The Speed Clothes Saga: My Experience

I debated for months whether to publicly air my complaints with Speed Clothes. After chatting privately with numerous other metal women who have had the same issues, I feel that I am justified in doing so. After all, you won’t find an even slightly negative review or legitimate complaint in the online world unless you REALLY dig. Any comments that the company’s owner doesn’t agree with are almost instantly deleted from any of the Speed Clothes social media pages. The ones I’ve managed to see haven’t been out of line, rude or condescending. The posters have asked legitimate questions and posted queries about why they have not received any reply to private messages or emails directly to the company after multiple attempts at contact. Many of these women have also been addressed very unprofessionally (and often downright rudely) by the owner of the company.

Keep reading to see what spawned this...

My experience is no different. Before I even get into that part of the story, I wanted to speak to the quality of the products themselves. I own two pairs of leggings from Speed Clothes, both of which I purchased this spring. One was purchased through another website selling Speed Clothes merchandise and one was purchased through the official Speed Clothes website. Both are the same size. Supposedly. The Månegarm leggings I purchased fit much smaller than the Desaster leggings I purchased. Despite the labels claiming they are the same size. This seems to be a common issue with the products, based on the other women I’ve spoken to who have purchased multiple items. (Buyer beware: apparently the bikini bottoms fit incredibly small). Another issue that I’ve observed is differences in the quality of the spandex fabric itself. One pair of my leggings is crafted from extremely lightweight spandex that goes semi-translucent when subjected to the slightest stretching. The other pair is a better quality spandex, but still not what I was hoping for considering the price I paid for the leggings. I’m used to leggings in that price range being of a similar quality as brands such as Under Armour, so I was slightly disappointed. I own fifteen dollar leggings that are of a higher quality than first mentioned pair. Needless to say, after knowing about Speed Clothes for years I was a bit dismayed to discovered the product quality differences for myself.

Now, to speak to my biggest complaint: the customer service experience. I’ve never been treated so discourteously by any company I have bought merchandise from, small or large. Typically smaller and specialized companies make an effort to communicate with their customers, but don’t expect Speed Clothes to do this UNLESS you write something that the owner doesn’t agree with on one of their social media pages. Then expect an immediate response, likely followed by your comment and the subsequent replies being deleted lest someone else see them. If it’s not glowing praise of the company, it will probably disappear.  Which I find to be a dishonest business practice when the comments are initially trying to address a concern that is ignored through every other method of contact. I wish I had been able to take screen shots of more of the crude replies that I received from Speed Clothes but I was unable to do so before they were deleted by the company’s owner. I didn’t delete any of my comments or replies as I believe in the integrity of standing behind a publicly made statement.

In the above screenshots, multiple comments made by Speed Clothes have mysteriously disappeared before I could take a screenshot. 

My experience begins with placing a pre-order on February 15^th for a pair of leggings that were supposed to be released within a few days. The pre-order date was subsequently changed due to production delays. Initially this wasn’t too upsetting as it can happen. Literally a handful of release date push-backs later, it became concerning as I’d already paid for merchandise I had yet to receive. Throughout the process, I made a few attempts to contact Speed Clothes through email and their messenger service. I received one reply in March and was completely ignored in the following months. After the first few times, I began taking screenshots each time the pre-order release date was changed in case my product was never to be seen. Upon seeing that Speed Clothes had given away a pair of the same leggings that I had ordered through an Instagram post where they were received by the contest winner (and observing that the item was still on pre-order status), I inquired on the Instagram post itself. I was in informed that the ones given away were misprints, which I don’t believe was disclosed on the original contest posting. Dishonesty in it’s finest. At this point I was also told they’d ship later due to trouble with the graphics in one of the very few private messages that Speed Clothes answered. On May 16^th, I made a post on my Instagram account expressing my hopes for a shipping notification, as the release date was listed as May 15^th at that time. This was where it started. In a comment by Speed Clothes, which was quickly removed by whoever posted it, I was scolded and told that Speed Clothes didn’t “appreciate the unfriendly shout out”. I guess it was unreasonable to be slightly impatient three months later…

Not the first, or last, time it was suggested my paid-for order be cancelled. After the conversations that occurred, I was unsure if I'd get my money back in a timely manner if I did cancel. 

Again, this was after multiple attempts at respectfully contacting the company hoping for any kind of reply, timely update or explanation as to what was going on. It was suggested by the owner (or whoever was making Instagram posts on her behalf) that my order could be cancelled, or that I should cancel it myself. Unfortunately I was unable to screenshot the public post where she told me that I obviously don’t understand what a pre-order means, and that any “true metalhead” would understand how pre-orders work. Insulting your customers is not the way to go when running a business. I’ve never had a pre-order item pushed back multiple times and I’ve made too many band merch pre-orders in the last ten years to even count. These have been made through distribution companies, record labels, Amazon, and directly through bands themselves and never have I been treated so rudely by anyone representing any of those companies or bands. Even after a comment was publicly posted by Speed Clothes telling me to message them privately, they continued to ignore any private message.

I’ve chosen to include the relevant screenshots I was able to capture in order to allow others to see how I was treated over something that should not have been an issue in the first place. Personally, I’m not sure I’d even be allowing people to pay for merchandise before it’s available if I expected any kind of delay. It’s only frustrating and disappointing for the customer when deadlines aren’t met. But if dealt with in a respectful manner, further issues can be avoided. I find the kind of replies I received after finally discovering a way to NOT be ignored completely childish, downright rude and completely disrespectful, especially when coming from a business owner and directed at a customer. To delete comments from customers and purposefully erase every slightly negative comment is greasy. If you want to promote on social media, allow truthful and honest feedback. While erasing anything perceived as negative might solve the issue for the time being, I would think it would ultimately hurt the credibility of Speed Clothes itself. If I was running a business, this would be concerning, but apparently the appropriate and respectful treatment of customers is not a priority for Speed Clothes.

I’ve chatted with a few women who have been long-time, loyal customers and they have recently been treated the same (or worse) than I was. This is a company that I will definitely not be supporting again. I finally wrote this rant of a post in the hopes that some of the other metal women out there will be able to take this into consideration if they’re thinking of ordering from Speed Clothes. I’m sure there are positive customer experiences, but it’s also important for the negative ones to see the light of day.  Potential customers should be able to make educated decisions about where to spend their money. Normally I’m someone who attempts to deal with issues one-on-one, through private messages or email communications. And I tried to do so before this situation escalated into what it became. Normally I wouldn’t publicly air complaints in this manner but after hearing from multiple others in the same situation, I felt this needed to get out there. At least others might get a sense that they're not the only ones experiencing these issues.

The following are from the point where I began to screenshot the changing shipping dates. Keep in mind that the original ship date was mid-February. 

Loud As Hell, Broke As Fuck: A Weekend At Drumheller's Loud As Hell Festival

August 4-6^th, 2017

“Loud As Hell, Drunk As Fuck” seems to be the official moniker for this fantastic metal festival held just outside Drumheller, AB. Even the little kids in attendance were shouting this with fervor by the end of the weekend, probably much to the dismay of their teachers when asked what they did over the summer when it’s time to go back to school. Anyways, if you’re in Western Canada and looking for a festival to hit up, this is the one to check out. I’ve been to a few Western Canadian festivals (with plans to check out a few others in the future), and Loud As Hell is my favourite.

The venue is perfectly suited to this kind of event. With an indoor stage, it doesn’t matter if it’s pouring rain. Which, like all festivals, it’s almost guaranteed to do. The indoor venue also provides a welcome relief from the sun and actually remains a pretty reasonable temperature even when packed with sweaty moshers. There’s plenty of room for vendors to set up and the band merch table was well stocked and well-run by volunteers. A second small stage allowed for short clinics by some of the musicians and various talks from industry professionals such as promoters. The festival grounds provide plenty of space for tents and for those camping with motorhomes and trailers, as well as easy entry and exit if you choose to make the quick trip into Drumheller to grab something you forgot, to have a shower, or to check out all the neat stuff the town has to offer. Of course you can drink your own booze in the camping areas, but alcohol inside the venue was also reasonably priced with a decent selection if you didn’t want to miss out on any of the action.

Friday night saw a torrential rainstorm come through the area. Most people seemed prepared with raincoats and waterproof footwear, which is a must considering the ground around Drumheller doesn’t absorb water and quickly turns into a greasy mud pit. (Kudos to the festival staff who somehow managed to keep the floor inside the venue clean despite pounds of mud being tracked in). Edmonton thrashers Mortillery and death metallers Eye Of Horus were the highlights of the night for me, with Eye of Horus filling in last minute for a band that was unable to make it.

Saturday morning dawned spectacularly foggy for anyone who was up early enough to witness it. I never thought I’d be complaining about humidity in Drumheller, but Saturday proved to be sunny and humid, which didn’t stop the party from continuing. With plenty of great and varied bands on the bill, there was something for everyone. I tried to check out as many as I could, enjoying The Lucifer Project and Tyrant’s Demise in the early evening. Travelling from Winnipeg, it’s bands like Tyrant’s Demise (and the fans who also travel hours to festivals) that prove that the Western Canadian metal scene is alive and well. Taking the party into the later stages of the evening, The Order of Chaos and Planet Eater both played great sets. They were followed by a performance from Permafrost Suspensions, which if you like things to get a little strange (a relative term, I might add) and aren’t squeamish, was worth checking out. The headliner of the night, Vancouver’s mighty thrash veterans, Aggression, played a blistering set, leaving me half deaf for the rest of the weekend. A reasonable crowd stuck around until after three in the morning to enjoy an impressive range of eighties metal covers performed by Shocker. Seriously, any band that plays a WASP cover and nails it is good in my books.

Sunday saw more than a few hangovers, and plenty of people still ready to drink more booze and enjoy more great metal. Dead Asylum proved to be my favourite ‘undiscovered’ band of the weekend. Scythia played a set that was very different to any of the other sets I’ve witnessed them perform, bringing Brian Langley (better known as the vocalist of Aggression) on stage to play guitar for a few songs. I’d bet some of us didn’t previously know that he actually played in Scythia for a short time. To cap off the weekend, Battlecross finished the night to a packed house. Flying in to play, they managed to re-energize a crowd that had just spent the entire weekend drinking, partying and headbanging.

Overall, I can’t say enough about how well organized and smoothly run Loud As Hell was. The venue was fantastic, the volunteers did an amazing job and the bands played outstanding sets. Although I’m now completely broke (hence the title of this post), Loud As Hell was worth every nickel spent.