A woman’s wedding day is one of the most
important days of her life, and it’s not unusual that she’d want to
look her best, hence be inclined to call on the help of talented and
well known fashion designers.
important days of her life, and it’s not unusual that she’d want to
look her best, hence be inclined to call on the help of talented and
well known fashion designers.
One woman, however, regretted her decision to do so when she got the disappointment of her life just a few days to her big day.
She took to her Instagram page
@osh_bugie to call out a Lagos-based fashion designer who had delayed
her wedding dress for months even after she’d made a 70% deposit.
@osh_bugie to call out a Lagos-based fashion designer who had delayed
her wedding dress for months even after she’d made a 70% deposit.
Sharing screenshots of conversations
between them, she narrated how she met the fashion designer back in
August, made deposits and kept getting one postponement after the other.
between them, she narrated how she met the fashion designer back in
August, made deposits and kept getting one postponement after the other.
‘I know alot of people have been waiting
for me to put up this post. Truth is, I am not writing this in anger or
to spite the lady I’m about to write a detailed review on but I am
writing it because it is the right thing to do. Business is about
service, and if a customer fails to be serviced right, he/she has every
right to complain.Reviews help businesses improve, and
also inform potential clients of what they are likely to experience
should they choose to be serviced by them. I write this today standing
as a voice to previous brides who should have voiced out about the
unacceptable and appalling service of @yemishoyemiLate August 2016 I got to know
@yemishoyemi through a friend who told me about how good she is. I
looked her up on IG to confirm myself and also found she was good and i
was completely sold as her dresses were beautifulSept-Oct 2016 I started communicatin
with @yemishoyemi on whatsapp and email since i was out of town.
Everything was good, i sent her lots of pictures of what i wanted
including the colour of the dress. She sent me a quote and i made a 70%
deposit in October.Next was my sketch which she was to send
and that was where the delays started. Honestly I took no meaning to it
considering she is a designer and obviously had other clients she was
making outfits for. But it never stopped, she cancelled or shifted every
appointment or Skype call we scheduled giving different reasons like
illness and other unexpected emergencies.Then it was time to return and I
informed her when I’d be in town and she promised to send a date for
fitting which she sent and cancelled the morning of the appointment.To cut the long story shorter, I got to
her store 10 minutes to my appointment and waited for almost an hour
before the dress was brought out. Lo and behold it was the lining of the
dress…my dress was far from ready@yemishoyemi then explained that the
first fitting had to look like that as alterations cannot be made on a
completely made dress. I chopped it. Final fitting was going to be
following week before Christmas after which the dress would be
drycleaned and I could pick up. The day never came as more stories
started springing up.’
The nonchalant and unremorseful attitude
of the designer continued until the bride needed to take her dress to
church at this point.
of the designer continued until the bride needed to take her dress to
church at this point.
‘PART 2…By now my dress was due for
inspection in church (RCCG) and I had cancelled twice believing every
single word she said and trusting she will not disappoint in the end.
Yemi once again called to say she was sick and had been hospitalised but
promised I will have the dress fitted and ready on the 7th of January
2017.Jan 6 2017 (a week to my wedding) I
called to confirm the time to come in the following day and I had also
set up another appointment with the church for the third time. Again she
said it wasn’t possible.At this point I couldn’t contain myself
so I told my sister who spoke at length to her about how important it
was for the dress to be ready. Dress inspection was very key in the
church I was wedding in and even more crucial for me considering my mum
is a pastor.We gave her till Monday Jan 9 (four days
to to the wedding) Still nothing. My mum called and also spoke at
length explaining why her proposed date was not acceptable. We decided
to just show up and see the progress she had made. What we saw was
enough to make any bride have a heart attack. I was too shocked to weep.
Acccording to my sister it was not a dress but pieces of material.The dress looked similar to the first
fitting I did two weeks ago only that it was cut in three parts this
time. The progress between the first and second fitting was definitely
proof that my dress had been left unattended to with little progress. It
was nothin close to what I asked her to do. Not even the colour I
wanted. And then a ribbon. I never wanted one! The pieces put together
was just all shades of ugly.I sat there in shock as my sister and
chief bridesmaid stared in horror nd we knew this dress could not be
worn. We were too shocked to even take pictures. Standing there I had
noted five errors on the dress. Worst part is Yemi was willing to let me
take the pieces (dress) as it was to the church and have it returned to
her to finish up..who takes an incomplete dress to a church for
inspection? And considering you have delayed this long who should be
chasing after who? At this point I expected her to be going all out to
ensure we remained calm. But no, as we walked out Yemi shut the door
behind me with no single remorse on her face. it was always about her
own timing.’
At this point, she knew she needed an alternative. Fast.‘Part 3: Immediately we left her
showroom, we began calling as many bridal stores as we could to know if
they had ready made dresses in my size that we could buy. At this point,
it wasnt about what I wanted but about getting a dress in less than 24
hours that I could take to church the following morning in time for my
fourth and final appointment at 10am.We explored all possible options, both
to rent or purchase. Finally we booked appointments with four bridal
stores for the following morning. My mum’s friend came to see me
requesting that iI pass through her shop before going to the bridal
stores I had booked appointments with. I went to bed without a clue of
where I’d get a dress but holding on to the word my mum received from
God concerning my wedding that ‘all will be taken care of’.Appointment day (2 days to wedding) We
were at the lady’s store by 9am. She had once sold bridal dresses but
stopped and had her remaining stock put away. We walked into her shop
not expecting much, she wasnt sure about what she had herself. But by
10am I was driving back home to pick my mum and rush to church with not
just any dress but with the dress I never thought would fit me but
turned out to be perfect. In one hour God changed my testimony from no
dress to the ‘perfect dress’. I thought I was settling for less, not
realising I was going with God’s best.’
Part 4:
So yes my story ended very well but not
without me asking for a 100% refund from @yemishoyemi. I wasnt surprised
when she refunded 50% claiming that refunds on cancellation is 50%. Was
this just a cancellation or simply an error in delivering the dress at
the time it should have been ready? Considering how much I learnt about
customer service I chose not to be quiet about this.
without me asking for a 100% refund from @yemishoyemi. I wasnt surprised
when she refunded 50% claiming that refunds on cancellation is 50%. Was
this just a cancellation or simply an error in delivering the dress at
the time it should have been ready? Considering how much I learnt about
customer service I chose not to be quiet about this.
So I contacted a few of her recent
brides to confirm their experience with this lady. And guess what? Not
one of the five ladies had their dresses delivered earlier than a day to
their wedding. One former bride had her dress delivered on her wedding
day while she was doing her makeup!!! To make matters worse her dress
was not what she wanted but she had no choice.
brides to confirm their experience with this lady. And guess what? Not
one of the five ladies had their dresses delivered earlier than a day to
their wedding. One former bride had her dress delivered on her wedding
day while she was doing her makeup!!! To make matters worse her dress
was not what she wanted but she had no choice.
Another had to sit with her mum in
Yemi’s shop a day to her wedding for her dress to be finished. This is a
lady who now collects as much as N300k – N450k from brides insisting on
70% deposit but gives nothing close to good service and never delivers
on time. Do you really want to go through the headache of waiting on
someone that puts you in a position where you have no choice but to
wait? If my dress required no inspection I would have fallen victim and
also waited.
Yemi’s shop a day to her wedding for her dress to be finished. This is a
lady who now collects as much as N300k – N450k from brides insisting on
70% deposit but gives nothing close to good service and never delivers
on time. Do you really want to go through the headache of waiting on
someone that puts you in a position where you have no choice but to
wait? If my dress required no inspection I would have fallen victim and
also waited.
This is not acceptable, designers cannot
decide to step up their prices without stepping up their service.
Inspite of everything this lady never sincerely apologised asides her
generic messages or to even wish me well pn my wedding day instead she
chose to refund half of the deposit made knowing fully well that she was
the defaulter.
decide to step up their prices without stepping up their service.
Inspite of everything this lady never sincerely apologised asides her
generic messages or to even wish me well pn my wedding day instead she
chose to refund half of the deposit made knowing fully well that she was
the defaulter.
Six devastated brides is enough…there
are probably more but these are the only ones I chose to go with. Its
really hard to believe that there’s no story behind every bride on her
IG. Let this be my gift to all potential brides out there. It is really
more than what meets the eye. Don’t just go with IG posts, look for
former clients (you’d find them I can assure you) and ask them. Know
what you’re getting into before you jump in. If I had known all that I
know now, I would have decided better. Still, after all that has been
said, I’m glad @yemishoyemi disappointed because she led me to the
perfect dress.
are probably more but these are the only ones I chose to go with. Its
really hard to believe that there’s no story behind every bride on her
IG. Let this be my gift to all potential brides out there. It is really
more than what meets the eye. Don’t just go with IG posts, look for
former clients (you’d find them I can assure you) and ask them. Know
what you’re getting into before you jump in. If I had known all that I
know now, I would have decided better. Still, after all that has been
said, I’m glad @yemishoyemi disappointed because she led me to the
perfect dress.