Sweet Tooth
Deep. W i d e.
I've been debating about sharing this story, as I certainly have nothing against Catherine's stores. However, after the run-around I've gotten over almost 3 months, I figured other women needed to know about this.
My mom said, back in October, that she only wanted 2 things for Christmas - a new wallet and a robe. She buys most things for herself, but I know the style of robe she likes is hard to find in stores in her size. She's very particular about her preferences. So, in late October, I start looking online for a robe that met her exact specifications. I found one on the Catherine's website for an amazingly low price [which wasn't actually the issue, just a bonus]. I ordered it on November 3rd. Approximately 5 days later, I received an item from Catherines - a pink paisley top 2 sizes larger than the one in which I ordered the robe. The item number wasn't even close to similar, so I had no idea how this mix-up had occurred.
I called customer service to see if they had a shipping program like LL Bean does, especially because shipping it back on my dime because of THEIR mistake didn't seem reasonable to me. [Plus, standing in line, etc.] They said I could return it to the store. I looked online, having just moved into this city, and saw that the nearest one would be a 45 minute drive if traffic was good. So, I called back, and informed them it would be shipped back to them so they had this on record. I was told that they would credit me for the shipping costs and, with the processing turnaround time, it would take 3 weeks from the time I sent it to receive a new one. This would've been the end of November.
When I didn't receive it, I started calling the customer service number every few days, each time hearing, "It'll ship within 24 hours."
By Christmas, it still hadn't come. My siblings and I had gotten a large present for my mother, so she still had stuff to open, and I informed her of the problems with the robe. The day after Christmas, I called customer service again and asked to speak to a manager. I was routed to someone who wasn't even a manager for Catherine's mail order. She rerouted me back to the customer service line. Someone said their boss was in a meeting and I should leave a message on his voice mail so he could call me back yet that day.
I got a call back from him on January 2nd. He said he would have the item shipped within 24 hours and I'd receive it in about a week. Well, after 2 1/2 weeks, I started calling. He hasn't returned my calls. I called the customer service number again, asking to speak to a supervisor, but the woman wouldn't patch me through to one saying they were busy on another line. [Turns out her supervisor is the same one who wouldn't call me back.] She first said that they didn't have record of receiving an item back [which no one had told me before] and then said that it tried to ship but the item wasn't available [of which no one informed me, despite having my phone number and e-mail with the order information]. She did say she would credit my account for the item and shipping. She also said she'd send me a PROMOTIONAL COUPON for shopping with them again. :blink:
I'll keep you guys posted about the refund. I'm not holding my breath. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous to give customers the run around for nearly 3 months.
And I'm still out a robe for my mother.....
My mom said, back in October, that she only wanted 2 things for Christmas - a new wallet and a robe. She buys most things for herself, but I know the style of robe she likes is hard to find in stores in her size. She's very particular about her preferences. So, in late October, I start looking online for a robe that met her exact specifications. I found one on the Catherine's website for an amazingly low price [which wasn't actually the issue, just a bonus]. I ordered it on November 3rd. Approximately 5 days later, I received an item from Catherines - a pink paisley top 2 sizes larger than the one in which I ordered the robe. The item number wasn't even close to similar, so I had no idea how this mix-up had occurred.
I called customer service to see if they had a shipping program like LL Bean does, especially because shipping it back on my dime because of THEIR mistake didn't seem reasonable to me. [Plus, standing in line, etc.] They said I could return it to the store. I looked online, having just moved into this city, and saw that the nearest one would be a 45 minute drive if traffic was good. So, I called back, and informed them it would be shipped back to them so they had this on record. I was told that they would credit me for the shipping costs and, with the processing turnaround time, it would take 3 weeks from the time I sent it to receive a new one. This would've been the end of November.
When I didn't receive it, I started calling the customer service number every few days, each time hearing, "It'll ship within 24 hours."
By Christmas, it still hadn't come. My siblings and I had gotten a large present for my mother, so she still had stuff to open, and I informed her of the problems with the robe. The day after Christmas, I called customer service again and asked to speak to a manager. I was routed to someone who wasn't even a manager for Catherine's mail order. She rerouted me back to the customer service line. Someone said their boss was in a meeting and I should leave a message on his voice mail so he could call me back yet that day.
I got a call back from him on January 2nd. He said he would have the item shipped within 24 hours and I'd receive it in about a week. Well, after 2 1/2 weeks, I started calling. He hasn't returned my calls. I called the customer service number again, asking to speak to a supervisor, but the woman wouldn't patch me through to one saying they were busy on another line. [Turns out her supervisor is the same one who wouldn't call me back.] She first said that they didn't have record of receiving an item back [which no one had told me before] and then said that it tried to ship but the item wasn't available [of which no one informed me, despite having my phone number and e-mail with the order information]. She did say she would credit my account for the item and shipping. She also said she'd send me a PROMOTIONAL COUPON for shopping with them again. :blink:
I'll keep you guys posted about the refund. I'm not holding my breath. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous to give customers the run around for nearly 3 months.
And I'm still out a robe for my mother.....
