We ordered a Christmas tree this past year and we're so excited to get it set up and decorated. I decided to go with this company because of their claims to their lifetime warranty on their trees. They also claim to be the most life like and I thought it would be a good investment.
My order went through and eventually we received one large box.
Upon opening the box we learned that it was only the top part of the tree.
I reached out NUMEROUS Times only to be told the other box was on its way.
As Christmas crept closer I finally demanded a shipping number.
That's when they admitted that they no longer had the bottom half of the tree and it wouldn't be coming.
We ended up having to borrow an old tree so my kids had something to put gifts under.
I made no complaints or demands or anything. I just accepted it and they refunded me in full.
Fast forward months later—-in February.
I just got charged over 1300 for a tree that never came.
When I called to review all that had happened the only thing I go was I'm so sorry. I'll take that charge off and you will see that in about 8 business days.
I asked if this was all they were going to do to solve the problem?
Just simple questions. I was put on hold yet again only to be told "I canceled the order."
To which I had to remind her——there was no order. This was a charge that never should have been. You already cancelled the order!
She then offered me a $50 gift card that would be usable in over two weeks.
Laughable.
Had we not been paying attention the first time, we would have never gotten a refund.
Then months later they tried to charge us again.
I think this company is falling apart and it is being reflected in how management interacts with its customers.
They are being dishonest about orders arriving and sneaking in charges months later.
Had this not been such a large charge we wouldn't have noticed.
I am so disappointed in this company and what it has become.
It used to be such a prideful thing to tell someone you ordered one of their products.
Recommending all you loved to friends.
Now, it seems we all want to warn others of their dishonesty, lack of integrity and horrible customer service.
Shame on them. I hope for whoever owns this company now—-they read this and do something so their family business can continue on for another generation.
Because you have lost this one.
It will no longer continue on in my family.

I find it amazing that this scam of a company has been in business so long, basically with their catalog and now online presence, touting that they "test" their products and that they are all of exceptional quality, plus regaling us with their "lifetime warranty". First of all, I have purchased several items from them through the years. All of them have turned out to be of extremely low quality, and their "lifetime warranty" turns out to be deceiving and basically bogus.
A case in point was an expensive outdoor clock. I purchased it from their company, since our family was creating a memorial garden for my mother, who was also a grandmother and great-grandmother. The clock came with a customized under-hanging plaque. After less than a year, the clock stopped working, but being that these were supposed to be high-quality clocks, I figured there was something wrong with the batteries. I tried every type out there, and the clock continued to stop.
Believing that Hammacher Schlemmer did have a lifetime warranty, I called them up. First off, the customer service rep I spoke to was rude, uncaring, and accusatory. It was as if they were trained to do whatever was necessary to dissuade anyone from any kind of refund or return. It also appeared that this rep was not at all connect to the company but was rather a third party rep from one of those cheap overseas third-party operations that they had hired to do their "dirty work'. What I was finally told was that first off they no longer offered that item, so my option was to ship it back to them AT MY COST (which being a large and heavy item would have been expensive), and that if and when they received it, they would not reimburse me, but rather maybe give me a store credit (after reviewing the item), that I could only use for another one of their items. And to add insult to injury, if I did go along with this insane offer, and did purchase some other low-level item from them, I would also have to pay for the return SHIPPING!
At that point I looked for a local clock repair shop. I did find an excellent one and brought it over. He immediately laughed and said he's seen these a lot, and asked if I purchased it from Hammacher Schlemmer. He said that this was true of most of their merchandise, since they inventory the cheapest materials. In the case of this clock, the clock mechanism they use is made for a small desk clock, not a large outdoor clock with large heavy hands, which is why it keeps stopping. He told me that the clock and hands of this size need a special heavy-duty mechanism to run the hands and not burn out. Although the price to replace this clock with the proper mechanism, along with the labor was about the same as the original clock, being customized as a memorial for my mother, I told him to fix it. He did, and even gave me a discount, and a bit of advice which was: "stay away from Hammacher Schlemmer!
The clock is back in our garden. And now I'm passing on his advice to you. Stay away from the scam outfit Hammacher Schlemmer. And if you do have any items from them, be aware that their "Lifetime Warranty" is not for a lifetime… it's not even a warranty! They do not support or back up anything they sell. And for good reason. It's crap.

Before christmas i order two battery boosters. The order was not confirmed even after i asked several times by email and phone. But it was sent later-- after i had already received a similar order from amazon. I returned the order after the holidays and still await my refund. Also when i ordered the products there was a 25$ discount for the day on all orders. It wasn't applied when it was sent weeks later. The billing was in american dollars which shouldn't have been the case.
I expect my refund shortly. It has been almost 2 months since i shipped it back to you. It should never have been sent to begin with as it was never confirmed just shipped after i asked about confirmation and didn't get a reply. I had planned on ordering more from yous but i await confirmation of my refund. The package i returned was unopened except to pull out the shipping return. Your address was the only one on it so i know you have received it. As it stands i am out over 300 $$.
Hello David Werenka,

Thank you for contacting Hammacher Schlemmer. As of today, the returning package has not been processed.

Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you have a tracking number available. This is the only manner we have of determining the returning package's status.

Please allow four to six weeks from the warehouse receipt date for the returning package to be processed. We will process your package in the order it was received. Once your package is processed, you will be notified via email as well as receive information regarding the refund/exchange you have requested.

The returns department is currently processing returned packages received on 2/7/2022.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused on the delay of your refund.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
We're pleased to inform you the item(s) listed at the bottom of this email have shipped via Canada HS*******010
To check the status of your shipment, exchange, or return online at any time, simply go to https://www.hammacher.com/orderstatus and enter your order number A******* and billing zip code if prompted. Separate email confirmations will be sent for orders comprising multiple packages. Please note that shipping and services charges for the entire order will be presented on the first shipment confirmation.

For Canadaplus shipments, tracking information will be available once your shipment clears customs. Type 'hamm' for client number and include your Order Number to view delivery status.

If you have additional questions, feel free to call us toll-free at *******800 from 8:00 am - 10:00 pm EST (Monday to Friday) and 8:00 am - 8:00 pm EST (Saturday and Sunday), or email us at: *******@hammacher.com
Sincerely,
Customer Service
Hammacher Schlemmer

Order details
Shipping information

David Werenka

Canada

Item
Item name
Gift Wrap
Gift Message
PC*
Price
Qty
Total price

*******
BEST AUTO JUMP STARTER 1000 AMP V4 V6
No
No
No
$117.45
2
$234.90

Subtotal
$234.90

Gift Wrap
$0.00

Personalization
$0.00

Shipping and Services
$45.90

Additional Shipping
$0.00

Duties
$0.00

Discount
$0.00

Sales tax
$11.75

Order total
$292.55

I discovered just how bad the desire to provide customers good customer service really is at Hammacher Schlemmer recently. They say in the customer service World that a problem with a customer is actually an "opportunity." I agree with this thinking, a company has an opportunity to solidify their relationship with their customer when a problem arises. If not handled properly the company sends their customers elsewhere and this "opportunity" is lost. And then they write a review... I am writing to document why I will no longer support or consider Hammacher Schlemmer for anything in the future.
I went online to buy a pair of slippers to replace a pair of slippers I had purchased from Hammacher Schlemmer previously for at a premium price. This recent slipper purchase was my third purchase from them in the past 6 months, I have been a pretty loyal customer over the last 20 years, but this recent experience is the first opportunity I had a need for help from their customer service department and they failed. I just now have read other reviews from customers who have also had bad customer service experiences with Hammacher Schlemmer.
I made an order for a size 12 Walking on Air Slipper for $100, then within 20 minutes after making the order realized that I ordered the wrong size. It was 9:15pm CST so I sent a detailed email to Customer Service to explain my problem and requested that Hammacher Schlemmer Customer Service pull my order and replace the size 12 slippers with the 11-11.5 size. I received a reply email at 12:10pm CST the following day from Matthew Grundy, Technical Support, he informed me that the order was in "picked status" and that he was not able to stop the process to change the item size prior to shipping them off, sorry. I replied respectfully to explain I contacted Hammacher Schlemmer within 20 minutes of making the order. I said, you had my email last night and now you are responding midday to tell me you can't do anything for me? The order is in "picked status," not shipped status... I received a shipping confirmation 3 hours later. Then I waited a week to receive them and then sent them back for the size I needed.
I used their return form that was a USPS Return Label, I dropped the package off at my Post Office (USPS) as instructed on May 3,2021. I received a notification that the item was "Tendered to Return Agent." That means it was given to Fed Ex, at which time no Fed Ex Tracking number was provided. So now I have no way of tracking the return of my order. No biggie you would guess, but that was 5 days ago and I have not received an email from Hammacher Schlemmer telling me that they have received my return. I guess I will just have to wait and hope. All of this could have been avoided if Hammacher Schlemmer's Technical Support/Customer Service Agent had been trained on how to change out an order that had not yet been shipped, it tells me that helping the customer is not a priority. The lack of timeliness responding to my email asking for help genuine interest in helping me is the problem. So long Hammacher Schlemmer... Read the reviews of your past customers and make changes before it is too late for others.