West Elm
Reviews and Complaints

Ordered some salad plates online that were described as in stock in January 2013. Had not been shipped after three weeks. Telephoned customer service and was told that there had been a mistake and there were not enough in stock. Operative said they would get the shop in Tottenham Court Road to deliver direct and email me to let me know when they would be shipped. Never came back and today there is the word 'closed' written against my order. Now need to check the money has not gone,out of my bank account. This is my first - and last order from Westelm. Just opened in the UK not a very good start. Will stick with Next or John Lewis stores for great service.

Ordered Mid Century Three Tier serving tray for a Christmas gift at the beginning of December. Was told it would ship the 12th of December. It is now the 4th of February. Online information never updated. Multiple calls garnered multiple stories/dates. Used online communication and messaged with a customer service rep at the end of January who told me it would be shipped at the beginning of February. When I called today I dealt with a customer service rep who was a hideous representative for the company. She lied, snarked, kept me on hold and interrupted me to explain that the item was permanently cancelled, why was I calling. I was never informed of anything after the initial order confirmation. I tried to remain calm and polite but that just fueled the reps bad attitude. I asked for a supervisor and she told me there was only one in the building but they were on the phone. I indicated I wanted to wait. She came back on 10 minutes later and said they would give me a credit for $25 and that the supervisor could not take my call. I explained that three separate orders by immediate family from West Elm had been bungled and I wanted to speak to someone about how upset I was. She got nastier and threatened me that my call was being recorded. I then just had to start shrieking to get her to connect me. The supervisor was equally as dense as to why I would be upset. I said West Elm was lying and telling so many different stories but had not once tried to make up for it and keep me as a customer. She said they hadn't charged my credit card. That was her attempt to make things right- they hadn't stolen from me. I indicated I wanted to mail a letter of complaint. She said they didn't have an address. That was how the call ended- her claiming that there is no mailing address in existence to complain. Anyone have their address please?!

I ordered a desk from West Elm, and called to cancel the order the next day. The first representative told me that the order was cancelled and to expect a full refund and a confirmation email with the details. After not receiving an email with the cancellation details, I tracked the order online and showed up as 'received'. I called West Elm again to get a confirmation that the order has in fact been cancelled, and was told that, 'no, they didn't send confirmation emails', but the order was cancelled. When I asked about the refund, they told me that they were going to keep the $30 surcharge "because the order was already being processed." I told them that I refuse to pay the surcharge since I'm paying for nothing, literally. They HAVEN'T SHIPPED the item. Will NEVER shop with them again.

West Elm used to be one of my favorite stores. However they gouge you with so called white glove service that is anything but above average. They called me the day before a major holiday to tell me they cannot deliver for two full weeks, or a total of three weeks after I placed the order. When I placed order, the website said they could deliver in the next 5-7 business days. This was critical for me because I was moving out of an old place and into a new place the following month. They were inflexible about the shipping date and said nothing about the error in shipping times. Granted this is during the holidays, but a good company should not make promises or statements that cannot fulfill. Not only is this bad customer service, but this is also false advertising and hence illegal. Best Buy, on the other hand, was able to ship my appliances within a few days during the holidays (last week) without an extra fee! Macys and Nordstroms are willing to work with the customer to find a date that works. They will also offer compensation for dissatisfaction and at least pretend to care about their customer's satisfaction. Most companies will offer future discounts or coupons because they appreciate their consumer's loyalty and want satisfied loyal customers. I cannot say the same for West Elm customer service hotline or their third party shipping company. When you call their third party or customer service line, it is NOT the same as calling any other high end (expensive) furniture store. With the prices at West Elm, they are not cheap. If they charge an arm and a leg for so called white glove service, they should treat the consumer like he or she is valued. Perhaps West Elm changed when they merged with a big conglomerate. I used to love West Elm but now I am not so sure. Even CostPlus World Market has better customer service. Save your money and do not waste it on this company unless you buy in store, bring a huge truck to load it up and build the items yourself. Their third party is pretty dumpy and so is the customer service hotline.

I ordered an Emmerson coffee table on 12/26/2013 online. While the order was being placed there was a message saying it would be delivered by New Year's Eve - wow! Later that night, I decided to track my order. To my dismay it was showing 2/10/2014 as estimated delivery date. I called customer service the following morning to get things straight. After three phone calls, I was told that their website was wrong it it takes a while for it to get fixed. The explanation for the delay in the delivery was that it is shipped freight straight from the vendor. Well, in two months I suppose they will walk the table instead of carrying it in a truck. Really disappointed. I needed a massive table and that would fit the bill. It was my first and last purchase at West Elm! I will simply forget about the dressers that were in my wish list and start a new search.

On 12/19, I ordered a monogrammed ice bucket as a Christmas gift for a friend. I specifically ordered it by the deadline for delivery on Christmas Eve as dictated by the website. According to my email receipt, the item was shipped on 12/21, however, they did not provide me with a tracking number. I called the afternoon of 12/24 when I had not received the item, however, another item in the same order had arrived. I was told by customer service that the reason that it did not have a tracking number is that it was sent by USPS as opposed to UPS. When I explained that this was not my decision, nor my fault, she said that she was also unable to track it. If I did not receive it by 12/25, I should call back and they would refund me the full amount. On 12/26, I still had no sign of the ice bucket so I called back. They are still unable to track it or tell me when it can arrive. I was told that if I did not receive it by 12/26 close of business, to call back and I would receive a full refund and a credit for my inconvenience. On 12/27, still without an ice bucket, I called West Elm who MAGICALLY has no record of my call on 12/26 nor can they find an item nor issue a refund until it arrives. I have already have to replace the item so that my friend would not go without a Christmas present and, as it is monogrammed, I cannot return or re-gift it. When I explained all of this to the person at West Elm, she told me that there was nothing she could do about it and that her supervisor will not allow her to issue a refund until the item arrives. I tell her that this is an unacceptable answer and that I need to speak to her supervisor, she refuses to transfer me and says I should call back and speak with another representative if I'd like to speak with a supervisor. I have now called four times, emailed twice, and tweeted at West Elm with no response.

I ordered an expensive cooking pot, which I received 12/5. When I opened the package it was clear that the item had been returned by someone else. While the shipping package was fine, the internal box was very damaged and the pot was chipped all along the top edge. I telephoned and they were very pleasant about the return and had UPS pick it up 12/6. It is now 12/26 and they have yet to process the return. Meanwhile I am out more than $250. I telephoned and was told it typically takes 2-3 weeks to receive credit after you return something but it is longer now due to the holidays. This is unacceptable, particularly since they charge you the minute they process the order but somehow can't credit you for many weeks following the return. I seriously doubt I will order from them again.

I have contacted West Elm’s customer service 5 times to resolve a returned item issue which still has NOT been resolved. I ordered merchandise online on 10/28/13, received the order on 11/4/13, and returned 2 of the items (pillows) on 11/7/13, using the return label provided by West Elm. The returned order was received by West Elm on 11/13/13. I even emailed proof of documentation to customer service. I tracked the shipping delivery through UPS and verified West Elm received the returned pillows on 11/13/13. I waited 2 weeks to receive credit on my West Elm credit card account, which I did not get, so my husband called on 11/25, 11/26, and ended up speaking to 3 different representatives. They informed him that we need to be patient and wait a few more business days for the credit to appear on my account. I waited another week and still NO credit on my West Elm account. So I called again, and spoke to Nicole on 12/4/13, she said they mailed a merchandise credit. I asked why they would do that and why when we called over a week ago, they never informed us of that? She said she doesn’t know why neither representative explained it. Then said because it was over 14 days of return, which it was NOT! I have all my copies of the order, again see attached proof of return and delivery. I told her we returned the item within 3 days of receiving it. She said she would have to email management to verify that the merchandise credit that was mailed to us wasn’t used and then credit would be issued onto account and that someone would contact me within 48 hours. She assured me this would be done in a timely manner and someone would call me. NO ONE CALLED ME BACK and still NO CREDIT!! I gave it over a week and finally called back on 12/13/13, I and now spoke to Charly, who advised me they have a very high call volume and that she sees the notes from 12/4, but they haven’t received a response back yet. So I’ll have to call back. I told her this has been going on for over a month and I’d like to talk to a supervisor, her response was that this is a call center of 100’s of employees with only 2 supervisors and that she could not connect me. Instead she like the other representative over 10 days ago, said she would have someone call me within 48 hours. GUESS WHAT...6 days later and still no return call and still no credit processed back to my credit card. I am at a loss. I have spent hours on hold, extended time explaining my situation, and then re-explaining every time I call and end up talking to someone different. This is ridiculous. I have been billed for something I returned and now going on another cycle statement without the matter resolved. The credit of $151.(and change) should have posted to my account back in mid-November. I am so disappointed with West Elm’s customer service and the lack of apology and resolution.

- Unable to update customer profile on their website - Poor customer service attitude - Irresponsible phone customer service and in-store staff. Continuously bounce customer (When there is problem they'll tell you to contact customer service via phone call, when you made a call the operator will told you to contact your store, it'll never end...) - All furniture are require to purchase online even in-store that includes ridiculous shipping fee. - Faulty item takes more than 2 weeks to get refund (i still haven't receive my refund after 2 weeks...) - Takes more than a month for item delivery.

I called because I had two charges on my CC despite only placing one order. The customer service woman who I was speaking with argued with me for about 4 minutes that I did not have two charges. I offered to email her a copy of my account, but she continued to argue with me. At that point, she hadn't even looked up my order. I asked if she could look it up and then she argued with me about that for a moment. I asked if she could explain why there were two charges. She not only told me that I wouldn't understand, but she continued to say that I was not giving her the chance to explain it. I assured her I was smart enough to understand anything she wanted to explain. Instead of explaining it, she hung up on me. When I called back, the woman who answered the phone was already aware of my situation, and she explained that there WERE in fact two separate charges totalling more than $82.00 over how much my order was for, but that one would be released in a few days.

I ordered an expensive rug from West Elm, but wound up deciding it was too small for the area. So sent it back and at the same time ordered the next size bigger. I find it very frustrating that they are willing to take my money immediately for a purchase, but will wait up to 6 weeks to return my money! Called customer service and they said there is nothing they can do until it is 'checked in' and that it can take 'a long time'. This is really unethical and I hope that complaints make them change their practice.

Ordered a dresser from west elm and website notified me of availability for delivery the next week. Great, I had a need for it. One week goes by and I don't hear anything, so I call. Customer service tells me I've placed a special order. I say, "no, it's a standard order and delivery was estimated for November 25." Customer service says "I see why you're saying that but the website was wrong, we can't even call about delivery until DECEMBER 21." Crazy, right? I placed the order five days previously and was given confirmation of an imminent delivery. I hadn't received any manner of call from West Elm. In other words, it was NEVER true that delivery could be made remotely when promised. What followed was an insane discussion where the rep conceded the website gives plainly false information about delivery. She added that West Elm is trying to be more "exclusive", which makes absolutely no sense (unless they mean "exclusive" of my business, of which they've succeeded). I cancelled order (or so I think -- stay tuned).

I had ordered a ceiling fixture that was supposed to be hand delivered. About a week after the order was placed I received a phone call from the delivery company offering me one date for delivery, a holiday weekend. I declined that date and was told there were no other options at that time. I emailed WE concerning the delivery and received two non-sense emails totally unrelated to my concern/complaint. Both emails ended saying that the issue had already been resolved. I called customer service the next day and after being passed around between departments I was finally given another delivery date 4 weeks from the time I ordered. I complained to the customer service agent about the emails and was told "that was not her department." I received an email survey and requested to be contacted immediately, nothing. Terrible experience, will never shop there again, and still have not received the fixture.