bbsquatch
map-marker Virginia Beach, Virginia

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.
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Loss:
$800
Anonymous
map-marker New York, New York

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?
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abb Yzy
map-marker Columbia, South Carolina

West Elm: false advertising; no remorse

Updated 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 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
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4 comments
Guest

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.

Guest

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.

Guest

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.

abb Yzy

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.

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Anonymous
map-marker Newark, New Jersey

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.
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calpowdergirl
map-marker Dallas, Texas

Elton Settee delayed 3+ months

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 has yet to ship. The customer service people are very nice and gave me a discount, but in the end, I want the couch and it is frustrating to have to continue to contact West Elm to get updates only to find out the ship target has moved. Also, my colleague ordered a different settee from West Elm a few weeks after I did, and they shipped her the wrong color.

Again, she got a discount, but still doesn't have the right couch. She is expected to get the right couch in May some time ( more than 4 weeks after the wrong couch arrived).I will not be ordering custom-made products from West Elm again after this experience.

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5 comments
Guest

My settee was ordered Nov 27. Just got it Monday April 2.

Legs also installed wrong. What a piece of *** this company is.

Guest

I canceled my order on a bed I purchased online in March. They continued to delay from April - June 27.

I was frustrated that they didn't bother to call or email. Customer service has no idea when they will receive any product.

If it's not in stock do not waste your time. I called Macy's and will be receiving my bed in a week.

Guest

I had to deal with the same issue. Mine was delayed 4 times for a total delay time of 9 weeks. I finally received it today so all told it took 19 weeks from the date of order.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. Apparently they weren't paying attention at the factory and installed the legs wrong. The two curved legs were installed diagonally opposite instead of both in front. Since the straight legs are slightly shorter this made the settee rock diagonally. The legs are supposed to be removable, but for some reason only the curved legs came detached after removing the retaining bolts. They are sending a "furniture medic" to sort it out in the next week or so. We'll see...

@eb, The discount I got was 10%. Not much but better than nothing.

@Tony, No vendor name on the label. But half the label is french, so perhaps the vendor is Canadian?

Guest

what was the discount you got for the delay?

Guest

I am in the midst of the same problem. I was promised free shipping and handling...once the Setee arrives...

but it hasn't yet. Any idea who this manufacturer is?

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westelmstorefail
map-marker Plano, Texas

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.
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1 comment
Guest

you are just dumb

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