Posted on 05/22/2011 10:27:50 AM PDT by rawhide
MYFOXNY.COM - Sophomore Jackie Genovese, 16, of New Jersey, had the perfect prom dress and date. But tragedy struck last week when her boyfriend of two years was killed in a car accident.
Jackie's boyfriend, James, died on the way home from a baseball team dinner. He was a popular Jackson High School senior only weeks from graduation.
She bought her $1,200 dress at Freehold's Diane and Co., also known for their popular Oxygen show "Dress Coutoure."
She wanted a refund for her dress so she could help pay for her boyfriend's funeral. Jackie's mom asked the owners of the store for a refund, which is against store policy. Instead they offered credit. But Jackie's mom said when she showed up to bring the dress back, they were nasty and unsympathetic.
Now her friends have started a Facebook page to call on boycotting the dress store.
Diane and Co. denies the accusations. Over the phone, owners said "this terrible tragic situation has been spun out of control. It's not a matter of being vicious or uncompassionate, but we are faced with tragedy all the time. And we weren't given a chance to rectify the situation."
A woman with a dress store in Indiana saw the Facebook page and offered to give Jackie a dress.
She still has the $1,200 store credit, which she is not sure she will.
Diane and Co. is standing firm on the no refund policy, but has offered to make a donation to a memorial set up in James name.
Shouldn’t the boyfriend’s family pay for his funeral?
Mixed feelings. It’s quite possible the store policy cannot be overridden, at least by the employees in question...but it is kinda ridiculous.
Her dress was probably a custom order that was fitted for her.
Then why haven't they elevated it to the employees/managers that can?
This is not a matter of store policies or contract law, but of basic human decency. Certainly the store has their policy and the law is on their side as well, but anybody who thinks they ought to stick to their guns and stick it to this little girl who just lost her boyfriend needs to take some time for some serious moral introspection.
So $1200 for a prom dress. What am I missing here?
Is it transferrable? Couldn't someone hand this girl $1200 in cash and "buy" the store credit from here?
It's easy to say that businesses are always wrong -- the Left has been doing that for many years. The store has a policy, the store is trying to stay in business. I feel for the girl, but I feel for the store as well.
By giving the girl credit, the store has taken a step -- has anyone else stepped up in any way? Or is the evil business expected to be the fall guy 100%?
$1200 for a dress. No money for the family to bury their son?
And somehow this is the store owner’s responsibility.
A date?
This is how real life happens.
UM yeah that and “Used Prom Dress for Sale “ has a nastry ring to it. Not much of a marketable item
Then again, most of them had never gone through the expense of burying a child. My family was intimately familiar with that experience, and that usually shut folks up.
Who knows? In today's economy, the family could be hanging on by a thread, and may have already depleted their savings prior to this event.
In the end, though, it's not the store's business to offer a refund on what was obviously a custom-made dress; unfortunate situation or not.
Then again, most of them had never gone through the expense of burying a child. My family was intimately familiar with that experience, and that usually shut folks up.
Who knows? In today's economy, the family could be hanging on by a thread, and may have already depleted their savings prior to this event.
In the end, though, it's not the store's business to offer a refund on what was obviously a custom-made dress; unfortunate situation or not.
You cannot return customed fitted clothes
A calendar. $1200 is not too much in my opinion. An good OTR suit costs $400 to $600. Last week I was wearing $1,000 worth of clothes at an important business meeting.
Compassion in this situation would equal priceless advertising. No one will ever feel this store really cares about a customer but $$. I think they lost more than they gained. You don’t build a retail store on being hard nosed. Store credit - maybe she can sell it to someone for $900 which would equal more bad advertising for the store.
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