During Wednesday afternoon Ewa Michalak announced that they will go back to producing 50, 55 and 60 bands under the same conditions as before. This means that they will still be made to order, will still have an additional 20 zl (about €4.6 or £4) charge to them and still be non-returnable. They will also not be making any changes to the strap placement at all.
The reason behind this change in policy was claimed to be the popular demand and the numerous requests, which despite everything that has happend the last weeks means the brand listens at least the tiniest bit to their customers. Personally I'm quite sure that it was more because of the previous decision not making any sense financially plus that it had started to cause negative publicity to the limit that it actually could be strict negative for business. Their ability to listen to customers so far seem to be very selective to say the least.
Despite their in my opinion bad way of handling the events of the last days I still have to give them credit to taking reason and listen to their customers this time. Weirdly Shaped and Well Photographed did an amazing work at convincing them.
This whole drama started with Ewa Michalak asking for feedback on the strap positions of the bras to know the extent of the problem mentioned in this review by Fussy Busty in which she does a less permanent version of the strap alteration I do on almost all my bras.
While a brand has every right to disagree with their customers asking for feedback and lash out when you get frustrated with what you hear does really not lead to anything good. As a brand you will have to expect to be given feedback you disagree with whether or not you've asked for it. Protecting your brand is essential to keep sales numbers up and to, well, in the long run even keep your job. It isn't even about ethics or some idea of "the customer is always right", it's plain logic. Useful honest feedback is vital in order to improve the product and the brand. This does not mean that a brand necessarily should act according to what the customer says in all situations, but to punish for giving feedback means that the customer won't be as willing to open up next time which in the long run can give quite severe negative consequences..
Thankfully Ewa Michalak made a U-turn and actually came to their senses and listened to their customers. For many of those this brand has been the only option out there for bras in their sizes so hearing that they once again can order bras in their sizes was definitely a huge relief.
Thankfully Ewa Michalak made a U-turn and actually came to their senses and listened to their customers. For many of those this brand has been the only option out there for bras in their sizes so hearing that they once again can order bras in their sizes was definitely a huge relief.
Hey, I just realized I didn't comment on this at the time, but I wanted to thank you for documenting this issue so well (and of course for the lovely mention). I'll be writing about my own EM alterations soon, and I'll be linking to these posts as they are very straighforward and well done. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks for documenting the issue, even though you're opinion is not neutral. It's very interesting for me because I totally disagree with Weirdly Shaped and Well photographed and many other blogs on fit. Although oddly enough it seems her actual bra fit is somewhat better than those like fussy busty. Although it's logical as a businesswomen for Ewa to keep making the bras if people buy them, it's against her intuition as an artist and bra fitter to have people wear her bras incorrectly. I think Weirdly Shaped was rude to Ewa because she treated her like a calculating business woman, you also do on this post. But, like she said, she disagrees with the fit and doesn't want her handiwork to be worn in totally unintended ways that are really really pushed on ideologically focused instead of fit focused blogs. If she were just interested in making money, there are probably easier ways, she's obviously an artist too. But, in terms of business, her bras look worse when she can't control their fit. Maybe people should at least try what she says and go up in band down in cup instead...
ReplyDeleteLooking it from the outside it might well seem like you describe. However, everyone in my size segment that has critiqued Ewa Michalak for this has tried the band size up and cup size down. :) I've essentially ordered every band size from 60 to 85 in a variety of cup sizes and while I've definitely been in need of a 65 band in some bras, I've had just as much need of a 55 band in others.
DeleteIt is a fact that Ewa Michalak's bras has a grading problem. No sane person would claim that the shoulders of a person wearing a 85 band and one wearing a 60 band are the same width. And most of the fit issues in the small band-large cup range comes from the these two issues:
A) The inconsistency in bands. 60-bands stretching to 66 cm and to 86 cm in the same order in the same size.
B) Grading problems.
Grading problems is something almost all brands suffer from in this size segment, if they even make the bras here. If I were to ignore some very unprofessional comments from Ewa Michalak herself my guess is that what has happened is that:
1) She does not have any fit models in this size range so she cannot test her bras directly.
2) She has gone flexible with making many sizes as custom orders before she has actually tested the grading.
While the last thing on one hand gives her business and helps those of us who find it hard to find bras at all in our sizes it does create a problem, that she is putting stock out on the market which she does not know if they actually fulfill her standards.
And on a more positive note, did you see the new BM Bibi? It is supposed to have narrower straps! So, I think Ewa is actually listening. It might just be a bit hard sometimes to take a step back and analyze instead of attacking when hearing critique you don't agree with, which is what is expected of a professional.
Regarding rudeness, what is wrong with treating her like a calculating business woman? She is a business woman and she needs to be calculating to keep her business floating. It is a good quality. I would rather say that she is a bit too emotional in some areas and to little of a calculating business woman.