west elm — Attraction in Pittsburgh

Brianca was of little help. She transferred me to a supervisor after 35 mins of being on hold and short discussion.

Cynthia, a supervisor, employee number 705239, showed little understanding to remedy my issue. The solution was simple. I was offered a refund of $256 on December 4th, 2021 and it never posted to my account. I wanted that refund, in a timely manner, as promised, and she couldn’t do that. Giving me instead the suggestion of a discount on final delivery. (Whenever that may be?)

We designed a room with 5 pieces of furniture on July 16th, in store, with an expectation of delivery to our home by October, for a price over $5k+. Two months later, a chair we ordered as part of the set was canceled. 4 months went by with only a coffee table in our living room. Then, after multiple calls to customer service, we were able to have a split shipment get two chairs delivered before thanksgiving.

After understanding our frustration an agent offered to apply a refund on the delayed chairs on Dec 4th because that would reach our account before Christmas. That refund never showed up.

Now, speaking with CS again, sharing that disappointment, I was offered no refund, only a discount on final delivery on a couch that may never come.

Disappointment is an understatement. This experience should be WONDERFUL. Spending significant amounts of money on furniture should come with excellent communication, follow through, service and product. The experience should be one that results in repeat business. This has left me with doubt and disappointment in your customer service training.

I empathize with your supply chain issues. I was offered a refund on December 4th for $256, I didn’t request that. That fact I needed to request a split shipment, follow up about how many times the furniture is delayed, keep an eye out for a refund that never came, and then today plead a case to Customer service for over promising and under delivering is as close to two star service I can...

Poor Shopping Experience

We bought a large final-sale display item from West Elm at Bakery Square. It had minor scuffs, but we were told it was otherwise fine.

After renting a truck and taking time off work, we arrived to pick it up, only to be told while loading that a piece was broken.

When we expressed frustration, the only option offered was a refund which doesn't make up for our time, cost and the fact that we showed up in good faith to pick up an item that was misrepresented.

A real solution would have shown empathy and initiative. Apologize and throw in a $50 gift card, generate more sales from it and keep the customer happy. Instead we had to push for 15-20 minutes until the manager reluctantly gave us 10% off in addition to losing loyal customers forever and adding a one start review.

This experience also makes me wonder, what’s the point of brick and mortar stores?

Today was the nail in the coffin, but West Elm staff often shows lack of drive, staying behind the counter, rarely greeting or engaging. At places like Crate & Barrel or The Container Store, we’ve had warm welcomes, genuine interest in knowing what drove us to the store, which often ends in helpful design sessions and thousands of dollars in sales. What are they doing different? Better training? better hiring? better salaries and commissions?

If you are an exec at West Elm who really cares about the brand better start paying attention. You sell overpriced, nicely designed furniture of variable quality, just like Crate & Barrel and other stores. The differentiation is in shopping experience. A brick-and-mortar store with any other purpose other than providing the absolute best shopping experience is a liability, it hurts your brand. Fix it...

West Elm customer support is a joke. The West Elm store in Pittsburgh employs great people, and I have always had a pleasant experience with them. However, the company as a whole is horrible to deal with. We ordered a marble table that we waited months for (approx. 5+ months). When it arrived (after paying extra for "white glove service" it came broken. Not just 1 crack, but about 6 cracks through and through the marble table, and a few chips missing out of it. When we called West Elm, while delivery men were here, I was told that they stopped making this table and could not replace. They offered me 25% money back. WHAT A JOKE, for a 75% broken table?? They also offered to exchange it for another table. BUT only if we paid the difference and were willing to give nothing for the troubles. After shopping for a table for months, decorating an entire room just for this tables esthetic, ordering a rug from West Elm and waiting, this is the treatment we get?

Needless to say, we went elsewhere, and they finally refunded the table after it was picked up. But finding a new table and going back and forth with West Elm took about 2-3 months. We bought a table at Arhaus, which came in a properly packaged wooden crate and was blemish free and is great quality. I will never shop at West Elm, Williams Sonoma, or Pottery Barn again after this experience. Beware that the quality may be decent here, but the customer service from the company is absolutely horrible and don't expect them to treat you like a customer should be treated, especially for the...