West Elm
Reviews and Complaints
350K
CLAIMED LOSSES
709
TOTAL REVIEWS
190K
PAGE VIEWS
16
ISSUES RESOLVED
West Elm Reviews
New Reviewer
Ordered two queen size bed frames and they came with two piece bed slats that are shown in the instructions as single piece. Obviously such slats collapse repeatedly when one moves around in the bed. The center support beam, upon which the slats are supposed to rest,...
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ID
Location
Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Loss
$500
New Reviewer
West Elm delivered defective product, terrible customer service
I ordered a bed frame from West Elm. It arrived with two pieces defective, making the bed un-usable. I called and they said they'd send me the replacement pieces. First, the replacement piece arrived late. Second, it was THE WRONG PIECE. In the meantime, it's been WEEKS and I still don't have a bed to sleep on. I called, and they were completely impossible to deal with. When they sent me the replacement piece, they said they'd be crediting me for the bed. Except...when I called back, they said they were crediting me for the *replacement* part. How insulting--to act like they're doing me a huge favor by not making me pay for *their* mistake? This still isn't resolved. They want me to pay to return the broken bed and incorrect piece that THEY sent me. I will not pay for their mistakes. I'm trying to figure out what my options are.
1 comment
ID
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Loss
$600
West Elm Customer Service
I purchased a chest of drawers a year and a half ago and the railing mechanism gave up. When I called West Elm to purchase replacement parts, they referred me to Home Depot. Since I couldnt find a piece to replace the mechanism, I called West Elm back. The first person who answered the phone said that they would send me a new chest of drawers. I was very surprised that they would replace a $400 piece of furniture for a barely $15 piece. I should have known better that she had no clue on what she was talking about. I told her that the chest of drawers was a part of the Madison line and towards the end of the conversation she referred me as Ms. Madison. I had to repeat my phone number 3 times for her to get it right. She stated either herself or a manager would call me back within 5 minutes. After 7 hours, I received no phone call, so I called back. The person who answered the phone this time put her manager on the line. The manager's suggestion was that I throw away a $400 chest of drawers and they could give me a discount to purchase a new one. I told her no but thank you and I would never buy anything from them ever again.
ID
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Loss
$400
New Reviewer
West Elm...terrible customer service regarding defective product
In my experience, this co. (pottery barn, west elm, williams sonoma) could care less if they sell you a damaged/defective product. they are not willing to support your purchase and the Customer Service response is downright insulting. the markup on their products should ensure a fair sale to the consumer. they did not even want the product information to ensure that this wasnt a pattern with future consumers. They just seemed to want any reason for you to go away. it is unfortunate as I recently got married and Im looking to continue to purchase items for our new home. I am glad i found out at the point i did. Certainly not too big to fail! Especially with the representation ive seen. i am still furious about the way they handled the situation, but its better to take our lossss and find a new store!
ID
Location
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Loss
$100
New Reviewer
West Elm can't get their furniture delivered to the customer
Update by user Sep 04, 2012
West Elm came through for me. My sofa was finally delivered around August 14th.
I made contact with Williams Sonoma and found a personal contact within customer service at West Elm. They called me and updated me until my sofa was delivered.
Also gave me some store credit for my troubles. So all in all it turned out well.
Original review posted by user Aug 03, 2012
I ordered a Henry sectional in "in-stock" fabric on June 15th 2012. They said it was on backorder until June 29th--OK. It's August 3rd and still no sofa. I have called customer service once a week since June 29th to be told that the order is being filled and will be out soon. I finally called Williams Sonoma as they own WE. They man on the phone called me back with an update and said truck will be loaded August 6th. I'm highly doubtful. If it isn't on it's way next week, I'm canceling the order. If West Elm can't accommodate their orders and customers, they shouldn't offer the products. I think it's quite dishonest on their part. Now I really want to cancel after the poor reviews on the Henry line--ugh what a nightmare! ID
Location
Dallas, Texas
Product
West Elm Sofa
Loss
$2300
West Elm Does not Honor Advertised Prices
In their most recent catalogue West Elm No 7, the company posts a red circle of up to 30% off special on their Montauk Nest Chair. This same item sold 2 years ago for $499 and for unexplained reasons their price jumped $300 to $799!!! Within in the last few months the item has sold for $679. Now in the most recent catalogue they have the old price but appear to offer the chair for additional 30% off. When you call they say, "if you read the red circle we are offering 'up to 30%' off on outdoor furniture but they are really not offering you anything new than was seen in their earlier catalogues. This was escalated to supervisor who was unwilling to honor the apparently advertising price. It is very misleading and they are not willing to stand behind what their advertising would appear to say.
ID
Location
New Orleans, Louisiana
Product
West Elm Chair
Loss
$300
New Reviewer
West Elm - defective manufacturing, no recourse
I purchased a West Elm "computer cabinet" from a retailer as part of a "move and redecorate" project. Well, I ended up not moving, not redecorating, and waited 2 years (!) before starting to assemble the thing. Halfway through we found an obvious manufacturing defect and are unable to proceed with assembly. West Elm will not touch it because it was bought somewhere else and they have no record where it's been since it left them. The other retailer will not touch it because it is more than 30 days since it was purchased. So buyer beware: West Elm will not stand behind their manufacturing quality over time. Even when the product was made and branded West Elm.
ID
Location
Suwanee, Georgia
My West Elm order was placed 2 months ago...
I ordered the Tillary couch from the West Elm website during Black Friday. The fabric type and color I chose was supposedly in stock but 2 weeks later I still didn't hear anything from them. I finally called customer service and they said that the couch was still in production! WTF, I specifically chose the in-stock because I wanted extra seating for the holidays. It would take another month for them to ship it to their warehouse. I had to clarify if they were going to contact me to set-up the delivery time as well. The customer service person on the phone told me that UPS was going to deliver my couch to my apartment. The website said it was an in-home delivery. Another WTF. There is no way that UPS would have delivered the couch up the stairs to my apartment. They need to train their operators better about the delivery services because when I talked to customer service a month later to check on the order, they said the couch would be an in-home delivery. *sigh of relief* I had to call customer service a third time after two months had passed and still no couch. Apparently, the Tillary couches were already at the warehouse but no one had called to set-up a delivery. I am annoyed beyond belief at this point. I ask the customer service person to use my other credit card instead of the original one since they didn't charge it yet. She said she couldn't do it which is understandable, I guess. West Elm already screwed me on the couch since I didn't have it in time for the holidays. They couldn't accommodate my one request. I was just fed up with the whole thing so I just cancelled my order. After reading this website, I'm glad I did cancel the couch. I would have been a piece of *** after a couple of months. Sorry, West Elm, your furniture is not worth it. Blah!
1 comment
ID
Location
San Francisco, California
New Reviewer
West elm worst cutomer service ever
ordered a sweatere rug five weeks ago and after numerous calls to them and hours of useless (uninormed and lying) service reps told me the rug had been lost twice in shipping and after promising toi send it overnight via air, a week later, they still can't locate the new rug. three times was not a charm. i finally cancelled the order, and the rep still would not put me on with a manager. we were about to place a HUGE order with them, but will now take ALL future business elsewhere and never set foot in there again
ID
Location
Culpeper, Virginia
Service
West Elm Shipping Service
Loss
$500
New Reviewer
West Elm Furniture Is Not Solid Wood
You probably think "solid wood furniture" means it's crafted from solid wood, right? Well, apparently not at West Elm -- it means it is not "hollow wood." Like a hollow closet door. That's right, think of all that hollow furniture you've almost bought in the past - they wanted you to know it wasn't that really cheap stuff. What a relief. Thanks West Elm!!! Even with as a marketer myself, that borders on fraud in my eyes. To me, and probably you too, veneered wood should not be marketed as solid wood. Veneered wood is a very thin layer of solid wood on top of a thick layer of ground up wood chips. If you like veneer for the cost advantage, go ahead and grab some from West Elm. Just know it's anything but solid wood. If it ever gets injured, get ready to buy more. The overall looks at West Elm are good, but questionable sales tactics make me scared to ever buy from them again. Shame on Williams-Sonoma - the parent company.
1 comment
ID
Location
Birmingham, Alabama
New Reviewer
DO NOT ORDER anything large from West Elm in New York .Their delivery service UPS will not deliver to your apartment . West Elm has decided for UPS not to require a signiture and therefore they left it at the bottom of my stairs and I had to carry a 150 pound piece of...
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1 comment
PissedConsumer580989
#580989
Their in-home delivery is almost as inefficient as their customer service. Every customer service person I speak to gives me a different story.
In-home delivery just called me but I couldn't understand the foreign lady on the other line because her accent was so heavy that it was too difficult to figure out what she was saying except that she works for Federal (something) truck delivery in Jersey. Never again, West Elm..!
ID
Location
New York, New York
Loss
$500
Poor customer service and management of delivery
I spent about 30 minutes trying to buy furniture at the West Elm on 18th st in New York. Over that time every sales rep refused to help make the purchase. I gave up and ordered online on back on November 25th. The site said the item would be delivered December 9th. The item did not require any special order for fabric or anything like that. Despite the simplicity of the order, the delivery date passed with no notice from the company. Finally after calling customer service I was told they might delivery it in early January - no guarantees! How could a furniture company be operated this badly?
ID
Location
New York, New York
Service
West Elm Delivery Service
Should have received Sofa, Factory doesn't even have fabric yet
"Special Order" apparently means, total *** I ordered the Henry Sofa a couple of months ago, should have received it a week ago. Kept receiving letters saying it will ship in such and such a date. Dates came and went, no sofa. I finally called customer service and was informed that the factory doesn't have the fabric to make the sofa and they have no idea when they're getting it. And if you go online, you can STILL order the sofa. They don't even have the fabric! They're selling furniture that they DON'T have! This is complete ***.
15 comments
ID
Location
Gainesville, Florida
Product
West Elm Sofa
Loss
$899
New Reviewer
What didn't they do wrong?!
I urge you NOT to order from West Elm. Save yourself the trouble and the headache. The only reason I gave this one star is because I couldn't put zero stars. I have NEVER dealt with a less professional business than West Elm. I purchased a king size bed frame and head frame. UPS delivered the headboard about a week and a half later. The bed frame was routed to the wrong address and it was only discovered when they called to try to deliver to the wrong state (yes, as in US State). I spent the next 33 days trying to get it re-routed, all the while watching stock dwindle. I called countless times and spent countless hours on the phone about every other day. On the 33rd day I finally got someone willing to do their job and it was finally re-routed. A week later my bed was delivered. As the delivery crew assembled what should be my king size bed I noticed a number of problems, the biggest being it was not a king size bed, but a full. On top of that they did not have any slats and the cross brace looked to be from a twin and did not cover the width of even the full bed. I called customer service and was told they no longer have that bed in stock and basically I was out of luck. The bed frame went back with the delivery drivers. On top that, the bed that they did put together looked like it would buckle under 10 pounds, the quality simply was NOT there. I then explained to them that I needed to get a headboard back to them since I did not and would not be getting a bed to attach it to. Had I actually got someone to do their job a month and a half ago this probably would not be a problem. Since I was expecting a bed to attach this headboard to I had discarded the box. In hindsight, my mistake was assuming I was dealing with competent people. I was told they cannot send someone to get this and I would have to find a box to put it in and ship it back to them. Where exactly am I going to find a box to fit a king size headboard?! Not likely... So basically, for over a month and a half of my time trying to get someone to do their job, more frustration than I thought possible, and most likely money out of my pocket for a huge box to ship this back, I got NOTHING! And it's not even over. I am still waiting on my refund for the frame, and unless I can figure out how to get a box for the headboard I am out of luck... great way to do business. I urge you NOT to order from West Elm. Save yourself the trouble and the headache.
ID
Location
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Service
West Elm Delivery Service
Loss
$800
West Elm sold faulty outdoor table cover; ruined table
I purchased a West Elm outdoor wood-slat dining table and six chairs from a friend, all in perfect condition. I ordered a West Elm outdoor table cover to protect them from rain. The cover leaked in a rainstorm and ruined my table. West Elm refused to compensate me for the ruined table, despite the fact that their faulty cover had caused the damage (of which I have before and after photos), because I had not purchased the table directly from West Elm. This, however, is not a warranty issue; it is an issue of damage caused by their faulty product.
ID
Location
Newark, New Jersey
Product
West Elm Table
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If you paid with a credit card, you can file a dispute with them, and if west elm doesn't agree to refund your money the credit card will (and just not pay them). The correct steps to make this happen is to tell west elm that when you placed the order it was a package deal and you are not interested in getting a subset of the order.
Let them know the bed was not delivered as advertised (it was defective) and their attempts to rectify the situation have failed. As a curteousy to them you are willing to arrange to meet with them so they can pick up the defective merchandise and their expense. While this is inconvenient to you, you understand mistakes happen and are willing to meet them half way by being their so they can get their bad stuff back. Tell them you expect a full prompt refund, and if it is not processed you will dispute the charge with your credit card company and let them resolve the problem.
Long story short, you won't have to file an actual dispute.
Disputes are almost always ruled in favor of the consumer, and reflect poorly on the merchant. They will refund your money, but if not, you simply share the above steps with your credit card and they will credit your statement and not pay west elm.