Hey Gang creates functional, versatile clothing for both kids and adults.

Hey Gang

Ranch Boots

Clothing

Frustrating (Lack of) Customer Service on Defective Boots

I should mention first that I have previously purchased children’s clothes from The Hey Gang. They are great quality with fast shipping and I have never needed to make a return on children’s clothing, but I will be wary if I choose to shop with Hey Gang after my most recent experience. 

I purchased the Ranch Boots as a pre-order item in size 8 for $625. This was an exciting, expensive purchase for me. The boots arrived very quickly. I was thrilled to have these boots and tried them on immediately. My left foot slipped easily into the left boot. The right boot would not allow my foot past the heel. Upon closer inspection, the right boot heel was also a noticeable 1/4 inch higher than the left. It was apparent this was a defective pair. 

I immediately emailed the Hey Gang customer service. I explain the problem and asked for a solution and was curious what the answer would be — as the boots were pre-order, one boot was too small, and the next size up was listed as sold out online. This was on a Thursday morning. 

I received no response and sent another email after two days. I also reached out on Instagram after 24 hours.

I sent another email on Saturday morning with the subject “Please Respond.” I explained that I was trying to follow their return rules listed on the extensive Returns Policy page even though I was dealing with a defective item, because the lack of response made me nervous to be stuck with these expensive, unwearable boots. I included a photo of the heel discrepancy and all order information, trying to be as helpful as possible, wanting a resolution. 

I waited through the weekend and received a short response on Monday afternoon from Hey Gang customer service. The email did not respond to my worries about sizing or give me guidance toward returning or exchanging the boots. There was also no apology for the defect. There was an apology for the delay in answering my email. The email said they were “hoping to have a replacement pair made” for me to “try out.” There was no offer of a return label for the boots I had. 

I tried emailing back with my worries about sizing and the responding emails from the Hey Gang seemed like automatic form emails. The personal information I was sharing was not being acknowledged. The process around how I would get new boots and what size they would be was extremely unclear. I asked for a phone number to be able to speak to a person but was told email was the only option. 

I finally got an email from the customer service that accidentally included email messages about my situation to a higher up person. The higher up person told customer service to give me a full refund because “she is just going to be a problem no matter what it seems” meaning me and my emails, not the defective boots I had received from them, as the problem.

I was very relieved to be given a refund at this point, as I had been given no reassurances that the money I paid would result in a pair of boots that would fit. But the entire experience definitely left me feeling like a Problem instead of a valuable customer. 
 

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