west elm — Attraction in Durham

I’ve always had good experiences at this store up until today. The first time I returned something was at the beginning of the month. Gigi was extremely cheerful, helpful, and went above and beyond to help me. Daniel, the employee who works at the back door, is also amazing. He is always so speedy, sweet, and wears a bright, contagious smile that will make your day. If I was leaving a review based on my experience with Daniel and Gigi, it would be five stars, hands down.

Unfortunately, the manager I encountered today with the short brown hair, blue menswear shirt, and emerald ring was perfunctory. Her less than lovely mood was extremely transparent and she is letting it leech into her interactions with customers. She led me to believe that I would not be charged for the shipping fee because among my three reasons for returning, one was an actual scratch on the table. I asked if she needed to see it so she would know what I was talking about, but she dismissed me quickly and made it seem that this was unnecessary to have the full refund. Only after my refund was processed and I specifically double checked about the shipping did she tell me I was not refunded the full amount.

I was taken off-guard enough by her cold, dismissive attitude that it took me a moment to collect myself after leaving as an introverted person who is easily embarrassed.

I felt so bad about the interaction that I called west elm customer service rather than go back in and face her again. I ordered the Anton entryway table and it arrived with a small nick or scratch which was definitely more than a “natural occurrence” in the rubber wood. The feet in the table which are supposed to adjust for leveling are also poorly designed. I wanted a full refund instead of being penalized $20 for shipping. Unfortunately because I didn’t take a photo of the scratch, the customer service rep needed to called the store to verify the flaw and spoke to the same manager. Despite my best attempts to wear the friendly, warm customer service persona I’ve learned after working many years in retail, it was clear that that I had inconvenienced or annoyed this in-store manager.

The customer service rep on the phone even apologized and said that it clearly sounded like a product-driven return rather than a customer-driven return. West Elm shouldn’t be selling subpar products and then refusing to take full accountability for flaws that are not natural to the wood. This was very clearly a scratch. We just moved into a new house and are having to furnish from nothing. I thought I was making the best decision by going with west elm, but my experience in store today was bad enough to overshadow the good. I am a loyal west elm customer, but from now on if I see that manager in the store, I will be turning right back around and heading out. I hope the manager in question reflects on how her unprovoked sourness toward customers is a) bad for business and b) not as well-hidden as she might imagine.

Update: the call center rep was able to get my refund after all. The manager should have done it, and hopefully west elm can find a way to improve quality control with in-person customer service so people don’t have to worry about encountering...

West Elm has nice furniture but their inventory system is HORRIBLE!!! I'm on the line now trying to take care of multiple issues, meanwhile, I picked items up from the store that still say online and in text messages and emails that they're ready for pick up with a new, future date, smh.

I spent almost an hour and a half on the line this past Friday becaue i went to pick a ship to store item up and when I got there, there was a sign on the door that said they closed early due to staffing. No indication online and customer service HAD NO IDEA!! So, i called customer service to cancel the order but theyre trying to charge me for the shipping, smh. I WAS THE ONE INCONVENIENCED - they should be accomodating me, not trying to charge me!!! The associate couldnt help me so i have to speak to a supervisor. She and i sat on hold waiting for one to pick up with no success so I called back today. It's been 35 min and I'm still On HOLD!!

They also can't be bothered with keeping updated inventory data for their stores online. In place of the item I'm trying to get fully refunded, I bought a table that had no indication of being available in-store when looking at it online. I called the store about pick up items and they found that they DID have they table in store but when I got there, I had to wait a long time before they figured out the item number was completely different in store than online, smh. Why they would not be the same in both placesakes no sense but something to do with being in two pieces in-store and only one online.

I'm so disappointed in the level of service I've received when I have spent tons of money at this store over the years, furnishing multiple residences. West Elm needs to do better!

On hold now 40 min...

If you cannot purchase the item and physically take it out of the store, buyer beware!!!! We went in store to see fabric samples before we ordered a sofa offline. The lady at the store was very nice and promised us the world in customer service... we were concerned about shipping and damaged goods since items cannot be returned for full price if they do not work out. The lady promised us that it was West Elm employees that would deliver our sofa. We received delivery date and confirmation text and emails. The day of delivery, no phone call 30 minutes in advance, in fact, no delivery at all. The only numbers anyone could provide were 800 numbers to a call center in CA, MA, or NJ and nobody could reach any local HUB. After waiting four hours for a two hour time frame delivery, we had to leave the house for commitments, thirty minutes later, we get a call that the delivery guy is 30 minutes away... sorry, nope. I try to call his manager, who is on vacation (I'm sure he planned giving me that number perfectly). Come to find out, the guy is a third party delivery company.... remember the woman told us ONLY West Elm employees delivered the product? The sofa then had to go back to the local warehouse, this was Saturday, its now Tuesday and the customer rep still says its not checked back in for us to TRY another delivery. Its a waste of West Elm's customers time. I wouldn't purchase anything else from them unless you are a stay at home person who doesn't have to work or have other commitments in life because you'll be waiting.... Oh, and I still don't...