I'm embarrassed to admit how much I've spent at Madewell over the years, and to have Icon status with them. Early this morning, I placed an Applepay order with them but mistakenly used the wrong credit card. Customer service wasn't going to be open for another few hours.

But when I called, I found out it was already too late since I was using overnight shipping as an Icon (I know, waaahhh). I kindly explained my situation to the associate, but she was adamant that it couldn't be cancelled. She also mentioned that I could not return one of the items since it was final sale, even though I had made an honest mistake. She was rude and sounded like she didn't want to help me, so I asked for a supervisor.

I must've been on hold for over 15 minutes for a supervisor. I spoke with Rachel, who confirmed that they couldn't cancel the order even though it had only been two hours. She offered to place a Return to Sender request on the package. I'm not sure if Rachel's request worked, because the package just got shipped via UPS.

This experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't want to shop with Madewell anymore. In fact, I'm just going to return the rest of my recent orders because I am done with them. For a company with such great clothes and accessories, they have some awful policies that can really screw customers over.

I would give 0 stars if i could. They scam people by charging them a "return fee" of £35 but not publishing this on their website. Why would i return an item that cost £45 if i knew i had to pay a 70% return fee? It makes no sense! I may as well have sold the item on vinted. I would have been a loyal customer, (I have bought two bags both over £150 and one pair of earrings from them) but this experience has left me feeling cheated and furious.

In an age where most commerce is now online, they have unfriendly and un-progressive return and refund policies which I would go so far as to call a scam. If they are going to charge customers £35 for returns they need to put it in somewhere in big block letters, so they know what they are getting into, and not sending people an obscure link to a webpage AFTER they have already robbed you of your money.

I sent a strongly worded e-mail and they explained that " Partial order returns, or returns requested after 14 days of receipt, are charged a return fee of 35 USD. This amount is deducted from your refund once it is processed. If the entire order is returned within 14 days of receipt, as part of the Distance Selling Regulations, you aren't charged a return fee." What distance selling regulations? I shop from loads of american companies who dont rob you like this. And why only partial returrns, which mine was? They have now refunded me the full amount, but i am still never buying from them again. Really questionable and unethical business practices. Would report them somewhere if I knew where to go.

I'm fed up with Madewell. Their prices are high for what you get. Their processes are broken. For example, they say if your a Madewell insider you get free shipping and returns. But, more often than not, they charge me $7.50 for using the return level. When I ask them about this, they say that it's because I am past the 30 day return window... So, about this 30 day return window; it is not defined anywhere on their website. But when you talk to customer service their definition of 30 days is from the date Madewell ships it to the day they process your return.

Madewell shipped a shirt to me on September 3. It arrived at my house September 14th. I mailed it back September 17th. Madewell processed the return on October 10th (today). So, according to Madewell, I did not meet the 30 day return window so they gave me a gift card. The amount of time it takes for shipping to occur and Madewell to process the return is completely out of my control. I don't know why Madewell (1) has a ridiculously tight 30 day return window (2) processes are setup to be NOT in the customers favor (3) why they define 30 day return the way they do and why they don't communicate clearly with customers.

It's kind of killed Madewell for me... if there's a Madewell purchase to be made, I recommend Nordstrom to buy Madewell instead of Madewell directly. Nordstrom has a much better return policy and knows how to treat their customers, unlike Madewell.

(I discovered, in corresponding with customer service, that these jeans shipped much later than I thought. I order a lot of jeans from Madewell, hence my confusion. So this order was backordered for six months! Awful!)

I recently contacted customer service about a defective pair of jeans that I received in the spring. Because the jeans had been on a long backorder (really common with Madewell), they arrived at the beginning of the hot season, and I had not worn them all summer. I first wore my new jeans in the cool fall weather. It was only then that I noticed that they were deformed in the way they were sewn, which was something that was not evident on initial try on. So I contacted Madewell with a complaint. I stated in the email that I knew the item fell outside of return guidelines, but they need to know about this quality control problem. They emailed me back saying that yes, the return requirements dictate that the item be unworn and no more than 30 days in hand, but that they might have "other options" to explore. They asked for more information. I provided it, and then got a reply saying that the jeans fell outside of their return window, so there was nothing they "could" (would) do. This was something that I had acknowledged up front. So why bother saying there might be some remedy? Awful customer service. I'm over Madewell.

I just recently started ordering with Madewell, and gave unfortunately had issues with every single order. The first order arrived much later than expected, and two of the items were waitlisted.

The second order I received was not my order. I received women's jeans instead of the men's tee I had ordered. I called and got yelled at by the customer service associate, had to speak to a supervisor, and was told they were already aware that I had not received the correct order, and the new order would be sent to me overnight. But they had not updated me until I called.

The third order, a waitlisted item was suddenly cancelled because they claimed the charge was not authorized. I had to call to get the item re-authorized, to be told that the item was shipping (that's why the Apple Pay was being authorized), but by the end of the call I was again informed the item was waitlisted until July 18th (two weeks from now).

It has been very confusing and very dissatisfying knowing that my orders will almost never be correct with their online services.

The long and short of our feedback is Madewell word is no good as it relates toand commitment & customer service! Ordered a purse with monogramming. It was a Christmas Present for our Granddaughter. Ordered it one month before Christmas with a commitment that it would ship in Two Weeks. It shipped in 19 days after us calling them everyday for a week. The CSR; s committed they would call us with a definitive ship date every time we phoned. IT NEVER HAPPENED!

Because they were late getting it shipped, they committed they would UPGRADE the shipping. When it was finally shipped, it went out by the SLOWEST shipping process -- Surepost. Well the good thing is the purse made it B4 Christmas.

THERE WORD IS NO GOOD.

As someone who is absolutely obsessed with all things Madewell, I don't understand what's with all of the negativity surrounding their customer service. As a disclaimer, I'm not related to the franchise in any way, shape or form nor am I associated with J. Crew and any sister brands.
I can't speak much about the in-store customer service (as issues that arise may be a regional problem) except that I have never had a bad experience in-store. As far as my online experience goes, making purchases online is super easy. Their formatting is coherent, and for the most part their online images are an accurate representation of the quality/style of the clothing in person. Madewell is true to their name as their fabrics are sturdy, opaque, and stand the test of time well. The only exception to this I'd say are some of their basic tees, which may shrink with wash. As far as their jeans and shirts are concerned though, they're all amazing styles with great quality material.
Now onto online customer service. I have called Madewell customer service for general problems probably 4 times in the past three months, and they have all been exceptionally helpful and friendly with all of my concerns. I'm going to share my most recent one that particularly stood out as a testament to their dedication to customer service. I recently graduated college and have already left the state to visit my relatives for the summer. I recently made a purchase for two tops online (no brick and mortar store near me...), but I accidentally sent them to my university PO, which I no longer occupy and have no way of retrieving items from. Even though I was definitely at fault for not being more careful about my shipping information, the customer service rep. Was more than happy to check for rerouting. When she found out it was no longer an option, she stayed with me while I contacted my university to see if it could possibly be forwarded from there. When I found out it couldn't, the rep. Kindly offered me a full refund and stayed with me, helping me find alternatives to the items of clothing in that order (as the originals were sold out in my side). She was so kind and not at all annoyed with me, despite the situation being my fault. At the end of the day, Madewell really stands by their customers and our loyalty is sincerely acknowledged and reciprocated from their side.