February 2013 by Kelsey W.
I live in Denver, Colorado, but previously am from Columbus and danced with Ohio State University's Ballroom Dance Team. When visiting Columbus over the December holidays, Ballroom Trends was recommended to me by my ex-ballroom dance coach, who is well known in the Columbus dance community. In need of a pair of dance shoes, I visited the business and was impressed with the owner's knowledge and selection of products. With her great assistance we found a pair of shoes that fit well and were well equipped for my dancing needs. This business requires payment in cash or check. Though it was a struggle to come up with enough cash on such short notice, I gladly did so because I trusted this business, the expertise, and the shoe. When I arrived back in Denver in early January I danced once in the shoes and was greatly satisfied. However, upon putting them on for the second time the buckle broke off, rendering them unwearable. I was obviously very surprised and disappointed that a shoe would break after one wear, but expected Ballroom Trends to replace or refund the shoes as the break was clearly a manufacturing error. Rather than agreeing this, however, Ballroom Trends asked me to ship the shoes back to the manufacture and settle the issue with them myself. I spoke with the manufacture and they seconded what I believed all along, that it is the vendor's responsibility to rectify this situation. Though Ballroom Trends did also contact the manufacture about this issue, they have been unwilling to pay for the shoes, repair, or even shipping. I find it unreasonable that I,the customer, am expected to be responsible for rectifying this situation. Asking me to pay even more money to have a repair done to shoes I have worn only once is unacceptable. I trusted Ballroom Trends to sell me a quality shoe that I could enjoy for years. Not only have I been without shoes for a month because of this situation, this business has been unwilling to stand by their product and provide good customer service. I do not recommend this business to anyone in need of ballroom dance shoes or clothing, as the customer service and product dependability is abysmal.
