Overnight Expectations & Immediate Disappointments
The Briar Patch has become an online presence in a somewhat backward manner from most other online retailers, and certainly from all of our competitors selling dresses for girls online (and suits for boys!). Our business is first a true storefront retailer of special ocassion clothing. As such, we operate by procedures tried and true for almost all serious vendors of flower girl dresses and wedding attire. Our competitors decided first to sell online and none have an established storefront business from which their operations evolved. Several competitors chose to sell online and then secured wharehouse space close to the sewing houses of designers, their plan being to ship very quickly by restocking very quickly. It is a smart plan, but not an option available to The Briar Patch. Our building already existed in Texas and our founders wished to keep a storefront presence in our community.
Therefore, our processing and shipping times are longer than other online retailers. The Briar Patch tries to add convenience in ways other than rushed processing and shipping; we do offer FREE Priority Mail shipping which generally takes 2 to 3 days less transit time between states than UPS Ground. We also offer free shipping on most dresses for girls and suits for boys. Flower girl dresses and boys' suits can be returned for exchange, absolutely free. We will pay the shipping back to us for any dress or suit requiring exchange, we also pay the shipping back to you. There are no restock fees and a very liberal time allowance for returns and exchanges (30 days , changed from 14 days in 2011). Our prices are also as low as business sense can allow.
We ask our customers to allow us 10 to 14 working days for processing, shipping, and delivery of an order. This is especially true for orders of mulitples in the same color and style flower girl dresses or ring bearer suits. Dye lots, material lots, and even accent lots can vary greatly between production runs. For this reason we order, by person and especially for our customers, their multiple orders for any style flower girl dress or ring bearer suit. This takes more time as we must receive your order here from the designer, then inspect, steam, and pack it for shipment.
The Briar Patch also chooses to maintain as fresh an inventory as possible, we do not overstock our styles, but depend on planned weekly restock shipments so that dye, material, and accent lots are fresh and current. We stock shallow, but restock often. This inventory cycle can also cause a longer processing time than a stockpiled wharehouse operation can provide.
So, please, we ask you to consider our business process for flower girl dress orders and compare it with our competitors. If time is of the essence and you have little care for cautious and proper handling of an order, we may not be the correct retailer to meet your needs. If you have planned your event carefully and time allows you to place a pleasantly early order, we are confident our stellar customer service and unmatched selection of dresses for girls and suits for boys will be well suited (or dressed) for your special event needs.
Dress pictured above is Pale Pastel with Lace Fancy Dress for girls.
Posted by Tiffani at 10/12/2011 5:58 PM 
Categories: Store Policy Updates
Tags: flower girl dresses dresses for girls suits for boys first holy communion dresses white dresses girls dresses
Categories: Store Policy Updates
Tags: flower girl dresses dresses for girls suits for boys first holy communion dresses white dresses girls dresses
Understood, plan ahead! When in a rush, be patient and keep your options open. With that said, I need 4 flower girl dresses in 3 weeks! Please look for my order.
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Hi Marty:
Your order is received and will arrive on time. Three weeks is usually fine timing, unless you need a speedy exchange (which we will do our best to facilitate). It is orders that are needed the SAME WEEK of placement that can cause heartache for everyone. Thank you for letting us know! Perfect timing is at least 6 weeks before the event date.
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I can always do without the stress of RUSHING something as important as a flower girl dress. Plan ahead, just a bit, folks. When I was married we had to wait 8 months for the flower girl dresses, they were expensive and not well made (not even lined)...and you had NO CHOICE to return them (even though we did NOT like these dresses). Times have changed, it was SO EASY ordering this dress for my daugther to be a flower girl herself...and so inexpensive.
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