Upset shopper exposes major issue with designer bag company's customer service program: 'No mention of a refund'

Luxury brand Coach has made a name for itself as far as style goes, but it may have a ways to go regarding its sustainability initiatives. 

A TikTok video posted by Grace (@srcmaterial) highlights a problem with the company's lifetime repair promise. 

She explains that she has a 20-year-old Coach bag she loves but the strap broke, so she took it to the Coach store to get it repaired. She says they took the bag for repair for around $100 and let her know they would ship it back to her. 

@srcmaterial @Coach ♬ original sound - Grace

When she gets the bag back, however, she's quickly disappointed. "Sent me back my bag with this letter saying that they can't repair it," she says. "No mention of a refund for the $100 I'd already paid to have it repaired." 

After enduring a "ridiculous" customer service call, she is left with no real resolution. "Basically," she says, "Coach just stole my money." 

Money aside, Coach is falling short of its sustainability initiative, and more sustainability is what the textile industry needs. 

Over 100 million tons of textile waste gets sent to landfills each year, and discarded clothing is the top source of textile waste in the United States. 

To the company's benefit, Coach has launched a buyback program — Coachtopia — to do its part in offsetting some of this, but the repair program clearly needs some work. 

Grace pointed out that she could fix the bag herself — and mending items is a great way to extend their life — but many people would not be able to. 

"Why do they even offer services like this if theyre not going to take it seriously?? They've been on about their sustainability too," commented another user. 

In a follow-up video, Grace responds to the above comment. 

"Coach's standard is that they will not repair something if they can't repair it to be identical to how it would be new," she says. " ... It is not possible to repair things that are super old to be identical to how they were when they were bought." 

She says she has now created extra pollution by shipping the bag to and from Coach, only to not have it repaired. 

@srcmaterial Replying to @sally ♬ original sound - Grace

"It's not a real sustainability initiative if it's not actionable. Only repairing things that can be made identical to how they were bought is not actionable," she continues. " ... And the thing that's crazy is that this program has been around for long enough that Coach has to know this." 

The original post's comment section was filled with calls for the company to "do better." 

"This is why we must stop supporting these big brands," commented one user. 

The sentiment makes sense, but it is also valuable to hold brands accountable for their promises and when they fall short of them. 

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