I am not a fan of negative reviews, but I do think it is important to let other people know what…read morethey are getting into.
I am getting married, and my fiancé is Korean, so I wanted to wear a hanbok because I think it is very pretty! This is located within the H Mart shopping district (I believe under the Pika Pika Hair Salon).
My fiancé was able to make an appointment for the day before. Our appointment was at noon. Everything was fine there. All of the hanboks were absolutely beautiful! It was amazing quality and everything. They really did treated us right when we first walked in.
They picked out the skirt and the jacket for me first to figure out a style that we would go for. And then we picked out the outfit for him after to compliment my dress. They had so many different options, which was really nice! So, we found the outfit we liked.
Now, it is time to talk about payment. We all got back into our normal wear, and that was when things got pretty bad, like Sarah's review mentioned. They quoted us $1,200 for my dress alone. This includes the skirt, the jacket, shoes and I believe petticoat. My fiance's was going to be $1,000. This includes the pants, jacket, undershirt and the rope. She had given us a discount of $200, because it was originally $1,400 and $1,200, respectively. Just like the previous review, we did not want to go with the first store we had went too. We did not want to pay that much as well. We asked how much renting would be. We could not have it altered (of course), it would have been $600 per person.
She kept mentioning that this was "high quality" and it felt like a very nice quality. But I didn't mind getting something on a more medium quality and pay a more medium price. I don't mind paying for what I get. It was just outside my budget. She had asked how much we were willing to spend, and she said they cannot do it at the price we mentioned. I respected it, but we just can't do it.
I do not speak Korean, but he does. And he said that we wanted to think about it. After he mentioned that, she said that we *should* buy the hanboks because they spent so much time helping us find an outfit. Number 1, we are not going to be guilted into buying something just because someone spent time with us, UNLESS it says so on the appointment request. Number 2. If you want someone to pay, simply charge an appointment fee. Then you won't feel like your time was "wasted". Because I've been to wedding dress stores, and they do not make me buy a dress, why would we buy a dress here? The bridal boutique doesn't even charge to try on dresses. Even $600 is enough for us to think and consider our options.
*I will say that there is a section on the wall that mentioned NOT to take pictures and we did of my outfit. She mentioned that we took pictures so we should pay. I didn't see the notice - our fault, and I told her I can delete the pictures of the dress I was wearing. And we both pushed that we can delete the pictures in front of her so she can see it - but it wasn't really about the picture. It felt like she wanted leverage for us to buy something because we took a picture.
I'm Asian, so I know Asian guilt tripping when I see it. We do NOT appreciate it. I think it would be the best experiences for all if they just charge in the beginning. This will save them from "wasted time". Because I am a person who believes in paying people their worth, but I'm not completely sure of the integrity of their business practice. I do not want to feel like I'm forced to buy anything. And that is why it is a negative review.