Online Shop Review: ASOS

A friend and coworker hosted a fabulous holiday party this past December and she wore the most fabulous dress- a dress I envied quite a bit. She looked so amazing- it was a truly unique LBD. Months later, I asked her where she got it and she excitedly told me about ASOS- an online store for all types of fashions- clothes, accessories, shoes, etc. She was excited to tell me about it because she had noticed a day or two before that her dress had been heavily marked down. I was so excited at the possibility of not only getting that dress for myself, but getting it at a bargain to boot! Minutes later, I'd registered with the site, added the dress to my shopping cart and checked out. I was so excited to know that dress would be on its way to my house in a matter of days. Check out how cute it is:

It also came in red: 

Honestly, I die for this dress in either color, but the red happened to be available in my size, so that's what I ordered. A few days later, I came home from work to find a package waiting for me. I ripped it open, only to find they'd sent the wrong dress entirely. It wasn't even the same brand, color or size. In fact, they sent a dress about 6 sizes bigger than what I'd ordered. Honestly, the fact that it was a dress was about the only thing it had in common with the dress I'd ordered. Disappointed and dejected, I went to bed. 

The next day, I woke up and researched the ASOS return method for when you receive the wrong item. Apparently, they have an email address "wrong@asos.com" for just this type of situation. I found that a bit odd. I emailed my predicament, hoping they'd simply switched my order with someone else's and that it could be resolved. Unfortunately, all I ever got were automated form-emails explaining the return process and offering me 10% off a future purchase in the next couple of weeks. The thing is, I know it may seem like an isolated incident to you, but the entire situation felt very contrived to me. Because my dress had "sold out" in the meantime, there's no possibility of exchanging the wrong dress for the right one. Explain that one. 

Basically, even with online companies, I expect the highest level of customer service, particularly when something has gone wrong. I've never felt less taken care of than I did with ASOS. And as for my friend who recommended the site? Well, it turns out she's had similar problems with the company, too- they sent her a leather bomber jacket when she'd ordered a trench coat. And then gave her a hard time about returning it. So while she may have gotten a fabulous dress from them a few months ago, their performance is far from stellar for her as well. 

Have any of you tried this company? Have you had good or bad experiences with them? I'm curious to hear what your experiences have been (if any). In the meantime, I suppose I'll have to make do with the other red party dresses in my closet.