Living up to the promise

A friend of mine recently wrote the letter below. It resulted in an immediate call from Bernard Arnault's PA and the CEO of LVMH Sweden greeting him when he took the defunct bag back in to the Stockholm store. I think it says a lot about luxury brands needing to support their premium price tag with quality and outstanding customer service, and their advertising!

M. Bernard Arnault

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton

22, avenue Montaigne

75008 PARIS

FRANCE

Dear M. Arnault,

In December 2007 my dear wife bought me a Louis Vuitton carry-on travel bag as an expensive, but wonderful, Christmas gift. As someone who travels a lot, I was delighted. It looked beautiful, and coming from Louis Vuitton, I imagined spending a lifetime with this particular item of luggage. Growing old gracefully together, aging beautifully with it as my constant travel companion. Maybe I’d even end up looking just a little like Sean Connery in your ads.

Ten months later things had gone very sadly wrong. On a trip to London in October 2008, the wheel fell off my bag. Literally fell off. I spent the rest of the day dragging and carrying the bag around the city. My immediate reaction was that the bag was, to borrow a car analogy, a Friday bag. The artisan French worker who had crafted my $1200 bag must have just had a bad day. Maybe he didn’t feel too well after a heavy night out with his friends and a little too much Pernod perhaps? Anyway, I was sure the Louis Vuitton store in Stockholm where my bag was purchased would immediately replace or repair the defective bag. Ten months old and only used on about eight trips as cabin luggage. Louis Vuitton must have a lifetime guarantee right? At $1200 a shot, I expected it.

The answer when I returned the bag to Louis Vuitton Stockholm was - forget it! LV does not have a lifetime guarantee, nor does it have even a 12-month guarantee. In fact it has NO GUARANTEE WHAT SO-EVER! None. Zippo. Zilch. After two years of complaining, I’m just totally appalled at the service LV offers its customers in Stockholm. But I haven’t given up hope.

I write to you to find out if the LV Stockholm store and its response reflects the standards of Louis Vuitton. Can you help me?

With Regards,

Julian Stubbs

enclosed photos of my bag