Massachusetts gown rental shop forced to make changes after dozens of dresses not returned
BRIDGEWATER - Miss Louise Prom Closet and Special Occasion Dress Shop in Bridgewater is the only gown rental shop in New England. But now owner Julie Lovell is having a major problem - many customers aren't returning the dresses.
Calls for dresses not returned
Lovell put out a post on Facebook as a last resort recently after struggling to get back between 40 and 60 of her dresses.
"I did the post because I felt like my calling or texting wasn't helping or working, " Lovell told WBZ-TV. She has a two week return window.
"After two weeks, I understand things happen. People get sick, you're on vacation, there's a death in the family, or out of sight, out of mind, you just forget," she explained. But dozens of gowns haven't been returned.
New donations of dresses
After her Facebook post, the community response to wanting to help out her shop was amazing with more than 500 shares. She even received new donations to help replenish her missing stock.
"People were reaching out asking if they could be my collection, where they'll call these people for me or knock on their door. I mean the community response was really unbelievable," she said.
People were even offering to pick up the late gowns for clients and return them on their behalf if they were too embarrassed themselves.
"Kind of sad"
But after the viral post, she still only got a few of the missing dresses back.
"I just got a handful to be honest and that's kind of sad," she told WBZ.
Lovell said returning the gowns is a matter of principal.
"Communication is key, I totally understand that I don't have a late fee. Just the principal of returning the dress makes a world of difference. Yes, these are donations, but I pay to clean them, I pay to repair them, and I pay for the roof over them," Lovell said.
Now it's prom dress shopping season and people are looking forward to those missing gowns.
"It's not that I'm going to close. As you can see, I have many dresses, but if that dress is a high rental dress, other people are waiting for that dress to come back," she explained.
She's been so busy during this prom season that she has about 50 people in the store at times. Some are looking for a gown that's missing.
Dress rental policy change
Lovell is now be changing her policy. She'll be keeping credit cards on file, sending a letter if you still have the gown after two weeks and now implementing late fees.
Lovell said if you're someone who needs to drop off a dress and her store hours don't work, you can contact her and drop it off at her house.
For more information, visit the shop's Facebook page.
