Born Reviews 

Reply from Born

Dec 8, 2015

Good Morning thank you for your constructive feedback. We are a small, independent business and due to that nature and the ever pressing need and requirements to work physically and online, we do have to make adjustments such as customers ringing the door bell to occasionally gain access to the shop. This is also to protect our staff which is paramount. We are very sorry that you had a negative experience in store and have actually brought in specialist staff, such as infant carrying specialists and cloth nappy guru's who are there regularly to consult with customers and parents. Our product prices do reflect the quality and overall standard RRP for these items, baring in mind that Born stock items that are natural, organic and fairly traded. With this in mind we always try to find the best prices for customers and are constantly reflecting on costs. Thank you, Born Customer Services.

This reply has been edited on 8th Dec 2015, to add a response from Eva Fernandes, Born Founder...


Dear Gabriella

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. The fact that you made the effort indicates to me that you actually do care about us, and the changes we have had to make in the business have disappointed you. I'd like to take this opportunity to explain why we have changed the running of the shop including keeping the door locked when we are not on the shop floor; this may also be useful to other customers.

Firstly the door locking. We made this decision a while ago when the footfall in the shop deteriorated to such an extent that we could not justify having the shop floor manned all the time, especially when there was work to be done in the 'back room'. As a member of Gloucester Road Traders Association I know we are not alone struggling in having a retail premises, when often an hour or two can go by without a customer visiting. Like many High Street retailers we have suffered from people choosing to shop online, and if we ourselves did not have an online business to bolster our high street presence we would have shut down the entire business - the website effectively enables us to maintain the high street shop.

The reason we have kept the shop open is actually a stupid business decision - we love interacting with people and being helpful. Sling demonstrations, hiring out breast pumps and showing people how to use washable nappies are things that you just can't do properly online, and are not available in other shops locally or on the Gloucester Road. Many customers travel from around the South West just to have the benefit of our experience and added customer service.

In fact, I've just spent an hour with a mother and her 4 month old fitting a sling; this time she bought the item but the number of times we have spent the time and effort in showing the product, to only be told 'I'll think about it' and then have the customer come in with the exact same item they have bought online at a couple of pounds cheaper is soul destroying. Perhaps online shopping may save the customer some money, but it is very hard for us to cover the costs of having premises as well as experienced staff, and have our free services used in this way. However, we realise that this is how retail works nowadays. We therefore need to maximise our time in running our website, to enable us to provide all these additional 'free' in person services.

We believe passionately about the community we live in and the families that we feel responsible for. We love being part of the fabric of the Gloucester Road and Bristol. I am so deeply involved in the well being of families, this is my passion - as part of that spend quite a lot of time and energy participating in the setting up of the Baby Bank Network, a soon to be charity for which I am Chair. So to say we are only in it for the money I personally feel upset by.

I am sure the many mothers who come in and spend time feeding and changing their babies in the shop without ever buying a thing will also vouch for what we are 'all about'. There's a whole lot of support we give the wider birth and parenting community too that most people probably don't know about as this only comes up in conversation. Again we do this because we are passionate about supporting parents find the right support for their families.

I'm glad that your review has given me the opportunity to share with you and other existing or potential customers what we have to deal with, so thank you for you making that possible.

Eva
Founder, Born.

Reply from Born

Dec 2, 2015

Good Morning, thank you for your feedback and apologies that the faulty replacement from the supplier has taken longer than anticipated. Unfortunately due to the amount of customer enquiries that we receive, we have set a 24 hour response to the point of contact and work to reply as quickly as possible. This is stated on a response email and our voicemail system. In this case the item was faulty from the supplier and we opened a service case for you with them immediately which we have been working through since, as the supplier have required various details to progress. The supplier have confirmed a full replacement which has now been sent out. If we can do anything more in this case please do let us know?