west elm — Local services in Burlington

I bought a dining set online in Feb '24 after looking at the options in the store. Yes, the staff is very nice. There is no question about them being friendly and helpful, BUT that is where the good part ends!

Initially, via email we were informed that the table and hutch were in stock and going to be delivered in just a couple weeks. That was great. The chairs would take time as we ordered them custom. We accepted that. Come to a few days before delivery, and suddenly, via email, it was cancelled. We called, and called, and texted with customer service - and most of them were very polite. However, all of them consistently lied - telling us "the table and hutch couldn't be delivered because the table they got in didn't meet their rigorous quality control standards". Haha we found that funny. Then the next delivery was cancelled because of the same reason, supposedly. Then the third delivery was cancelled because the table never got to their warehouse in time (despite the fact it was 'in stock' since March!). They really took us for fools.

What was happening is they won't deliver anything until your entire order is ready! That saves them money. And they didn't give us even the option of paying for two separate deliveries! After dealing with customer service (so much wasted time) we convinced them to send the orders out separately. That took a lot because we didn't quite spend $5,000 = and we were told that if you spend that much or more, they WILL send out the orders separately in a situation like this.

Bottom line is now we're 5 months in and still no furniture. No time line for any delivery, and were told once again the table never made it to their warehouse (again, despite being told previously, it was IN STOCK).

We are trying to cancel the entire order. We were told that they have to get a manager approval for any of that and this would take 5 days as they have to "text the person" and wait to hear back. I give up.

We have wasted SO much time and money with this company. Like I said, the friendliness stops the moment you pay and leave and then wait for your deliveries. We've set aside 3 week days so far for deliveries that were cancelled via email just a couple days in advance.

I have all the emails and text messages and phone call notes to back up my review here, just in case WestElm decides to give me a hard time about this HONEST review.

Avoid the headache, find another store. Seriously. They aren't so nice that you should wait for 5+ months like us and still have nothing that we paid for. I'd rather deal with unfriendly staff and get what I already paid for vs someone being "fake nice" to...

Joseph, a gentleman and a scholar! I responded to a west elm e-mail inviting me to book an interior designer appointment, either in store, virtual or in my house. I chose house, 12 noon the following day. Received immediate confirmation, arranged my schedule accordingly. At 10:30 am the day of the appointment, a cancellation e-mail stating someone will call me. No one did so I called and spoke with Joseph. He informed me that corporate may send whichever emails the want and set appointments as they see fit, but then the store changed those policies and no in-house visits. I suggested to put emails and store policies in synchrony, he tells me "take it with corporate". I asked him to let me speak to the store manage. He replies I will not call him for you, call customer service". This level of professionalism to a potential client! I may imagine the level of professionalism once you become a client! The arrogance of this fellow equals only his ignorance of usual business practices. You do not confirm an appointment the day before to cancel it one hour prior with an e-mail. It leaves a flavor of nonchalance and indifference that reverberates back to the parent company, William-Sonoma: a negative name recognition that few marketing experts would want! Two and not one star since Joseph's behavior displayed the colors early in the game, thus avoiding me becoming a client...

This review is for the customer service of Alex. He helped my husband and me select a sleeper sofa for a basement renovation and he was friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about the product. He offered for us to try the actual mattress which involved him having to move numerous things around (which was done carefully and efficiently) but we never felt pressured or rushed. I just ordered a coffee table over the phone and when the guy I was talking with was very helpful and friendly, I realized it was Alex again.

I have noted some of the negative reviews for customer service at this location and I did have a similar experience when I was in the store a different time last October and Alex was not working. I needed a fabric sample to determine the couch fabric. There was a male and female associate at the kiosk talking with each other about weekend plans and eating. neither of them looked up or acknowledged me even though I was standing and waiting for a while. I ended up having to flag down someone else for help. It would benefit the store to promote someone like Alex to train associates and avoid poor customer service interactions like that. And if anyone in charge of that location is reading this review, you should thank Alex and acknowledge him for being an asset...