Williams-Sonoma

Visited this WS for giada de laurentiis book signing and I gotta say This was one of the best Events I’ve attended This year. The event was well organized, the line and book pickup went by smoothly. Giada was 15 mins late (she drove from her pacific palisades home) but it’s forgiven: p
Will definitely come back for future book signing events ! Love giada!

This big box is the same no matter where you go until you get to customer service. I counted six employees yet a line of seven people waiting to check out at one register. Rarely do you see a store so mismanaged. It took us one hour to return three presents from our registry. The BH store executed the same exchange in five minutes. I won’t say it was our clerk as she didn’t seem to know the system well but I blame the manager who literally did nothing. Skip this location until they sort out the management.

Such a poor customer service experience. The woman helping me made several mistakes that I then had to come back into the store to fix and they did nothing to compensate me for the additional time the whole fiasco took — definitely will not be going there again.

Very rude, terrible customer service. I wanted to wrap a gift and the salesperson just brought a box and the things I purchased to another table and said that I would have to wrap it myself but not here cause she has customers!!! wow in Europe even If I bought a 2 euro worth plate that would still wrap it up for you even without me asking. So rude

Love this spot the location is perfect and I really like the staff super friendly! my fav part is all the tasting treats every time you go in

Will you laugh at me if I tell you I have a Williams-​Sonoma visa? I signed up when I was getting married since I was registered here (tons of bonus points) and never canceled it, because I keep reaping the rewards. I just paid $ 100 for a $ 200 Le Creuset deep frying pan thanks to my points, and received 10% off a whole new set of dishes that I adore. If you’re looking to upgrade your shabby IKEA plates you’ve had since your first apartment, check out Williams-Sonoma’s Open Pantry. They’re affordable, beautiful, and I love them like mad.
Breville, All-​Clad, Le Creuset, Littledeer… if these brands set your domestic heart a flutter, look no further. This particular store is bright and airy, and the service I received was great. I wish I had more time to explore it, but I was a woman on a mission and knew exactly what I wanted.

Just got done shopping here. The GM Heidi is a wealth of knowledge and super nice! The rest of the staff were also fantastic. I highly recommend this store… Williams Sonoma has great products, but it really is the staff that make it an amazing experience.

It keeps getting better. After I posted my initial review I received a message from «Traci M» (who incidentally had a brand new Unilocal account and no other reviews– see posted photo):
«You’re an idiot. I just got hired there and they don’t even have an employee named Janet… I think you’re talking about Jamie… Could you please delete that and fix it to the proper name? Thank you»
Now, what kind of bipolar nonsense is this?! Clearly written by someone who knows the employee, Janet… guessing a teenage daughter given the tone and naivety of the content.
If she thought that a bad Unilocal review would negatively impact her friend, how could she possibly think that it would help to call a customer an «idiot» and deny Janet’s employment at WS (she was working that day), while claiming to be an new employee herself? Uggg.
This dingbat’s judgment may be the only thing worse than the customer service at here.

Wow, I usually just read reviews and rarely write them unless I’m totally blown away by service or quality. I casually walked into this location after brunch to see what things they had for outdoor entertaining. I was schleppy in flip flops and a tank top (it shouldn’t matter, but unfortunately we all know it sometimes does when it comes to getting service in this town). I was greeted by Susie and she was so genuine and helpful. I felt like I was shopping with a good friend than being attended to by a «sales associate.» She showed me what WS normally carries, and also the new stuff that came in. I walked away with some cool pitchers, trays, and glassware. I agree that this location is smaller than BH, but Susie made up for it with her service!

this is a smaller store than Bev Hills but I prefer to shop here b/​c it’s more convenient and intimate. the customer service from Susi is the best… I moved into a new place and have been trying to get my kitchen fully stocked. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten everything from dishware, flatware and glassware to linens. Her knowledge about their products and being able to put things together, big picture has made this overwhelming task completely manageable. exceeds my expectations. I will continue to shop here because of her!

This is one of my favorite Williams– Sonoma stores because it is located in a suburban neighborhood and has a good feel to it. Not quite as expansive as Beverly Hills, but nice sales staff that are helpful and hard workers. It is rather hard to get to though, as you need to drive through residential streets, and parking can be challenging during the weekend. Santa Monica is known for its parking Nazis, so don’t ever illegally park of forget to feed the meter, or pay the price of a ticket.

The goal of customer service is to enhance the consumer’s experience. Employees can ensure customer satisfaction by being helpful (sharing information/​expertise on products), making professional recommendations, following through on requests, and providing assistance before and after a transaction.
Based on my recent experience at Williams Sonoma, I believe the employees at this branch may require additional customer service training.
I was looking for a very specific product that was made exclusively for Williams Sonoma. I called headquarters and was informed that this branch in Santa Monica is the only one in California that carries this item. Since I do not live near Santa Monica, that evening, I confirmed with a Santa Monica WS employee that the item was in stock. I asked her to hold the item and she agreed to store it away for me to pick up the next day.
After an hour drive to Santa Monica, I walked up to the counter. The employees were clueless about the order that I was expecting to pick up. They searched all over the store including the back inventory and could not find the item I had requested. A search on the store’s product database revealed there was one in stock, but it was nowhere to be found in the shop. How could this happen? Either the employee had stored it in an obscure location or never held the item and it was sold before I arrived.
Since I was expecting to purchase this item as a gift to be presented that evening, I had to panic and select another item in the shop. I did end up finding a reasonable replacement, but I ran into another problem during checkout.
When I called the night before, I inquired about gift wrap services. The employee enthusiastically confirmed that she can wrap the product free of charge. Unfortunately on the following night, when I asked the girl to wrap the items I purchased, she informed me that the store is out of wrapping paper, since they had all been used during the holiday season (which ended over 3 weeks ago). Furthermore, due to the irregular size of my purchase (dimensions similar to size of a mini microwave), there would not be any WS bags large enough to fit the box. She did add a tape-​handle on the box which made it easier to transport, but I was left embarrassed to present the gift without wrapping or even a bag, not what I had envisioned.
As I was headed out the back door with both hands full of heavy boxes, I was expecting an employee several feet away to assist me in opening the door. She looked away and was more interested in stocking items on the shelf, not to be bothered.
This was one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve ever had at a store. I did not expect such lousy service from such a highly reputable company.

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks this place is a total piece of sh*t.
Week before Thanksgiving, post gym, still in workout clothes, my husband drags me to W-​S because there’s a huge sale on Nespresso machines (25% off!), so we grab our pup and walk over to check out the machines and buy one.
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We waited in the coffee section for 30 minutes waiting for someone to come over and help us. Literally all the clerks were fawning over some lady who was buying $ 40 worth of holiday napkins.
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I really want to leave, but the 25% off keeps me waiting. I finally flag someone down and he has no clue what machine is best for me based on the questions and requirements I’m telling him about. Requirements are simple things like I want a milk foamer, etc. He says he’ll send someone by to help out.
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Another 15 minutes later, some girl comes by with the worst attitude and «tries» to help us. Saying things like «well, this machine does this, and that machine does that» while handing me a brochure isn’t helping. She was completely useless, and I really wanted to say to her «YOU WORK AT WILLIAM-F*CKING-SONOMA AS A CLERK, AND I’M BUYING A $ 700 MACHINE…» [drops mic]
We ended up going to DC for Thanksgiving at which time my in-​laws took us to Macy’s and we got the best Nespresso demo for the Virtuo line and the BEST customer service ever. It was so good, we bought two machines that day — one for us and one for my in-​laws.
Screw you Williams-​Sonoma, you just lost about $ 1500 worth of business from me that day and you lost a customer for life.

Visited the store a few days after Christmas. They had one salesperson there. While she was helping someone, she answered the phone numerous times while several people waited and waited and waited in line. I gave up and placed my item back on the table and walked out.
I will go to Sur La Table where they have great customer service.

Never again.
Although I am a loyal Sur la Table girl, I popped in here because I now live around the corner and needed something fairly urgently.
Granted it is the holidays, but given that it’s now Dec 23, you would think they’d have worked out the kinks in their system.
I’d list all the issues I had — including the most incompetent staff ever — but it wouldn’t be worth my time.
Instead, I’ll just say, do yourself a favor and had over to Sur la Table on 3^rd and Wilshire for a stress-​free experience in a much roomier store.

Excellent selection. Understaffed for the holiday weekend. Checkout process is a drag.

This is a terrible store. With terrible customer service. 75% of the high-​ticket items — cookware, knives, etc. require assistance to retrieve. But the staff is best at avoiding any semblance of assistance.
I went tonight to take advantage of some advertised holiday sales. Only to find that the all-​clad pans on advertised special were not available, and to have them shipped would make them ineligible for the sales price. The entire staff was unable to provide support to redeem coupons received from our wedding registry gifts, and was dismissive and unhelpful. For example, while asking for information on an all-​clad pot, a staffer looked at it, said she needed to check and wandered away mumbling into her walkie talkie «can you help him so I can finish my stuff?» Mind you she was unoccupied with work when I approached her. She couldn’t even politely let me know that another staffer would be helping. When asked about the model of pressure cooker they had — another staffer said she’d check and disappeared completely.
The only good staffer I’ve ever encountered here is Shane. He is thorough and helpful. Otherwise this store is basically nothing but a showcase for the online store — nothing is ever in stock, sales items are impossible to find and the staff and managers are atrocious. They don’t even know anything about the cookware and knives that they sell — I’d expect that at TJ Maxx — but Williams Sonoma?
If I could go back in time every single kitchen item on my registry would come from Sur la Table where the service is excellent and the in-​stocks are great. Hence I’ve spent more there in Santa Monica than at Wiliams Sonoma where we have more than $ 1000 in credit stacked up.

Although the floor managers have always been friendly and competent, I have come across one too many unhelpful sales clerks.
On one occasion, I came in looking for a cake platter. I asked how much a certain one cost, and the sales clerk, clearly annoyed that I would inquire about such a menial thing, responds, «I don’t know, $ 30, maybe $ 40,» adding «It’s not expensive,» as she shrugged my question off and made no offer to go check. Thanks for your guess and commentary, but I would have preferred the standard «Would you like me to check for you?»
«Ok…» I reply. «I think I would like to purchase this. Do you have it in stock?»
She proceeds towards the back to check, but then gets distracted helping another clerk helping a customer check out. 10 minutes pass and she still has not checked the inventory or told me how much it was. Another clerk comes by and asks if I have been helped. «Yes,» I reply, though I immediately regret it as several more minutes pass and my sales clerk still hasn’t returned. When she finally has time to talk to me again, she tells me they’re out of the cake platter and that I should just order it online. Sigh.
I ordered the cake platter, but, unfortunately, it came shattered. Probably the delivery guy’s fault, but he said UPS can’t be blamed if the item isn’t packaged properly (which it clearly wasn’t with just 2 thin styrofoam sheets to protect heavy glass). I went back to this location, and the sales clerk (different than the previous one) asks me whether I dropped it and that he has one and even had one shipped to his sister but neither of them had any problems with it breaking during transit. His tone wasn’t accusatory, but it was a very unnecessary question when I had already told him it was broken when I opened it. Sigh again.
There are some cool things about this store:
— all the Le Creuset colors
— free shipping: if you ask them to order something online, shipping is always free (in contrast to shopping on their website, where shipping is only free on orders $ 150+ unless there is a free shipping promo going on)
— occasional samples
— small parking lot behind the store

It’s not a huge store, but the service is really great. They are not overly pushy, but do ask if you need help if you look confused (me). They sell a lot of cute and beautiful items for the kitchen that you never knew you needed. Something to take off the leaves of a strawberry? Check. Mortar and pestle for guac? Check.
In any case, I came here to get housewarming gifts and found it to be perfect. They have smaller items for less than $ 20, as well as some larger more expensive items. You can find what you’re looking for here. In addition, they can tie a bow around the bag and stuff it with tissue paper for full effect.

I have always found the staff to be very nice and very helpful. Surprised to read the other reviews. Granted, I have only shopped here a handful of times, but the descriptions of poor customer service come as a bit of surprise.
I think the selection here is fine. It certainly is larger than some of the mall locations, but also smaller than some of the enormous locations like Beverly Hills. But, in a very Goldilocks fashion, I think this size is just right. Any smaller and the selection would likely drop off; too much larger it would be overwhelming.