West Elm
Reviews and Complaints
350K
CLAIMED LOSSES
709
TOTAL REVIEWS
190K
PAGE VIEWS
16
ISSUES RESOLVED
West Elm Reviews
New Reviewer
I ordered the Elton settee couch in Jan quoted as shipping in 8-10 weeks and it still hasn't shipped from the distributor in mid-April with no idea when it will ship from the distributor. West Elm told me in mid-March it would be shipping, and then again in April. It...
View full review
5 comments
PissedConsumer461997
#461997
My settee was ordered Nov 27. Just got it Monday April 2.
Legs also installed wrong. What a piece of *** this company is.
View more comments
ID
Location
Dallas, Texas
New Reviewer
West Elm: false advertising; no remorse
Update by user Mar 31, 2011
Note:
1) Despite the fact that I have repeatedly drawn this pivotal discrepancy in dimensioning to West Elm\'s and William Sonoma\'s attention, the online page advertising the sale of this \"narrow-leg twin bedframe\" product STILL, TODAY, lists mattresses for sale to accompany this product THAT WILL NOT FIT WITHIN THE FRAME.
2) My complaint does not even address the lack of candor that I encountered
3) I now know it is NOT A COINCIDENCE that West Elm HAS NO CONSUMER REVIEWS OF ITS PRODUCTS.
This a shame. In every sense of the word.
Original review posted by user Mar 31, 2011
I stage houses for sale. Because we are in an ongoing, difficult, slow market -- especially for the southern resort houses that are my specialty -- my professional reputation (and future work) depends entirely on quickly and efficiently accomplishing the staging of a house, cottage or condo done so that it may be shown to advantage, asap .... within an extremely limited peak selling season that runs from the beginning of January through April. Yet. Today is April 1st. So, FOUR MONTHS after placing an order with West Elm for (2) twin and (1) queen-sized "narrow-leg bed frames" (guaranteed by customer service for delivery within two weeks -- before Christmas -- but actually delivered only in mid-March) the twin frames -- though finally delivered two weeks ago -- are still a MAJOR problem. Why? Because West Elm shamelessly advertises these twin frames as those that the savvy consumer might enhance by ordering one of three twin mattresses that are shilled on the SAME ONLINE PAGE as the "twin" bedframes. Only trouble is.... a standard twin mattress is 39" wide -- as are ALL THREE of the mattresses West Elm hawks on the same page as the narrow-leg bed frames. Which would lead the normal person to believe that if West Elm is promoting these products in tandem, the products actually fit together. Actually? NOT. In fact, the interior measurement of the West Elm "twin" bedframes is only 38" wide -- which means that NO STANDARD TWIN MATTRESS of 39"W can be fitted into the frame -- not even an inflatable one, the base of which is rigid. Rather, the consumer may only resort to bunk bed mattresses that are 38" wide, though they are far less diverse and pleasing in both their height and variety of density. Most bunk bed mattresses are only 8" high, rather than the 11" height; few to none are available in memory foam. With the clock ticking well towards the end of the resort island selling season, I brought these sequential problems of false advertising, delay and communications "confusion" to West Elm's attention. WEst Elm's response? Perfectly nice people in customer service offered to rebate surcharge and/or shipping charges. BUT NO ONE addressed the essential issues -- that: a) my professional standing was going south in a limited sales season due to their nonchalant malfeasance; and, b) West Elm was knowingly advertising 39"W mattresses for sale with the narrow-leg bed frame .... while knowing that the interior measurement of the bed frame was, in fact, only 38"W ... which might as well be a mile. And, to add insult to injury, that the inferior 38"W mattress available was SUBSTANTIALLY MORE EXPENSIVE as it was part of a niche, bunk bed market. Through sequential levels of seniority, I eventually spoke to a public relations attorney in West Elm's parent company, William Sonoma. She offered minimal money off my order as recompense -- HA! Better than nothing, but not even close to recognizing the ACTUAL PROBLEM that needed to be resolved. I'll spare you the rest. But know this: I demanded that West Elm correct its online catalog page to make it clear that the "twin" bed frame was actually not 39'W. THREE WEEKS LATER, the online page STILL touts the additional purchase of three pricy mattresses THAT WILL NOT FIT IN THE FRAME. CAVEAT EMPTOR, my friends
4 comments
ID
Location
Columbia, South Carolina
Service
West Elm Shipping Service
New Reviewer
West Elm Store Harrassing for non justified late fees
Retailers, like West Elm Store, are more evil that those banks charging exorbitant fees. Congress has noticed the banks. It's time to take a look at retailer practices. I bought five pillows at a West Elm Store. Stupidly, I let the clerk talk me into getting a special card so I'd collect points good for future purchases. It turned out to be their credit card – he wasn't exactly up front. When the credit card bill came I sent off a check and paid in full – on time. Well, apparently my payment was not received on time. So, the next month I received a bill with only a late fee and interest on the late fee – the late fee was $20. I wrote a note, explained that I did not think I should have to pay this, and thought that was that. No, no. The bills keep coming – every month. And each month they add another late fee (for $20 bucks) and accumulated interest. I wrote another note. It's up to < $100 bucks now. West Elm Store started harassing me for the late fees immediately. They call seven days a week, starting around 8:30 a.m. The number is usually 303-255-**** or unknown. An internet search revealed that there are tons of consumer complaints about the harassment associated with this number. They call at least four or five times a day and when I don't answer the phone (duh?) they call my business line. I tried explaining my position to them, got ignored and now just suffer the harassment of the endless calls. They called Sunday morning at 830. I had my volume off. Keep calling West Elm Store. No one's home to take your call. Oh, and you might want to spend your time going after real delinquent accounts.
1 comment
ID
Location
Plano, Texas
Thank You for Your Reply!
Thank You for Your Reply!
We are processing your message.
11Thank You for Your Submission
Your comment is successfully posted.
Select Reason
Select Reason
I ordered a simple bed-frame ($199) and had to pay for shipping even though there's store a few miles from my home. I was ok with that. I was told that there was a 30$ surcharge for heavy and bulky items. I balked but paid for, it after all it is a bedframe. Three days later, it arrived. I step out the door, and I see two SHORT little packages. I'm like, "How can a bed be in there?" I (female, 5ft tall) pick both packages up, hmm not heavy at all.
I realized that the siderails come in two short pieces. Of course I'm a little disappointed. That's not a very sturdy design. The floor models did not show this at all!
So I call customer service and ask why it was not made known that the side-rails came in TWO SHORT PIECES. She said it's impossible for every piece to be listed. I thought that was a little facetious, but I Iet it go. (I didn't ask for a list of pieces; I was just talking about disclosure that the siderails came in TWO SHORT PIECES, because this has a bearing on the sturdiness of the product and the fact that they are "sur"charging for bulkiness and weight).
OK, I assumed... my fault. But, why, then, was I charged 30 bucks for a normally sized and weighted product? She said that this was a contract with ups and there was nothing they could do about it. I said, "Yes there is...Tell ups that the siderails come in 2 SHORT PIECES!" Maybe UPS ALSO ASSUMED that the siderails came in loooooong whole pieces worthy of a surcharge. If I was charged a surcharge, wouldn't that be a natural assumption - siderails in looooong whole pieces? (By then, I was "irritated" because I was told, that:
1. I couldn't drop it off at my local store as a return
2. I had to pay for the return charge
3. I would not get my delivery charge refunded
4. I would not get my surcharge refunded)
I might as well have gone to IKEA. They probably have more sturdily designed products. West Elm is like an IKEA pretending to be a Crate & Barrel). My apologies to IKEA, because IKEA is not pretending to be something other than what they are.
I ordered a simple bed-frame ($199) and had to pay for shipping even though there's store a few miles from my home. I was ok with that. I was told that there was a 30$ surcharge for heavy and bulky items. I balked but paid for, it after all it is a bedframe. Three days later, it arrived. I step out the door, and I see two SHORT little packages. I'm like, "How can a bed be in there?" I (female, 5ft tall) pick both packages up, hmm not heavy at all.
I realized that the siderails come in two short pieces. Of course I'm a little disappointed. That's not a very sturdy design. The floor models did not show this at all!
So I call customer service and ask why it was not made known that the side-rails came in TWO SHORT PIECES. She said it's impossible for every piece to be listed. I thought that was a little facetious, but I Iet it go. (I didn't ask for a list of pieces; I was just talking about disclosure that the siderails came in TWO SHORT PIECES, because this has a bearing on the sturdiness of the product and the fact that they are "sur"charging for bulkiness and weight).
OK, I assumed... my fault. But, why, then, was I charged 30 bucks for a normally sized and weighted product? She said that this was a contract with ups and there was nothing they could do about it. I said, "Yes there is...Tell ups that the siderails come in 2 SHORT PIECES!" Maybe UPS ALSO ASSUMED that the siderails came in loooooong whole pieces worthy of a surcharge. If I was charged a surcharge, wouldn't that be a natural assumption - siderails in looooong whole pieces? (By then, I was "irritated" because I was told, that:
1. I couldn't drop it off at my local store as a return
2. I had to pay for the return charge
3. I would not get my delivery charge refunded
4. I would not get my surcharge refunded)
I might as well have gone to IKEA. They probably have more sturdily designed products. West Elm is like an IKEA pretending to be a Crate & Barrel). My apologies to IKEA, because IKEA is not pretending to be something other than what they are.
I've been waiting over a month on my narrow leg bed frame in king. Every 2 weeks I get an updated backorder date extending the delay.
I ordered curtains from them that never shipped and they no longer carry. I do not recommend ordering backordered items from West Elm.
Note: tomorrow, not today, 1st is April; I thought there would be a midnight lag time in posting this complaint. Also, I have not even begun to document the lies I was told, in writing, about when the product would be delivered over the four month period.