Thoughts & Best Wishes

Had an amazing experience there! The staff was great and had a great time looking through all their dresses! They really listened to everything I wanted and found the perfect match!! I cannot give them enough praise for everything. Me and my family of 8 all enjoyed ourselves. more

WOW! My daughter prom for this yr was supposed to be memorable, but we didnt expect this for a memory. I took my daughter into this store cuz my neighbor claimed how great the place was. I loaded a prepaid cash card with some money and we walken in there in february..well, we find the ''perfect''dress, in store but we needed to have her fitted and measured to order the dress in a diff size. No problem right? Not so fast. I ''prepay'' for the dress at a cost of about $600. I thought that way, we dont owe anything when it comes in, well 2 days after the order, one of the employees calls me to say the dress we picked out was ''discontinued'' .....WHAT!! GOOD GRIEF,WHAT DO I DO NOW? so we go back to the store, we already paid cash for a dress we cant get, ok, pick another dress...daughter heartbroken,,,she gets over it to find a 2nd dress she would like... ok, that also has been ''discontinued''. I say, show us what ISNT DISCONTINUED so we can get something ordered.None of the employees could say which ones cuz they wont know til we order something. 3rd times a charm, right? slow down, cuz the 3rd dress is not available either.... WELL, thats it, please put the money back on my cash card so i can go elsewhere. NO CAN DO they said. What do you mean? I just paid you $600 because i am rich? I work all week not to throw money away, How you gonna pay me my money???? Store Manager, not available for dayyyyssss. Somehow, after threatening to freak on them days later, suddenly I had my money back, even thought they didnt know how to pay me. We ended up at Jocelynns Bridal in Clifton park.. guess what? We found the original dress at their store for a fraction of the cost, plus free matching heels, jewelry to go with the dress and a complimentory steaming of the dress. Wow!!! We had money left to put a downpayment on another item -------BEWARE more

Please allow me to begin by saying that the manager was very understanding and solved the problem right away. My bridesmaids ordered their dresses in October 2011. The dresses arrived in March 2012. The young girls who worked at the shop were very nice and accommodating, although the dresses took longer to arrive than expected. My sister and two of my bridesmaids went to the shop to have their first alterations done. The alterations went smoothly, and the seamstress was friendly. They were then asked to schedule a second fitting. When they arrived for the second fitting, two of my bridesmaids were told that their dresses were finished. One is very, very thin, and her alterations cost $75. The other is 5'1 and had to have it hemmed quite a bit-- and was charged $100. That was expected. When my sister arrived at the shop, she was told that her alterations would cost $175! She had not changed sizes, did not need much work done to it-- and the DRESS ITSELF ONLY COST $160. She was told that her alterations cost $15 more than the cost of the dress itself. I went to the shop with my fiance and we spoke to the manager. The manager was a very nice woman and stated that she was also confused about why the alterations cost so much money. She stated that she would speak to the seamstress, and that no additional alterations would be done to the dress-- just the hem, which cost the other girls $70. My sister went to the shop today to pick up her dress and pay for the hem. When she arrived, the seamstress told her that she had finished the alterations DESPITE our directions not to do so-- and that my sister had to pay $175. When my sister stated that she was taking the dress somewhere else to be altered, the seamstress REFUSED to release the dress. My sister then called me. I called the shop and spoke to the manager-- the same woman I spoke to yesterday-- who confirmed that she told the seamstress not to alter the dress. She then told me that my sister had to pay the $175. I informed the manager that I would drive down to the shop and tell her current customers in the shop (it's prom season) not to do business at Thoughts & Best Wishes. The manager then agreed to release the dress. I'm not a seamstress, but I know that minimal alterations should not cost MORE than the price of a dress. Please, be very wary of doing business with this company. Despite reading the internet reviews in October, I still did business with this place-- and I regret it. more

We placed the order in January for our bridesmaid dresses because the owner insisted we order early to avoid the Prom season rush. We have been given 6 different dates that our dresses will be in by and still nothing. Here it is 5 weeks before the wedding and the owner of the company has refused to take out phone call and is never in when we come into the store. I have had the clerks get her on the phone so I can talk to her and she refuses to talk to me. She took our money and the staff are saying they dont believe the order was ever placed. We are not alone. There were at last 5 other customers in there today to complain about the service and quality of the dresses. Stay FAR FAR away! more

Fabulous! As soon as i walked through the doors my experience there was great. The girls working there were very knowledegable and helpful. And the owner, Linda, was right there helping me the whole way. I was in and out of the store in about an hour with everything taken care of. I have also heard they hired a couple new seamstresses and everyone loves them. more

The reason we decided to go with this shop is because the girl that helped us when we first went in to try on dresses was incredibly friendly & helpful,and they have a big selection. Now I wish we hadn't. I ended up ordering my dress about 6 months before my wedding and the girl (a different one than the original one that helped me) assured me this would be PLENTY of time. They said I could call in a couple weeks and find out when the dress was estimated to come in. I did so, and they said they would find out and call me back. Never happened. I called a few times and it was the same thing. Finally they told me the end of February. This was okay because my wedding is May 5th. By the beginning of March I hadn't heard from them...but they didn't call anyone when the bridesmaids' dresses came in either, so I didn't think much of it. I called them, figuring they just hadn't bothered to call me, to find out that it wasn't in yet. They said they didn't have a tracking number and they would have to call the company and call me back. Never got a call back. Called the next day and the girl told me they couldn't get in touch with the company and she would call me when they heard from them. The next day I called and spoke with the manager. Funny thing, she got hold of the company immediately. Anyways, she told me they were running ""a couple weeks"" behind and the dress would be in March 30th at the absolute latest, and she was so confident she would go ahead and schedule my fitting for the beginning of April. I had to call and reschedule once (a couple weeks in advance) and the same girl I had talked to on the phone before scheduled my appointment. So they call me the DAY OF... a couple hours before my appointment, when I had already arranged for myself and all my bridesmaids to drive an hour to go to the shop...to tell me that they overbooked and have to push MY appointment back a week! To three weeks before my wedding! I flipped but the manager wouldn't budge. She said they weren't worried about it. Well, good thing THEY weren't worried. So then my mom called them, very upset, and yelled at the manager - who finally confessed that the reason they had to move my appointment is because my dress isn't it yet and won't be until next week! It is April 6th - less than a month before my wedding! So on top of everything else, the manager LIED to me! What a nightmare! I AM SO UPSET and worried that I will not have a dress for my wedding! UPDATE: So, there's more. My dress did finally come in, and when I was in for my second fitting, I asked if I could have my veil for trial hair appointments. The girl said, ""did they call to tell you it was in?"" and I responded no, but nobody had called anybody to tell them anything was in, we had to pester them. She went to look and said that it wasn't in, and the company had given them an arrival date of April 15th. It was now April 24th. She said they would get a tracking number the next day and let me know. Not surprisingly, I heard nothing. Friday I finally called and they told me there had been yet another delay, and the company (whom they seem to love to blame) had shipped it the previous day. She assured me that it will be in next week. How many times have I heard that before? There is definitely something fishy going on with these people. This was the owner, and she barely let me get a word in edgewise (probably knowing I'd be angry) and then quickly hung up. I've never in my life experienced such abysmal customer service. more

After several attempts of trying on bridal gowns at numerous locations, I finally found the dress that brought me to tears! I had an amazing experience, not only with the helpful and friendly staff but also with the selection of gowns. Not only did they receive my business, they will be recieving my bridesmaids buiness as well. Every time I have been in the store, I have been personally greeted by the owner, Linda. This has made me feel at ease and relaxed to know that this important decision was made correctly. I can not wait for my dress to come in! I would DEFINITELY reccomend this bridal store to anyone. Great service!! more

I'll keep this short and simple as my fiancee is the one who is having the problems with this place and not me, but she is too upset to let the public know about this horrific place! She ordered the dress of her dreams from this place in APRIL! Told it would take one to two months. Well if i am correct it is now november and still has no dress. She contacted them months ago reguarding the progress and never heard back time and time again. Then she kept getting the two more weeks excuse when they decided it was convienent for them to actually answer the phone. Finally the owner signed a letter promising that the dress would arrive in 2 MORE weeks no more, well guess what.. Those two weeks have now come and gone with not even a phone call.. So when she called the owner confronting him about the situation and informed him that she will be not only filing a lawsuit, but also reporting to the BBB and local consumer beware groups and news stations. He then proceed to call her retarded over the phone and hung up like a child. If you are looking into this place for a dress I'll warn you that after we get done with this place they will no longer be in business. I surely hope you would go else where after reading all the negative reviews.. Anyone who placed a poistive review is an employee that was paid to say that on this site. They are BY FAR the worst business in the Capital District, and it will be known. This is your warning. more

Let me preface this by saying that I loved my dress...it was perfect and the price was beyond reasonable. However, if I could do it over, I would probably have looked outside the capital district as prior to walking into this establishment, I tried on a multitude of dresses. The shop is overwhelmingly hot. The excuse is ALWAYS that the AC is broken. Apparently every summer it's ""broken"". The other big complaint is that they hardly ever answer their phones. It took me two weeks once to get ahold of them via phone. Then when I had my final fitting, they must have lost my appointment because the girl argued with me over the phone about when my actual appoinment was. Luckily I had retained the business card they had written my fitting appointment down on and I showed it to her. She had a lack for words after that. more

Was told to find the dress elsewhere , try it on, come back and they would order it..I did this only for the convience of the location. . dress came in, stopped in to get the dress they put it in the dressing room to try it on and walked away ,never to see a sales person again.. took the dress and left.. more

I have never been to a business like Thoughts & Best Wishes before. I am a bridesmaid in a wedding on June 25th and the bride requested we go to the bridal store and order our dresses from them. more

I have to share the wonderful experience I had at Thoughts and Best Wishes. more

I am so suprised to be reading negative reviews about Thoughts and Best Wishes. I have been in the market for a fabulous, unique and all around perfect wedding gown for my big day for several months now. I've been to multiple salons, including the ""upscale"" Kleinfeld in NYC. Not one place even came CLOSE to giving me the experience I had at Thoughts and Best Wishes with Linda and her fabulous staff. more

I'm curious, are you people even talking about the same store I visited on Loudon Rd in Latham? Next to Night Moves (the strip joint)? This place gave me the worst experience I had in a dress shop. I left the store in tears. I called a week before I was planning on going in to find out if they had the ONE dress I wanted to try on. I was told by the owner that she didn't have the same dress, but had one that was very similar by the same designer that I could try on and then I could order the other one if I wanted to. She told me that I didn't need an appointment (because I wanted to make one in case something came up). Fine. I told her I would be there the next week to try it on. I got there and one of the staff led me into the ""bridal area,"" which was full of at least three other brides running around with their dresses half-pinned and hogging the mirror and the pedestal. The staff member showed me the section I was looking for and told me to pull what I want and she?d get me a dressing room when I was ready. Um, ok, not even a little bit of help here? We started looking through the rack for the dress I was expecting to find when the owner came over and told me that she sold the dress I was coming in to try on right off the rack, and she could bring it out and show it to me but she couldn't let me try it on. THIS is why I wanted to make an appointment, so she could call me and tell me if something happened and I wouldn't waste my time coming down! I had found a dress that looked somewhat similar to what I was looking for and said I would try that one on instead. Then I wanted to know if she had a dress I had tried on previously at another store that I liked a lot, and just wanted to see it side-by-side with the one I had come in to try on. She didn't carry that line but started pulling a bunch of dresses I really didn't want to try on. I was overwhelmed so I just let her pull them, and she put me into a dressing room with three dresses I didn't want to try on instead of the one I had come in for, and left. My bridesmaid had to come in and help me into the dresses. And the dress I came in to try on was smaller than the other samples that had been pulled so I couldn?t even get it on. I gave up. The owner and the rest of the staff gave most of their attention to the brides who were still trying things on and hogging the mirror. THIS is why you make APPOINTMENTS. I have never seen a bridal shop run this way. When I left, I left crying. What bride wants to feel like that on leaving a dress store? I certainly didn't deserve to feel like my business wasn't necessary, especially if they wanted me to drop more than $1000 in their store. The owner was nice, but indifferent at best, and I had a better experience at DeAnna's Country Shoppe in West Sand Lake, where I was the only appointment, I had a full hour of Dianne's time, and was made to feel special. So that's where I chose to spend my money, and she will be getting my 6 bridesmaids' business too. more

From the time my mother stepped through the door, the experience was nothing short of FABULOUS!! more

I'm very disappointed to have to speak poorly about Thoughts and Best Wishes, especially after reading so many positive reviews. I had called to schedule an appointment for 6 bridesmaids to try on dresses for an early-July wedding. Several of us were traveling in from out of town, so I wanted to make sure the trip was as productive and efficient as possible. The lady I spoke to on the phone was very pleasant and we agreed on a time in mid-February that would be convenient for them to help all 6 of us. Upon arriving for our appointment we found the store packed with prom dress shoppers and despite having made an appointment, we were unable to get any assistance. We understood it was busy, but had no help in our shopping process whatsoever. We picked everything out ourselves and even had to pin the dresses for fitting purposes without any help from the staff. Once we decided on the dress we even had to fill out our own paperwork. It was very disappointing. To make matters worse, we had been quoted a ship date from the manufacturer for early April, which would allow plenty of time for alterations before July. When I called several weeks later to confirm the ship date I was told it was now early June. I expressed concern that a month before the wedding would leave little time for people to have alterations, especially since 4 of the bridesmaids live out of town. The lady said she would call the manufacturer and see if they could send them sooner. She called me right back and said they could ship in mid-May. I thanked for her help and planned to pick up my dress in late May when I was back in Albany for a visit. Before my trip, I called to confirm that the dresses were in and was disappointed that again they were not scheduled to come until June; however, no one had called to tell me of the delay. Again, I expressed concern and frustration that things had not been taken care of. The lady I spoke with said the dresses could be shipped to the out-of-towners once they came in. I agreed that this was the only option. Once the dresses finally came in, however, they wanted to charge us $15 per dress to be shipped and wouldn't waive the shipping fee when I reminded them these dresses were originally supposed to be in 6 weeks prior. Two of the dresses that were shipped took several days to arrive. The girls that picked up their dresses locally and received alterations said they dresses were returned to them without having even been steamed. All in all, I feel that Thoughts and Best Wishes had several opportunities to improve my experience, but failed miserably in terms of delivering a quality product and customer service. Based on my experience, I would recommend that you go elsewhere. Cons: Poor customer service more

I have been to many bridal shops through the years for Prom gowns and weddings for family. I have never met such caring, friendly people who make you feel like family. I felt like they really cared and treated me like my wedding was the most important thing in the world. Linda and Bev were Extraordinary! One dress was more beautiful than the other , but Linda picked out the perfect dress for me. I was so pleased with the dress selection and more importantly, their caring attention, that I did everything there; bridesmaids dresses, tuxedos and invitations. I have been to some shops that make you feel like you are doing them a favor and act very haughty. That is not the case at this shop. They are just wonderful and I can not sing their praises enough! I have sent all my friends their way! Pros: Beautiful dresses and nice, friendly, caring people. more

I was greeted when I walked in always a plus and the people that work there are so helpful. It's like being catered to. I have brought many friends of mine to thoughts and best wishes before going any where else. They all found dresses and were completely satisfied with the service. I as well have purchased a dress and I had great time with the girl it was a relaxing and fun experience. must stop here first before going any where else. Pros: best service for bridal gowns and other dresses more

Today I found my prom dress. Linda greeted my mom and me at the door and gave us a tour of the prom dresses. She explained what each section included, and the years of the dresses. She was friendly and welcoming. As I was trying on dresses, Meagan, a college student and employee was very attentive and could tell from my style, what other dress styles I would like. She gave me advice on this year's fashion trends and spent about two hours with me helping me decide between dresses. She brought her personal experiences into the discussion and included other employees opinions. All in all it was a very pleasant experience and I left with a great dress and feeling satisfied. Pros: pleasant staff Cons: hours more

I found a dress here for my bridesmaids that I absolutely loved, however, they had it somewhere else cheaper but I really wanted to do business with these people so they agreed to match the price for me! The employees were so amazing and so helpful. It seems to be a family business which I absolutely loved. Very accommodating and well run! HIGHLY recommend! more