Pottery Barn
Constant Backorders, Cancelled Orders and Late Home Delivery

Pottery Barn has the worst online ordering system, and I know there are lots of unhappy customers because of their lousy, outdated computer system, mainly with back-ordering. On top of that, they have customer service agents who are either rude or know nothing.

Several times I have ordered some of their sale merchandise, and it said online that I would receive the item in a month. One month went by and nothing. So I called, and they said, "Oh, on my end (another messed up system) it will ship in a week." I called back one week later, and they said, "Sorry, but there are no more." I already had an umbrella pole and the umbrella base but no canopy, and I did not get it because they will not be making any more. So I had to go through the trouble of calling and staying on hold for 20 minutes, and I finally talked to someone (whom I know more than they do) and told them to come get the pole and base because I could not get the canopy I wanted. They said okay, put it outside and UPS would come by and pick it up. The next day only one item got picked up (imagine that), and the next day the other item got picked up, so that was another mistake on their end. All this calling and ordering took two hours, and two months later I have nothing.

Then I ordered some drapes online, and it said "On Backorder, will ship on Oct 20." I ordered some shades, and it said "On backorder, will ship Oct 20." Then I received an email (which only took one day this time) telling me I would not be getting the drapes or the shades.

In the meantime, I ordered some other items from the 99 cent clearance section to go with my shades and drapes, and since they cancelled my order, they had better let me cancel that order. I will report back on what happens.

So, to Mr. CEO and the higher-ups in the company: I don't know what is going on, but your online ordering system is terrible. There have been so many times when your system says one thing and then it is not true. Once I ordered something that was on back order, and I about had a heart attack because it actually showed up.

From other reading, I know there must be thousands of unhappy customers out there who order online from Pottery Barn and end up not getting what they want the first time.

When I did actually get what I ordered from Pottery Barn, it was a home delivery order. I was told that I would receive my items on Monday between 12 and 2:00. Well, 2:00 rolled around and nothing, so I called (yes, I had to call and not them), and the rep said, "Oh, they are right down the street from you and will be there in 30 minutes." I waited 30 minutes and no items. I called back, and the man said, "We are running 30 minutes late" (it was 3:00 by then), and I told him it was already an hour late. He said he would call and check on them and that they would be there any minute. Finally, at 3:30, which was one and one-half hours late, they showed up. It is a good thing I don't work. Most people have to take off work to be able to get your home delivery, so if you do, be prepared for them to show up late, and they will not call you if they are running late. Even my yard man calls if he is going to be late, but not Pottery Barn.

I would love to hear other stories from unhappy customers of Pottery Barn. It seems like every time I go into the stores there are new people working, so that tells me they have problems there too. I would not be surprised if Pottery Barn goes bankrupt from the sorry customer service.

Don't expect to get the items you order from Pottery Barn. Also, if you are getting a home delivery, it will be late and they will not call. If you shop inside the stores, you will be seeing new faces every time you go, and if you call and order over the phone, be sure you know what you want and look it up yourself, because most of those employees are making minimum wage and are not much help. I suggest you look online, because you can find most of their items selling somewhere else for less.

Company: Pottery Barn
Country: USA
Site: potterybarn.com

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