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Can't make this up. SMH.
Bride-to-be at center of Ebola scare wants refund for bridesmaids
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published: November 24, 2014 - 06:28 PM | Updated: November 24, 2014 - 07:07 PM
A request from the bride-to-be at the center of the recent Ebola scare has left an Akron bridal shop owner feeling jilted.
An attorney representing Texas nurse Amber Vinson is asking Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal shop to refund a total of $480 in deposits and payments that four of her bridesmaids made for their dresses.
The Akron bridal shop closed for several weeks last month after being notified Vinson tested positive for the deadly viral disease within days after visiting the store with her bridesmaids.
Owner Anna Younker said the store lost tens of thousands of dollars because of the closure and frightened customers’ canceled orders.
So when she first saw the letter, she figured it was an apology.
Instead, Dallas attorney Stephen F. Malouf requested the refund and notified Younker that Vinson has decided to use another bridal store for her nine bridesmaids’ dresses “in order to minimize additional public scrutiny.”
“Would you kindly advise whether this is agreeable to Coming Attractions?” Malouf asked. “If it is not, would you ask your attorney to contact me to discuss this matter?”
“Are you kidding me?” Younker thought as she read the letter.
Younker said she never received a phone call from Vinson or any of her bridesmaids before getting the request from the attorney.
“This is like the icing on the cake for her to ask,” the bridal store owner said. “By canceling completely because she wants to go somewhere else, that’s like a slap in the face to me.”
The store’s policy typically prohibits refunds or order cancellations, but Younker said she makes exceptions in special circumstances.
“I couldn’t believe she didn’t at least call me and have some discussion on why,” Younker said. “Maybe I would have considered it differently.”
Molouf said he tried to call Younker to discuss the situation before sending the letter.
“I’m sorry that the shop is upset,” he said. “This was an effort to help the shop and Amber. Amber feels strongly that the publicity was such it was harming the business and she didn’t want to add any further scrutiny to it. This was a purely innocent request and I’m sorry it wasn’t received in the spirit in which it was sent.”
Vinson became the second nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital diagnosed with Ebola after caring for a patient who died of the disease. She has since recovered.
At the height of the watch period, more than 160 Ohio residents — including customers who visited the bridal shop at the same time — were monitored by public health officials for symptoms.
Health officials have said Vinson wasn’t showing signs of Ebola when she visited the store with her bridesmaids and didn’t try on dresses.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of a person infected with the viral disease who is experiencing symptoms, such as fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bruising.
Younker opted to close the store during the 21-day incubation period after Vinson’s visit and had the shop cleaned using ultraviolet light technology before reopening earlier this month.
Vinson received her dress from the store in the summer, Younker said. The store owner planned to call Vinson as soon as her wedding veil arrived to check on her plans for ordering the rest of the bridesmaids’ dresses.
“If that’s how she feels, I can’t force her to continue to order,” Younker said. “But for me to hand over a refund, it’s not feasible. It doesn’t make sense. I’m out a lot of money.”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.
Find this article at:
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/brid...a-scare-wants-refund-for-bridesmaids-1.544071
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Copyright © 2014 Ohio.com
Can't make this up. SMH.
Bride-to-be at center of Ebola scare wants refund for bridesmaids
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published: November 24, 2014 - 06:28 PM | Updated: November 24, 2014 - 07:07 PM
A request from the bride-to-be at the center of the recent Ebola scare has left an Akron bridal shop owner feeling jilted.
An attorney representing Texas nurse Amber Vinson is asking Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal shop to refund a total of $480 in deposits and payments that four of her bridesmaids made for their dresses.
The Akron bridal shop closed for several weeks last month after being notified Vinson tested positive for the deadly viral disease within days after visiting the store with her bridesmaids.
Owner Anna Younker said the store lost tens of thousands of dollars because of the closure and frightened customers’ canceled orders.
So when she first saw the letter, she figured it was an apology.
Instead, Dallas attorney Stephen F. Malouf requested the refund and notified Younker that Vinson has decided to use another bridal store for her nine bridesmaids’ dresses “in order to minimize additional public scrutiny.”
“Would you kindly advise whether this is agreeable to Coming Attractions?” Malouf asked. “If it is not, would you ask your attorney to contact me to discuss this matter?”
“Are you kidding me?” Younker thought as she read the letter.
Younker said she never received a phone call from Vinson or any of her bridesmaids before getting the request from the attorney.
“This is like the icing on the cake for her to ask,” the bridal store owner said. “By canceling completely because she wants to go somewhere else, that’s like a slap in the face to me.”
The store’s policy typically prohibits refunds or order cancellations, but Younker said she makes exceptions in special circumstances.
“I couldn’t believe she didn’t at least call me and have some discussion on why,” Younker said. “Maybe I would have considered it differently.”
Molouf said he tried to call Younker to discuss the situation before sending the letter.
“I’m sorry that the shop is upset,” he said. “This was an effort to help the shop and Amber. Amber feels strongly that the publicity was such it was harming the business and she didn’t want to add any further scrutiny to it. This was a purely innocent request and I’m sorry it wasn’t received in the spirit in which it was sent.”
Vinson became the second nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital diagnosed with Ebola after caring for a patient who died of the disease. She has since recovered.
At the height of the watch period, more than 160 Ohio residents — including customers who visited the bridal shop at the same time — were monitored by public health officials for symptoms.
Health officials have said Vinson wasn’t showing signs of Ebola when she visited the store with her bridesmaids and didn’t try on dresses.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of a person infected with the viral disease who is experiencing symptoms, such as fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bruising.
Younker opted to close the store during the 21-day incubation period after Vinson’s visit and had the shop cleaned using ultraviolet light technology before reopening earlier this month.
Vinson received her dress from the store in the summer, Younker said. The store owner planned to call Vinson as soon as her wedding veil arrived to check on her plans for ordering the rest of the bridesmaids’ dresses.
“If that’s how she feels, I can’t force her to continue to order,” Younker said. “But for me to hand over a refund, it’s not feasible. It doesn’t make sense. I’m out a lot of money.”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.
Find this article at:
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/brid...a-scare-wants-refund-for-bridesmaids-1.544071
Click to Print
Copyright © 2014 Ohio.com
