Cost Plus World Market was founded by William Amthor in 1958 on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California. Amthor sold some extra rattan furniture that he had imported. The furniture sold so quickly that Amthor opened a warehouse and began importing shiploads of imported items, which he sold at cost plus 10%, thus the company name.
The company is a chain of retail stores which sell specialty and imported items such as housewares, furniture, coffee, and candles. Today, the company has 276 locations in 35 states.
Cost Plus World Market has more than 6,000 full time employees and boasts annual revenue in 2011 of $963.8 million. Cost Plus World Market went public in 2006 on the NASDAQ for a few years until Bed, Bath & Beyond purchased the company in 2012 and it now operates as a subsidiary.
Cost Plus World MarketCost Plus World Market was founded by William Amthor in 1958 on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California. Amthor sold some extra rattan furniture that he had imported. The furniture sold so quickly that Amthor opened a warehouse and began importing shiploads of imported items, which he sold at cost plus 10%, thus the company name.
The company is a chain of retail stores which sell specialty and imported items such as housewares, furniture, coffee, and candles. Today, the company has 276 locations in 35 states.
Cost Plus World Market has more than 6,000 full time employees and boasts annual revenue in 2011 of $963.8 million. Cost Plus World Market went public in 2006 on the NASDAQ for a few years until Bed, Bath & Beyond purchased the company in 2012 and it now operates as a subsidiary.
Lynn L says
Cost Plus World Market
Case Subject: Store Experience
Case Number: 45601359
I have been going out very little because I have a lung condition and have to be ultra careful due to Covid. Today I went to Crystal Lake IL . Rachel claimed she “could not look up my birthday discount with my phone number ” . She could not be bothered. Do you have any idea how hard it is to use my phone with the gloves I have to wear ? And on top of it the damn “captcha” stuff that is hard to see on a small phone ? I left all my Christmas items in the cart and left . I am not coming back. It takes 30 minutes to get there and they wasted my time and gas. Shopping with CostPlus World Market used to be something I looked forward to. Not anymore. One would think they wouldn’t want to lose a customer during the most profitable time of the year.
I went home and emailed what they call “customer service” , although that’s a misnomer they have no idea what service is at the store or on their website. All I got after going back and forth with them several times is non-answer , cut and paste responses with several different people the last one from Kaili was ” Kindly let us know how we can fix this for you.”
Really ?
After all I outlined and described you don’t know how to fix this for me ?
What would you expect someone to do for YOU , if they wasted your time , gas, disrespected you by refusing to help with a problem that could easily have been solved just by giving it the bare minimum of effort ? And then insulting them when they direct a valid complaint to your “customer service” group.
Really ? Offering to place an order for me ? I could do that myself and you know that.
Laziness on the part of the store and your “customer support team ” is why your business is suffering.
I worked in customer service for a Fortune 100 and you can bet I would never have given a customer such a half assed response.
Now they have stopped responding altogether.
They were very quick with their do nothing responses; which tells me 1- they don’t have a lot to process 2- they don’t actually take the time to put forth any effort to resolve issues
Obviously Cost Plus doesn’t evaluate your departments performance.
Areya Klasna says
I used to work at World Market about a year ago and their technology is old school probably literally couldn’t look it up for you. I’d suggest printing off your coupons at home and bringing them with you to the store.
Shirley Lewis says
Dear Cost Plus: You have discontinued your World Market Greek Meditteranean Seasoning that comes in a tin. I need it very badly. Do you have a couple somewhere I could buy? Please consider bringing it back. Different packaging would be OK as long as the mixture is exactly the same.
Nancy says
I received a fuzzy moldy jar of Pasta sauce and have spent over an hour trying to return it. How can a person spend and hour on a $5.49 item and not despise your company? I have a label to ship it back but I would have to pay the shipping fee? The invoice states you accept returns on any purchase I am not happy with and I can start a return at worldmarket.com/category/customer-service/returns.do but there is actually nothing there to start a return so what a huge waste that is and it is way too long of an URL to not have any useful information there. So I called customer service and the first thing they ask is the order number, guess what? There is nothing with the words order number on the invoice. So I post on facebook, on Monday they asked me my name, on Tuesday they asked me my email address, I already gave them the order number, what else would they possibly need? So I called corporate and the lady couldn’t hear me “bad connection” but she wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise anyway. I called so that they could known they have a problem, but I guess they don’t care. All this for $5.49. Are you friggin’ kidding me? NEVER AGAIN.
Trista says
How do I talk to someone in the human resources department about an supervisor that is rude, and treats employees like trash, and no one does anything about it.
Adam J Shore says
I am no longer an employee of WM, and need to locate my w2 form, 2018. Have not received. Please advise. Thank you, Adam Shore
Sarah Carda says
I currently loved my job at cost plus in denver, We recently just had a manager change and she is not easy to work with. I get a long with everyone but this is not good, She yells and screams at me in front of customers and associates, With cuss words. We are short staffed and she scheduled me 10 days straight! I asked just for 1 day off, since she does the hiring this should not be hard to fix. But she screamed F it and said she would give me her day off. I get the needs of customers and staff is important but this is not how you handle a situation. She transferred from ulta and I guess this ok there? I would love to speak to a HR before I put in my 2 weeks. I was the one managing the store between transitions now she figures that I will do whatever since I loved my job. This is not right.
Megan Beal says
I just resigned at world market (on 11/26/17 @ 7am this is also the day and time the incident occured) due to a incident with the manager. I would like to speak with someone in HR about this matter. I was hired on as daylight but then decided to switch to night turn. Every business pays more when employees work nightturn. When I inquired about getting the pay increase, I was put off for about a week, then when I re-asked about it I was told that it was a pointless call for my manager to make that he knew the answer was no. And that even if it was a yes that it would only be like 10 cents more a hr and at the end of the pay period it would only be a extra 7 to 10 dollars on my pay and that if it was that big of deal that he would just pay me out of his pocket. I find this to be very unprofessional and unethical that the store manager wants to do and say those things to employees.
Sarah Carda says
Did you receive any response on this? Why is it so hard to find a HR for cost plus world imports?
Eric Evans says
My name is Eric, and I am the lead Sales Associate at Malibu Creations DBA Zingz & Thingz.
We are a leading wholesale supplier in the home goods, outdoor décor, lighting, and giftware industry with offices in California and Hong Kong. We have been in business for over 10 years, and have built a solid reputation on the quality of the products, competitive pricing, and services we offer. We offer nearly 3,000 different in-house branded products as well as private-label brands, and we are continuously adding new products throughout the year.
I would love to talk to you about becoming a supplier, and wanted to know what you would need from me, or if we could set up a call to discuss further. I can send some catalogs/samples upon request.
You can also view our online catalogs by going to the catalog section of our website at the top of the page, or by using the links below.
Patio & Garden Collection:
Home Décor Collection:
Lighting Collection:
Gifts and Décor Collection:
I thank you in advance for your quick response to this request, and look forward to doing business with you.
Thank you,
Eric Evans
Sales Associate
Zingz & Thingz
zingznthingz.com
W: 805.306.3568 | F: 805.306.3597
Email: eric.evans at zingzinc.com