What On Earth-WHERE on earth is my order! Just BAD!
Written: Aug 14 '06
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www.whatonearthcatalog.com
What on Earth
5581 Hudson Industrial Parkway
Hudson, OH 44236
Orders: 1-800-945-2552
Customer Service: 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday
Fax: 1-800-950-9569
How It Came to Be
I have not figured out exactly how it happens, but I have my suspicions. I seem to end up on every catalog mailing list there is. This is how I came across the What On Earth catalog. In a moment of boredom, I browsed through it and saw this poker room plaque that you could get personalized. Anyone who knows us knows that my husband is into poker, so I decided to get one for him as a Hanukah gift.
I’m a big fan of internet shopping, and I generally try to purchase Christmas and Hanukah presents early, but since I was out of commission for a few months while we tried to figure out what I had (turned out it is sarcoidosis), I did not really have a chance to shop as early as I would have liked (it was the beginning of December by the time I was finally diagnosed). I had to dependent on online shopping even more than normal, and for the most part, it worked out, except for this experience. Unfortunately, my husband received his gift very late. Luckily, it was a nice gift, but not worth the price or the stress.
The Site
I did not have any problems navigating the site, and it seems that they have made improvements to the site since I last ordered from it. They have a variety of areas of interest to select from on the left hand side (ClubWOE Specials, Casual Apparel, Gifts, Fun & Recreation, Home & Garden, Accessories, Pets, T-Shirts, Themes, Occasion, Gift Recipient, Clearance and Quick Find). They also have a virtual catalog that you can browse through as well as a few featured items right on the homepage. When you select one of the categories, you are brought to a new page where you can browse through those items or narrow your search more by selecting a variety of subcategories again on your left. I personally like that you have a choice to narrow your search by price or by recipient.
I didn’t use any of these to find the product that I ordered, because I had the item number I was interested in already, so I used the box in the upper right hand corner of the homepage where you can search for the item number or for a keyword. The item number brought me right to the page where the sign was located, I ordered it, filled in the necessary information and it was done. For my item, since it was personalized, they do make it very clear that once items are ordered, the item cannot be changed or returned, so I made sure to be very careful when filling out the personalization area. Overall the site was very easy to navigate and order from.
Where The Troubles Began
My issues began after the ordering process. On the plus side, the website did have prominently displayed that any orders placed after a certain date would not be received in time for the holidays, and that was fine with me. I missed that deadline by a short period of time (if memory serves, I was off by a day or two), so I warned my hubby that his present would not come until the beginning of January. But, little did I know that it would take more than a month longer than that! That seems a bit excessive to me. What made it worse was that customer service could not tell me ANYTHING about my order.
Here is the story. I save every email I get, and fortunately for me, I received a confirmation email from the company once I placed my order. In that email, they include your order number, details on what you ordered, including price and shipping, etc. Right in the email, they include an area that says that if you have a question about your order, you can email them or call them between such and such hours. The only problem is, they did not include the phone number in the email, and I had to search their website for the number. I do not mean a short search, I mean I had to REALLY search for the number. Fortunately, they must have received enough complaints about this issue, because the updated website has made it much easier to find the number. If you hit the contact us link at the bottom of the homepage, you can either send them an email through the site or get the phone number, which is listed at the bottom of that page.
Also included in the confirmation email is an estimate of how long it will take to receive the item you ordered (my email said 2 – 4 weeks). Well, I placed the order and waited, and waited, and waited…you get the picture. When it was close to the 4 week mark, and I still had not heard a thing from the company (a status email telling me when I might expect it would have been nice), I contacted them. In my email, I mentioned that it was just 2 days off of being 4 weeks, that the confirmation email I had received said that the item would arrive in 3 – 4 weeks and I was wondering what the status of the item was. The email response I received back was somewhat frustrating. The responder, Eric, mentioned that the item was drop shipped directly from a vendor and required 3 – 4 weeks for delivery (Duh! It had almost been four weeks and no word on the item, I said that in my email to him.) Then he mentions when my order was received (again, duh, you do not think I do not know that? In my email to him I included the confirmation email I originally received, which had all that information in it). Then he gives me a person to contact if I have any questions, but tells me in the email that this person cannot answer status calls. ALL I want to know is the status of my order, and I cannot believe that no one knows how to find out about the item.
Needless to say, it felt like he did not even read the email I sent to him and that I was wasting my time sending emails, so I decided to try and speak with someone live. I decide to call this Pam person. I leave her a message. A few days go by and I receive no call back. I call again and I finally get someone on the phone. I bring her through the whole situation again, and this time I am told that it takes 4 – 8 weeks for these items to arrive. Now I am upset. I have received two emails telling me that it will take no longer than 4 weeks and now I am being told that it could take 8?! Not acceptable. Pam tells me the same spiel as Eric (that the items was drop shipped from a vendor, they cannot track to order, etc. etc.). Here is my issue with that, how can she possibly make guesses as to when the item will arrive at my home if she cannot track my order? I mention this to her and ask her if she could contact the vendor so that I might have a better idea as to when I will receive my item. She was not pleasant on the phone before, but now she is downright rude, enough so that she raises her voice to me and was treating me like I did something wrong. I tried to explain to her that I was getting different information about when my order would get sent to me, and that I found it frustrating that they knew nothing about my order and could not check with the vendor to get me some accurate information on when it would be received. By the time I hung up the phone I was livid. There are only a handful of times that customer service has treated me beyond poorly and this is one of them. I swore that I would never order from this place again.
The Result
Well, I did finally receive my item, but it took until mid-February, well over a month after I was told in two different emails that I would receive the order, although pretty close to Pam’s estimate. But, I was also told by Pam that What On Earth catalog would send me an email once the ordered item was shipped, but that often that email is not received until after you have already received your item in the mail. I never received this so called shipping email at all.
I really like the plaque I bought for my husband. It is made of quality wood and the paint is very neat and impressive, and more importantly, my husband liked it, but frankly, it was not worth what I paid for it (the shipping was CRAZY expensive for such a small item that took so long to get to me - $7.45 for one $35 item) and the stress I had to endure to make sure I received this item. Also, since then, I have found other companies that make similar products (one sign was even larger than the one I bought for less money and looked like it might be even nicer, others looked about the same for less money and I saw one in a brick & mortar store that was better quality, larger than the one I got and the same price).
Overall
I will not use this site again. I still enjoy browsing their book, and checking out some of the unique items they have, but until they are able to monitor the shipping of the items that are sent to other vendors to process, get a better system in place for tracking, get better customer service people who are not so rude and actually abide by the time commitment they tell you for delivery, they will not receive my business. It is just too stressful and hard to trust a company that tells you different stories each time you contact them.
Thanks to all who read/rate.
Heidi (hjs33)
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? customized poker plaque
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Epinions.com ID:
HJS33
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 in Hotels & Travel |
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Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Reviews written: 162
Trusted by: 199 members
About Me:
I miss the summer!
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