west elm — Local services in Miami Beach

I attempted twice to return an item that I purchased online to this location, unused, tags attached, on time. The first attempt the staff said there was a technical issue and that I would need to call customer service, to their credit I came in the store 5 min to closing time. However, the second time, at a normal hour, a different staff insisted that West Elm does not accept in-store returns for online purchases at any location (despite that being the first option on their website), and that I would need to call customer service. As I began to initiate a return with customer service on my phone while standing in the store, the staff reluctantly called on my behalf. I was charged a $12 fee for a UPS label for the store to return by mail. The staff tried to explain that this wasn’t a return shipping charge, that it was a charge to recoup the free shipping from when I purchased. Which did not make sense given I purchased this item along with 5 others, some of which were larger than this item and arrived to my home in the same box.

I later contacted customer service who was confused by the info I was given at the store. I asked how I can properly return an online purchased item in the future? The first option of their response was to return in-store, and that I wouldn’t need to do anything additional. Thankfully, they kindly refunded the bogus charge.

A lot of folk’s time wasted over $12, but ultimately a dishonest business...

I stopped by the store today to browse, not realizing they were having a sale. An older, flamboyant salesman greeted us briefly, asked if we’d been to West Elm before, and then walked away. We picked up a couple of sale pillows that caught our eye—seemed like a normal thing to do during a sale.

At checkout, I noticed one of the pillows had a loose thread and asked if I could exchange it for one in better condition. To my surprise, the salesman responded dismissively, saying, “You’re already getting 20% off—it’s fine.”

Honestly, I’ve never heard anything like that before, especially from a store like West Elm, which claims to offer high-quality goods. Even with the discount, the pillow was $50—I expect better quality and customer service.

The experience felt incredibly off-putting. Between the poor attitude and subpar product condition, I won’t be shopping here again. If this is the direction the brand is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start...

I typically like West, but delivery guys we had today delivering the bed frame after 12 weeks of lead time, gave us the attitude straight from entering the apartment. Not only they were argumentative, but they also required to be paid for every single thing they needed to adjust, even though we paid white glove delivery and installation. I have done this zillion times, but I have never seen more disrespectful attitude from delivery guys. If possible, shop at another furniture store, and do business with someone else. Maybe it’s just Miami attitude, but the guy arguing just kept saying “this is how I talk, this is how I talk”. I don’t need to care how you talk, you need to behave professionally as this is not the hood, this is business. They are giving a bad rep to the whole West Elm, and I think the company should rethink who they are hiring, as if they lose us interior designers and architects, they will pretty much end up with no work....