This is my own story, the one that inspired me to gather up all these reviews and put them in one place where I hope other people will be able to find them when they are trying to decide where to spend their "hair dollars".
When I first purchased through Isadore Hoffman, Featherlite was located in Toronto, Canada, and she had excellent reviews. I couldn't find a bad one! This was probably around 2011. I was extremely happy with my purchase (a topper), and although it was expensive, I thought I had received a good value for my money because I finally had something I wanted to wear. A year later I ordered a second topper, and loved that one too. At first I was reluctant to colour these toppers because they were "virgin hair" and I didn't want to mess with that. But eventually I decided to highlight one of them, and it came out very nicely. I was happy, and I think I added some positive reviews to the internet body of information about Featherlite, which was all pretty positive.
In November of 2014, I decided to order another two toppers of two different lengths. I wanted another shorter one, like the others, and I wanted a longer one. I paid $1800USD for the shorter one and $3788USD for the longer one (20 inches). The shorter one was in stock, but the longer one had to be a custom order. I was a bit surprised by how long it took Isadore to mail the stock piece (a couple of weeks). This seemed strange, but it showed up and it was like the others, so I wasn't worried about the custom piece.
My mistake here, I think, was that it did not occur to me to check Isadore's recent reviews before placing this order. Having dealt with her in the past, and having been very happy with her product, it did not cross my mind to think that things might have changed. I assumed I would be getting the same product as I had in the past.
Isadore told me the custom topper would take sixteen weeks. As it was the end of November, I assumed I'd be seeing the piece around the end of March, giving her a bit of wiggle room. Mid-March I sent her an email asking her about a particular cut I was hoping she could do on the piece, because I was expecting it soon. Her response was:
You don't need to worry. I think it will still be a while longer. (sic)
This was when I began to worry. Something about the unsolicited advice not to worry (when I wasn't worried) made me worry! I asked her again at the end of April when I could expect the piece. This time she responded that she would ask the factory and get back to me. She did not get back to me.
In May I emailed again asking if she had heard from the factory. Her response:
Yes, they are still working on it. I try not to rush them in general but will let them know you are waiting.
My next contact was mid-June. I asked again and said I was really hoping to have the piece before August. Isadore replied:
I actually think it's coming at the end of August. Do you want me to ask?
By this point I was getting quite concerned. Do you want me to ask?? Isadore's lackadaisical attitude about the whole thing was starting to alarm me. By this point the piece was three months later than promised and I was starting to worry that I had spent all this money on nothing. This was when I finally realised I should probably check her online reviews and see if something was going on. When I found what I found, I felt sick. There were several other reviews online now that talked about the same experience I was having. I was scared. One woman had posted several of the emails between herself and Isadore, in which Isadore was rude and abusive, calling her stupid.
What I learned from these reviews was a very important piece of information. According to these reviewers, they were able to get their money back when their wigs did not show up by filing for a chargeback through their credit card companies. I wondered if I should do that too… but I still really wanted the topper! Of course I wanted it. I had ordered it, and shelled out big money for it, because I wanted it. These women posted that there was a limited window of time in which credit card companies could file a chargeback, so I resolved to get my hair or get my money back within that time frame.
I wrote Isadore again in mid-June and told her I had an event at the beginning of August, and needed the topper by then. At this point I was ready to file a chargeback if she didn't get it to me by the beginning of August. (I did not actually have an event, but I wanted a firm deadline I could give her.) In the first week of July, Isadore wrote me with a surprising offer. She asked if I wanted to borrow a wig of hers for the event.
This took my anxiety down significantly. I thought that if she was willing to send me something for the interim, it certainly meant she was sincere about getting my topper to me eventually. I gratefully accepted this offer and waited. Isadore said she would send me a tracking number, which she never did. I asked her for the tracking number three times, and she never sent it. But the wig did eventually arrive, and I was mollified for the time being. I figured I had a piece just as nice as the one I'd ordered, so I would just hang onto it until mine arrived. The wig was the wrong colour for me to wear it (the same colour the topper ended up being!) but I was glad to have it anyway as I felt it provided me with some leverage.
On September 22nd, frustrated, I finally wrote to Isadore again, asking her what was going on. I was extremely careful with my wording (knowing that she could become angry and verbally abusive) but I told her that the factory was really "dropping the ball" by taking so long. And I told her what my credit card company had told me, which was that if I didn't have it by November 3rd, I needed to file a chargeback or it would be too late. Well, that set her off. She said I was being "impatient" (haha) and that the factory was operating just fine. She also told me to send back her wig immediately.
The next day I told Isadore very calmly that if she needed me to send the wig back, I would be filing a chargeback immediately as I would need the money to order something new. She responded very quickly with an apology and said that I could keep the wig until my topper was ready, and "wear it in good health". She said she felt terrible for keeping me waiting so long and needed me to be patient just a little while longer. This was the first time Isadore apologized for ANY of this situation. If she had apologized any of the other times I had written to her, I think it would have gone a long way to make me feel better and less worried - but since this apology followed a written temper tantrum, it really only served to worry me further about who and what I was dealing with.
(This apology really made me reflect on the value of apologies in general, how much they can help soothe bad feelings in difficult situations. I thought about the number of times I asked Isadore about the lateness of my order and how many times she passed up the opportunity to make me feel better about it by simply apologizing. If she had ever taken any responsibility for the problem I think I would have responded very differently when things went array. This was one of those Note To Self moments I like to seize upon when I can extract a life lesson from a bad situation.)
A week later Isadore wrote to tell me that the factory told her my topper would be sent to her on October 12. On October 18 she wrote to tell me she had the topper. She assured me it was perfect, and said the factory had made two - just in case I loved the first one so much I wanted a second.
Then things got sticky again. Isadore said I needed to mail her wig back to her before she would send me the topper.
I was worried about this because it would, again, require me to take a leap of faith for someone in whom I now I had no faith! I asked her if I could keep it until the other one arrived. I offered to put a "deposit" in escrow as a show of good faith… Nada. She refused to send it until I mailed back her wig and gave her the tracking number. So, left with no choice, I did it. I sent her the tracking number, and she mailed the topper. In a burst of pure genius comedic timing, Isadore wrote: "We've worked together so many times before. I just don't understand why you are so worried all of a sudden."
Mailing back the wig was a strange experience. She asked me write on the customs forms that it was a "costume wig" valued at 12$. I followed her instructions with trepidation.
My topper arrived on October 29th, 2015, just over eleven months after I ordered it, and thus begun the next chapter of trouble.
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