Tuesday, September 11, 2007

West Elm Customer Service Lacking Luster Lately

Normally I have fantastic things to say about West Elm, but recently their customer service has sucked of late.

On the floor, there are an infinite number of people trying to help you but unfortunately people go to the register first to ask questions. Rather than referring them to someone on the floor, they end up helping with the request, which in turn, backs up the register line.

The time they are taking to walk a customer through the catalog or answer questions could be deferred to an open sales person on the floor so they could instead concentrate on closing the sale.

I cannot tell you how many times I have abandoned purchases because I have been left to wait too long (more than 15 minutes) at the register. Anyone else have similar experiences?

On a more positive note, they are having a great in-store sale on accessories, which sounds like a broad category but is more limited to organizational items, and other select items.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised! My experiences at the West Elm in Brooklyn are great. I have a ball with the staff when I go there. I've never even waited in a line. And I love the design.

Anonymous said...

Hi from Manhattan. Yes. I've waited at the register so long that I've nearly walked out and in order to not cause a scene, I've had to swallow my anger at their inconsistent service. But now, I beleve I may understand.

West Elm/Pottery Barn have instituted what I believe are similar to telemarketing techniques. Get the customer to go for the bait and even if a few can't hold on, their sales go up. Quality of service and product be damned!

We purchased a full set of the cube sectional only 2-1/2 years ago. Very expensive and I realized not made that well, but I imagined I could replace a piece here or there. Well, they have discontinued the particular fabric ours came with we are at a loss.

They are supported by the social trend towards a disposable and immediate gratification culture which I can no longer afford, even with our economic stimulus of $600.

Sadder but wiser.

Michelle said...

@ sadder but wiser, I too purchased the cube sectional in brown leather. A year and a half later, the leather began to peel off, it is now an unsightly mess, as it has peeled all over. Clearly it is not leather or it is suede with some kind of leather look coating on it. Getting to someone who could help was an ordeal in itself and in the end all i was offered was $150 credit!

Bitter and angry. Won't be buying any more furnishings from them.