Wine Chateau — Restaurant in Metuchen

I made an order on the online store a few weeks back and I'm posting my review. As a note, at the time of this review we are still in the throws of the coronavirus pandemic around the holiday shopping season. I wanted to make mention of this as I've seen other reviews in the past prior to making my order and wanted to give my experience.

My order was received in a well packaged box that contained everything I was after. I didn't receive an update to the status of my order until about 5 business days after placing my order. To be fair, they did note this on their website and order page, but I sent them a message anyway since I read some reviews before hand to get my own piece of mind. They responded the next day to let me know of the timeframe and that I would get an update when the items shipped. A few days later I did get that notice that the items had shipped and they were on their way.

The packaging was very well done and the items received came without issue. As noted, the pandemic was in full swing during the order and I imagine that their supplier may have had issues with shipping as well, hence the time it took to get confirmation that the order was being sent. I've ordered some additional things and adjusted my expectation due to the time of the year and most other places having difficulty keeping up with demand from the shippers.

I plan on ordering from them again in 2021 when things quiet down a little more. But overall my experience was very positive. Some of the items ordered were more expensive than finding at local stores and were also rare to find at local locations.

If your ordering around the holidays (Christmas time), I recommend a little patience. Some others have had different experiences, but for me, I'm satisfied with my order and the process.

For those who have read this entire review, thanks...

GOOD selection and prices - POOR execution and service. I ordered a ~$200 bottle of liquor as a celebratory gift for a friend. Things went smoothly, until it wasn't sent. After my order, I was immediately notified that it was received, my card was charged, and tracking info sent to me. Yet 9 days later, it still wasn't sent. I called to check on the status, and was told that it must've been "lost in the warehouse." The customer service associate did not apologize, seemed annoyed that I was even asking where my missing order was, and when I asked if it could be expedited (since it had already missed the recipient's celebratory event) I was told "no, we can't expedite it due to your order containing liquids." #1 They didn't realize it was lost until I brought it to their attention - 9 days later?? #2 I find it odd that they cannot expedite 'liquids' when they're more than happy to charge ME extra for expedited shipping when placing the original order. #3 When I got the bottle re-ordered, I was assured it would arrive in 5 days, yet it ended up taking 8 days (btw this was not due to shipping delays - but delays in providing the order to the shipper). #4 I'm disappointed that I was charged BEFORE the order was filled. Most companies only charge once the order is full filled and in the hands of the shipper - for exactly this reason, so the customer is not charged for a order that is 'lost in the warehouse.' I'm really disappointed in the execution of Wine Chateau. Granted it's the first time I've ordered from them, and I'm sure 99% of orders go smoothly - but the customer service and lack of willingness to make things right were really...

I purchased six bottles of rum via the Wine Chateau website on April 13. I received a confirmation email and money was withdrawn from my account on April 13.

On April 14 I received an email indicating "We request for your to please allow 5 - 7 business days to process your order."

On May 4, I reached out via hello@winechateau.com for an update and received a standard response back with no specific information on my order (from a gmail account).

Between May 4 and May 15, I attempted, numorous times to contact Customer Service and each time was on hold for 20+ minutes with no answer. I was able to connect with "Maria" on May 15 who assured me my order would be shipped via FedEx on May 21. This did not occur. I followed up by email and phone with Maria, again, waiting over 20 minutes with no answer by phone, and Maria had not responded to three of my emails.

I was able to get through to "Maria" again today and was told the order was delayed again to next week Thursday due to issues with their supplier. I requested my shipping fee be refunded, and Maria just cancelled the order, though as of yet, I have not received a refund nor confirmation that the order...