Williams-Sonoma — Local services in Edina

Purchased a box of Maldon smoked sea salt in store today. I had already spent 20 minutes with their online customer service trying to find out if they had this in stock, so was happy to find it on their shelves when I arrived. Less than an hour later, I was shopping in WholeFoods and noticed they sell the exact same item. Their price is $5.29, Williams-Sonoma's price was $10.95, more than double for exactly the same product. I called WS and was told very directly that they don't accept returns on food items. I went to their website to read their return policy and it states that 'perishable food' is not returnable. I figure salt is hardly 'perishable' given it has been used for thousands of years to preserve fresh food. So I went online again to their customer service department who stated that all of their food is perishable - and therefore not returnable. She also told me it would show 'final sale' on my receipt - but my receipt shows no such thing. She kept directing me back to the store, not willing to do any research or investigate this from a central customer service point of view. At the very least, their returns policy is very misleading, and something should have been shown on the receipt (given that is what customer service says happens). As a regular (and previously satisfied) customer of WS, if I had been the store associate who answered the phone, I might have decided to explain the policy but make a one time exception to keep a loyal customer. They have saved $10.95 in a return, but lost so much more over the coming years from a loyal customer. My takeaway, from both the phone call and the online experience was that they were not really interested in whether they kept me as a customer. Very disappointing experience - but glad to find this item at less than half the price...

Rude and Unnecessary Treatment Over a Clearly Faulty Item

I’ve shopped at Williams Sonoma for years—and have spent thousands of dollars on what I believed were heirloom-quality items. That’s why I chose a $100 (each) Peugeot olive wood salt and pepper grinder, expecting long-lasting quality and good service.

When one of the grinders turned out to be defective, I returned it for an exchange. I’ll admit: I was outside the 30-day return window—closer to 90 days. I simply hadn’t realized there was a return policy, especially for a high-end product that failed through no fault of my own.

Unfortunately, the store manager completely ruined the experience. Although she approved the exchange, she repeatedly emphasized—in an aggressive tone—that “this is the last time” they would allow such an exchange, as if I were constantly returning items. Quite the opposite. In fact, I usually love everything I buy there. It wasn’t clarification; it was a threat. I finally asked her to stop repeating herself because it felt degrading, not to mention it was embarrassing since the store was crowded.

This kind of treatment over a clearly faulty $100 item—especially from a brand that prides itself on legacy and quality—is unacceptable. The tone, the lack of professionalism, and the hostility were entirely unnecessary.

Any goodwill that might have been gained from resolving the issue was lost. I won’t be returning to this store, and I will share this experience more broadly. I rarely write reviews, but this one...

Went to purchase some Duralex glasses, saleswoman with brown hair and glasses swoops in and says, "how many of these are you taking, I need to keep some for my display".

Told her I needed 8, she said she didn't know if she should call to have someone bring them up. Told her it was up to her, it didn't matter to me. She took them to the front set them on the counter. I followed her. I asked her if she had any thermal carafes. She said "yes but they're expensive". I hadn't given her a price point. I was wrongly under the impression she was going to continue to help me but she got on her computer and started helping someone else, but not before she put a yellow ticket in one of the glasses, I assume this was her number and name so she could perhaps "get credit" for "helping" me.

I stood there for a minute. She then said she "you might want to go get in line" and went back to her computer. No thanks, no smile. She seemed annoyed. I then got in line. the glasses were maybe 5 feet from the cash register. Had I gone up myself I could have saved myself this whole unnecessary and odd interaction.

I purchased the glasses. thought about it, bought them on Amazon and returned the ones from Williams Sonoma. I don't normally leave reviews but this lady, perhaps overworked and/or annoyed, rubbed me the wrong way. Especially with her "yes, but they're expensive" comment. On the upside, the woman who actually rang me up and handled my return was super nice...