Here are places I've had bad experiences with, so I do not recommend that you shop at them:
American Intimates (americanintimates.com): I wanted to exchange the bras I got; I followed the procedure provided by American Intimates but could not get a response by phone or by email. I reported the company to the Better Business Bureau; the BBB has received about 40 complaints about American Intimates and has also been unable to contact the company.
Catalog Favorites (catalogfavorites.com): I have had successful orders from Catalog Favorites in the past, but the last order I placed was not handled well. I ordered three items at some point in November; the deal was that the items would arrive by Christmas if I ordered by December 6th. One item was canceled without notification; one item arrived on time, but barely; the last item arrived a couple days after Christmas. The resolution? They refunded the cost of shipping on the item that was late.
Domestications (domestications.com): Domestications has cool-looking stuff, I admit, and the ocean-themed sheets my mom got me from the catalog when I was a preteen or teen have aged well. But when my mom ordered some chenille bedding from the catalog for my guest room bed, some of it started coming apart--quite badly--on the first washing. When we sought information about replacing the damaged portion, the customer service representative said we were welcome to order again and see if the items did better. No exchange, no refund--but we had their permission to order more merchandise. So we just returned the whole set.
Doran Clinic of Ames, Iowa: This is an OB-GYN clinic. When I was having trouble with endometriosis, I wanted to go in for an appointment before my first anniversary so I wouldn't have my worry about my problems hanging over my head when I should have been celebrating my first year of marriage. (Of course, I didn't know it was endometriosis again because the doctor didn't tell me after my surgery that endometriosis could--and would--return.) Well, the clinic is always very booked, so there was no way I could see Dr. Doran before my anniversary. So I said I'd see any doctor, and they gave me an appointment with a different doctor. I took time off work (meaning someone had to cover for me and I wasn't making any money) and went to my appointment. I'd been waiting about an hour when a nurse came and told me that I couldn't possibly be allowed to see a doctor other than my regular doctor. When she wouldn't budge and I had to reschedule, it was too much and I was reduced to tears. So when I returned for my rescheduled appointment [after my anniversary], someone at the billing desk wanted me to check a little box that said they could submit charges for treatment for my depression to my insurance company. I refused and told the doctor that my being upset did not constitute depression. "They just made a mistake," he said. "It's no good being upset with them. Anyone can make a mistake." Well, he was right. He made a big mistake, costing me time and money while his clinic dragged out a stressful situation. I left the clinic in the dust--not that a gynecologist has much of an issue finding new patients in a college town.
Ford Corners: We ended up at Ford Corners (in New Mexico?) for transmission trouble in Bill's dad's truck. We waited and waited and waited for the diagnosis--it took forever. Meanwhile, the salespeople tried desperately to sell us vehicles. The same salespeople completely ignored an [American] Indian family, despite the family's obvious interest in a truck. Now, maybe the family didn't have the money for the truck; but if those people win the lottery, I hope they shop elsewhere.
Houge's: This is a company in Ames, Iowa that specializes in vehicle interiors. We took our '84 Jeep Cherokee Chief in in the hope of eventually ending up with a show-quality vehicle (not necessarily so we could show the vehicle, but just to have it that nice). We bought a Jeep with the same interior (only it was a four-door with headrests as opposed to a two-door without) and used it as a donor; the upholstery was to replace bad spots in the upholstery in our Jeep. My husband specifically requested new vinyl at the top of the back seat; this request was ignored. When installing a new headliner and matching material on the visors, the company actually broke the vanity mirror on my visor. All the junk from under the seats was left out, so the Jeep was actually dirtier upon coming home than upon being dropped off; a pack of cigarettes was in the back, not that anyone had smoked in there; the battery was dead when my husband picked up the Jeep (the guys had done their work with the doors open and the battery connected, apparently). Upon receiving these complaints, the people involved remarked that the vanity mirrors always broke when they recovered these visors. If that was the case, why on Earth would they not have informed us in advance? The company's owner did respond to my letter and request that I call him, but I didn't feel that I could express myself adequately, and my husband didn't want to mess with it. The only way I would have been satisfied, anyway, is if they had refunded our money and scouted out a new visor for us.
Hyundai/Kia: My husband reports poorly designed safety equipment in previous models.
Jiffy Lube: Not a big deal, but they have lied to me about what Jeep recommends--and then argued with me when I called them on it.
Tuffy of Ames, Iowa: Let's put it this way. They broke new items that they were installing on my vehicle, then charged me for them.
good places to buy stuff
back to my main page