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Closing bridal store customers 'don't need to panic'

SharNett owner says they are delivering and altering dresses and asks that customers be patient.

Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Meredith Houser (L) and Rachel Belville use their cell phones after discovering the sudden closing of SharNett Bridal, 8 Prestige Plaza near the Dayton Mall.

Jim Witmer Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Meredith Houser (L) and Rachel Belville use their cell phones after discovering the sudden closing of SharNett Bridal, 8 Prestige Plaza near the Dayton Mall.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Sharon Arnett, owner of SharNett Bridal and Prom, models a dress on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, at Hara Arena's 27th Annual Bridal and Prom Gala. The SharNett Bridal and Prom store closed abruptly this week.

Chris Stewart Sharon Arnett, owner of SharNett Bridal and Prom, models a dress on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, at Hara Arena's 27th Annual Bridal and Prom Gala. The SharNett Bridal and Prom store closed abruptly this week.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Meredith Houser uses her cell phone after discovering the sudden closing of SharNett Bridal, 8 Prestige Plaza near the Dayton Mall.

Jim Witmer Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Meredith Houser uses her cell phone after discovering the sudden closing of SharNett Bridal, 8 Prestige Plaza near the Dayton Mall.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Abby Cisco of New Bremen writes down the phone number to deal with the problem of getting her wedding apparel that she ordered for her wedding in 2010.

Jim Witmer Outside of the closed store Tuesday evening, Abby Cisco of New Bremen writes down the phone number to deal with the problem of getting her wedding apparel that she ordered for her wedding in 2010.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Jennie Szink and Angela Watson Gay, Staff Writers Updated 10:36 AM Thursday, July 9, 2009

When Kathy Wagner sat down Wednesday, July 8, to read the newspaper, she came across a story that almost ruined her month and her daughter’s big day.

The article announced the closing of SharNett Bridal and Prom, the store from which Tricia Wagner, 26, had ordered her wedding dress, her bridesmaids’ dresses, Kathy’s dress and the groomsmen’s tuxedos. With the wedding exactly one month away and the clothing still with the store, Kathy spent her morning frantically searching for a statement from the store for her daughter. She finally came across information on Dayton’s Better Business Bureau’s Web site. Owner Sharon Arnett gave the same information to the Dayton Daily News, saying her team is answering all e-mails and phone calls. Customers “don’t need to panic.”

“We are delivering dresses. We are altering dresses. We are dyeing shoes if necessary,” Arnett said.

Arnett decided on Monday night to close the store.

“The weekends, they just aren’t profitable anymore,” she said, noting that Internet retail sites are tough competition for retailers such as herself.

“Please be patient and give us time,” she said.

According to the BBB, the company is “fulfilling current orders and contracts but not taking any new orders.” BBB President and CEO John North said customers should continue calling the business for updates, write the store and contact the Ohio attorney general’s office if their contract is not fulfilled.

“They (SharNett) have not filed bankruptcy as of today,” he said, noting in the past year there have been three or four closings similar to SharNett’s, with little notice to customers.

“I think people are trying to stay optimistic and do the right thing,” North said.

The same goes for Wagner.

“I’m not laying blame, I just want my merchandise,” she said. Tricia had been researching choices for her and Jeremiah Frederickson’s wedding for nearly two years. Now, with less than a month to go until the wedding, Kathy is having a hard time patiently waiting for a reply.

“Everything was going smooth until yesterday,” she said. “(Tricia) put everything in their hands.”

About 30 SharNett’s customers who met Wednesday evening in a Miamisburg parking lot weren’t as kind. Some were teary-eyed, at a loss for what to do. The meeting was organized by Marsha Kemp of Dayton, whose daughter Lauren is getting married Sept. 4.

Lauren, 24, said the fitting she had for Tuesday was canceled, with no explanation Kemp and Lauren spent $1,770 for Lauren’s wedding dress and a bridesmaid’s dress.

Arnett called the Dayton Daily News on Thursday morning.

“Because of all this media, and because of the customers’ reactions, it’s harder for us to do our job,” she said.

Arnett said she and some of her employees were working on alterations Wednesday in a hotel room when brides-to-be found out. She said she and her workers fled the room, were approached in the parking lot and even followed on the streets of Dayton.

"I was followed while I was trying to deliver gowns," Arnett said.

She said all wedding dresses for this weekend have been delivered, except for two bridesmaids dresses that she said she would deliver Thursday. Kemp's dress also was delivered, Arnett said.

“We understand people’s concerns, and we are doing the best we can,” Arnett said. “There is no reason why they would not get their merchandise.”

Kemp and others at Wednesday night's meeting went to Miamisburg police to file complaints. “I’m pushing to get her indicted on charges. If she doesn’t get indicted she will go right back into business and will be doing this again,” Kemp said.

Contact (937) 718-6183 or sharnettbridal@aol.com, according to a sign on the door of the store at 8 Prestige Plaza in Miami Twp.

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