Birkenstock flip flop saga

[Victoria plumb]

Hi all.
A few weeks ago I ordered a pair of black size 6 birkenstock flip flops.
They arrived and we're in a size 6 box but the shoes were stamped uk5.5 on the base. I contacted customer service and was told that 'that's very odd' as Q 'don't do half sizes' but they arranged to collect them and send me out another pair.
The story continues. ......
The second pair arrives and they were a size 5 pair in a size 6 box and by this stage I could of gladly screamed!
I called customer service again who were extremely apologetic and assured me they would send out the 3rd pair. I asked that they please be checked before being sent as this was ridiculous. At the same time I mentioned the reviews on the website were all commenting that people were receiving half sizes so somthing was seriously wrong seeing as q only do full sizes! I was asked if id got a photograph of the first pair showing the size and I said that I hadn't thought to take a picture as evidence but seeing as they had received them back they could look at them themselves surely?!
Anyway pair no3 arrive yesterday and I'm the proud owner now of a mismatched pair, one being a 5 and one being a 5.5.
What an absolute ruddy joke.
Three pairs and still not got a pair in the right size.
The 3rd pair are now going back and I've told them I'd rather walk barefoot than order another pair.
Plus yesterday they offered to get hermes to collect the 3rd pair direct from my home but on the pervious 2 that I sent back i got sent return labels but had to take them to the post office. As I told the women yesterday maybe seeing as it's been their fault all along maybe I should of been given collections direct from my house for the first two pairs also rather than me trekking to the post office.
My complaint is currently being looked into by a dismayed customer care team !
Sorry just needed to rant!

 

[Akimbo]

I really don't think they ever bother to check the stock they have in the warehouse and just accept that the suppliers have sent the correct sizes or that customer returns are the size it says on the invoice. Years ago I ordered an a 2 piece outfit (top and trousers) which were probably a customer return as it was a re-selotaped bag with the tell-tale 2 barcode label on it. I suspect the returner had ordered a 12 and a 14 because the package sizes were miss-matched (and sadly not in a combination that I could wear!). They'd clearly kept the bits that fit and returned the rest as a set for a refund.

So that could be what happened with the 3rd pair VP but it doesn't explain the half sizes which Q don't sell. I think your exasperation is fully justifed!

 

[Victoria plumb]

Yeah I'd agree with you on your outfit problem. Some crafty person obviously made themselves am outfit that fit!
Qvc need to check what's being sent out though. All the shoe boxes were sealed with sellotape but who knows! I admit defeat on ever receiving a black size 6�� x

 

[louise66]

I have always found CS to be excellent, and still believe that. The problem is, evidently, with quality control and the warehouse staff. I recently received an HP laptop which had - imo - been sent out as a previous order, and CS sent someone out to collect it next day.
The QC seems to be deteriorating, with more and more shoppers on this forum having problems in this department. QVC needs to realise that we will only put up with so much until, eventually, we will just stop patronising the channel or, at the very least, reduce the amount of money we spend.
VP, your patience really has been tested to the limit. You deserve some form of financial compensation for the hassle. Just a thought but, with another footwear range, they did mention that the sizes were american, and come in half sizes. Don't quite understand it, but it wasn't Birkenstock. If you order a size 5, that is what you should receive. If it is european sizing, it will be a 38, but it should be mentioned on air, so as to eliminate any possible misunderstanding.

 

[Akimbo]

Years ago my mum ordered a set of pants from a catalogue; a brand she already wore (probably sloggi or similar). She'd ordered the size she always wore but was sent a size larger which came with a note saying that as the sizing was smaller than UK standard sizing they'd sent a size larger. They had to go back but they suggested she could order down a size to get the size she wanted! Madness because she was ordering the size that corresponded with the ones she already owned which were a perfect size 10 and were labeled "size 10".

Birki's are strange because I'm a 4 (Clarks) and 4 and a half (other ranges) but consistently wear a 3 (36) in all styles of birkenstocks. If I even buy another pair of Emus I'd probably go for a 3 as my sizes 4s got too baggy within a couple of wears. Fit is such a personal thing and I've been caught out following advice given in reviews rather than buying my usual size (a pair of boots from Amazon).

You'd think you'd at least get a matching pair of wrong-sized shoes!

 

[Crinkly]

I've never been to the QVC warehouse, so this is just a guess, but:

It makes no sense at all for the Q to do their own packing. They just wouldn't take it on. I'll bet that every single item in the warehouse is already in sealed packaging when it arrives from the manufacturer. Cosmetics in sealed cardboard, clothes in sealed sellophane, jewellery already in wee boxes inside the cardboard posting box. Certainly Dennis Basso's stuff has been tissue papered and sealed. No way will QVC staff open every Emu box and wade through the tissue paper to identify the size!

The only thing that the Q warehouse staff will do is grab a bag or box or jiffy off a pallet, slap on an address label, and throw it into the post.

I completely agree that the QC is cr*p in this case! and that you are entitled to be recompensed for time, hassle and inconvenience! But I think that QVC have been left holding the baby, when in fact they haven't a clue what is actually inside all those packages.

The real culprit is the bored joker standing in the Birkenstock packing line, probably in Germany, or China, who decided to mix it up a little. They were probably disgruntled at their minimum wage, and working out their notice with nothing to lose and thought it would be hilarious to mess about with the sizes. They could have been doing it for weeks!

Ok, I know I'm getting fanciful, but you get the idea...

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

VP I have purchased a number of the flip flops and the other plastic one then did years ago and the similar one now in stock and they DO have the half size on the sole. This worked well for me because I am a half size but of course it was a full size I ordered because Q don't do half sizes. I think it may have something to do with the conversion from euro sizes to UK.

 

[Mazza]

I think like a lot of large retailers they will not check every box from the suppliers so, as Crinkly says, the root of the problem is with the Birkenstock packer. Q probably do a random spot check of a certain %. Well, I say that but as they no longer seem too bothered, they probably don't!! Mind you Q are totally responsible for Qc when it comes to flogging returns, and given the stories on this forum of soiled or damaged goods being turned around they clearly do not take that role too seriously.

 

[Victoria plumb]

Thanks for the replies guys. With regards the sizing, I've already got these same flip flops in a size 5 and a size 6 and when I measured the uk 5.5 ones they sent they are actually halfway between the 5 and 6 so they definitely are a half size.
I've not yet heard back from q which is just wonderful considering the problems I've had.

 

[jaydeen]

That's a disgrace, but it doesn't surprise me in the least. For all they know you could have needed them in time for a holiday or something. It's a real pain in the back side having to send things back anyway, but getting it wrong 3 times in a row is just a disgrace. They should be giving you a huge discount for their mistakes. That's why it annoys me so much when presenters like CH go on and on about how much better qvc are than all the other retailers. RUBBISH!

 

[goldie]

I always order a size 8 and comes up as size 41 which is 7.5 but that is prefect for me.

 

[Ballerina]

I have no joy with Birkenstock either. I am a size3 (36) in Clarks, also M&S shoes but the Birkis size 3 is too big for me. I just don't do mail order shoes because I have had some problems with wrong sizes being sent and it gets too frustrating having to post the bulky parcels back.

Inge x

 

[Akimbo]

You might be okay with kids' Birkenstocks, but I'd still try them in a shop before you buy mail order. They go up to a euro size 34 and the Gizehs look just like the adult ones; the other models have heel straps...they also do cute felt clogs with animal faces on the front!

I couldn't find any size 35s, which falls between their child and adult ranges.

 

[thatu]

I tried on a pair of Birkenstocks in a shop once and I had to go down a size, too.

 

[CallMeQ]

well once Q sent me an empty diamonique box and when i contacted them they accused me of lying! I'd ordered a diamonique cross necklace for my mother for her birthday (she'd seen its presentation and loved it, so i sneakily tapped the app), because they were going to have to send me a returns label and i'd have to wait until they'd received it before sending a replacement, i said i'd rather just have a refund so i could re-order it and it would arrive in time for me to give as a gift... because i asked for a refund they decided i was lying about the box being empty! ****** cheek! I had to re-order the item before they'd allow me to request the empty box be returned for a refund.

Then a few weeks later I was treating myself to an aurora necklace, a ring arrived! it was lovely, but way too small to fit me, so i informed them that they'd sent the wrong item - it turns out someone had ordered 2 aurora items, and returned one using the incorrect cardboard sleeve over the box, which lead to the barcode just being scanned it and being put back onto the shelf... this proves they don't check whats inside!!!

 

[Mazza]

When I had trouble with the UK's No1 brand last week and was spoken to as if I were trailer trash (IMO) a friend pointed out that these days it is just pot luck who answers the phone, and I think she is right. Some reports show QCS can be really nice and helpful, but it is obvious some of them hold the view that the customer is always wrong. It would be too much trouble for the person involved to check whether there has been any previous dodgy behaviour which could throw up a suspicion, better just to doubt the customer and not bother doing anything.

 

[srhgts]

When I had trouble with the UK's No1 brand last week and was spoken to as if I were trailer trash (IMO) a friend pointed out that these days it is just pot luck who answers the phone, and I think she is right. Some reports show QCS can be really nice and helpful, but it is obvious some of them hold the view that the customer is always wrong. It would be too much trouble for the person involved to check whether there has been any previous dodgy behaviour which could throw up a suspicion, better just to doubt the customer and not bother doing anything.

Oh my god that sounds awful, what exactly did they say?

 

[Starlight]

I know that in some styles of Birkenstocks the Size 39 is a Size 6 but on others the 39 is a 5.5, I have them in both and they measure exactly the same - I assume that the 5.5s you were sent were 39 so what European size do the Size 6's you have in this style have on them as a Size 40 would be a 7?

 

[Victoria plumb]

I know that in some styles of Birkenstocks the Size 39 is a Size 6 but on others the 39 is a 5.5, I have them in both and they measure exactly the same - I assume that the 5.5s you were sent were 39 so what European size do the Size 6's you have in this style have on them as a Size 40 would be a 7?

Its a mystery!
The uk5.5 I received were in between a 5 and a size 6 and I held them against 2 pairs different members of the family have already.
To me though, if a uk5.5 from birkenstock is actually a 5 or 6 then that should be explained. If you were presenting these as a gift to someone who was a full size they would automatically presume you had bought them the wrong size. You shouldn't have to explain that "no they are actually right it's just birkenstock sizing!?"
They shouldn't send out stock with half sizes on when customers order full sizes. It's like ordering a dress in a size 14 but them sending out a 12 and when queried telling you "its ok... That size from that manufacturer is actually correct" "just ignore the label"!? It's like buying from a dodgy market trader who is selling stuff which is labelled incorrectly.

 

[Akimbo]

If you watch QVC fashion shows they very often say this is a "generous" range or is "true to size" which is bonkers! Why can't the get the manufacturers to standardise their labels, particularly those brands which don't sell anywhere else but qvc. I haven't been a size 10 since long before I had children and, as approximately a 14, I'm not "flattered" by say Diane Gilman's apparent size 10 fitting me, it simply means I've had to return a couple of size 14s and 12s in the process of finding my size.

Shoes are slightly different because I know from experience that not all size 4s suit the shape of my feet so I stick to styles that work; I'd never order a ballerina style pump mail order because they often are too shallow for my high instep but invariably still slip off because my heels are narrow, however once you know your size in a brand they should be consistent as far as the length of the foot bed is concerned.

QVC CS only need acknowledge the buyer's frustration when they've been sent repeated wrong items for the buyer to feel respected. It's such a tiny shift in attitude but their mind set seems fixed as "never admit blame". They'll never beat the likes of John Lewis until they make this shift.