Zodwa Bridal, shame on you!

ZODWA BRIDAL SHAME ON YOU…

So my cousin won a bridal competition around the middle of last year. As a winner she and her fiancé were going to get their wedding outfits for FREE from Zodwa Bridal (wedding gown) and The Gentle Sir (suit for the groom). We went for the first consultation on the 14th July 2018 with lots of excitement. Both first consultations (for the bride and for the groom) were supposed to have been on the same day but the guy making the suit had double- booked so the groom’s appointment had to be postponed.

We went ahead with the bride’s consultation and chose a dress that she loved. Zodwa informed us that since it was a competition, she would make the dress for my cousin but she would give it out to her as a rental- so she could not keep it. I found this to be a bit weird but said nothing since all my cousin wanted was a dress for the day of the wedding, nothing beyond that. On the 14th July 2018, my cousin tried on a dress that was on display and she decided that she liked it. Zodwa committed that she would get the dress made with a few adjustments to suit my cousin’s body, she took her measurements and we all went away excited that my cousin had said YES to the dress.

Around September, my cousin informed Zodwa that her wedding was postponed to the end of March 2019. They then made arrangements that my cousin would go into the showroom for a dress fitting in January 2019. On the 26th January 2019, as arranged by my cousin with Zodwa, we showed up to the showroom and as we walked in, Zodwa was walking out. She informed us that she was on her way to a wedding expo. She told my cousin to go in and look on the rails for a dress that she likes. My cousin informed her that she had already chosen a particular dress that she liked the last time we were there and Zodwa (while walking away) said to my cousin, “there are new ones!”

So we went into the showroom and started going through the rails. As I was looking through the dresses on the rails I was very confused because in my understanding (and my cousin’s too) we were coming in for a first fitting. However, her dress was not on the rails and when I saw the confusion on my cousin’s face I decided to ask the question. I asked one of the ladies that were there whether they knew whether a dress has been made for my cousin as we were there to do a fitting. She didn’t know what we were talking about. I then asked her to ask Zodwa because I thought that she was still in the parking. She informed me that she saw her drive out, I went out to check and indeed Zodwa was gone.

I then told the lady that if they were not ready, they should not have asked us to come for a fitting. We would not have been there. I told her that I was worried because we only have 2 months before the wedding and I was not sure whether they would have the dress ready in time. While I was talking another lady called Patience came and asked what the problem was. I explained the situation to her and she told me that she was not aware of the dress being made but she said that regardless of that there was still time to get the dress made.

She told us that the dress would go into production in February since the wedding was in March. She then suggested that we try on a dress that was similar to the one that my cousin liked and she would take her measurements again. We agreed, reassured by the fact that Patience had confirmed that there was still adequate time to get the dress made. We went through the same process we went through in July (I even showed her pics from our session in July) when we were done we left.

When I got home, I still felt uneasy about the situation at the bridal shop and I told my husband that I has a bad feeling about my cousin’s wedding dress. I told him that since my cousin had won her dress in a competition, I felt that Zodwa was not prioritizing it because it was in effect a dress that she would have to make for free.

This morning I received a WhatsApp message from my cousin, who sent me a message that Zodwa had sent to her. She had apparently screamed at my cousin on the phone telling her that we had gone into her showroom and that I had ‘started shouting and disrespecting the bridal consultants’. Apparently, I caused a big scene! Zodwa told my cousin that because of the fact that I had “caused a scene” and disrespected her people when all I was doing was asking questions about my cousin’s dress (which was nowhere to be found despite her being told to come in for a fitting), my cousin would forfeit her prize.

I am so heartbroken because even though I did not shout at nor did I disrespect anyone, I have cost my cousin her prize. My cousin told her that if she had CCTV cameras in her shop she should look at them to see what actually happened. In my over 15 years’ experience as an HR Practitioner I have had to deal with more than my share of conflict, and never have I ever been accused of being disrespectful. I am assertive, of that there is no question, but I am never disrespectful. I know how to express my dissatisfaction without making the other person feel personally attacked or disrespected.

Incidentally I found out today that they even reneged on their commitment to the groom about his suit. Apparently, he was told that they don’t have a suit in his size, so they would have to get one made especially for him. They told him that since this was the case, he would have to pay 30% of the cost of the suit- which by the way they would take back after the wedding.

So Zodwa, here is my advice to you as a business owner: 1. If it makes you unhappy to make dresses for free, don’t run competitions. You kept telling my cousin that we caused a scene in front of ‘paying customers’ which led her to feel that since she was not paying she was not important to you. 2. The fact that people enter the competitions that you run, does not mean that they don’t have the money to buy a dress of their own. 3. When you schedule appointments with people, at the very least ensure that one of your staff members is aware of the appointment- especially if you are not going to be there personally.

For the record, I seriously doubt that the ladies at the shop told you that I had disrespected them- because none of my frustration was directed towards them, it was directed towards you and the way you treated my cousin. I am just heartbroken over the fact that by asking questions, I have given you ammunition to use against her in justifying your decision to renege on your commitment to her. What you have done is shameful.