Rent The RunwayReviews 656

I was a loyal RTR customers for about 4 years. I rented a lot of coats and cold weather clothes because I live in Texas and my daughter lives in NYC. I also rented several dresses for formal events.
Once upon a time - it made sense.
NOT. ANY. MORE.
* They no longer maintain their clothes very well. One dress was really stretched out and was unwearable. One had a torn seam. TWO pair of earrings were broken, and one was broken and really dirty. A coat I ordered smelled bad - REALLY BAD... someone's BO bad. I couldn't even leave it hanging in my closet until I returned it.
* They will simply "substitute" a different piece of clothing if they don't have what you ordered - and they do it without any notification. I ordered a professional dress for a court date, and what I got was too low to wear to a cocktail party. They substitute so they don't have to give a refund.
* RTR used to be a good bargain, but their prices have gone up considerably- and they artificially inflate the retail price to justify it. A Todashi Shoji dress on RTR rents for $85 and says it a $575 dress - it isn't, a NEW ONE retails for about $300.
* They no longer guarantee shipping.
* Customer services used to be top-notch. My last call had me on hold for almost 90 minutes, only to be told they were doing a "systems upgrade" and I'd have to call back.
I really used to LOVE the company, and I'm sad its come to this. Fair Warning- stay away.

I've been an unlimited customer for over 4 years. I was RTR biggest advocate.
Over the years I've received incorrect clothing, I've ordered items that were never sent, I've received items without return shipping slip, I've received clothing with holes, broken zippers, dirty and smelly. BUT all of this was overlooked, because the customer service was always apologetic and professional.
The last straw, was that my package didn't include a return shipping label. (This was the second time in two weeks). I tried sending a message in a chat but the chat was closed. I sent emails which no one answered. The first day that I called there was a hour wait time, so I opted for the call back option.(which I missed, since I received a call 3 hours later). Second day I called again while at work but I had to hang up after 2 hours since it was lunch time. Third day, I skipped lunch and was on hold for over three hours. This is unacceptable. I'm finally cancelling. Hopefully RTR will get some pride back soon.

This company is going down.
It took me almost 2 days to be able to get someone on the phone regarding an order received.
You call they ask you to wait 30 min then 2 h. They never call back.
Also I got charged for late return which was not my fault as the ups package was drop the same day of my renewal.
If the manager dont do anything to improve their services. Le tote and others companies will take over most of their customers. Dont expect to stay in business if you are not ready for growth. This is such a shame for brands in business with this company. It doesnt reflect the excellence of service that most brands would carry with their customers. Shame on you!

I've been a RTR Pro member (whatever that means) for almost 4 years. I was the biggest advocate for RTR - loved the dresses, loved the premise of shopping online and having it show up to your door, and it continues to be an easy return process.

I've used them probably 10 times, and as someone who doesn't attend formal events very often, it was well worth it. But not anymore.

The 5 deliveries have all been late, 2 of them so late that I had to run out and buy another dress on the DAY OF the event (even though I order all my outfits with at least a 2 day buffer). So half of all my orders were stress-inducing and the exact opposite of an easy process.

My last few orders really showed the deteriorating quality - stained, fabric loose, with a strong musty odor, like they're barely dry cleaned between uses.

They're incredibly deceptive with their pricing. Their shipping costs are hidden and it's unclear if your order is a Next Day order or standard order, and you won't know until after you place your order and are slapped with an additional $15-25 charge. All orders come with a free backup size of your dress, but if your dress is out of all sizes, they recommend you another dress completely, then tell you AFTER that your "backup" actually cost you the full retail price of that dress.

But the worst is by far the customer service. It is ALWAYS an argumentative back-and-forth, where they seem intent on proving the customer is wrong. I have to go on long email chain, then wait AT LEAST 30-45 minutes to talk to live person, where I have to explain everything all over again, and am given a partial refund for something that has always been their fault.

It's clear they actually don't care about their customers and are just trying to get everyone onto a subscription.

Try one of the hundreds of subscription boxes out there instead of RTR. Way better value for money, and they actually try to help you.

I just restarted my RTR membership. I was successful in finding a dress last Spring, but didn't have a need for anything over the summer. Having a black tie wedding this fall, I tried RTR again. What a disappointment. The first 4 dresses arrived and the odor from the bag was that of urine. I was afraid to try them on! Didn't matter really, all of the dresses were WORN! Lots of noticeable wear & tear under the arms, at the hem, on the zippers etc. Between the poor quality and the smell, it didn't matter if they fit. So I thought I would give it one more try, maybe it was just that batch of dresses Exact same experience with the next 4. These dresses need to be RETIRED! I get that I am renting, thus sharing with others, but this is shameful as these dresses are in poor condition and whoever is supposedly laundering them seems to be using something that resembles urine.

Good concept - worked for me one time, so there's that. The process has been pretty good with shipping and returning and pausing the account, but not worth the money if I can't wear anything! Hope they take the feedback seriously and get some pride back.

I used Rent the Runway's bridal package for my very small (12 guests) wedding. I used the 2-event package. Event 1 was my wedding, where I was renting a long white gown, and Event 2 was a small party the following day. Everything went smoothly with the at home try-on for the wedding gown and I was able to reserve the sizes I needed. I really liked both of the dresses I was renting (I got to pick two, the actual dress and a backup dress), and was planning on deciding the week of my wedding which one I would actually wear. I loved both! The Event 2 dresses I thought were OK, but I was considering wearing the wedding dress for both events anyway. I had all of this nailed down about 2 months in advance of the wedding.

On April 19,2 weeks before my May 3 wedding, I got an email from RTR that BOTH my dress and backup dress for my wedding had been returned damaged and were no longer available. The email said I could select two other dresses to wear from the site. When I went to look at the site, there was only one other long white dress in my size (not surprising, since we weren't far out from the date I needed it) and I didn't like it--plus, there was no time for an at-home try on to make sure it fit and was the right length based on my wedding shoes.

I called to talk to someone and was essentially told "that's the breaks, sorry" by RTR. Since I didn't care about the dresses for event 2 and was only using the bridal package for my actual wedding dress, I cancelled the package and got a refund. I ended up going shopping the next day to local stores like Macys, Saks, Dillards, etc. to try and find a dress to wear. Fortunately, I was able to find a $300 dress at Macys that I was able to wear.

I would NEVER recommend Rent the Runway, especially for a bridal package. I felt completely screwed over and finding a dress within 2 weeks of my wedding because RTR didn't have a backup plan for EITHER DRESS I was planning on wearing on my wedding day was completely messed up. Brides beware!

I have used RTR in the past for events and loved it. I currently use Gwynnie Bee and have used Infinite Style and Le Tote as well and RTR is by far the most expensive (double the cost) so I expected more. What I like about RTR is that you can pick the items you want to receive so long as they are in stock. Most of the time I had more trouble picking things out because there were so many choices. This is unlike other services where they pick what you get. I like that you can rent bags and jewelry too. Finally I like being able to return one think and get another rather than having to return all at once. That being said the turn around time to get new garments means you don't get all that many pieces. I live in DC and yes there is a store and a drop box near me but they are not near enough for me to pop over during normal business hours. If I do that a spot opens up immediately. If you order before 2:00 you are supposed to get it by the next day but that rarely happens. When it works well I put the item in the UPS box on Monday they get it Tuesday and I select before two and get the new item the next day. But this is rare. Usually I put the items in UPS Monday they don't check them in and open up a spot until Thursday or Friday. They don't work weekends so that means I'm not getting another item until Monday or Tuesday making it not worth the 135.00 per month. And it's not UPS as I can track the item and it gets to them in one day, it's RTR. I have also received more items that were stained, damaged or too worn to wear then with any other service. If you can reach customer service then normally will give you a credit and open up a spot for you. But I don't have hours to spend on hold or 4 days to wait for an email response. The chat never works and every time you send them an email you have to fill out a captcha! They also only published my positive reviews. When I confronted them they denied it but the reviews are not there. I took a lot of time to write them and was specific as I personally rely on them myself and they only publish what they want. It can be annoying if you don't have regular access to a UPS stop box but there is one at my office so that's fine with me. Otherwise you have to calm UPS to do a pickup or go to the store neither are ideal. They send the items in cloth bags which is fine but they are all very dirty some were covered I.min mud. Overall they lowered the cost to 70 or less a month I would keep the service. I think that's about the value I get based on the turn around time but I doubt they will do the anytime soon.

Filed complaint with better business bureau:
I signed up for their free trial of unlimited rental service. At the end of the trial period, I went on-line to my account to find information on how to cancel and to see my contract. Under my account information, there was no credit card on file nor any subscription information for which I was registered. I therefore did not believe I was under obligation or signed up for the unlimited services. I never once received an email invoice with charges to my account. Five months later I discovered the charges ($167 for 5 months) for which I never rent or received services. I called several times for reimbursement and they told me they did not have the authority and that a manager would call me back but they never did. They couldn't even transfer me to a manager. Customer service was rude and clearly intent on disbelieving and deceiving customers. The're website says pause or cancel anytime but when you call them it always says "high call volume" and you never get through, making it impossible or difficult to cancel their service. I have paid them $835 for no products or services. This business is a scam.

Let me tell you about my experience with rent the runway. When i went into the store my order was messed up twice and i had to wait half an hour when placing the original order. I was then late to work.

I was told everything would be taken care of and tried to move on assured that customer service would b able to assist me with all further needs. Well I have called seven times, emailed three times. I am getting no response via email your chat had not been up all week. Your customer service call back times are 2-3 hours and when you speak to a rep they tell you they will take care of it and then nothing is done. I am now getting emails telling me to return something that 1. I do not have 2. That i was assured would be canceled.

And here I am. 100$ short, no merchandise and a lot of wasted time.

I am a long-time member of the unlimited service and have referred countless people to RTR. I used to LOVE the unlimited option until a couple of months ago. I think they ran a new promotion and then became overwhelmed with volume. I recently was sent a dress that I had NEVER SEEN BEFORE and certainly didn't order. When I tried to call, I was on hold for an hour and a half. Finally agreed to get a call back, and it never came. I also think my upcoming Reserve order has disappeared, maybe because of this new random dress that was sent a week earlier than my Reserve was supposed to ship. WTF RTR. Go back to the old days!

They didn't include a return shipping label so I had to pay $50 out of pocket for return shipping. Had to wait 4 days for a response from RTR customer service. They were rude. They refunded me, but charged me for a late return (without telling me they were doing this). Overall they were rude, slow, and charged me for their mistakes. Also, it cost me $170 to "rent" a dress, wtf why didn't I just buy one? Pretty stupid of me to even try, I'll never use them again.

I've been an unlimited subscriber for several years and have loved the service up until a few months ago. They seem to have completely abandoned 2 day shipping both ways but have never alerted us to this change. Clothes take days longer to arrive. Too much of their efforts are being directed to their retail stores and customer service is nearly nonexistent. Phone calls leave you on hold for an hour or more and e-mails take 5 days to a week to be answered. This company used to cater to its members... no more. Renter beware.