Monday, April 20, 2009

Hooray for Vogue Fabrics!!!

Vogue Fabrics is my new favorite online fabric store. Actually, it's not a new favorite – I've always been satisfied with the swatch club orders. But recently, Vogue Fabrics demonstrated good old fashioned personal customer care.

I was not entirely satisfied with the buttons I bought for my green fabric. When I couldn't find suitable buttons at PA Fabric Outlet, which has the largest selection I've seen in the area, I almost gave up. I didn't know where else to turn. Since I purchased the fabric from Vogue Fabrics Swatch Service, I went back to the source. I called the store and gave them the item number of the fabric and asked if they could search the store for a matching button. The associate promised someone would call me back, but I really didn't believe it (I can be quite cynical). I needn't have worried. Heather (not her real name), a sales associate called me back the next day and described the button she found. I couldn't visualize the button from her description so I asked if she could take a picture and e-mail it to me. By the time I got home from work, the picture was in my e-mail inbox. Two days later (excluding the Sunday) the actual buttons were in my mailbox.

When deciding how to spend my money, customer service is very important to me – more important than price in some cases. I was convinced that customer service no longer existed. But, Heather was extremely helpful and she went above and beyond in a way I haven't seen in a long time. I really appreciated the service and personal touch. I'm going to try to order more fabrics from Vogue. If I ever visit the Chicago area, I'll be sure to visit in the store in person.

7 comments:

  1. That was excellent customer service.
    It's nice to hear such a story :)

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  2. I am glad you had a good experience! The Evanston store is minutes from my house--they have everything you need including great instruction! They have a very old fashion way of doing things---very, very slow check out because it is all done by pen and paper then rechecked by the cash register! On the other hand, they are very sincere in doing a good job. I have some favorite sales people who are very helpful and do care about their customer! I am glad you had a good experience!

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  3. I'm glad you had such a good experience. Customer service is a big incentive for me too. I don't subscribe to their swatch service, I haven't had good results in the past from assorted services, but I wish that their website were more user friendly since a lot of people, you among them seem to like them a lot.

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  4. I live in a small country town and customer service is always excellent because the stores here know you and need your business. In Byron Bay, ten minutes away from where I live in, it is a different story. Because it's a coastal seaside resort and EXTREMELY busy all the time with tourists, the stores don't care how they treat you. They have better stores in Byron, but I don't shop there. I won't give my hard earned money to people who don't deserve it. I'm going to take a look at Vogue Fabrics and see if they deliver internationally!

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  5. Well, I'm speechless! You mean to tell me that there is still good customer service? Wow! I'm totally impressed.

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  6. Awesome! It is wonderful to hear good stories about great customer service these days. Of course, you would think people would want to keep any customers at this point in time.

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  7. Okay can I just address the fact that you got an amazing button to go with the fabric! That button is button jewelry...and the resulting outfit it is going to be fabu because of it!

    Yeah Vogue Fabrics! Yeah great customer service!

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