Belk: Revisiting My Experience

As all of you locals know, the department store Parisian was bought last year (or the year before, I can't remember) by Belk. I was surprised to hear several women at church declare that they would no longer shop at the store if it had the "Belk" name. I wasn't familiar with Belk and looked forward to trying a new store. Parisian had the market on "fine" department stores in this area, which was a serious let down after shopping in Philadelphia for almost 10 years.

Well, I was a bit optimistic in my thinking. The ladies at church were 100% correct.

I wrote the following email to Belk 12/30/2007:

I visited the Belk store in Cullman, AL over the weekend and was so disappointed that I left the store. The clothing rounds were shoved in the store, clothing was all over the floor, there were no sales associates available...it was like shopping at Goodwill at Parisian prices. I do not care for the Kim Rogers brand because of poor quality and fit, and became just disgusted with the appearance of the store. I live close to Huntsville and will visit the Belk nee Parisian, but there are too many options for shopping for me to feel as if I need to rummage through a garage sale disguised as a department store.

This was their reply on 01/01/2008:
Thank you for taking time to contact us at Belk.com.

We place a tremendous value on the feedback we get from our customers - especially when it concerns any problem or dissatisfaction that they have experienced. Your email has been forwarded to the appropriate personnel within Belk who can best address your concerns.

Sincerely,
Belk.com Customer Care

I never heard another word. I am not really a shopper, so I'm not sure my absence from their store will be a big loss to their bottom line, but I will tell you this: Dillard's is the store I would recommend for your department-store needs.