We (Oskar and N.) are writing to complain about the level of customer service displayed by Sam's Club in our recent purchase of a King Mattress and Box Spring set. It was ordered in late June with a 2 to 3 week delivery time frame. We were soon informed by the shipper that it would be delivered on July 13th.
On the afternoon of the 13th, the shipper called and said that they could not deliver the set because it had been damaged. We called Sam's Club and after explaining our problem, we were informed that a replacement would be ordered and someone would call us back about its delivery. After a few days, we still had not received any information from Sam's Club, so we called in again. We were told that the order would take the regular time frame to deliver. At this point, we asked that it be placed on priority because one of us is 8 months pregnant and requires a real mattress. The customer service rep noted that request and promised that someone would call us back.
We then received a voicemail message that the set would be delivered on July 21st. There was no delivery or communication from anyone on the 21st. We called the shipper and they informed us that the second order (the replacement) had also been damaged and could not be delivered. We were informed by the shipper that another set would be available for delivery on July 27th. At this point, we checked the Sam's Club order online. It was marked as COMPLETE, which was obviously not the case.
The 27th arrived with no bed delivered and no communication from any of the parties involved. We called Sam's Club customer service, which had no idea that the order had not been delivered and that a replacement had even been requested. We asked to speak to a manager at this juncture. The manager told us that Serta, the manufacturer, would call us in two business days to arrange delivery.
Needless to say, we never got a call from Serta. We called Sam's Club on the 30th to follow up. Customer service researched the issue and transferred us to a manager. We were told the mattress would be delivered on Monday, August 3rd. We followed up with the shipper that same day and confirmed that the order would be delivered on the 3rd.
On the 3rd, the shipper arrived, delivering a King mattress and one Twin box spring with a label on the packaging marked King Foundation. Obviously, there was some mistake since that did not form a complete set. The box spring portion of the set is two pieces, not one. While the delivery company was still on the premises, we called the shipper's office. They said Serta had the whole order as two pieces: one mattress and one box spring. They told us to contact Sam's Club to correct the order.
We kept the order at our home, hoping that Sam's Club would simply arrange for the other twin box spring to come immediately. We called Sam's Club and spoke to a rep, but he could only promise us a call back. Obviously, this was unacceptable at this point, so we requested a supervisor. The supervisor was most helpful but could only guarantee a delivery on the week of August 10th. Given N is in advanced pregnancy, this was simply unacceptable. We requested a return and full refund. We proceeded to get a bed from Macy's instead.
Worse yet, the return and refund have been mishandled. We were assured by Sam's Club on several occasions over the last few days that a return was being processed and that it would take place through New England Retail Express. When we called to schedule a pickup through that shipper, they only had a delivery, not a pickup, set up for us. Puzzled by this, we called Sam's Club. The rep told us that we should refuse the delivery when it comes and that the shipper would also take back the rest of the order. We called the shipper again to confirm and they said that this was not an acceptable arrangement. The shipper requires a work order specifically noted as pickup. Another phone call to Sam's Club finally straightened the paperwork out, although the bed still has not been picked up.
Sam's Club has had our money for almost a month now. This kind of delay and incompetence would be frustrating for anyone, but especially for a woman in her 8th month of a pregnancy. The sleeping arrangement we have had to use in place of the mattress set we ordered from Sam's was certainly inadequate. We have been on a futon bed, which may have contributed to N's back misalignment and the baby turning breech, complicating the pregnancy.
It is simply inexcusable that Sam's Club can offer an item for sale and take no accountability in making sure that it arrives in the advertised time frame, particularly after numerous assurances that this would be handled. We timed the purchase of the bed and our move from California to Virginia specifically to make sure the bed was here soon after. Even more absurdly, Sam's could not even get the return and refund correct. The whole ordeal has displayed appalling incompetence on a scale we have not seen in our entire lives.
It is now 23 days after the original delivery date. We are certainly never ordering from Sam's Club or its parent company ever again. We have been told by many family members and friends that they will not patronize Sam's Club or renew their memberships in view of the situation described above. We can only hope that Sam's Club improves its coordination with vendors and its service to individual customers. There was no accountability displayed by any of the parties involved. All were eager to pass us off to the other. Nonetheless, it is ultimately a product sold by Sam's Club. We would expect this company to make things right.in the end, we were extremely frustrated and disappointed.
Oskar
Alexandria, Virginia
U.S.A.
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