This store is infuriating, and the company won't last long in NYC, I hope. I bought a dress; the "hem" was only "glued in" not sewn, which fell apart after one or two wearings. I wanted to replace the dress, but it was sold out in my size at every Zara store in Manhattan, so I bought a second one online and paid for express shipping. I brought the original dress back to the store to return it, and was told that I had gone over the 30 day limit (it was 6 weeks from when I bought it at that point) and could not return it and only get store credit. I had been extremely busy and could not return the dress sooner, not anticipating that there would be a problem, and several weeks had passed while I was calling around to their stores trying to locate a second example of the dress.
I did not want store credit as there is nothing in the store I like, truly. So I insisted on getting a refund, but the cashiers refused, even though their dress was clearly defective. The most important thing to know about Zara is THEY DO NOT HONOR THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS.
After writing and calling, etc their customer service, (which took hours) the response was basically "sorry but our policy is only to give you store credit"since you are over the 30 day limit. This was a most unhelpful response, this was the most frustrating return experience I have ever had. What they are saying is that they do not guarantee the quality of their products for more than 30 days. This is unheard of in American retail.
I took the gift card, as the cashier and then the manager were insistent, inflexible. I later called VISA, who said that I should return the gift card and then they would reverse the charges. When I went to the store to return the gift card, the cashiers were very distant and rude. They refused to accept the gift card and would not even look at me, would not even speak to me with genuine concern about my situation. They called for the manager, but she was not in the store (this was 11AM on a Friday!) and would not arrive for "10 minutes". I waited 10 minutes but she never came. I was convinced at that point that she would not help me anyway, due to the company's lack of responsibility and unfriendliness I just decided to leave.
I still may contest the charge, or I may give away the gift card. There is nothing in the store I want.
This company can't survive in NYC if they continue to have such an anti-customer customer service. That is not service, that is basically fraud and deception. They don't stand by their products and don't care if a customer loses money on a defective item. If I had read the multiple reviews online of their store and policies, I would not have gone there in the first place.
I am very disappointed in ZARA and I will never go there again, as the experience has been awful. I hope their bad service continues, so that they go out of business and have to shutter their stores. read more