Dolce Gabbana Review – Quality and Customer Service. Review by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE.

This review is an extract from the article written about Luxury Brands, Luxury industry in general, and described several problematic subjects including quality and customer service.

Read entire article here:

Luxury brands – Vulgarity and Quality

Quality and Customer Service

There’s nothing luxurious in low quality, rude and ignorant reception by customer care services. But here we are. Today many luxury brands bring the quality down, as lower as possible, produce with independent manufacturers in China, demand maximum reduced cost. As surprising as it could be.

Let’s try simple quest. When you buy shoes or glasses on street market for 20$ or 20€ you don’t really expect anything. You don’t expect quality, you don’t expect luxury materials or creative “kick”. You know it is plastic and cheap fabric, and it’s good if it lasts a season (3 months). You are surprised if it lasts longer, and even happy about it.

But how about shoes or glasses for 900$ or 900€ from luxury brand? You still know that it is a plastic, but you expect this plastic or fabric to be eco-friendly and advanced in technology, super comfortable etc. Check “kicks” from streetwear brands like Adidas and Nike. Very impressive what these brands can do just with plastic and for very affordable price like 120$ or 120€ ! Even capsule collections with super creative “kick” don’t cost more than 300 .

Higher price you pay for an item, higher expectations you have. You might still have a creative “kick”, but not always. Suddenly you notice that it is “so last season”, or you’ve seen it somewhere else. How would you feel if your item from luxury brand after you proudly wear couple of times gets broken or torn? Sad… very sad. Normally you immediately go to the store or contact customer service online and tell about the problem. And as it was in the past in couple of days you get your item fixed or replaced. You pay high price – you get luxury service. Or if you are getting service online it might take a week or so before you get new item.

In the store you get you glass of champagne and new pair, or while it is fixed by special in-house service. You also get special promotion for any item you’d like to buy – everything for your satisfaction. And it was not even matter how much you paid – was it 3000$ shirt or 150$ ti-shirt. As long as you are in luxury house – quality is a priority, service is impeccable.

But this is not how it is today for all luxury brands. The one of the worst examples today is….. the winner is…. Dolce & Gabbana!!!!! As sad as it could be, this luxury brand for the last couple of years is no longer can be considered in any way as LUXURY. They still have creative “kicks” time to time with remaking their own designs from 90s, or reproducing designs from architects (with license of course), or even copying (design and concept) of other designers.

Checking online reviews you’ll be surprised how many negative reviews this brand has related to quality and service. Sunglasses breaks after wearing them several times, design elements are falling down. Their famous sneakers with applications and paintings getting torn after couple of times you wear them. The same about their garments. Row stitches are getting holes here and there on blouses, leopard double on black jackets is getting out… Then you think – ok, might be an accident. No matter, I love this brand, I’ll go to one of the stores and they will fix it with no time. That’s what you think…

Shhh… don’t forget about the quality. Dolce Gabbana brand is like Chanel and Dior has their main income from glasses, bags and shoes. So these products produced in masses, available in all stores, and should be highest quality, according to the price 500-900€. That’s what you think, and that’s what I thought. Although if you buy sneakers today from Dolce Gabbana expect wear them couple of times, and don’t you dare to wear them in rain! Then of course you can be sure they will be torn and deformed. That’s the quality you are going to get from Dolce Gabbana today… something like sneakers for 20€…. So then ask yourself – does it really worth to buy from this brand?!

And what about the Dolce Gabbana customer service you might ask? There’s…. NO SERVICE. You bought – you go home, that’s all about it. You have problem? Fix somewhere else, at your own tailor or cobbler, and don’t bother Dolce Gabbana service with your inquiries. You wore your garment or sneakers ones – that’s all, you torn them because you badly use them. Basta!

Do you think this is a joke? Nope, that’s the answer from customer service you are going to get, spiced up with “We are sorry to hear about this inconvenience you are experiencing.” You think that this answer you can get because you bought your item in Milan and then you try to see the store in Paris? Nope, all of them send you to contact customer service online. And there’s no matter if you have receipt or not.

You think you can get something like this because you just carelessly threw away your receipt? “They are DG sneakers, but we are not able to help you , because you don’t have receipt and also because it has been a long time and they are not repairable.” Nope, even if you have your receipt, even if you bought you 850€ sneakers couple of month ago, even if you wore them ones, even if you take photos of box, tickets, printed labels, 10 photos face and profile… you are going to get the same answer. NO SERVICE! Fix yourself!

My personal experiment. I’m passionate enough, and I waited almost 1 month, received tons of automated emails from Dolce Gabbana customer service. This time I made purchase online, so transaction is very well traceable. No matter. The outcome is the same. Oh yes, this time I got daily automated emails: “Thank you for contacting Dolce&Gabbana Online Store Customer Service. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you. We appreciate your understandings in this matter. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Customer Care team for any further information.” 1 MONTH!!!! That is luxury service indeed!!!! What is missing? The music and “Your call is very important to us, please listen 40 min flute solo”!

I of course fixed my sneakers at my local cobbler, but Dolce Gabbana customer service still keeps writing me the same automated emails on daily basis. Sad… very sad. UNSATISFACTION! Even if I like the design and my wardrobe is full of Dolce Gabbana pieces, I feel disrespected, treated badly by a luxury brand where I spent a little fortune. And I have no desire to wear brand who disrespects me so much. Well… apparently this is the meaning of LUXURY BY DOLCE GABBANA today – look but don’t buy! But let’s leave them there, where they belong. Dolce Gabbana today are getting so many bad publicity that is rarely known on luxury market, the sales dropped dramatically, no matter how hard new CEO is trying to get to Hollywood and all rappers there. Well deserved, I must say!

Shocking isn’t it?