On 4 December I ordered a Charlie Weis Autographed Print from Brookstone online as a Christmas Present for a family member. The website said, If you ordered by 12 December it was a Guaranteed Christmas Delivery.
On 16 December I noticed my checking account (i used to pay with) had not been debited for the purchase. I checked my email for the confirmation information and checked the website for a status, there was no information available for my purchase. So i replied to the confirmation email inquiring about the status of my purchase. I also called (i had a feeling there was something not right). I spoke with a customer service rep, who said she would submit an inquiry to the vendor with whom they work with and get an answer to me NLT Tuesday 18 Dec 07.
On 18 December 7 Oclock at night, I still had no call back or email reply with the status of my purchase, to include my checking account still not being debited. I called the customer service number again asking: 1, why i had not been called back and 2, what the status of my purchase was. The customer service rep told me that they had not received a response back from the vendor yet. When they did they would contact me. She made sure to tell me it usually takes two weeks to ship and sometimes the vendor doesnt debt your account till after they ship the purchased item (weird, huh).
I explained to her how important this purchase was to me and to be sure to note that if i did not receive my purchase by Christmas (as guaranteed) I would be a very upset customer. She ensured me multiple times that it would be at my house by Christmas!
On 20 December I received a reply to my email from 16 December. The email was just a use our website to track your order kind of email a cookie cutter kind of email. (which i would not have sent an email inquiring my status if there was anything on their website).
On 21 December my checking account was debited for the full amount, yet i had no response from any rep from Brookstone.
On 22 December I received an email from "Corey" a customer service rep, which read:
"Dear Customer,
Thank you for your inquiry. The items you ordered ship directly from the manufacturer. We received confirmation from the manufacturer that your order has been shipped. You can expect to receive your order by December 24th. Please let us know if we may be of further assistance."
I checked the website for the status and it still said no information available for my purchase, so I assumed (which I know I should never do) that my item had actually shipped.
On 26 December - note this is after Christmas! I still had not received my item. I called customer service again and expressed how upset I was. The rep told me that someone had signed for my item in NY (I live in NC)! The rep said he would get an inquiry in and get my purchased item to me. I explained to him that it was a moot point (Christmas was over). I did not tell him thought that I had to buy something Christmas Eve to make up for the missing present (my item). I could not have anything for my family member who traveled down to see us.
The rep then asked me in a condescending way "So you dont want the item now?" I said No, I would a full refund and the rep said that he would put that request in.
5 January I still have no Charlie Weis autographed print and/or my $165.41 (a full month after my initial purchase).
I contacted customer service again and was told the vendor does not work on the weekends, so he would note in the system again that I was requesting a refund.
The fact that Brookstone works with third party vendors is not the customers problem. They chose them; they should take upon themselves to ensure the customer is being treated fairly!
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