Lounge Lovers Richmond — Local services in Melbourne

I purchased a sofa on the basis of availability & quick delivery on the weekend from the Richmond store. However, when sofa was delivered today it was the incorrect colour. I ordered a white sofa & received it in green/khaki. I rang customer care immediately - no more than 5 minutes after driver left & asked that they return and collect. Apparently, not possible.

Was told to take a photo & send through via email, which I did. Was told it would take up to 48hrs for someone to get back to me. This is not acceptable. I just spent my entire morning waiting for delivery & needed the matter resolved immediately.

I asked for a confirmation when the sofa would be collected - I was told I'd have to wait up to 48hrs for someone to get back to me about a time suitable for them to collect. Apparently, what suited me was unimportant & irrelevant, so I ceased this conversation & rang the showroom where I purchased the sofa. I was subsequently connected to the overseas call centre, again. And again, they were unable to arrange to have the sofa collected today nor tell me when it would be collected. They were also unable to provide me definitive answer around when I would even receive the correct sofa.

During this time, I said that if they could not help me to my satisfaction, I wanted to be put onto a manger who could resolve my concerns. I was very worried that the other sofa may no longer be available, in such case I would need to arrange a replacement.

Once connected to the customer service manager I could not hear her properly - it sounded like I was on a speaker phone & she was quite far away. I had to repeat myself several times before the connection was fixed. Apparently there was a problem with her headset.

Again, I explained my situation & that I required the plastic wrapped sofa sitting in my living room to be collected today. I wanted to know what time this would happen & also wanted the correct sofa delivered this afternoon. I don't consider this unreasonable. I was interrupted several times & had to continue to advocate for myself whilst I was interrupted again & again. During this time I was also told I needed to send more photos of the sofa to customer service. What a joke, I already sent a picture of the sofa as requested. In the end I hung up and rang the Richmond showroom back requesting to speak to the manager. I left my number & waited for a call back.

That didn’t happen so I called back again & was placed on hold, happy to wait. Speaking to Effie the manager I let he know I was upset & irate over what was happening. My time had been wasted & communication with customer service wasn’t acceptable. I was informed that she had listened to my phone conversations (apparently, they record calls) & the matter would be escalated to the Australian call team within 24hours which was great. I also complained about the international call centre, I didn't feel they were up to scratch & found them difficult to understand. She took the time to explain that they are all educated & no different to the floor staff here in Australia. As I told her, I absolutely disagree. Priscilla who served me in house at Richmond was amazing, the offshore customer service was not.

Effie was unable to assist me with having the plastic wrapped green sofa removed from my living room today. She was also unable to confirm if the 1 remaining sofa was still available & in fact the correct colour.

Effie did however ask that I email her & she would check in with me tomorrow. In the meantime, due to personal circumstance, I’m unable to physically move the sofa. No customer should have a large piece of plastic wrapped furniture dumped in their home with no immediate solution, I’m not a storage facility. Furthermore, the plastic smell is strong & irritating.

At no time did anyone from the business express their concern or genuine apology around what happened today. Looking forward to hearing from Effie tomorrow to resolve this matter to my satisfaction. Edit - photo of couch...

I am writing this review to express my extreme disappointment and frustration with the entire experience of purchasing a couch from Lounge Lovers. What should have been a simple process turned into a year-long ordeal, marked by unfulfilled promises, poor customer support, and a lack of care for customer satisfaction.

When we initially ordered the couch in July of last year, we were informed that the color we wanted was not available, but we could get a new cover made in our desired color for an additional cost of $1,000. Despite the hefty price tag, we decided to proceed, hoping that the end result would be worth it.

Little did we know that this decision would lead to months of frustration and unfulfilled expectations. Today, after waiting for almost a year, we received an email from Lounge Lovers informing us that the cover would not be ready until August of this year. This news was incredibly disheartening, as we had already waited patiently for a significant period of time. Seeking answers and a resolution, we decided to contact customer support. However, this only added to our growing disappointment. The conversation was unhelpful and unprofessional. Not only did they hang up on us, but they also made a measly offer of $150 as compensation for the delay, which is a mere fraction of the total cost of the couch, including the expensive custom cover.

What frustrated us the most was that we weren't seeking monetary compensation; we simply wanted the couch cover we had paid a substantial amount for. It is unacceptable that a reputable retailer like Lounge Lovers would not put in any effort to answer our legitimate questions about the excessive delay. The generic responses provided by customer support showed a lack of concern and a disregard for customer satisfaction.

We expected better from Lounge Lovers, especially considering the high price we paid for this couch and the additional cost for the custom cover. The entire experience has been marred by incompetence, poor communication, and a lack of accountability.

We caution potential buyers to think twice before purchasing from Lounge Lovers. If you value quality customer service, timely delivery, and a company that stands behind its promises, then this is not the right place for you. We regret our decision to trust Lounge Lovers with this purchase and hope that our experience serves as a warning to others.

In summary, we now are forced to go though legal means via consumer affairs Victoria to reach a resolution. The overall experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. We strongly advise against dealing with Lounge Lovers due to their subpar customer support, unfulfilled promises, and lack of care for customer satisfaction.

!!!! Reply to Effie !!!!

Thank you for your response, although it appears that you have disabled direct replies. I would like to clarify the usage of the word "we" in my previous review, as the purchase was made by my partner under her name. We have already reached out to you multiple times in an attempt to resolve this issue. Regrettably, due to the lack of progress and the prolonged duration of this matter, we are now compelled to explore legal avenues to find a resolution. It is disheartening that despite our payment, the product we purchased has not been supplied, and even after nearly a year, you continue to refuse to fulfill our order. Your generic response reinforces our perception of your customer service as lacking competence.

We hope that this matter can be resolved promptly and...

Extremely Disappointing Experience. Please Read Before Purchasing

I want to share my experience with Lounge Lovers to help future buyers make a more informed decision. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with both the customer service and the overall process of trying to make an exchange.

While the in-store staff at Richmond were friendly, it was frustrating to learn that they couldn’t assist with exchanges or returns everything has to go through customer service over the phone. It really feels like they’re only there to make the sale. The information provided in-store did not align at all with the actual process, which left me feeling misled.

I bought a couch from the Richmond store that wasn’t on display anywhere, so I took a risk. As soon as it was delivered, I knew it wasn’t right for me. I tried to initiate an exchange immediately in store, but was met with inconsistent communication, unclear processes, and very little support. I was told at Richmond initially that pickup and delivery of the new couch could happen on the same day, only to be later informed over the phone that I’d need to pay $119 for pickup and another $119 for delivery.

After multiple calls, emails (with template copy- paste responses), I finally managed to get the new couch delivery fee waived, but it took far too much effort. It didn’t end there the delivery date for the new couch kept changing, and it turned out that the warehouse had never even transferred the item, which was a mistake on customer service end. Meaning I’d be without a couch for two weeks.

At one point, I was ready to spend an additional $1000 on a different couch, but the experience had become so frustrating that I just wanted a refund. That, too, was denied. Despite all the company’s mistakes and the inconvenience I endured, all I was offered was a store credit. I genuinely did not want to spend another dollar with Lounge Lovers after that experience.

I’ll now be selling the couch privately and purchasing from another, more reputable brand.

Don’t be fooled by their slick marketing and sponsored ads, they clearly invest more in advertising than in customer service. Hopefully, Lounge Lovers reconsiders its rigid policies and empowers their helpful in-store staff to support customers properly, especially when it comes to returns...