An Open Letter To Urban Outfitters

Dear UrbanOutfitters,

It was a Monday; I was browsing online. Desperately searching for a dress for my best friend’s upcoming wedding. Trying to shop with a budget in mind I happened to land on your brand’s online store. The prices seemed decent, and I plucked a couple of options into my shopping cart.

I even paid extra for expedited shipping. My first mistake. I picked two dresses, a blush pink woven strapless fit and flare dress, which by the looks of the picture appeared to be a woven and definitely appeared to have lining and backing. The second option, a black deep-v neck dress with cap sleeves and belt. After said items had been placed in the shopping cart, I proceeded to purchase the items only to my dismay when the website glared a pop-up with the words, “There are no items in your shopping cart.” Weird, how could that be? Unless maybe someone else managed to buy the items while I was shopping? I tried again, going back through page after page to select the dresses I had tried to order. Only to find, the black cap sleeve was already purchased. How weird? Well, I thought, I’ll just order the pink. 24 hours later and to my surprise I received not 1 but 2 order confirmations… immediately that morning I called your customer service line to cancel the duplicate order, only to have them tell me that they were already in the process of shipping said orders out and that I would have to wait until the packages arrived and then return the duplicate. But wait, what about the expedited shipping costs? Oh, that we can refund right away. Fine, I say, reluctantly hanging up the phone. My second mistake. 

Two days later, one of the packages arrived. It was the second order, a knit/woven peach dress that was wrinkled and definitely not like the image. I immediately place the item back in the package and sent it back for a full refund. Definitely not worth the $90.00 it cost to buy and ship this dress. 

Then today, Friday—a day that ushers in the arrival of the weekend and usually donuts (if you work in my office). It’s a day for fun, wrapping up the week and getting things handled. I received the second package. This package was bulky, seemed a bit more–rugged–than the last. However, I was hopeful. Third Mistake. Upon opening the package, I found two dresses rolled up into a ball practically. No outer packaging like the last. Upon pulling out the pink one, which appeared wrinkled and again, not what I had expected. So I knew I was returning that one I didn’t even have to really look at it. I thought, well perhaps the black one…WRONG. I couldn’t have been more wrong if my life depended on it. I’ll try to be brief, although I’m not making any promises, clearly. 

Never in my life have I received a package from a company with such poor QC…did your team even look at the item/s they were shipping? I mean, I’d be embarrassed to ship something in such poor condition. First, (see photo) There is a fairly noticeable item missing from said dress. The black belt, which was shown in the picture, is clearly not attached to the dress nor is it found in the bag. The belt loop is also broken. 

Secondly, there is a large amount…and when I mean large…we’re talking stripes, of deodorant running across the dress. Last time I checked I didn’t order a zebra costume, imagine wearing that to a wedding?! Also, the zipper is broken, it hardly zips up, if at all and I’m fairly small in size. Again, makeup is apparent on the neckline of the dress…large beige/cream glaring and unsightly. 

Now, it doesn’t even matter that I purchased this dress for a discounted price. A company should take pride in their quality control, delivery, and shipping to their customers. It is appalling, to say the least, that this item was even shipped. Let me remind you; I paid an EXTRA $14.99 for expedited shipping. This is laughable and insulting. 

I’ve always thought Urban Outfitters was a brand that understood quality and put their customer first. I can not for the life of me understand what your stockroom manager, inventory specialist, quality assurance specialist person was thinking when they packaged this item. But, if I were working for Urban Outfitters in their QC department–I’d make sure every single item and order, big or small were handled with care. 

I am expecting a full refund at the very least–and an apology—this was the worst order I’ve ever received. Please speak with your team. Management needs to clean house. 

Sincerely, Devastated in California.