While I often write reviews recognizing exemplary customer service, I rarely take the time to post a negative review. My recent experience at this Away location and follow up communication with the Away customer service team have, however, left me so frustrated that I felt it important to advise others of the issues we have experienced.
Specifically, we have owned two Medium Flex suitcases in Coastal Blue for some time, and they both have met our expectations. We recently purchased two more Medium Flex suitcases, this time in Glossy Salt. Given the glossy finish, we were obviously curious about how the luggage would wear, and we were told that the bags would indeed scuff "a little" more easily than the matte finishes, but they were easily cleaned. We were also told that any cleaned areas may also be slightly less shiny afterwards. We asked multiple times about how the glossy finish wears with use, and everyone in the store reassured us that any scuffing or other cosmetic damage would be only slightly more than with the Coastal Blue bags, and again, the suitcases are easily cleaned. Let me also note that the glossy finish is more expensive, and in what is an unintentional acknowledgement by Away of how impractically delicate the finish is, the glossy suitcases come with a soft storage bag; the standard finish bags do not.
Several days later, we traveled with all four pieces of Away luggage. Unfortunately, when we first saw our suitcases upon arrival, we were shocked. While the two Coastal Blue bags were almost pristine, the two glossy suitcases looked as though they were many years old. The glossy luggage had an unsightly combination of multiple long black marks coupled with smaller black speckles and smudges all over the bags. Further, while we had been told by the Away sales team that we could clean the glossy finish if it became scuffed or marked, we (1) have no cleaning products with us, (2) weren't able to remove the black scars with what we did have available to us, and (3) certainly did not want to spend our valuable vacation time on that unpleasant task, as we would have had to clean each bag from top to bottom and front to back given the extent of the marking. We have since had two more stops, and at each location, the two glossy suitcases are looking even more distressed; I cannot even imagine how marred they will be by the time we return home. We also have noticed that the glossy luggage experiences condensation when taken from the plane to a humid environment, which means that dust and dirt from the floor sticks to the lower portion of the bag when being wheeled. While the dirt is easily cleaned, it is an unpleasant and unsanitary task. To summarize, our experience with these two glossy suitcases has been an enormous disappointment. In fact, we have been so disappointed that we reached out to the Customer Service team while on our trip to share our experience, and we received only a cursory and completely unhelpful response in return.
We accordingly suggest that if you are considering a glossy finish, absolutely DO NOT believe the Away sales teams' unjustifiably rosy assessment of (1) how minimal the cosmetic damage will be on a glossy finish and (2) how easily the glossy suitcases are cleaned. Instead, you should know that the luggage will arrive at baggage claim heavily scuffed each and every time, and cleaning the suitcases is largely ineffective when the entire bag is covered with markings both small and large. Please also be advised that you are not allowed to return the suitcases despite their complete failure to live up to the standards that were shared when purchasing them. In short, you will be stuck with a suitcase that looks many years old from the very first use. Again, DO NOT believe the Away salespeople's representations, and unless you want to be frustrated again and again, DO NOT buy a glossy finish bag from Away.
(The pictures were taken immediately after the first time we used the glossy luggage and, while instructive, do not convey the full extent of the markings. Further, and as noted above, the suitcases have gotten worse in our two subsequent stops.) read more