Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Zip Top Boat and Tote Medium

i've been super happy with this bag for 3-4 years of light, occasional use (packing clothing in car for weekend trips, overnights, etc.) but this past weekend i took it to the pool and the blue handle got a little wet (i guess, i didn't even notice) and the area where it touched the bag now is stained blue! tried to dab it off to no avail. when i contacted customer service they said the color will bleed if the fabric is wet. in general, most fabrics are a bit more colorfast than this, and i would expect that something called a "boat and tote" shouldn't bleed to easily! i'm really disappointed, i expected something that was a little more able to withstand normal use.

So, recently bought the medium boat tote to use as a book bag and it is way too small to hold two textbooks and binders. I had an extensive chat with a customer service rep deciding between the medium and large and based on their advice went with the medium with the zip top and long handles. Unfortunately, I had it monogramed and am stuck with it. So, if you want to use this tote for more than one textbook and binder, definitely buy the large

I called Bean to order the bag. I verbally gave them the monogram I wanted and then emailed customer service to be sure they got it right. The customer service even emailed me back that everything would be OK. Wrong. The bag is fine and I can use it but they really messed up on the monogram. What I wanted was QT's BOOT BAG--what I got was QT"s" BOOT BAG. Very unhappy with the service but love the bag for my shooting boots. Don't know what more I could have done to insure the monogram was correct.