And the final chapter in this story:
On Friday, July 1, I called Bella You to try to sort out what was going on. I spoke to Margaret.
I expressed my concern about what had happened, and asked her for clarification on things. I was told that I "shouldn't be worrying about all of this" and that I "needed to trust them to handle it."
I informed her that Michele had been told on Monday that the dress would NOT arrive on time, as it was shipping on July 8. She replied that that was not what Michele was told, and that I was wrong. I asked how she knew that, and she replied "I was standing there listening." When I inquired as to why she refused to take the call, she told me that Monday was her day off and she was entitled to not take calls if she didn't want to.
I told her we didn't want the dress, and that we'd like a full refund. She again told me that we should have "trusted them" and if we didn't want to buy the dress from Bella You, we should have told them TWO WEEKS AGO. That would have been very difficult, since I didn't even know that the dress was missing at that time!!
I expressed my frustration with the communication problems, including Bella You not contacting the attendants until eleven days after the dresses arrived. That is when she told me that it was MY responsibility as the bride to "spread the word" that the dresses were in, and have everyone call the shop. Yes, you read that right, according to the owner of Bella You, it is the BRIDE'S job to let everyone know the dresses are in.
She also told me that "it was a waste of everyone's time to talk about dates and when phone calls were made, because that's not the important issue here. The important issue is that the dress was on the way and it would be in on time, as they promised." I asked how she could guarantee that, since the dress wasn't shipped yet, and again she said I just needed to "trust her."
I brought up the issue of the rush alterations that were going to need to be done, and she told me "Any shop that charges extra for rush alterations is taking advantage of you." WHAT??? They themselves offered "rush alterations" for "only $45." Considering the entire mess was their fault to begin with, any alterations offered should have been FREE, quite frankly.
So, this is the end of my tale. I won't be speaking with them, the charges are going to be reversed on the credit card, and I will encourage anyone considering doing business with them to think twice. Consider my experience, and the experience of MANY other brides; a quick search online will show you that this is NOT a unique problem with them.