I thought West Elm was supposed to be a higher-end professional company but clearly I'm wrong. I notice so many negative reviews but I ignored them because I didn't buy furniture. I only bought household decor and bedding so I didn't think I would run into any problems but unfortunately I did. I gave 2-stars because the company has really unique products that you can't find anywhere else, but the quality is hit or miss and at $200-300 bedding, West Elm has disappointed me with their quality.
First of all, for the prices they charge, I'm shocked shipping isn't free. They tried to charge me $18 to ship me 4 hand towels that weigh almost nothing. There's no reason for this. Return shipping ins't free either. Ok fine, I tolerated that due to the nice products.
Second of all, for the prices they charge, not everything is "high quality". I made the mistake to believe that just because a company charges more, their stuff is better quality. This is wrong. A lot (not all) of West Elm's products are manufactured the same as generic stuff sold on Amazon by other third-party brands. I already fell for multiple websites scamming me into thinking a higher price means better product; don't make the mistake I did. Have reasonable expectations because not everything from West Elm is worth the price. For the items that are unique such as their bedding, the quality is superior hit o miss. I purchased their "Tencel Cotton Matelasse Duvet" a year ago in a set that cost over $250. I only washed it ONCE yesterday following the warm water wash and medium heat dry. The material looks terrible now; it's not as soft, the texture is bumpy, and it faded badly! See the pictures I attached. I was so upset!
Thirdly, something is wrong with their customer service, fulfillment centers and warehouses. They backorder literally every single item I buy without even notifying me ahead of time. When the items finally shipped out, they sent me the wrong items. I received the wrong cushion from them TWICE and I had to go to a UPS location to return the wrong product, TWICE.
Fourthly, I then made a order of 6 items and was so excited but I had to cancel the entire order because almost everything was backordered for half a year with no notification. I had to email and call them up to get them to cancel and even then, they just cancelled and didn't even tell me. They put things up without notifying customers of backorders until the order goes through.
I love West Elm's products but their customer service has gone downhill and they are always lying about products being in stock. If they can't even get my small order correct, I highly doubt they can get furniture orders right and based on so many negative reviews, West Elm is incapable of fulfilling large orders. They exhibit signs of a company that's slowly failing and likely going to close. I suggest everyone to cancel your furniture orders by disputing it with your bank or credit card company. As for bedding, I would suggest to use gentle cycles and avoid washing their blankets and covers so often; I tried to contact customer service to perhaps replace the duvet cover that got ruined but West Elm disabled email contact off their website and the live chat says "an agent will be with you shortly" but it never happens.
Note: The photo I added shows the duvet cover washed/dried per instructions against the pillow cover I didn't wash yet. It faded so badly and looks years old compared to the unwashed.
We bought the Drake sofa the end of October 2018. They assured us we would have it by Thanksgiving or the first week in December. Well Christmas was coming and we were having a houseful. The sofa showed it was in Salt Lake but the warehouse could not deliver it until after Christmas. We have a truck so I begged to let us pick up the sofa ourselves. After talking to several "manager" we were given special approval to pick up.
We picked up the sofa on December 19,2019. By mid January the fabric looked horrible! It is piling and sagging.
On February 9,2019 I called the City Creek store, since that is where we ordered it. I was given a customer care number to call. I called that number only to find out it is just for store associates. I called the store back and was given another number. It took about 45 minutes to file a report with a very nice customer service lady. She said I would receive an email with instructions on sending pictures in.
On February 14,2019 we still had not received the email so I called again. The report never got filed? Really? Another 30-45 minutes and I filed a new report and immediately got the email.
On February 16,2019, I sent the pictures as instructed.
On February 20,2019 I had not heard anything so I resent the pictures as instructed.
February 25,2019 STILL had not heard anything. I called the direct line that was given to me on February 14,2019. That line is for Pottery Barn shipping issues. NOT West Elm. Got transferred to West Elm. That was the wrong department. Amy said she would stay on the line to get me to the correct department. She just transferred me to The wrong area. That person. Didn't get his name. Transferred me to a rude woman in the Southern CA area. Also the wrong area but she assured me that she found my emails and sent them on to Northern CA which is the correct area. This ordeal was 36 minutes. What a waste of time!
Never received a call back after my many phone calls and emails. 3/1/19 my husband and I went into the store and talked to the store manager.
We explained what was happening. He was EXTREMELY nice and really wanted to help us. He told us he would contact corporate and find a solution. I left there feeling so much better.
3/6/19 I get a call from the store manager that he is having Pauline Hill from corporate contact me. 3/6/19 Pauling calls me and tells me to send more pictures. 3/7/19 I send the pictures to Pauline. She confirms that she has received the pictures and that she will review and get back to me.
3/11/19 I call Pauline for an update. No response. 3/14 /19 I call Pauline and ask for another update. No response.
3/20/19 I email Pauline asking for a response. 3/23/19 I get a response from Pauline that West Elm does not cover piling of their fabric and that they would send me a complimentary fabric shaver. I feel so taken advantage of. What a waste of our hard earned money and time.
This is a 3 month old couch that looks 10 years old! It looks so bad that we have it covered with blankets. I am blown away! I plan on sharing my horrible experience with everyone I know.
The sad thing is we choose West Elm because we thought they had good reputation. Turns out they don't. After googling West Elm fabric I found that many others have had the same issues as I have. I guess I know why you don't have reviews of your products online. So disappointing!
New international shipping which is reliable.