herself could not disagree with their management team. She mentioned managers Yvett and Linda said there was a little scratch too. THey had never told me that except the ink mark. What else can they come up with? She was very courtious but I was not satisfied since I was robbed my hard earned money for a defective bag and have suffered from mental distress since that day. I could not concentrate to work nor do anything completely. Louis Vuitton has created an ill will with customer so I have no choice but seek for assistance further. I had asked for the regional manager name. Ms. Mikka didnot give me one but would file a formal complaint on my behalf. I asked for a copy of the complaint but she said it’s confidental. I insisted that I would like to know the protocol to plan my next course of actions. She would take my personal complaint letter (I will fax to her soon) and attached to her formal complaint. THey will have 2 weeks to investigate before my complaint is escalated.
   I will not stop even if I need to contact upper managements, consumer advocates, the press or court to demand my justice. Louis Vuitton should stand by their 100 % customer satisfaction and return my money.

   Comment by Darlene — July 10, 2007 @ 9:07 am

6. Hi, Darlene, thank you for sharing your experience here. I really hope we’ll get some answers from LV or better yet, they will listen to their customers and give exceptional customer service–the kind of service that would match their high-end product or reputation.

   Comment by meikah — July 10, 2007 @ 7:48 pm

7. […] meikah: Hi, Darlene, thank you for sharing your… […]

   Pingback by CustServ: Customer Relations: The New Competitive Edge — July 10, 2007 @ 9:34 pm

8. I have purchased numerous products from Louis Vuitton, and was never treated the way I was treated yesterday at Louis Vuitton in Manhasset, New York. I purchased the Damier Azur Speedy late April and have worn it a handful of times. Last week I noticed a flaw on the bag. Questioning what was this flaw on my bag, I returned to the store where I purchased the item. I was confronted by a saleswoman who accused me of getting either paint or white-out on my bag; I can assure you I do not come in regular contact with either product. When I stated there was a flaw with the bag, I was informed LV never produced any bags with flaws. I further stated that the discoloration at question was the same color as the bag and not in one particluar area, but on various parts of the bag. Regardless, I brushed off and dismissed.. literally, the woman walked away from me. I spoke to a “manager” who agreed with the saleswoman.. yet he stated that he was assuming that the bag had “something” on it and he was not an expert and also walked away from me. When I called the 800 number given to me, I felt alienated once again. The customer service representative did nothing but support the saleswoman’s decision… constantly telling me there was nothing I could do. I am definitely boycotting LV and encourage everyone else to do so. Darlene, please advise if you get any response as I will once I try to find the next course of action.

   Comment by Holly — July 11, 2007 @ 3:48 am

9. Hi, Holly! I’m surprised at your stories. I hope we’ll get to LV’s executives soon.

   Comment by meikah — July 11, 2007 @ 6:36 pm

10. Holly,
    I will update with the lastest once I receive. In the mean time, you should contact their customer service again. Ask for regional manager. Find out what their head quarter address is and send a certified mail as a formal complaint. Let them know that you are carbon copying other parties (BBB, credit card company if you pay by credit card, a consumer advocate agency or any agency you can seek assistance from to track down a solution). Please keep us updated and good luck.

    Comment by Darlene — July 12, 2007 @ 7:41 am

11. I can’t agree with you all more! I purchased an EPI wallet for my husband and the stitching came apart after a few uses - and this was his “going out wallet”! Brought it back to the Bal Harbour store in FL and was treated fairly well - no replacement was given but it was sent off to their repair shop and “it would be repaired”. Well, I received a call yesterday from a SA - Manny - who reports I would need to pick it up as it was “unable to be repaired” even though I had been assured it would be. When I asked for the DM of the SE i was informed “that information was not available”. I called the customer service line and was also informed no name/conatct number would be made available but a “formal complaint” could be written up - I was so disgusted at that point I hung up. I went on-line to numerous websites looking for a corporate listing/directory - no info - no wonder - if this is the pathetic and worthless type of “customer service” they extend it’s no surprise LV doens’t want that info to be readily available to the public. Like my husband said - no wonder so many people buy the fakes - at least it doens’t hurt you as badly if it falls apart and you don’t have to deal with a bunch of SA’s who are automatons - I will never buy another LV product ever again and I have told all my frineds/colleagues to do the same.

    Comment by SHARON — July 12, 2007 @ 8:51 am

12. Hi, Sharon! Thanks for joining in the conversation. Honestly, I never thought customer service at LV is this bad. I’m really sad for them.

    Comment by meikah — July 12, 2007 @ 7:23 pm

13. Ladies,
    You can send your certified complaint letter to:
    Louis Vuitton North America Headquarters
    19 East 57th Street
    New York, NY 10022

    Comment by Darlene — July 13, 2007 @ 12:04 pm

14. Good work, Darlene. Thanks for the info! Let me know if you hear form LV.

    Comment by meikah — July 15, 2007 @ 6:24 pm

15. I posted this on Maria’s blog:

    I’ve been in the LV store before with my dad, by myself, and then with my girlfriend. When I was with my dad, we instantly got more attention. When I was with my girlfriend (both of us are younger than the average LV customer I’m sure), we had to find someone. It’s very different than Nordstrom, where anyone is glad to help you if they’re around.

    Comment by Service Untitled — July 21, 2007 @ 8:00 am

16. Thanks, Doug, for joining in the conversation. I really hope LV can improve their customer service.

    Comment by meikah — July 22, 2007 @ 6:13 pm

17. LV gave me the worst shopping experience ever. A month ago I walked in this LV store with my girlfriend after a day of sightseeing. We really tried hard to get some attention but all the sales reps were so concentrated on their other much valued customers that we constantly got the answer “nor” when we tried to ask for assistance. We’re a young couple and that might be why we received little or no attention, yet this rap DID see/scold me at the moment I picked up a bag on display then purposedly put in down flat.

    Anyways, all these raps kept on ignoring us and kept serving the people who arrived AFTER we did. After 20, 30 minutes, I could not longer hold my patience/rage that I had to stop this blonde lady from approaching a free rap and told this salesperson that I have been waiting for a very long time for service and it’s about the time for me to get something that resembles it.

    My girlfriend asked for this mini bag and a strap (sold seperately) and they were shown to us. When I pull out the wallet, however, the sales rap said she could sell us the bag but not the strap because it is the last one. At that moment I was so pissed that I start to argue with the rap, that if the item was not avail for sales, why did she show us that in the first place? And, even they are sold seperately the two items do come in a pair. I asked her when was the last time she receive just ONE shoe when she went shop for a new pair? And, if they needed to display all the things they sell, why did they ever need a catalogue in store? Initially she insisted she could not sell us the strap (because of the ridiculous reason of “reserved for display”) but it became available all in a sudden as my complain became more fierce.

    The story does not end here, still. After the payment was made, we inspected the bag just to find that the attached padlock cannot be unlocked by the keys that came with it. We asked for an exchange and guess what, the sales rap said they can only CUT OPEN the padlock! We then asked for an exchange and only received another bag with a slightly rusted padlock. We asked for another one again, yet they said it again “it is the last one in stock”. By that time me and my girlfriend were so sicked at all the bad service that we only wanted to get out of the store, so we seeked for nothing more. (she has a spare LV padlock herself, anyways). As I learned earlier, it’s totally useless to make any complain to the LV management people as they just don’t care unless I was a big shot. What I am going to do next is simple - boycott LV for life.

    Anyways, I hate this brand.

    Comment by Terry — August 16, 2007 @ 5:39 pm

18. Darlene,

    I am sooooo sorry to hear of your experience with the exchange/return that the Louis Vuitton store management denied you after you attempted to return your Neverfull handbag to the boutique the day after purchase. Perhaps there is a law on the books in your state about honoring return policies or at least printing or posting an unabridged return/exchange statement in the interest of full disclosure at the point of sale? It might be worth checking into…. In any event, I had the feeling that the LVMH customer relations hotline would be useless if one were to complain of a poor shopping experience, and your report that their phone reps sided with the boutique staff over your objections confirms my impression that LVMH does not empower their employees to do anything but tow the store-manager line. On the other hand, if there is a video of them selling you the bag without the SA or yourself having looked it over before boxing and bagging the purchase, than I would say it makes the case in YOUR favor because nobody can say, “See you checked it out for yourself before you paid for it, and took receipt of it ‘as is’,” or see “The SA inspected it for you and can vouch for it being in flawless condition without the mark you claim was already there.” On a related note is whether or not they disclose that they video tape transactions. I could be mistaken, but in some states I believe that establishments are supposed to post a sign to the effect that those who enter are under electronic surveillance. If they didn’t post a sign to that effect, it might be a new angle to approach it from (I’m not an attorney, but it is a thought if you are serious about pursing accountability).

    One option, which I am personally considering, is to approach a state-run consumer affairs office or contact a consumer agency such as the Better Business Bureau to file a formal complaint. In fact, I would recommend that everyone who experiences a problem follow through to the point where it is officially documented either internally (by trying to reach a LVMH district manager and writing a certified letter as suggested above ) or with an outside consumer protection agency.

    My guess, though, is that LVMH are betting that unsatisfied customers will be too frustrated to concentrate on their infuriating situation long enough to make sure that it is formally documented by the BBB or the like. Sharing on the Internet is a good first step, though — and much better than letting them get away with misrepresentations of their return/exchange policy or the like. If nothing more, however, I would also dispute the charge with your credit card company, assuming you used a credit card to pay for your LV handbag (you always should use a credit card for a major purchase for this very reason).

    As for my own horrific first impression of LV products/practices, here’s an update:

    In case you don’t recognize it, I am “Anon”, who posted a reply to this topic initially because I was mortified to realize that this luxury brand seemingly has lower customer satisfaction expectations of their products and their employees than some discount chain stores that come to mind. My story doesn’t end where I left off in my first post. I ended up going to another boutique after discovering that my second exchange had slipped stitch on the handle that resulted in a puncture, which in turn left a loose leather flap sticking up ready to peel under normal use (since it would come into contact with my hand where it would have undoubtedly rubbed an even larger hole over time). Realizing what I should have figured out earlier, I began documenting the problems with my digital camera in preparation for a formal complaint. I also, meanwhile, decided to take the advice of the store manager I mentioned in my first post, and for the first time since the ordeal started I accompanied my fiancé to the boutique. (You may recall that I wasn’t with him initially because it was a surprise GIFT and because, as new customers, neither my fiancé nor myself, realized that selecting a non-damaged, non-defective replacement in the style we were attempting to purchase would amount to searching for a needle in a hay stack.)

    In selecting a replacement bag, I checked all the areas for problems — but one. When I got home I realized my mistake: Under the leather tab they had printed the wrong model number (a 30 instead of a 25)! These are the kind of mistakes one would associate with a … FAKE Louis Vuitton handbag. Given the natural assumption that a real LV handbag would never be so obviously flawed, I realized, also, that if I kept the bag it would have no resell value unlike the many 10-20-year-old vintage bags that are still going for $300+ on eBay. Calling back the same day I had returned home from the boutique to report the wrongly marked bag, the SA was genuinely apologetic and encouraged us to feel free to do an exchange. We then asked when he would next be in so that we could specifically deal with him upon our return a few days later.

    Given my considerable difficulty with previous bags, I wanted to compare several bags side-by-side to make sure they didn’t have misaligned tabs, scuff marks on the piping, bad seams, etc. There were few other customers in the store at the time we arrived for an exchange, but yet the SA told me that he was not supposed to allow customers to compare merchandise side-by-side (although at no time did I compare more than three bags simultaneously). So nervous was he, that he excused himself for lunch a mere 30 minutes into his shift (leaving my fiancé and I to be helped less than 10 minutes after we arrived at the store by an SA who willingly brought us out comparison bags whenever we could draw her away from her chit-chat with another employee). At last, all seemed well and good with the replacement — until, again, I got home and noticed something I could never have hoped to see. I picked the bag up by the handles and I felt a 3″ area along the dyed red edge that was very rough. I took a couple of snapshots with my digital camera and upon zooming in I could see why the leather was rough. The red dye was too narrow to cover the edges of the leather. So instead of being sealed by the red edge treatment, the leather was exposed. And it felt rough because it had begun to FLAKE. Yes, it was a peeling disaster in the making. One that a visual inspection alone would not detect, but a touch of the hand immediately revealed. Again, a new problem. Another area of the bag. Equally serious implications. This time the bag went back, and I was faced with the prospect of doing yet another exchange. This time a different SA was present. But looking into her computerized customer dossier, she announced that an exchange would be permitted but that no return or exchange would be allowed after I left the store because I had already done “four exchanges” (apparently our digital dossier made no attempt to distinguish between problems outside our control, like merchandise sold to my fiancé without offering him the chance to inspect it before they boxed the STAINED/FRAYING bag up — his 1st ever purchase — or the exchange necessitated by the fact that the bag we had been sold was incorrectly labeled during manufacturing, also no fault of our own).

    Well, upon hearing that our return/exchange option would be revoked as if to suggest we had willed this nightmare upon ourselves when, in fact, it was precisely the opposite — our time and money making repeated 60-mile round trips due to LVMHs infantile conception of quality control — we returned the handbag we had intended to exchanged and walked out empty handed. We haven’t been back, and don’t intend to. Thus ends my 20-year dream to own a genuine LV handbag. And thus begins the effort to make sure that everyone who has been similarly harmed realizes they are not alone, and that they have a constitutionally-protected right to share their own opinions and experiences about this so-called luxury brand.

    Comment by Anon — August 20, 2007 @ 10:32 pm

19. Wow, Anon (I wish I knew your name!). I’m sorry to hear about this nightmare with LV the second time around. I’m trying to make your experiences known to LV management. I hope we’ll get there. Thanks for opening up to me!

    Comment by meikah — August 21, 2007 @ 2:17 am

20. I just purchased a LV piece from the Champs-Elysees store in Paris while I was on vacation in August 07. I spent 1,370 euros which is the equivalent of almost $2,000 and there was slight scuff marks on the edges of my bag. Well, I contacted the Houston Galleria store upon return to the US and advised what took place. Long story short I spoke to Chevon too, Meeka, Eva, and ultimately Jennifer who is the North America Manager for LV. They refused to repair, exchange or refund my money. I suggest that we all get together and sue LV for poor business practices. Well, this is short because I am in the process of filing a complaint at the BBB in regards to this situation. I encourage all of you to complain to the BBB and use the LV address for Customer Relations. The website address to launch your complaint is www.bbb.org. If you paid for it using your VISA make them aware that you were sold a defective bag and the vendor is refusing to give you back your monies. With enough complaints LV could loose thier VISA privaleges eventually. I have started the process with my bank and they will end up in arbitration.

    Comment by Shareen — August 21, 2007 @ 5:08 pm

21. Ladies and Gents:

    Feel free to contact the North America Customer Relations at 866/884-8866 and ask for Jennifer who is the North America Manager for Louis Vuitton. Be sure to send my regards too:) I would like for all of who have been impacted/duped to support each other by launching a class action suit against Louis Vuitton. What they are doing is not fair to thier customers. It’s not fair that Louis Vuitton can take our money but when we address a valid concern they turn the other way. I just opened an email account: lvcustomer@gmail.com in which I’m gathering information and contacting others in hopes to make each of us whole again. I don’t know about you but I’m out $2,000 and have defective bag!!!!

    Comment by Shareen — August 21, 2007 @ 8:13 pm

22. Hi, Shareen, good job! I’m going to pluck this info out of the comment page so that more people can read it. Thank you!

    Comment by meikah — August 21, 2007 @ 11:01 pm

23. […] meikah: Hi, Shareen, good job! I’m going to pluck… […]

    Pingback by CustServ: Customer Relations: The New Competitive Edge — August 21, 2007 @ 11:14 pm

24. Even though we have all shared in the same horrible treatment with LV, it’s reassuring to know that I wasn’t losing it; like LV would have liked for me to think, when I declared my LV purchase as defective. Shareen, please feel free to contact me at hjafer@yahoo.com. I would like to assist in the war against LV!!!

    Comment by Holly — August 22, 2007 @ 3:40 am

25. Hello all. This is Darlene again. I sent Mr. Daniel Lalonde, President & CEO
    Louis Vuitton North America Headquarters
    19 East 57th Street
    New York, NY 10022
    a certified letter detailed the situation and demanded my $ back. He responded that after conferred the managers, he couldnot offer the refund since the company’s policy does not take back item which is not in pristine, resalable condition (which is the same condition LV sold to their customer). It is so absurd that the Louis Vuitton’s CEO and customer relations cannot resolve a fair complain. Their quality control failed miserablly but they kept denying the problem. After all, we pay high price for good quality and excellent customer service. I had received neither! I am willing to help with the class action law suit. Please keep in touch.

    Comment by Darlene — August 22, 2007 @ 1:56 pm

26. Holly- I’m looking forward to hear about your experience today in contacting Jennifer. Darlene- Although you didn’t get the response you wanted, they responded in writing and admitted that they were not going to issue a refund. These are the kind of things that we all need to get from LV. Verbal exchange becomes a he said/she said type of deal. I’m in the process of drafting my formal letter and will request a written response from Louis Vuitton as to why they are unable to exchange, repair or refund my money. I spoke to a representative of a company (unable to say) and they have a very close working relationship with LV. Once I get an update, I will advise of the outcome. I’m serious about the class action law suit though. It’s important to note that this type of lawsuit doesn’t happen overnight either. This could drag on but I really don’t care. The facts are present and not much investigation but need more people to address thier concerns. I have telephone records from my repeated calls to LV, receipts, names of people I have talked to, pictures of the item, blog entries such as these where similar scenerios have occurred. It would be nice if this could be a team effort in which one person is responsible for research/contact with other people/etc. This is taking me back 5 years ago to college (Go Noles) when I was working on class projects. Feel free to contact me at LVcustomer@gmail.com. That email address was created yesterday to address the volume of complaints from people like you and me.

    Comment by Shareen — August 22, 2007 @ 5:21 pm

27. Anon- please contact me via email as I’m very interested in your thoughts. Again, the email address is: lvcustomer@gmail.com

    Comment by Shareen — August 22, 2007 @ 5:45 pm

28. I sent my LV bag to the LV store in New Jersey, where purchased, for repair. The lining has begun to rip, and I wanted it replaced. I was told that upon inspecting the bag it was over 50% damage, therefore no repair could be done.

    1. Upon my inspection, I couldn’t find 50% damage, and I don’t think the service rep. did either.
    2. I don’t believe that the bag can’t be repaired, and don’t understand why it wasn’t shipped out for repair.
    3. I will never buy another LV.

    Comment by BJ — August 23, 2007 @ 9:20 am

29. Hi BJ- That’s unforunate that happened to you but apparently it’s LV customs. I encourage you to file a complain at the BBBwebsite which is www.bbb.org even if it’s a 3 liner. Write a letter of complaint and contact Jennifer at 866 LV number-she is the manager of LV North America Customer Relations.

    Comment by Shareen — August 25, 2007 @ 9:44 pm

30. I purchased a mini-malle amethyst trunk ring a few years ago from the New York Flagship store. It is also defective. This ring BREAKS. It has been worn about 5 times in its three years and has broken twice (the first time within 6 months of purchase.) The customer service has been ATROCIOUS. They tried charging me for the first repair (which did not work as I threatened to return the ring entirely) and now are unwilling to listen or deal with me when it has chipped down to the CORE of the ring yet again. Like you all, I am out the money but will file complaints as you have suggested and am willing to participate in any suit needed as I have documentation of all the problems with this item. Thank you for your comments.

    Comment by Keturah — September 6, 2007 @ 1:10 am

31. As a response for my above comments, I was at last, this morning, able to come to an agreement for return of my ring to the store purchased at, in exchange for a credit. I emailed photos of the damaged item to the department manager, and he agreed that this ring had been a disappointment for me. I was happy that the store was finally willing to live up to its name even though it took a long time to do so for me.

    Comment by Keturah — September 6, 2007 @ 10:47 am

32. Thanks for sharing your experience, Keturah! I’m glad, you got the service you deserve from LV. I hope the others will have the same good experience soon.

    Comment by meikah — September 8, 2007 @ 4:53 am

33. […] Meikah Delid What’s Customer Service Experience Like at Louis Vuitton? […]

    Pingback by Comments 441- 680+: 34 Links from Successful and Outstanding Bloggers - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. — November 1, 2007 @ 9:32 am

34. I have shopped at the LV store in Raleigh, NC
    many times. I am OCD and can find a flaw in almost any LV bag. I went to the store to make an exchange on a bag that had a flaw and a stain developed on the inside of the unused bag that had not been there before (maybe from being in the box tightly?) They swichted it out for me, I guess knowing I am a regular customer.

    I also wanted to share a sure way to remove stains from the leather on the LV bags… A pencil eraser! Use a clean white pencil eraser to remove almost any stain. I have gotten out scratches, denim dye, some sort of oily substance, and paint.

    So if you get an LV with a spot on it and they won’t take it back try an eraser!

    Comment by ash — March 17, 2008 @ 4:13 pm

35. Hello, it’s been awhile but I wanted to share with all of you guys that my struggle with LV has finally been resolved. I worked everything out with the local LV store whom was very responsive (Fashion Square-Scottsdale, AZ). I’m torn because I had a really positive experience with this store but horrible with the customer relations dept, corp, and hosuton lv store.

    Comment by Shareen Anderson — March 23, 2008 @ 10:56 pm

36. I can’t believe what i’m reading. Louis Vuitton customers have no rights what-so-ever and I am NEVER purchasing from them ever again!

    I bought a bag at the San Francisco Bloomingdales L.V. store. With 14 days to return or exchange, I wanted to exchange the bag for something else because they had sold me a defective bad. So I returned 2 days later and I spoke with the manager named Juan and I could not believe how they belittle their customers. He said that they did not sell me a bag with a very small (1 mm) scruff on the side. He said that he could not take the bag back because it is not re-sellable. I was so angry, but I kept my composure. I asked if there was anything I could do, and he said that I had done something to the bag and that it was my problem. I never even used the damn bag and the tags were still attached!

    I’m going to file a complaint. I am a customer and I have rights, especially when it was charged to my bloomingdales card and customer service said that they could not help me!

    I know where everyone is coming from on this site. I’m in shock and disbelief. Thank goodness someone out there understands how I feel!

    Comment by Joyce Francisco — April 28, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

37. Hi, Joyce! I’m sorry to hear about your experience with LV. I can’t believe really that they treat their customers that way. Sad because they’re a popular brand! I hope you find justice there.

    Comment by meikah — April 28, 2008 @ 6:37 pm

38. I have to say, I will never EVER buy LV again. I have 7 LV bags, my last purchase was in May, 7 days later, I tried to return it. Guess what………… I was unable too, it was “used”…. I never once used it, the color of the bag was “oxidized”, let me tell you, of all my bags, never once has this happened and dealing with LV stores, Customer Service etc… I have had it. I sent it in and after being sent all over the place, them having my bag for (3 weeks) now, I am not a happy customer at all. I am filing suit because the condition of the bag when I looked at it in the store was not what I received when I came home. They stated that they had camera’s to show that is was the same bag. If so, let me see the camera.

    They also stated that the bag might have oxsidized (sp) that quick due to the oils in my skin…. ha! That was a good one.

    Needless to say, I will NEVER buy a bag, I will ask my friends to never buy the bags, send out blogs, etc. I am also sending the better business bureau all the information I have gathered, I will not stop until I see LV lose much business.

    I have gotten 2 beautiful bags last week from Gucci, they are my new store for handbags, go read the customer service from Gucci… RAVE REVIEWS! Now that is how I want to be treated. Gucci, you have won a new customer, I purchase 4-5 bags a year, ranging from $800-$3000.00, so thank you for your AWESOME customer service.

    Comment by Suse — July 3, 2008 @ 7:38 am

39. I was a loyal LV shopper for the past few years. I have several purses, luggage, and shoes. 2 years ago I bought a pair of sunglasses for $525. Recently the lens popped out and broke. I called customer service, explained the situation, and they told me to take it to my local store.I took it into the Denver store.

    The girl had no idea what to do and called various stores, customer service, no one had an answer. The girl said she would call me tomorrow when she talked to someone at corporate (it was a weekend when I took them in)

    5 days went by and I heard nothing. I called and asked for the manager. She said they hadn’t heard anything yet. The manager called me today and said they couldn’t repair them as they don’t fix lenses. I asked “So I’m out $525?” and she responded “Yes, I guess so.”

    I asked where she would suggest I take them to get repaired. She said try a sunglass shop in the mall, perhaps they can help. I was livid and called customer service. The customer service girl, Stephanie, said she had to call Denver to get the story and would call me back.

    10 minutes later she called me back and said that Denver/Corporate deemed there was nothing they could do for me. She said they can’t fix sunglasses since they have been through “a lot of use”. So, LV sunglasses are only suppose to last 2 years? I have Prada and Coach sunglasses and have never, ever had a problem with them! They are 5+ years old.

    I asked what was the purpose of selling sunglasses if they couldn’t repair them. She then tried to tell me to try Sunglass Hut to repair them. I said I wanted LV lenses and that I would no longer be spending money with them. She was very phony and I ended up hanging up on her.

    I was in retail management for several years at Gap and Target. Now those stores are not as “high end” as LV, but we did everything we could to make the customer happy. I am appalled that a discount retailer gives better service than a luxury designer store! It’s ludacris!

    I have a wallet fro LV that needs to get stitched but I will take it a tailor. I have to go pick up my sunglasses today that they can’t fix and I’m afraid I’m going to go off on them. I am so angry! I won’t let it go. I’m fighting this to the top!!!

    Comment by Emma — October 2, 2008 @ 11:45 am

40. Emma, I’m so sorry to hear about this. Yeah, as customers we should learn to exercise our right as a consumer! Best of luck to you.

    Comment by meikah — October 5, 2008 @ 10:51 pm

41. I can relate to anyone who had bad customer service at the LV stores. My sister bought a $400 wallet at the Austin, TX LV store for her husband and he didn’t like it because of the size. They own a business and couldn’t find the time to return it until a week later. When they went to the LV store the SA, Alex, was a snob and he refuses to accept the return because “it was not in perfect resale condition.” WTF! My sister told me about the situation so I returned to LV with her later that day. I talked to Alex and he agreed that the wallet did not look used but it was not perfect, the leather was “wavy” which can be caused by Texas heat. He also said that my brother in-law (who was not present at the time) admitted he left the shopping bag in the car. I told Alex that I no longer want to talk to him and asked for his manager’s card. I went home and wrote a complaint letter to the store manager. A couple of days later, the assistant manager called me back, he told me he spoke to Alex about the incident and he cannot accept the return based on what Alex said. The assistant manager was not apologetic nor did he offer to take a look at the wallet. During our conversation, I told him that there was no discretion in the store about heat damage and asked him for a copy of the return policy. He referred me to the customer service number because he said it is company’s policy and he cannot disclose the return policy. Maybe LV have something to hide, maybe they’re using the same generic excuses to deny customers from returning those cheap craftsmanship handbags. I called the customer service number and asked for the address to customer relations. I sent my second complaint letter to LV and I’m waiting for their response. I’m a paralegal and I’ve discuss the situation with my attorney. He told me that he will send them a formal letter if he needs to. I’m prepared to file a lawsuit against LV if necessary. LV needs a slap in the face reality check; they can’t continue to treat their customers this way. My sister and I used to be loyal LV customers but after this incident, we will never buy anything from them again. I don’t want to pay for an expensive handbag that’s going to be damage by indirect heat anyways. I rather shop at Gucci or Chanel from now on. I say we should all boycott LV.

    Comment by Tracey — October 11, 2008 @ 8:52 pm

42. Hi all…

    Darlene.. I have been so busy, that I forgot to post my “last” episode with LV. I called the 800 #, brought the bag to another LV store, which then sent the bag out to their “repairs HQ”. They expected me to pay for the shipment of the bag back to me, but I got them to eat that!!!! YEAHHHH for something. WELL… we all know the outcome… HQ found that LV was not at fault with the bag, and they produced a results report which I couldn’t see or get a copy of- nor would the manager of the LV store where I dropped my bag off even tell me anything other than that they weren’t at all. After this, I vowed to spread the word on this evil company, LV and to boycott them. They really don’t care and will never do anything for their customers. It’s like roulette… they sell x amount and take their chances on which ones are shotty, which the ratio is prob lower than the amount they sell. I encouarage everyone to continue their boycott. Whether or not we make a dent in their business is prob not foreseen, but it’s great to put your foot down after being mocked by this “luxury” monkey.

    Comment by Holly — October 13, 2008 @ 5:47 am

43. I am “Anon” of the first post, and while it has been quite some time since I related my frustration with LVMH as the worst possible customer service and product quality let down I have ever experienced bar none, my disappointment with LVMH has yet to fade.

    From time to time I continue to check this expanding discussion and would like to say how grateful I am to Meikah for allowing continuing comment.

    Having read Tracey and Holly’s posts, I wholeheartedly agree that legal action, preferably class action, would be ideal.

    At minimum, Louis Vuitton ought to be under some obligation to document their warranty or their return and exchange policy in writing. I am not an attorney but when you implicitly state to a customer that there is a 14 day return/exchange period and/or suggest that the product has a warranty it constitutes a verbal contract. If no preconditions or disclosures are made, they cannot retroactively enforce them. And if a patron should ask for any of the above in writing, it should be provided under the law!

    As for customer service practices, I have yet to hear of an incident where a store manager did NOT agree with the decision an SA has made against a patron’s wishes. It would be interesting to know someone on the “inside” of LV, perhaps a former employee, would weigh in on the discussion to indicate just how best to go about getting a resolution, what to say and what not to say, and whether or not employees have their hands tied from their corporate overlords.

    It would not surprise me if boutique managers have no more latitude above and beyond that which an entry-level SA has. Under LVMH’s structure, a manager may be to a boutique what a placebo is to a doctor’s patient. It’s just for show, for scheduling when the employees are to arrive at work that week — and little else.

    But what we all need most are solutions. I applaud those of you who have not only posted here but have composed a letter of complaint. Nothing will change until more of us write letters!

    So it would appear that we need a strategy in order for our voices to be heard.

    1. Register your complaint with the boutique.
    2. If that doesn’t work, escalate to the customer service line.
    3. If that fails to produce a solution, write a letter and address it to the current holder of the office by name. In that letter, do not neglect to mention that the outcome of poor customer service is complaints to other would-be buyers whom they will lose if such complaints become common on the Internet, as this site attests to.
    4. Indicate that you are part of a small but growing boycott among EXISTING customers. When they know their loyal customers are turning against them in droves, it will begin to add up. Every company watches their bottom line, and in this economy even LVMH can’t afford to get it wrong.

    Just as a reminder, LVMH is a foreign company and cannot abridge your First Amendment rights here in the United States. As long as you speak for yourself about yourself truthfully, they can’t touch you.

    In closing, I thought I’d toss out this rather curious story. A year or two back there was an “outing” of a female Scandinavian dignitary in the UK’s version of Cosmo or some such magazine. Seems she made the mistake of appearing in a photo op with President Bush and First Lady Laura visibly holding a fake Louis Vuitton bag!

    You might ask yourself, like I did, why anyone in such a high profile position would be so tasteless when money, obviously, is not the issue. After some thought, I’ve come up with a theory. Perhaps the proliferation of fake Louis Vuitton in vast disproportion to the other coveted designer brands on the world market isn’t a reflection on the inferior economic status of replica owners, or upon the surging popularity of LV (So desirable even a fake will do! [sic!]) or upon the poor taste of those who would carry replicas though they can afford the genuine article. All this is plausible, but there’s one more possibility. Perhaps the replica problem reflects the frustration Louis Vuitton shoppers almost inevitably develop if they stick with the brand long enough. In some cases, disgust over LVMH’s disloyalty to their loyal patrons in simple cases of product defect, exchange or repair that are so uncouthly denied for spurious reasons may be enough to push *some* patrons over the edge. The result? Carrying a competing designer handbag or a fake LV to spite them. It’s the proverbial middle finger, if you get my drift.

    So here’s my unconventional but perhaps timeliest of all strategies in the effort to get LVMH to rethink their customer service policies: Perhaps if disgruntled patrons threaten to support the illegitimate market or LVMH’s competitors, it would force an about face. In other words, throw everything you’ve got at them — including a demand letter from an attorney, ideally — and then make good on your threats.

    Perhaps someone with more legal background would be willing to expand upon our options here. Alternately, what this discussion needs is input from a former boutique employee to advise us on the ins and outs of getting what we need or want from a bloodless turnip (their former employer). We’re listening. LV isn’t. So keep on posting!

    Comment by Anon — November 24, 2008 @ 5:05 pm

44. […] If you’ve been following this blog, you would know that its most commented post is on the kind of customer service Louis Vuitton gives, and most of the complaints are about […]

    Pingback by CustServ: Customer Relations: The New Competitive Edge — January 7, 2009 @ 11:45 pm

45. I received a LV Petite Bucket bag as a gift. The inside liner is falling apart. I took the bag to the LV store in Aventura. They advised me the bag may or may not be covered under warranty. LV repair would call me if there was a cost. I received a call that the bag was back, AND that I would have to pay $138.00 for the repair. I called Customer Relations, and have not heard back yet.

    Comment by Jennifer — April 28, 2009 @ 1:11 pm

46. Well, let me just post another terrible experience at LV. I purchased a clutch at the San Diego boutique on Wednesday evening, gave it to my wife as a present on Thursday afternoon, and returned it to the Minneapolis boutique 1 hour later… in pristine condition. Minneapolis would only exchange it since they are inside a Macy’s, but they offered to send it to San Diego for a refund. I left the bag in the store’s possession. 30 hours later I receive a call from the SD store stating that they would not accept the return because the bag was “used”; he claimed it had make-up stains, “smelled” like make-up, and had hair inside.

    Livid, I asked to be contacted by his manager. She did not call me, but the next day when I called her she staunchly defended her associate. They are basically accusing me of lying and attempted fraud. Inquiries to customer service brought on more of the same.

    I called my bank to dispute the charge. They agree with me and will refund my money… now LV has 45 days to contest the decision. Stay tuned.

    No more Louis Vuitton!!!

    Adam

    Comment by Adam — May 9, 2009 @ 1:06 pm

47. Wow, what an experience, Adam! Good that your bank that will refund your money. Let me know what LV has decided on this. Thanks for sharing.

    Comment by meikah — May 10, 2009 @ 7:37 pm

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