eShakti Review/Photodump/Rant + OOTD

[bonnycate]

I buy things from eShakti pretty regularly, and tonight I asked my boyfriend to take some photos for me so I could see how my latest order looked on (I don't own a full-length mirror, argh). Then I got a little carried away and dug out my past orders, too. So here's a clothing review, a rant about their TERRIBLE customer service and some photos for

Comments

[catmeowmie]

First of all, you look great in all of the dresses. But I understand about style/comfort. I'm horrible about buying clothes and then not wearing them. The addition of the belt to the dark purple dress is perfect. You could even wear a belt in a contrasting color to shake it up. The last outfit is fantastic!

I've never ordered for eShakti, and after reading your review of the customer service I don't think I ever will!

[bonnycate]

Thanks! I have this habit of hanging onto clothes because I want to like them, not because I actually do. :) I'm a work in progress, ha.

[cjtremlett]

The first one is -almost- wonderful. It does seem a bit off, though. Not as badly as the second one. The fourth one is gorgeous with the belt. It needs the belt, but with it, awesome!

I almost ordered from eShakti, then saw all the bad reviews and didn't. There is a huge variety in body types, so it follows that an item that looks great on one person will just not work for another person and vice versa, but the sheer number of reviews of eShakti where the cut and structure of the garment was off, awkward, odd and/or unflattering makes me really wonder about exactly how they go about designing the fit of their clothes. Especially when there are dozens of posts of people with a range of body types that all have problems with the cut and structure of eShakti clothes.

I've seen some that really look good on people, and some really positive posts, but the number of negatives is really awful, and I've never seen anyone say anything good about their customer service. It's a shame, because they have some really interesting looking pieces!

[bonnycate]

Thank you! :)

I like the idea behind eShakti a lot, that anything can be customized to fit your unique body shape. That's pretty cool. And I do have a number of pieces I bought from them that I absolutely adore. I understand hit and miss when it comes to shopping online. I don't understand ignoring your customers and hoping they just shut up and stop complaining.

[purplekeychain]

i really like that last outfit.

i've never really had any real trouble with eshakti customer service other than them sending ame like, 3 dresses that only had a pocket on ONE side and the CSR claiming that NO ONE had ever complained of it before. one of the things i DID really like about them was that, when i placed my first custom order, they emailed mo something like "hey, you're fatter than you used to be in your past 2 orders. are you sure you want to do a custom order and, if so, lets clarify your measurements because you're fatter than we remember" and i sent them a picture and my next 2 orders fit me to a T.

i wouldn't discount eshakti based on customer service. but i guess i have a soft spot there because i was a CSR for 10 years and understand that most of them get 10 minutes of training before they're thrown on the phones or answering emails. i've placed about 7 or 8 orders from them in the last year, and have kept maybe 4 things. they're okay, but i wouldn't build my wardrobe with them.

[purplekeychain]

also, yep, i HAVE had to fuss at them before because of gift cards. they have always been responsive to me, and it sucks that you still haven't heard from them (the person/people, carol, has always written back to me within 24 hours -- i'm assuming that's who you contacted as well at customerchamption@eshakti.com - yes, champion with a T - or maybe try "gina" at CustomerChampion@eshakti.com - without the T - to get a faster response? the people at the 800 number are in the warehouse in washington state, not at the factory in india... or something like that

[bonewhiteglory]

Heh, I was baffled and annoyed by the one pocket thing too, but I ordered that stuff when Eshakti wasn't shipping to Canada so I had my mom forward me the package from the US... of course she took forever and it was too late to return anything. So, I just shrugged it off and decided that one pocket was better than none.

[bonnycate]

You make me want to go back through all my stuff and check to make sure there are actually two pockets! :)

I've worked CS too and I've tried to be really polite because I understand how rough it can be. But, frankly, this is bullshit and I am out of sympathy. If customer service is so understaffed/undertrained that they have to ignore the customer for weeks that's bad business - and literally at my expense.

This is the first time I've needed customer service, so yeah the vast majority of my experiences with them have been positive. But the one time I need them they're nowhere to be found? Nope. Sorry. Not interested in risking this debacle again.

(Sorry if I sound like a raging jerk - my anger is not directed at you!)

[csi_vixen]

The same damn thing happened to me with an eShakti gift certificate and I was so pissed, good god. Made me get an overdraft fee at my bank.

I love their clothes. But I don't know if I'll ever order from them again. I got a dress and a top from them recently and the dress is tight across the chest and the top is very much not true to size on me, and I can't return them because they were on sale. And the first time I ordered from them, they only shipped me half the order and then refunded me for the other item without asking me what I'd like them to do. Extremely unprofessional, generally speaking.

[bonnycate]

Did it end up getting resolved? Were they more forthcoming with you at all? I didn't overdraft, but it's not like I have $150 extra just sitting around either!

[csi_vixen]

I emailed them repeatedly and ended up getting refunded after about a week and a half.

[diosabellissima]

I would have issued a charge back with Visa the minute they didn't respond to me the first time. A charge back has pretty serious ramifications for businesses and their credit lines, so generally they try to avoid them like the plague.

[bonnycate]

It's a debit card not credit so I wasn't sure if I have the same rights, but if I don't hear from them today I am absolutely getting my bank involved.