I’ve generally liked lululemon products, but I’ve now had two separate experiences with their Guest Education Centre (GEC) that left me pretty disappointed with the support process. Curious if others have had similar and/or different experiences?

Issue 1 – $170 running shoes failed in ~6 months

I purchased a pair of Beyondfeel running shoes for about $170. Within roughly six months the interior heel lining completely tore through to the foam padding on both shoes.

This wasn’t cosmetic wear; the inside liner literally shredded, which makes the shoes uncomfortable and unusable.

I submitted a Quality Promise claim with photos. GEC responded saying the damage was considered “normal wear and tear” and not eligible for return.

**Note: I have had NUMEROUS other brands of shoes that I have worn far more frequently and have not run into this issue.

I asked for a supervisor review because the shoes were only about six months old. The response I received was that GEC doesn’t have supervisors and their returns team is the highest guest-facing team that reviews these claims.

So the request basically ended there.

Issue 2 – Joggers hemming altered without disclosure and now failing

More recently I had two pairs of joggers hemmed at a lululemon store.

One pair came back perfect in a few days.

The other pair took about 2–3 weeks and when I picked them up I noticed the ankle zipper had been removed entirely. That was never mentioned during drop-off. If I had known hemming would require removing the zipper, I likely would not have approved the alteration because it changes the design of the joggers.

Furthermore, the cuff that was terribly reconstructed after the zipper removal is now starting to unravel. Threads keep appearing and the seam looks like it’s coming undone.

I contacted GEC and they acknowledged:

• the zipper removal wasn’t communicated
• the stitching appears to be coming undone

But they said the only option is returning to the same store for review.

The issue is that getting back to that store isn’t easy for me, and the alteration itself already compromised the garment.

To be clear, I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble at the store. My guess is the person doing the alteration ran into an issue and removing the zipper may have been the only way to finish the hem.

My frustration is more with the GEC process, where it feels like there isn’t much flexibility even when something clearly goes wrong.

Has anyone else had experiences with GEC like this? Curious whether others have had better luck resolving issues.

Photos attached.

TLDR:

Two separate issues with lululemon products and GEC.
• $170 running shoes failed in ~6 months (heel liner tore through); claim denied as “wear and tear.”
• Joggers hemmed by lululemon had the ankle zipper removed without being explained, and the reconstructed cuff stitching is now unraveling.

GEC acknowledged the issues but essentially is offering no assistance other than take it up with the store (which is in a different state).