Shadow Dale Creations, A 2nd Opinion

[garver76]

Man, I don't like reading reviews like this. I placed a rather expensive ($800) order with them back in February... I was quoted approx 3 months for my costume to be made and delivered. I was getting worried about progress, and had told them I'd like to have it in time for Dragon-Con..... they told me I'd have it in time..... I still haven't gotten my order. I can say they have always responded to my emails within a day.... usually within a few hours. If I finally get my order and it doesn't fit (like the above poster) I'm gonna be pretty darn upset. I'm surprised that neither of the communication persons there have added any sort of reply here.

 

[Apollo]

It sounds like they have fallen into the Shaunn Laurence? business mode using new money to finish off old orders, hence the outrageous wait time.

That and their lack of response on this thread speaks volumes :unsure

Good luck to all who need it!

 

[Shadow Duchess]

We've been keeping busy trying to get orders done which is why the lack of response on this board.
This started out with one customer who was telling his side of things and we've come to a resolution however, it almost always seems to end up in an online war with costumers always ending up being the bad guys.
Yes, we've made mistakes and we do try to solve them and it's not always easy but, that's not anyone else's problem.
Being baited by people isn't a way to induce anyone to want to respond and it isn't due to anyone on this thread that we've come to resolve this issue with this customer.
As another poster on here has pointed out costuming is not an easy business, it takes up most of the time, not everything goes the way that is planned and not all purchases made for costumes are timely or always what has been ordered. A lot of the work involved is custom dyeing, pattern making and altering to fit and it takes time and often a lot of hand sewing.
Again none of this is your problem but it is something we have to do on this end to make these items.
We are also human and make mistakes or get sick I suffered a heart attack earlier this year and suffer minor issues from it as a result again, not your problem and we are still working through our orders.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions however, before the townspeople chase us down with pitchforks they need to consider both sides of the coin and know that we are doing our best.

 

[Funky]

That's funny. You keep throwing up excuses and then follow it up with "it's not your problem". How many times did you say that in your post? It's a post full of excuses, and you're right, it's not the customers problem. You also state that you resolved the issue with this particular customer. Well I've been in contact with said customer and he's said that he reached a brick wall with you until this thread was well on it's way. Then out of the blue you offer him a replacement. Your backpeddeling here is quite the joke!

 

[Apollo]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions however, before the townspeople chase us down with pitchforks they need to consider both sides of the coin and know that we are doing our best.

If how you treated Winston Wolf was the best you have to offer, I would hate to see your worst. :unsure

 

[Shadow Duchess]

No, it's not the best we have to offer and in his case I believe there was missed communication. I had thought we were going to remake his tunic after getting the original back but nothing happened.

If how you treated Winston Wolf was the best you have to offer, I would hate to see your worst. :unsure

 

[Apollo]

Well by his recent post it seems he was very un-happy with the way he was treated by you.

You might want to reach out and see if there is anything you could do to make him happy.

I'm sure you know the old axiom about it only taking one bad deal to make a reputation go down

 

[Funky]

ONE bad deal? This is NOT the first time someone has issues with Shadow Dale and posted it here. Strange. It seems that when a deal goes bad with them, the only time they are willing to make good is when the issue is brought to the public eye. I have the feeling we will see more negative threads about Shadow Dale.

 

[Shadow Duchess]

I have already pm'd him to see what I can do to rectify the matter with him.
Thank you for the considerate response.

Well by his recent post it seems he was very un-happy with the way he was treated by you.

You might want to reach out and see if there is anything you could do to make him happy.

I'm sure you know the old axiom about it only taking one bad deal to make a reputation go down

 

[garver76]

Again, I will state that while my order is taking longer than I was quoted (which isn't a big deal to me) they have always been good about communications and trying to work with me to keep me happy. I am curious about the measurements sent by the customer who said his item didn't fit at all. I had help taking my measurements, but after the longer than quoted wait for my item I'm afraid mine may not fit either... I have been eating well since I placed my order

I look forward to getting my order so I can give a review of the whole experience from payment to receipt of item.

So far the only complaint I have heard from a multitude of persons is the longer than quoted wait. Most of the people I have talked to about Shadowdale have mentioned nothing but good experiences regarding quality and the items being worth the wait.

 

[ryanlb]

My order took longer than was originally quoted (8 months vs 2-3 months). I was told several times (at 3 months, at 5 months, and 7 months) that it would ship soon, and by my definition it never did - though it did show up eventually.. They were always quick to respond, they did have a couple of valid reasons for delay (I think a heart attack is cause for delay), my only complaint with that is that they waited until I bugged them a couple of times to disclose the nature of the delays. They were very courteous - even when I pretty much accused them of stealing $600 from me - and tried hard to leave me with a good experience.

By the 7 month mark I was ready to give up costuming, I felt I had made a simple order - a Royal Guard helmet and two robes - yet it was taking a long time, I felt I had given them a lot of money and after half a year and nothing to show for it, and I was ready to sell the costume as soon as it arrived.

But, it fit absolutely perfectly. There was a small issue with the helmet when it arrived, but they cleared it up for me right away, and without me needing to make it public. I don't think I could be happier with the costume. I tried it on when it arrived to make sure I didn't have size issues to complain about, and I didn't. I was completely satisfied and enjoy the costume immensely - I've just been given membership in the 501st legion due to this costume.

Yes, it took a long time, but that is the only real problem I had, the communication was acceptable, they tried hard to make me happy with my purchase, and I am.

 

[Emeldahay]

I`d say if you you felt you had to "pretty much accuse them of stealing" I`d call that a BAD SIGN!!!:confused

 

[ryanlb]

After 7 months I didn't expect to get anything from them (despite the good recommendations I had from others). I'm happy to say I was wrong.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

Shadow Duchess,

Got your PM. No, I never did receive a reply after sending pics of the tunic and asking for a remake or refund. And I'm not willing to chalk it up to spam blocker or any other message delivery issues either since I only use one email address and I'd never had any issues getting responses to my requests from you up until that point. I have every email you've ever sent me, from your confirmation of my order on 6/15/06 to your sending me a tracking number on 12/15/06. That email on 12/15 was the very last time I ever heard anything from you.

You may have intended to respond to my request and forgot or hoped I'd simply drop the issue if you didn't get back to me, but the reasons aren't really important anymore. You did not respond and I chose not to push the issue.

As far as I was concerned for good or bad I was finally done with an unsatisfactory deal that had gone four-and-a-half months over schedule. I really wasn't interested in potentially waiting another six months for another tunic, and you had already made it clear to me from our previous discussions around month four or five that a refund wasn't an option anyway.

So as far as I'm concerned I'm done with the situation and pretty much with Trek costuming in general. I know exactly how much blood I can squeeze out of a turnip so it really isn't worth me getting worked up over it, especially now after ten months have passed. As far as I'm concerned you had six months to make good on your end of the deal and couldn't do it. All the attention I'm getting now is just damage control, not customer service...

 

[defstartrooper]

Please take this as constructive advice, it does seem that the majority of issues you have are with timeframe not only with the people that have posted in this thread but in other threads i have seen here too.
I realise that the work you do takes time and i am sure that many of the people that have had complaints about delays would have too if you gave them a realistic timeframe quote to begin with.
I would personally much rather someone say to me yes i can take your order but it may be up to 6 months due to backorders,material supplies etc than someone say yeah sure i'll have it done in 6 weeks.
Maybe you take too much on i don't know but it's tempting to take every order placed even if you are up to your eyes in work but if that is just going to lead to long delays and negative experiences then sooner or later you may find yourself with no work at all.
The other issue you have is putting things right when they go wrong quality wise.
Again this really is something that needs to be addressed.
Good customer care goes a long way every person that makes and supplies goods of any kind will have these issues it is down to how you deal with them that matters.
If you make your customer happy and resolve an issue with minimum hassle they will remember that and will probably even return in future and recommend you to others.
Example,i had someone make me a flightsuit for a biker scout costume when it arrived it was too small i sent that person an email explained that the item didn't fit by the end of that day i had a reply they sent me the money to ship it back and had a replacement out to me straight away at their cost no arguements no quibling.
Now whilst i was annoyed a little when the item turned up and didn't fit the response i got when i contacted them left me happy and i have indeed given them more business since and told others about the good service.
Even if it does cost you a few bucks to keep that 1 customer happy it is money well spent.

 

[yodasan]

Back to my original post - Shadow Dale have now promised to make me
an entirely new helmet.

 

[FHC]

Myself I have had a order from SDC and yes it took longer then claimed to get it back. My order took place during the heart attack time frame. I will say this, in the end I received my suit and it is a show stopper. This suit will turn ever head in the room that is the least bit interested. I have worn it to some 3 Con now and I can say without a doubt that I have been photographed at least 50 times. Great works but your going to have to wait to get it.

At GenCon in Indy I won a first place in the SciFi class in the Costume Contest. As I said, they do great work, if your not in a hurry. In my case we worked out our problems and in the end I came out with a better suit then I hoped for.

 

[Sporak]

Hey...Lookin good there FHC