West Elm was founded in 2002 by the Williams-Sonoma company. The company sells furniture, rugs, bedding, wall decor, and other household items. A catalog was released in 2003, followed by an actual retail location in Brooklyn, New York, later that year. The company acts as a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma.
While some items can be purchased in-store, larger items, such as sofas or mattress sets, are for visual purposes only and must be purchased online. The company has a large variety of items for sale on its eCommerce site. In addition to the US and Puerto Rico, the company has retail locations in Mexico, Canada, the Middle East, Australia, and England.
In September 2018, one local Canadian artist sued West Elm claiming that the company was stealing her artwork (which was sold in West Elm stores) for their sheet patterns.
The company recently teamed up with Casper, a start-up mattress company, in 2016. Their latest retail location opened in Providence, Rhode Island, in August of 2016. West Elm offers products that are “Fair Trade Certified”, which means items were made under good working conditions, with sustainable practices, by persons who were paid a living wage.
In September 2020, West Elm and designer Eileen Fisher launched a sustainable home design using recycled jeans as material.
West Elm Kids announced in January 2023 that it had partnered with Misha and Puff.
West Elm maintains a corporate office in Brooklyn, New York.
West Elm was founded in 2002 by the Williams-Sonoma company. The company sells furniture, rugs, bedding, wall decor, and other household items. A catalog was released in 2003, followed by an actual retail location in Brooklyn, New York, later that year. The company acts as a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma.
History
While some items can be purchased in-store, larger items, such as sofas or mattress sets, are for visual purposes only and must be purchased online. The company has a large variety of items for sale on its eCommerce site. In addition to the US and Puerto Rico, the company has retail locations in Mexico, Canada, the Middle East, Australia, and England.
In September 2018, one local Canadian artist sued West Elm claiming that the company was stealing her artwork (which was sold in West Elm stores) for their sheet patterns.
The company recently teamed up with Casper, a start-up mattress company, in 2016. Their latest retail location opened in Providence, Rhode Island, in August of 2016. West Elm offers products that are “Fair Trade Certified”, which means items were made under good working conditions, with sustainable practices, by persons who were paid a living wage.
In September 2020, West Elm and designer Eileen Fisher launched a sustainable home design using recycled jeans as material.
West Elm Kids announced in January 2023 that it had partnered with Misha and Puff.
West Elm maintains a corporate office in Brooklyn, New York.
West Elm is dead to me. I need ONE replacement cushion for the outdoor Portside furniture. The cushion is $289 (rip off to begin with)………PLUS $159 for “white glove delivery” (the only option and might as well demand my arm and leg too). Apparently white glove means they’ll unwrap my cushion and set it up for me. Amazing! How could I possibly figure out how to lay the cushion down on the couch all by myself?
Oh, and it will be here in 2+ months.
Dude, learn from Amazon. Next day shipping. Free. Good bye, West Elm.
I was – WAS – interested to furnish most of my home with furniture from West Elm and Pottery Barn stores. The furniture does look somewhat similar and may -may? compliment styles when pulled together.
Of course one would like to try the furniture “on” to check for comfort and feel.
I drove to several stores only to be told that the stories do not have the furniture on the floor. As a matter of fact, no one does. I called several stores in different states only to be told the same answers.
Who buys a furniture without “trying it” on and checking its quality?
Same story here. Ordered a couch on 10/22/22. Picked this couch/ fabric because of shortest delivery time. Delivery window intially ended 11/23/22. Get to that date, no couch. Delivery window updated to end on 12/13/22. On 12/13, I get an email saying couch ready to be delivered. Delivery set up for 12/20. But on 12/19, I get a text saying my delivery was cancelled. I call and they reschedule to 12/23. Of course morning of 12/23, their tracker says it’s ‘out for delivery.’ Of course on 12/23, no couch arrives. Tracker changes to “delivery cancelled.” Again. Delivery window updated to end on 1/10/23.
Many mind numbing phone calls occur between 12/13/22 and 1/5/23. For example, after the 2nd missed delivery date, I call and they tell me that couch shouldn’t have been scheduled (would have been nice to know this or for people to understand how to do their job) because it wasn’t in the place in the warehouse where it can be scheduled (despite being at the warehouse for over 2 weeks).
I spend unbelievable amounts of time (now 7+ hours) on the phone with West Elm and lots of emails. No one any help. Now after another hour on the phone today, and getting hung up on twice, I MIGHT be getting my couch on 1/13/23. Fingers crossed, but with very low hope. IF it comes that day, it means West Elm missed 3 delivery windows and 2 ‘delivery’ dates.
I guess I am not alone in saying I will never buy from West Elm again. Their logistics team is useless and after 10-15 different stories via phone and email from their support and customer service reps as to why the rug was nowhere to be found, last night I cancelled the order. And please quit deflecting responsibility to the shipper USPS. Or that the problem is that it is shipping to PR. The problem is West Elm. Period. I receive orders from Nordstrom, Dyson, Comfort-Works, Macys, Neiman, Bed,Bath&beyond etc, etc without a single problem and most are free shipping. Wouldn’t be surprised if I hear in the near future that WE has gone out of business. It certainly should.
WEST ELM SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!! I will NEVER buy anything from them. I ordered a bed in April 2021 and was expecting delivery in August 2021. There were some delays due to the pandemic but not ONCE did anyone from West Elm call me about the delays. I had to call them each time and spent numerous hours trying to find out where my bed was. I was told by Brandi Osmun on October 12 that my bed was ready for delivery but it was actually not! It turns out, that the bed was missing one piece, a storage drawer, and it could not be replaced because the bed has now been DISCONTINUED!!!!!!! How the hell does a company not fulfill orders before discontinuing!!!!! When the idiot supervisor asked what he could do, I told him give me 50% off another bed and he refused saying the most he could do is 25%. That is unacceptable with all that I have been through. I used to love Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, etc but I will never ever spend my money there again. I don’t trust these people at all.
Omg sounds exactly like my experience. Ordered couch and bed on 4/4/2021, delivery by 8/11/2021. It was actually available earlier in July. I hope even my worse enemy does not experience the delivery experience and subsequent lapses in service by West Elm. I would love to be able to share pics of the couch that was delivered for which I paid full price plus the exorbitant white glove delivery. The couch delivered wrapped in, without exaggeration, dry cleaning plastic and was not boxed or protected in any other way. The bed which was still boxed, the nasty deliverer, yes nasty Refused to deliver, Refused. His attitude at me topped the whole delivery experience. Finally in August, they reordered the couch with delivery of October. October came and went, and November, and December. I was irate and let them know I no longer wanted the couch. They still have my money to this day. $1200+. This is absolutely the worst company to do business with and at their premium prices. We ought to start a class action.
Sounds like my experience, too. The worst. They screwed up several orders of mine over the years, and one time I’d had enough of their BS and cancelled the order and the agent was only allowed to give me a West Elm credit — for *their* mistake. Then they mailed the credit/gift card to me in the mail, saying there was no way to do it electronically. They (I spoke with many, many agents) said it wasn’t their fault, they’re beholden to the rules and antiquated technology of their corporate umbrella. Not one employee I spoke with cared at all, which speaks volumes about their upper management.
West Elm Leadership Team,
Our family purchased a couch from West Elm approximately one year ago – it took a few months before the couch was ready to ship. During this timeframe we moved states. We were very patient but it took no less than 30-40 phone calls with the customer support team (approx a month worth of time) to ensure they were going to ship to the new location. Transferred many times throughout the process. We finally received a delivery date at the correct location… but were mortified when the couch arrived in the opposite configuration that we ordered. (left vs. right L) The local west elm team worked with us to keep the couch while a new one was assembled and shipped… during this process we were told a discount would be applied once the couch swap was complete. Fast forward – we have the couch and now no one on the West Elm team will help process through the discount. We have numerous emails from the West Elm team and have spent an insane amount of time on this. I don’t feel we are the normal “difficult” type of customer. We are totally deflated now. Even though we are just a single customer I cannot imagine us purchasing West Elm again. We were just told today that we have a case ID 750116664 and that the local team can’t do anything else. Can anyone please help us? Thank you and respectfully. Apologies, as I’m not sure this is even the right forum.
Alex b and the two other women below him are worthless . Who in the hell hired these idiots ? This company sucks . They messed up on my order 9 times . Yes I said 9 times . I emailed Alex directly and it’s obvious that he does not know how to reply yet alone run a company . I moved all my clientele to another company .
Hello, After 5 months of placing my order I got a sectional of wrong size. That was picked up by West elm 10 days ago but as per the customer service that hasn’t reached the delivery center yet and they can’t process the refund. Seriously! is the delivery center is on moon or Mars which hasn’t reached yet or the transporter are still taking it with them wherever they are going.
Sustainability/Climate Change/Waste Diversion Policies are inadequate.
I purchased the Glass Disc Chandelier + Flushmount /SKU: 919501 approximately three years ago for $700 Cdn. One of the smallest glass discs was broken during a renovation. Contacted customer service about purchasing a replacement disc or providing information so I could contact manufacturer directly. Was told West Elm does not sell replacement parts, they would not provide information about the manufacturer of their in-house design and said they would be happy to help me purhase another chandelier.
Seems ecologically irresponsible and contradictory to your published policies on sustainability/waste diversion etc. that a perfectly operational chandelier should be sent to landfill because your company does not provide replacement parts.
Why can’t anyone at West Elm call UPS and have a label created to pick up an item that I am returning.
I was told this would happen but no one from UPS showed up.
The next day, the same thing happened after I was told that the first rep never communicated with UPS.
UPS was contacted by the second rep at West Elm but UPS was not told they had to create a label.
Now I will be putting the box outside by front door for the third time!
I called today and told the rep what she needed to do which is to contact UPS again, have them prepare a label and pick up the box. The West Elm rep tells me I have stay on the phone while she does all this! I asked her why. She has all the information she needs to get the box picked up. She said it was company policy that I stay on the phone until she completes everything.
West Elm needs to train their people on how to provide service and not to harass customers!
If this item isn’t picked up tomorrow I’ll will just throw it out!
THREE DAYS of phone calls – hours spent trying to get a box picked up – POOR service from everyone.
I expect a call from a manager at West Elm to explain why this is so difficult.
Victor Troia – 813-786-XXXX
What does West Elm believe is an acceptable delivery timeframe for their products?
Under a month, 1 month, 2 months?
I know, it’s Covid wreaking havoc… so 3 months is appropriate right?
How about 4 months and counting?!?
There is an unacceptable level of miscommunication and miscoordination for what is supposed to be a premium product and experience.
We ordered a set of office furniture (Industrial Storage Modular system, desk w/2 box file cabinets, and industrial file cabinet) back on 12/23/20. Started calling after the first missed deadline a few weeks in to find out that “due to Covid, the furniture being built upon order, etc., etc.” we would not begin receiving shipments until February. Oh… and we can’t get a refund either because it’s a “custom order” – what?!? After several more missed deadlines with customer service reps promising delivery on x date(s) and noting there was “one piece missing which will be in and ready for delivery by x, y, z… date(s)” we started to receive items mid-March – congrats West Elm – You Can Do It!!
So… what prompted this post?
You probably guessed, it was the latest broken promise. We called last week to confirm delivery and the customer service rep promised, yet again, that 1) we’d get the last piece in on Monday “no matter what” because 2) she’d have the part that is missing on hold at the hub and we’d DEFINITELY get it on Monday and 3) we’d get an email confirming the delivery time and to be on the lookout for it. No email/text notification ever came and so we called this morning for an almost verbatim response – seriously?!?
Oh… and there are no supervisors to talk to – they don’t exist.
Granted, this rep did add that no promise like that should have been made because there’s no way for customer service to coordinate with the hub or delivery – good for her, for actually trying to explain West Elm’s inefficiency and ineffectiveness – lol, what?!?
I see from other comments in 2017 that this is, unfortunately, the norm for West Elm and it demonstrates a very low level of care and interest in serving customers. Shame on me for trusting but this is an embarrassment West Elm as an organization and it is on you Mr. Alex Bellos and West Elm leadership to fix it if you care to do so.
I’ll be happy to update this post once West Elm responds and resolves this issue.
Hi William,
I’m an irate and dissatisfied customer and I’m just researching comments from customers that have gone through H— and back with West Elm and being (mis)handled by WE customer service. Would you tell me if you’ve received your furnture ordered 12/23/2020 and about which you commented on 4/12/2021 when you’re still “waiting”? Did you pay them in advance as well? Thanks for any info.
I just had a wonderful interaction with Diana from customer service! Diana was so very professional, she assisted in getting my merchandise returned with relative ease and a positive attitude. Diana is a great asset your company and its reputation for outstanding customer service. Thank you West Elm !
(Diana from Oklahoma call center)
Hello – This morning I received as I always do, that West Elm had a rug on sale original price $900. Diamond Lattice Jute rug 9 x 12, marked down to $224.99 and with the code Fall20 an additional 20% off. Now that was a price I could afford! However the shipping was $149. I called customer service and asked if they would please drop the shipping fee. I was on the phone for 1 hour with a lovely customer service rep, but the best she could do was refund me 5% on the shipping in way of a gift card. I have received free shipping offers from West Elm before and I’m unclear as to why they could not have offered that to me for this item. I asked if the item could ship to the Seattle or Bellevue store and I would gladly pick it up there. Was told that could not happen either. I have purchased from WE in the past and love their inventory. However, not being able to help with something like this is not a very good feel good about the company.
I would still love to get this rug but am asking one of the TOP DOGS to authorize dropping the unreal flat rate shipping fee you have on a clearance item.
Ordered thousands of dollars of furniture on October 8, 2019. Delivery was estimated at 6 weeks. Now in week 7, the website says delivery now expected January 13-27, 2020!! That’s 15 weeks from order!! This is not just bad business, this is FRAUD and false advertising. Was hoping to have by Thanksgiving for our guests and now won’t have for Christmas?!?!?! They put their efforts on marketing and do not care about the actual delivery and satisfaction of their customers. Very disappointed. When delivery estimate pushed back 8 weeks from expectation, they did not call or even send an email….just updated the order online. Called customer service twice and was hung up on twice. Unacceptable. Will be filing a complaint with the BBB…but they don’t care…just market and sell more product they know they cannot deliver…SAD!! STAY AWAY from this company. Would love call from Alex to explain.
We are currently having the same issue.(Order-$3000- made Dec6,delivery was to be Jan11-23. Update on partial delivery MARCH!) When I got the info on the delay for part of our order I cancelled that part and bought a replacement item from a different company, after playing Phone Ping Pong with “customer service” and the “delivery scheduling” department, neither of which seemed to know who does what in their company. I am so disgusted with West Elm and their poor customer service.
Today is the day that the other items from that order are arriving. I must say I don’t have high hopes that it will actually arrive and be of decent quality for that matter, after reading more complaints. No confidence any more. (Oh, and I can imagine how long it’s going to take and the hoops I will need to go through to get our quite substantial refund!)
I am currently searching for a customer service executive contact in this woebegone company so I can write a letter of complaint. I have been in customer service my whole working life and have rarely seen such a poor example of customer care.
DITTO DITTO DITTO. I ordered some curtains ( about 300 value) in September 2020 with GIFT CARDS I purchased off of american express. they were backordered to October, then when the date hit, backordered to November, then when that date hit, back ordered to December, and again now january. Called customer service in NOvember, tried to cancel order so i could buy something else.. and I was told NO you can’t cancel you just have to wait. I called again today DEC 16 2020 and same answer and no one of a higher level to speak with. this has got to be the absolute WORST customer service I have ever dealt with. i am out 300 and no curtains……. so frustrating.
Wow! I am reading these and I cannot believe how similar the situations are to mine.
I ordered 2 rolls of the Starburst Wallpaper. Only received 1. Didnt realized I was only charged for 1 in the end on my credit card statement until I double checked. I contacted the company and they said it was because it was now on back order. I had to install the wallpaper due to the fact that I had a plumber scheduled to put in the sink and faucet. Then I contacted the company….multiple customer service reps and no results. Finally I got to a manager in the customer service. She told me to order the second roll over, send her the order # and then a refund would be credited to my credit card. I did everything and then she responded with ” I will take care of it tomorrow”. Never heard from her again. Wallpaper didnt show up. Started to contact them all over again. Found out the paper was on back order again. When I finally got the paper it was a different lot and the patterns did not line up.
Now months later and over 30 emails….no refund. I’m about to contact corporate offices if I do not get it settled asap.
Please let me know if you all ever got results. Mine is a couple hundred dollars compare to what you guys have dealt with. So disappointing especially since I love the William Sonoma brand and style
I just went through a similar experience with West Elm. It seems that the company has such serious logistics problems, and based on what I’m reading here, the company has done very little to resolve them. I’m trying to connect with the West Elm President, Alex Bellos, on LinkedIn to see whether he stands behind the company and is willing to listen to customers and better understand what’s happening. -Eric
Eric, I’d also be interested to hear what Alex Bellos has to say. I ordered a chair from West Elm online, Sept. 29, 2020. Every month they move the date up another 2 weeks. Here it is May 1, 2021 and I still do not have the chair. Two months ago my West Elm credit card was charged and I was told the chair is at the Delivery Center. No updates except on the website they keep moving the delivery date up every 15 days. Now the website says it will be delivered May 3-17. The website also says the exact chair is in stock. I’m beyond disappointed and frustrated.
We bought from West Elm with good results before. This time very bad. We ordered a $3,500 sofa section on July 10 19 to be delivered August 23. We cancelled other things to be there. Not ready to deliver we are told. Today is Oct 1 19 we still don’t know where the sofa is. Scheduling at WE says somewhere between Dallas and Denver. If they take your money two months ago they need to keep you informed with your purchase and compensate with long delays. Nothing like that 5 weeks later. Someone at HQ needs to push heat down. The ladies on the phone are very nice, but left in the cold. Bob
I purchased $10,000 worth of furniture from West Elm. I furnished my whole apartment. One of the items was a Rhys recliner. The chair was defective and did not recline. It was picked up from my home on February 14, 2019 with the promise of reimbursement or a replacement chair. It has now been four months and I still have not been reimbursed or received a replacement chair. I have been told several stories as to what West Elm has done, however, none of which has really happened. I was told my West Elm card had been credited. I have been told three times that vouchers had been mailed to me. I contacted Aerin Denny, general manager at the West Elm store in Burlington, MA on numerous occasions. Initially I was receiving responses and she was following up to find out why I wasn’t receiving my reimbursement or replacement, however, she is no longer returning my emails and phone calls. The last time I spoke to her, she said there was a retail team looking into my situation. She said she sent the “special” retail team an email to assist with determining why I wasn’t receiving reimbursement or replacement for the defective chair. I phoned her again because I did not hear from the “special” retail team. She said she was sending another email to that “special” retail team and was also going to follow up with her manager. She said she would provide me an update that evening. That was approximately three weeks ago. She never called with that update. I have since phoned the store several times and sent two emails directly to Aerin. She has not returned my calls or responded to my emails. All I am asking is that I receive the money owed to me or a replacement for the exact chair that West Elm picked up on February 14. It seems illegal to take a chair from a customer who has paid in full for the chair and to never reimburse her or provide a replacement chair. Is it too much to ask for West Elm to do the right thing? I just do not understand what is going on here. I am in the process of mailing this same information to the corporate headquarters, posting on LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, every social media site that I can think of as well as sending to the Better Business Bureau. West Elm – JUST GIVE ME WHAT IS OWED (REIMBURSEMENT OR A REPLACEMENT)
I have a very similar story. This company is ripping off customers. We need to get to the higher level. This is unethical business.
I’m going through the same exact thing. 5 phone calls. Different story every time. Every time a lie. Social media, BBB and if I figure out the email address for the CEO and COO they’ll be getting emails too.
After reading all these complaints it is clear that West Elm is a horribly managed and broken company that cares nothing for its customers. My experience is very similar to all that I have read. I ordered a total of 8 wallpaper rolls (6 in August and 2 more in November). Once I had all the wallpaper I had it put up on the wall (in November), when we got to the last 2 boxes the wallpaper was completely the wrong color/defective. I called customer service, they had me return the product and sent 2 more out. This took over 1 month to get (January). When I got that product, it too was the same wrong color/defective product. I called W.E. a second time (waiting on hold multiple times to try to talk to someone who could help and explain the situation again and again). I was sent 2 more and when I got it a month later it too was the same deal wrong color. That was the 3rd shipment to replace and it was wrong again (February). I called again asking to talk to management while being put on hold and then transferred/disconnected a few times I finally got a hold of Williams Sonoma customer service rep who was surprised I was going through all of this and said she could help. She told me she could get a full refund or I could try 1 more time. Since I had 3/4 of my wall wallpapered I decided to try again (huge mistake!). She promised to talk to the Vendor they get it from and correct it. When it was delivered (now beginning of March) it too was the same wrong color/defective wallpaper! I emailed her as you never get a working direct # to anyone in customer service and told her the deal and sent her photos. She could not believe that the color was so off & said she would talk to her supervisor to see about getting reimbursed for the wallpaper and the cost of putting it up and taking it down. I never heard back from her. So I called customer service again and waited while being put on hold for almost 1 hour to talk to someone who said they could only reimburse me for the 2 rolls that were not on the wall. I had no idea putting up the paper that some of the boxes would be defective, nor that the 4 replacements would be defective too. They expect me to accept and pay for wallpaper that will need to be taken down and now I will be out $902.06 for the 6 rolls
plus the cost to have had it put up and now taken down-approx $400. They say they don’t have to reimburse me for it since it was used. I will never buy from this company again. I don’t know how they can get away with this! I will not stop fighting this. West Elm customer service told me today a supervisor would call me back and I am still waiting as I have done before. 5 months later this problem still exists. I just want my money back for the 8 rolls of paper and move on. This company does not care for the customer or the product they deliver. They can’t be trusted, steer clear!
I don’t recommend ordering anything from West Elm. I ordered a couch 2 months ago. I received no update and it was supposed to be delivered by now. I have called and emailed customer service numerous times and they are rude and unhelpful. They can’t even see where the couch is located at any point in time and each time I have called I receive different information. This is the worst customer service I have ever experienced, especially for the price. If you are looking to buy furniture, spend your money somewhere else where they value your business. I have been reading reviews dating back to over a year ago, they have all expressed the same issues that I have, and the company has done nothing to improve its service. It is incredibly frustrating and disappointing as a customer to experience this. This post is for the people interested in buying something here so you don’t have to experience what I have. The style is not worth the headache.
Same experience here. How do I contact the CEO?
I have been waiting for my bed frame order since dec 2 2018. I have received custom headboard . My king mattress has been stored this entire time u have had 3 est ship dates . I have been run around by west elm hours upon hours on the phone different depts and reps no avail . I have suffered illness and hardship because this is a bed . I am at the end of my patience . I purchased the furniture from your Belvedere office . Please contact me for the particulars of the case , if there is any customer service in your company ???
We moved to Philly in August and ordered a complete bedroom set in two separate orders dated Aug. 28 and Sept 10 for a total of $3452.76. The West Elm store is literally 3 blocks from our home and we do like the furniture and the delivery process was fine. I purchased 4 pillows last Sunday and at that time I was informed that there was a rewards program. During my first two purchases no one ever mentioned this, either in the store or online. I called WE customer service and spoke to someone in retail. They told me that, sorry, the points are not retroactive, even though i was never made aware. However, she did say that since the purchase was for furniture and for a substantial amount, the store might be wlling to contact the retail department and make good on the rewards in the form of a credit of some type. Today I took my receipts to the store and the manager, Kate, contacted retail and was told, sorry, no can do. This is a terrible business policy. The store and the online ordering was totally remiss in not mentioning this program to me and as a result I have only the points for the $176 I paid for the pillows. I am totally disgusted with this situation and have no intention of recommending this company or the store unless something can be done to rectify this situation. Apparently the customer is always wrong according to your customer service department and at the store. I would appreciate a timely response from this company. Sallie Gorohoff
Do not ever order anything from West Elm. They have the most frustrating return system and absolutely have no idea what end is up in their call center. I just made my 9th call over 6 days to them to get a chair and a desk returned. In my first call I complained that the website did not work properly to have a return label printed, the call center confirmed there was an error message disallowing this. They told me they would print out the labels and mail them to me. Never received. On my second call got a Supervisor who I finally got to who was super annoyed that she had me on the phone as the call center employee did a direct transfer to her instead of asking for a call back told me that she would arrange pick up by UPS at my home. She told me to put the boxes outside my door for the next day. I did. Pick up was never made. Called again, waited another 40 minutes to get a call center rep on the phone. Took 25 minutes to have that person consult with a manager. Was told that they would arrange pick up and I would get a call back from the call center that evening and an email confirming this. Never received a response in either form. Called again, waited another 30 minutes for someone to come on the line. told it takes 5-7 business days to arrange a pick up. I asked for a supervisor. Was not given one but was told that person would call me back. Still waiting………..extremely frustrating and a company cannot treat customers in this way. I will never shop at West Elm again and will let everyone know how bad the experience was. The call center needs to be revamped and perhaps you need to bring in a consulting firm to help you. Otherwise your business will only decline. Still waiting to return this furniture. Need help from the corporate office and if you respect your customers someone will get back to me today.
I,too, have experienced a nightmare re: delivery of a recliner chair I purchased in August. In addition, the chair is also nonfunctional; the mechanism that operates the recliner is so tight I have thrown out my back 2x now trying to maneuver. Honestly, I spent so much time wasted re: delivery- many delays, lack of communication with West E employees, I have given up trying to even consider a resolution. No customer service nor quality control. Given all the negative reviews here, I’d say, WE has a major problem- my 1st & last experience there. Such a shame. Is this the new norm? Corporations take your money now and you can roll the dice and guess at your odds of receiving what you paid for in a timely fashion? I could not trust WE in the future. Their process is broken at all levels. What a disappointment. WE must assume we’re all dumb and/or desperate enough to disregard the breaking of this contract and not complain? The reality is they get away with this dysfunctional misbehavior because there is no fair process to resolve issues-they just ignore you. What a scam!
After writing this letter below the only response I got from your company was the return for $11 for the shipping with no other compensation or acknowledgment of what I went through. The person said “I am sorry to hear about the delay in the vendor delivery”. As everyone else mention, worst customer service ever.
I am writing regarding order # ———–. I placed this order on August 12, 2018 and I got my order just today November 13, 2018. I had called multiple times regarding the order status throughout the past 3 months and was told every time they would get in touch with the vendor and then get back to me. I never got a phone call or email or any response. I then called last month and asked that the order be cancelled and I was promised that it would be cancelled as it was such an inconvenience to me. I needed this order for a dinner party and it did not arrive “within 1-3 weeks of order receipt” as per advertised on the website. If I had know that it would take 3 months, multiple phone calls, and misleading information given to me, I would have never placed this order. I was assured that the order would be cancelled, yet I was still charged and shipped the items.
I called today to ask why this happened and I was told that the vendor could not cancel the item therefore, it was shipped. If this was the case I should have been called or have received an email stating that the order could not be cancelled, yet I received no information. I spoke to the representative for a refund of $74.52 as this was completely not acceptable and she told me that it cannot be done as it is from the vendor and West Elm has nothing to do with it. I explained that this was completely unacceptable especially since I had called multiple times regarding the status of the order and I was not relayed any information when I was told that I would be. She told me that it could not be returned as West Elm has nothing to do with this and it was the vendors fault. Even if it was the vendors fault, West Elm as a company who does business with this vendor is still responsible for their customers, and I should have been given my refund without question for this inconvenience.
I asked to speak to a manager and I was told that I would have to return the item in order to get my refund. After all this inconvenience that I was caused, I was asked to have it shipped back for something that should not have not been shipped in the first place as I was promised. I said this is very unacceptable esp from the business aspect of customer service to ask me to go to UPS so that I could be inconvenienced again for the 10th time. I was refused my refund. I tried to explain multiple times that I called so may times for this order and every time I was told that someone would call me, or email me or that the item should be shipping soon as they would get in contact with the vendor, none of which was done. She agreed with me and said that it was unacceptable but that I needed to be inconvenienced just one more time. I was shocked to say the least as I thought that she was mocking me for my inconvenience and I cannot begin to describe how I felt by this. She still refused to give me my full refund and only offered me $25 which was insulting especially since I was told that West Elm had nothing to do with the refund which now seems to me was a lie. I do not appreciate being lied to and asked to be inconvenienced “just one more time”.
She offered to have someone pick up the order in front of my house and I explained that I am unable to leave items outside my house as they will be stolen which has happened and as a result I have cameras for this now. I was told by the manager “don’t worry about it”. I said this is not the right answer and I proceeded to ask what will happen with my refund if the item was indeed stolen. She said that a claim with UPS would have to be filed. In this time of the holidays and stolen goods, it has been advised to not leave items unattended outside the house. I could not agree to this and be caught up in another claim and another inconvenience. I asked that I am entitled to my refund without having to return anything given my multiple inconveniences yet she declined.
As a loyal customer to say this experience is disappointing does not ever begin to cover the magnitude of this issue. I have never had such a horrible experience with customer service with so many people on multiple occasions. I have had experiences with other many other companies for issues not even of this scale and without even asking for it I have been offered a refund for my inconvenience without question. I should not have to be asked to return the items in any form and should have be given my FULL refund without question for the magnitude of inconvenience and insults that I received. It is not even about the amount of the refund but the principle of this whole encounter.
I kindly ask that you give me my full refund of $74.52 for the above order
I sure wish I would have read this comment before ordering my Tillary sofa!! Exact nightmare you described! West’s Elm is a scam and needs to be shut down!!
The ABSOLUTE worst customer service I have ever experienced!! I will not shop at West Elm. I had a problem getting the advertised discount on the website. I called customer service and they could not help. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was placed on hold for over 20 minutes. I was told someone would call me back and no one ever did. I called again today and an agent answered then put me on hold. Another person picked up and I could not understand him. FRUSTRATING and a TERRIBLE first experience with this store.
Dear customer service
we shop at the santa Monica branch on Sunday labor weekend.
Due to the long wait in the bedroom dept the saleswoman recommended to pay for the bedroom set in he main level
here is the items i was purchasing
Mid Century Bed full size $899 wood finish
and mid century nightstand $299 wood finish
there was 20% discount and free delivery.
when they did the total we noticed that they charged us for delivery and the promotion email that I received for that weekend also mentioned 20% off and free delivery and that was the original plan that the sales associate in the bedroom dept was suppose to charge me. they refused to give me the free delivery and denied the fact that it was written on the add in my email received from west elm and on the poster board in the store. i asked to speak with a manager and she said that she doesn’t have time to talk to me ,What king of customer service your employees are giving? I spent over 2 hours in the sore and left without my order .
I really need an explanation for this service and confusing add.
I am so angry and disappointed with West Elm. THey advertised a sale yesterday on a furniture piece I really liked. I purchased the item and a day later my order is canceled, i’m sent a pathetic 30% off coupon and sent on my merry way.
You cannot advertise an item for sale and then when a loyal customer purchases it, cancel their order and say it was a mistake. The RIGHT thing to do is own up to your mistake, fire your employee if you have to, and move on. It’s morally and ethically WRONG to falsely advertise something and then screw over someone who purchased it. and then think a 30% off coupon makes it better. No, it doesn’t, you send those out regularly and I’m offending at your lack of professionalism or care for your customers. I will probably never shop there again and will warn everyone else not to either, especially online.
Yes i read your shady small print about being able to change an order which just further implies that you are all scammers.
Worst customer service ever! I ordered a comforter set in November and had no communication from them since 1/1/18. I had to reach out to them several times, even waiting 25 minutes to reach someone. Supervisors promising to contact me with updates that didn’t, it’s been a nightmare. The only resolutions they give “you can cancel your order”. That would be nice, if I could get the money back for the items I purchased to go with the comforter set that I am not able to return now. They consider themselves an upscale retail store. REALLY! First and last time I ever order from them.
This is my first online order AND THE LAST. I never experienced such a bad service on update for delivery of one bed ordered 3 weeks ago. As today, I do not have a clue the status of my order. The customer service -furniture delivery ( for Texas) does not know where is your order or EVEN help to estimate arrival . When you call West Elm they are passing you to furniture delivery team, so you are passed around like a ball.
Impossible to get my order delivered that was due to arrive Dec 12.
Impossible to track my order because the tracking number does not work.
Impossible to get a reply from customer service, despite numerous emails to them.
Impossible to get through to customer service via telephone. Why? Because the number listed to call in my country has one too many digits!
Impossible to speak to someone on the main customer service line. Why? Because when I called and told them about all these issues they HUNG UP on me!
The only people who have at least responded to me are the social media team here on Facebook. And they can do nothing about my order.
West Elm, where is your customer service??? Where is your training for the people who are supposed to reply to emails and the people who answer your phones? Where is someone in your company who can count the number of digits in phone numbers?
Where is my order???
Wow I thought it was just me! I see from all of the previous reviews that I am not the only one who has experienced HORRENDOUS customer service from West Elm. I’ve ordered several pieces via the website over the past few years, big and small, shelves, chairs, pillows etc.. I’ve put up with the aggravation on missed deliveries etc.. because honestly I really love the style. Guess that is their saving grace.
Now, I’ve had it! Last night I ordered a couch. Even though they offered a code for “free delivery” , I guess it did not apply to my furniture purchase. Regardless I accepted the $129 delivery fee and confirmed. Today I saw that their sale was still going on and so decided that I should check and see if I could add to my order, rethinking another piece of furniture and it would be nice if i could request delivery on the same order and not have to pay twice.
First call – I was told “we can’t add to orders” . Ok. But let me transfer you to furniture and maybe they can help you. I was transferred and then the call ended because furniture was “closed”
Second call – I told my next associate about furniture being closed and explained my situation and how i wanted to arrange delivery for a second item with my first order and therefore not pay double for the delivery of 2 purchases placed less than 24 hours apart. Nothing, couldn’t help me, no suggestions, no offer to try and adjust my order, cancel the first one and start a new one etc…Ok so I said, well I guess i won’t order the second piece then. Thanks anyway. When she thought, I guess, that i’d hung up she said “You can’t afford it”. OMG!!! I then said “hello” multiple times to no response. Call still going. DISGUSTING, CHILDISH and INEXCUSABLE. Because I am conscientious and intelligent enough to make the inquiry, I completely annoyed these people enough to earn a gross insult.
Third Call – Waited 25 minutes to talk to a supervisor. The supervisor never got on the line and instead I had to relay my story to an associate, this time nice, apologetic and sincere. However my story wasn’t enough to even earn a supervisor’s time. I was offered a nominal merchandise credit if I placed my new order. No thanks and NEVER AGAIN.
I am appalled at the customer service issues when ordering a floor mirror. I called twice on 11/26/17 was disconnected from first representative after dealing with her for 45 minutes. I returned call and the second CS representative couldn’t apply my rewards to the order. I then asked for a supervisor and was told she wasn’t sure who that was. That call was over 35 minutes. today, 11/27/17 I called again to order the same floor mirror, was on with him for 45 minutes after he transferred my call to CS, he was unsuccessful in telling me the total to include my rewards. At this point I tried getting a corporate number and a California representative told me they don’t like calls and I would have to reach out to CS. I called again and was put on hold because the representative locked my rewards so therefore she had to try to get it unlocked. they stated it was used. NO IT WASN’T…. Mr. Alex Bellows, I will try to reach out to you as the CEO but you need to work on people that can satisfy customers not frustrate them!!. As I am typing this email on am on hold with another representative trying to get my rewards unlocked. I will pursue this matter until I get satisfaction!!!!!
I have never ordered anything from West Elm. I have always been a Crate and Barrel shopper and have had zero problems. However, a chair I had seen at CB2 was suddenly not available and there was a similar one at West Elm, so I purchased the chair at the end of September. I was told I could pick it up at the store in Austin so I could avoid the $150 shipping charge for one chair. I was told the chair would be ready sometime in October. That was a bit vague but I went with it. I called the Austin store at the end of October and was told that the chair would be available for pickup on November 8 because it was on backorder. It’s funny no one mentioned that before, but again, I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Well, today I call to check on the status since I have still not heard a thing from anyone and was told my order was cancelled. How do you guys get away with this stuff? No phone call, no communication and was basically told, “sorry ma’am”. The stuff at West Elm is cute but I hope you sell your inventory to a company that can deliver. What a disappointment. I would never recommend West Elm to anyone.
Here’s a shout out for Joyce Thompson, sales associate at your UWS Broadway store. Her superb sales and customer service skills were so appreciated last night when I needed to exchange chairs I had ordered for others I had just seen. Not only did she help me through the process, help me look for additional chairs — I was exhausted! — but walked me to CPW/61st with the chairs I finally bought and where I was meeting my Uber (since my arm hurt, I couldn’t carry the dining chairs). She left me with a sample for additional chairs as well. So helpful! So pleasant! A model of superb customer service for your store! Thanks, Joyce!
Don’t waste your time. Ordered furniture, paid for furniture, company could not or would not deliver. Look around, this is their pattern. It’s a scam, take your money, deliver zero furniture.
Please help me! I ordered a bed order # 071905494192, Acorn king bed and frame. I confirmed 3 times that BOTH pieces would be delivered to this vacation home as I would be out of town and needed to have someone there for delivery. The MDX delivery service is sub par. They could not get the order correct and finally after I confirmed, in writing, they confirmed in writing and West Elm confirmed in writing the frame and headboard would be delivered on August 2, only a headboard showed up. After numerous phone calls I still have not heard from anyone where this frame is. MDX Doesn’t know and West Elm says they have it? No one will co ordinate or help me. I am loosing rental income now and expect reimbursement for lost dates. I will supply the confirmed reservations. Please refund my full payment for the bed and matching acorn bedside tables since I must order from a reputable company and get the room furnished. 071938065792 Is the order number for the bedside tables. Thank You
Hello-SOS! PLEASE HELP ME LOCATE MY COUCH.
Order #063537372102. Henry 86″ sofa, Heathered. Tweed, Marine. I ordered this couch in December 18, 2016 as a belated Xmas gift for my daughter. She moved from FL back to Nashville, TN in early February & I’ve been trying to locate ever since.
I have placed 3 calls beginning mid-Feb, then March 20, then May 1 to customer service asking to change the delivery address to TN.
Each person I’ve spoken with has been most polite, they’ve made notes, they’ve told me requests were made to transfer my couch “to the TN hub”.
Yet, no one has located the couch or followed up with me. When I called on May 1, I had to be put on hold 3 times, & the last person I spoke with was Brooke in the Furniture Dept. (?). She said she would call me once she located my couch- I am still waiting.
That said, I have received NUMEROUS emails to scheudule delivery; the last 2 being sent May 12 and then another TODAY May 16–The Issue is that they are coming from homedeliveryFLL at WSGC.com, & in the body of the email is lists issues delivering to KEY WEST, Port St. Lucie & Venice ?!?!
There is no phone number associated with the email.
This leads me to believe my couch is sitting in a warehouse in Florida after all and no one has had it transferrred…
PLEASE….PLEASE…. Help me locate this couch for my daughter.
Barbara Turner 615-347-XXXXX
this leads
I custom ordered a sectional in July for latest delivery Sept 8th. It is now Sept 16th, I have no sectional, everytime I call for update I’m on hold 45 plus min with furniture never to be connected. When I call other dept. I get answers like; 1. It’s on the truck 2. It’s at the warehouse waiting to be shipped or my favorite is 3. I don’t think anything was done with after the initial order. The cutest thing is they charged my AMEX last month. How does a business in this day in age continue to operate with such horrible non exsistant customer service? No couch, no word about 5 hours of my time trying to track it down…
My friends have the same stories about this company.