Reviews of Costume Cabaret (Costumes)

Kelsi Hall

Cant call. No website.

Abbadabs

All year long costumes, toys and everything else. Very extended selecrion beyong the name of store. And staff is usually friendly.

C Green

Normally I don't expend the effort to review anything online because frankly most brick and mortar business in these days of the Internet either understand customer service or they won't survive more than a year in business. Those few that don't understand this and survive generally have been reviewed and hence anyone failing to check such warning have only themselves to blame. Based off my most recent experience however I felt compelled to provide a much needed warning about this business. Number one thing is they will not provide any refunds. I discovered this the hard way when I bought a costume too small for my child and was greeted with the most dismissive and shockingly snarky attitude from what I suspect to be the actual proprietor as no employee in retail would dare such brazenly bad service and hope to be getting a paycheck for more than a week. In their defense they do have a sign stating no refunds behind the counter but frankly given the disheveled decor of the wall it hangs on makes it easy to miss. Such policies are rare anymore as most businesses understand the small potential immediate loss is outweighed by the opportunity repeat business and positive "word of mouth". Even if compelled to institute such draconian rule for health or low sales margins most stores will generally provide a grace period of up to 24 hours. However beyond such policies the attitude was perhaps the most shocking and if the policy hadn't made me think twice of ever doing business with this store the complete lack of basic customer service/curtesy ensured I will never darken their door again. Beyond my specific experience I will now provide more generic insight into this store and its operations. Assuming you chose this store over the half dozen other options around Halloween or the Internet year round. Number two you need to be aware of is that you will want to make sure that the packages contain the full costumes. When I was shopping here most of the packages had obviously been opened. I was utterly surprised that not just by costumes where items were missing but at least three of the pouches actually didn't have any costumes in them at all. So if you are in a rush it might be best to steer clear, especially given the no return policy. As for the third item, this store, despite operating year round has a pop up store mixed with low rent adult businesses vibe to it. Now although that is common to pop up stores in this case the store operates year round and has been in the same location for years the lack of upkeep adds to the generally poor state of repair one finds in the space. In many ways this stores is out of place with most of the other tenets of the shopping center, which is saying something given one tenet is a $5 store, and I do suspect the property owner will have to gut the space when it enters back on the market. Although one doesn't likely risk a communicable disease if you happened to break your skin on the rather rough metal displays used to hold their wares, it also isn't a place one would dare follow the 5 second rule for anything touching the ground. Along those lines it is certainly not safe to allow small children to wonder on their own or even without holding their hands given the metal grating that populates the narrow and rather dark passageways. Fourth item is a question of their prices. A quick survey of online sites show theirs are definitely at the upper end of the spectrum in cost. I can't speak for the pop up stores but I would assume they are comparable if not competitive. Therefore you will be paying a premium for what you buy. In summary you are paying a premium price, in a rather poor shopping environment, for a product that may not be complete, which you can't return, and for a customer service experience akin to what one might find in the nicer countries that end with Stan. So I would suggest you take a serious "buyer beware" approach to patronizing this establishment and perhaps it would be best to simply choose any of their competitors. Reply to owner: The Festival in Bel Air

Tyrel Jones

Whatever you do, DONT SHOP HERE!! In order to run a successful business you need to have some sort of customer service. I ordered my son and I's costumes off of Amazon and received an email the day prior saying they wouldn't arrive in time for Halloween so I went into Halloween Cabaret to purchase another set of costumes, only to get home and see the package from Amazon waiting with the original costumes I had ordered. The costumes I bought from Halloween Cabaret were twice as expensive as what I paid online. I spent almost $200 in the store just so my son could have a costume. As soon as I saw the package I called the store and spoke to what sounded like a teenager who claimed to be the "manager". I explained to him that I had just purchased the merchandise- within the hour- he denied my request for a refund. I understand they have a no refund policy but I literally just purchased the items from their store. If they wanted to have repeat customers then they would've just returned the items since it was within an hour span it all happened. Needless to say I will NOT be returning and will encourage other shoppers to shop elsewhere.

Jessica Edwards-Smith

For the store in the Festival at Bel Air. I've never had anything but a fantastic experience here. All the employees are readily available to put you in the perfect costume. I love that they're open year round and don't jack up the prices to compete with Halloween stores like Spirit or Party City. Once, I was in there looking for white boots and a bright blue bowtie for a white rabbit costume. The only boots they had, had a small tear on the sole. They offered them at half price. They didn't have a blue bowtie, but they had a white one. The guy behind the register said wait, I can make this blue for you, and he dyed it right there on the spot, then gave me the bowtie for free, just in case it didn't work out. This is the difference in independently owned stores and corporate chains...sure you could go to a competitor and find a cleaner, more streamlined shopping experience, but you're often limited to the time of year these stores are open, and strict corporate policies prevent employees from making exceptions and altering their prices and merchandise to cater to the customers needs. Every time I need something for a costume, this place is my first, and often last, stop.

Sophie King

i came here on sunday and wasted my time because you’re hours say that you’re open but obviously they are wrong and on you’re sign with the hours it say 10-6 but online it says 11-7 you guys really need to fix you’re website and be professional not trash i hope this criticism helps