West Elm

I have shopped at West elm for years off and on. I love most of the styles and find inspiration walking through the different showroom layouts. I would love to use their free design services but since they are free it’s back ordered by 2 – 3 weeks generally. I have ordered many pieces and have found items to be hit or miss for my needs.
Helpful info & what I’ve found out:
Most things on the showroom are not able to be taken home day of and take 6 – 8 weeks to ship without shipping and delivery fees to ship from a warehouse. I purchase online and pay the fees to get it sooner usually (unless something is so popular its back ordered).
I can return anything within 30 days no matter where I purchased it to the store, with or without boxes. After 30 days is hit or miss depending on the situation. Non receipted is store credit only.
The showroom does not have everything from online; they do have free fabric samples for most pieces; rug samples you can buy, then return within 30 days.
There is not warranty on furniture outside of the 30 day return policy or manufacturer warranty (damaged goods).
A lot of their pieces are hand made (loomed) so they cost $$$.
The worst time to come shop seems to be Saturday 1 – 6. Weekdays especially 11 – 4 are pretty slow.
Always check the sale sections for huge mark downs. The also have a flee market section– those are final sale. Sometimes they have extra 15% off sale items otherwise you can never stack discounts.
The plants I’ve bought there never live long (vs the local nurseries).
With only an item # I’ve been as to find no longer available online items, such as bedding, in stores all over that can be shipped.
If you can’t order something online like a piece of a couch sectional– it might be so back ordered they stopped letting people order pieces. It’s not discontinued.
When you sign up for they’re credit card you get lots of free $ to spend there– rewards for $ you spend, as well as birthday gifts and coupons.

We were buying one tiny $ 10 item and the person at the counter made us wait for over 5 minutes. She kept paging for someone over and over and she just stood there talking to another worker. Lame. The store is nice but the staff was not particularly helpful.

The merchandise at WE is trendy, cute, affordable and generally pretty well made. I was super excited when the SLU store opened, because I had loved getting the catalogue for years.
The problem with this store is that their customer service is horrendous. They are so understaffed that you are pretty much on your own. Today, we went in to buy some pillows. A gal started to help us, then disappeared. We waited at the cash register to pay as one guy was doing a very long and complicated return for a customer. The most shocking part was that 2 employees each came up to the desk, looked at us waiting, checked the shift schedule and went on their break!
I will stick with ordering online from WE…

It took 2 months to get my couch, but everyone at their store is super nice and did whatever they could (discounts, free delivery) to make up for the delay. If you’re going to buy something from west elm, it will probably take a while, but at least the managers at this store knows how to help!

Oh man. Stick to their website if you want to do anything other than see items in person. This store has a super strange layout where the employees hide in back corners or pretend not to see you when you want to give them money. They really should hire two full time people to stay at the register and welcome people to the store. Every single time I have tried to buy something there (whether it be $ 10 or $ 1000) I have had to track someone down and ask «can someone please help me?» I’m over it.

Never order anything from WE… worst customer experience. After 10 weeks of waiting for an upholstered bed (standard fabric, back-​ordered but predicted to deliver in 6 – 8 weeks), they still can’t give an estimated delivery time, as of today, because they have no idea where 1 of 3 boxes for the order is located. Over 10 weeks to get 3 boxes from Dallas to Seattle??? Calling in to customer service is a nightmare. Be prepared to be bounced, transferred, and disconnected.
I cancelled my WE order and will never furniture shop there again. I had to crow bar a cancellation email from the umpteenth cust service rep I was passed to because they «don’t do those» for when an order is cancelled and refund should be processed…
Meanwhile, Room & Board was amazingly helpful and will have a similar bed delivered in 6 days. I should have started there 10 weeks ago…

Bridal registry was a disaster. Items purchased were not marked off. We were told the system may have been down, but how is the system down for months? West Elm will not let you get cash back, even if you have proof of purchase.
Customer service is terrible.

I am a loyal customer of West Elm starting in Portland, OR. I must say that the store in Pearl District knows what customer service is.
Today, 10/​8, at 6:30pm, I went to the Seattle store in the S. Lake Union location. At around 7pm, I was ready to pay for my things. I waited for almost ½ hr w/​1 customer ahead of me who was taking her time to ask questions about products. There was only 1 salesperson behind the counter. There was another counter a few feet away, so I walked over and asked if a gentleman to help me. He said that he was already closing out the till and to go back to where I was. I went back in line thinking that he’d call for help. I stood in line for another 10 mins, before I walked over to where he was and told him «I think you all are too busy to check me out.» I left the merchandise on a coffee table and walked out the store. What was the issue? I would like to give the store personnel the benefit of the doubt. Is it an issue with not enough people working this evening or do they need to understand what customer service means? It was lost revenue. Very disappointed.

I’m a big WE fan and have visited and shopped at a lot of their stores on the East Coast.
What other reviewers have mentioned is true… The store has a slightly awkward layout, and there didn’t seem to be staff «walking the floor» /​available to help customers. There was a line at the checkout the whole time I was there (one cashier). The staff I did see helping customers seemed a little overwhelmed (between answering phones/​dealing with in-​store customers/​order pickups). First impression was that it is not a very smooth operation.
I still love the product/​brand and the merchandising is great… I would be a little hesitant to do more than «buy off the shelf» items though (i.e. furniture/​custom orders)…

I am disappointed in the brand. I bought the Hamilton sofa last month. All of the zippers have broken (I have a hoody from forever 21 that I bought for $ 10 eight years ago — the zipper still works), the filling is falling apart and there are feathers all over my living space. The couch was not supposed to be down filled — it is. I’m allergic. When I sit in the couch, it reminds me of messy college parties in undergrad. You sit on a couch and get stuck and a friend has to pull you out. They say it’s a firm couch. It feels like this couch is old and worn out. I have called nine times. They refuse to replace my couch. They will only send new down-​filled cushions. I’ve been polite, because I recognize that the person I’m speaking to did not build this couch, but the managers will not call me back to discuss options. If there is a district manager out there, or someone from corporate, please read this and help. This has been an awful experience. I hope that no one else has this experience. I hope this helps.

I just paid $ 2.50 to walk into the store for only five minutes. They no longer validate the full price of parking so you have to pay at least that much. But there is no sign letting you know that before you park. Frustrating.

I purchased some things online and needed to come in and return them. First off getting into the parking garage was a nightmare with all the construction and the denny triangle but I made it in. Thank god.
The staff was really nice and friendly when I was walking around, asking if I needed help or if I wanted to set my things up at the counter that I had in hand.
I loved how they had a local artist section in the store too which was really cool.
I will definitely be back but West Elm — if you are reading this — please put a location in Bellevue!

I have had plenty of customer service nightmares with this company, along being disappointed in the quality of items for the price and their ridiculous shipping costs, but that is not today’s point.
This, however, is to warn you that they NO LONGER VALIDATE FOR FREE PARKING, even though their misleading sign says they now validate for half of the 2 hours or somesuch. I came in to pick up a phone order for a small item. I was there for 15 minutes max while they picked it out from the back (and considered browsing longer). I paid $ 2.44 for 15 minutes of parking. I rang for assistance from parking services and was told that was West Elm’s policy. Find street parking or impose on their loading dock if you have to pick something up. I can’t imagine how much it would cost you if you had to stand around and wait a while for a large item to make it out.

West Elm. Whats not to love? Stylish products, amazing atmosphere, I am never unimpressed with this location and it’s availability. One thing I have noticed a lot about West Elm though, is some products that you would expect to be quite pricey are very cheap, and the ones that you would think would cost nothing, cost an arm and a leg. I haven’t quite figured out why.
I love that they send me email coupons all the time, they also have a great selection online of FREE SHIPPING products. Not bad! I hate paying for shipping and I love their products, so its a win-​win!

This review is for send sales. I call this store with ridiculous requests all the time — most recently for some sale toffee that my husband fell in love with and my local stores were all sold out. Anna came to my rescue and found 12 tins — I joked that my savings on this candy will probably be exceeded by the related dental bill but cest la vie!
Not only do they listen, but they also ship quickly and confirm every detail.
When I’m considering the service I get in most CA stores, I am happy to call on WE Seattle and have my items shipped.
Good job guys :)

DO NOT ORDER ANY FURNITURE IF YOU WANT IT IN THE ESTIMATED TIME. Seriously, so disappointed in this company. Still don’t have 4 pieces I ordered a month ago– estimated delivery 1 – 3 week– some of the items they can’t even guesstimate when they will be available to be shipped!!!
What a bummer.

I love love West Elm’s products. Stylish, reasonably priced and tons of mid-​century modern pieces. What more could a girl want? Better customer service, that’s what! I went in to pick up a desk I had ordered and to purchase a new floor lamp. We were greeted by a girl who asked if we needed help. I told her what was up and right away I could tell something was really off. I told her I came in for this specific lamp and I wanted to see the floor model. She took me to it, and I told her the price it was listed for online ($ 183, normally $ 250) and she stared blankly at me and said, «No. That’s not right.» I insisted that it was and she stared at me some more like I had gone in and altered the price online myself. I was starting to get uncomfy and when she returned from doing the price check she just said, «Yeah, it’s $ 183. I don’t know why it says that.» Um, sorry? It was awkward.
Her service was a level of weird that was really off-putting…I had spent a lot of money at the store and I just felt like the wasn’t giving me the level of service I should’ve been getting. I felt like I was annoying her with all of my questions and it puzzled me that she would just stare at me blankly when I asked perfectly reasonable questions, «Can I buy the floor model? How long does it take to arrive?» Basics! I saw her being friendly to others. what did I do wrong? Sad times.

Buying 4 custom upholstered chairs from west elm was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. It has to be the worst furniture buying experience I’ve ever had in 30 years of buying furniture. In my opinion you get a Better experience buying furniture at IKEA — at least you know when and in what condition your furniture is going to be delivered and assembled — by yourself.
«By yourself» pretty much sums up the experience of buying furniture at west elm.
The time from purchase to delivery of custom upholstered furniture was about normal. However from the point of delivery onward was a complete disgrace to the furniture industry.
My issues with west elm:
Furniture delivered filthy
Deliverymen tracked mud throughout my house and didn’t clean it up
Deliveryman shrug shoulders when told that there are pieces missing
Deliveryman left without so much as A thank you
Upon immediate call to West Elm customer service — promises were made and immediately broken within two days– I’ll call you on Monday with a status” never happened.
Delivery cost is absolutely ridiculous
Three months after my furniture was delivered and several calls to customer service my missing pieces finally showed up.
I will never buy anything from this terrible company again.

I received an offer from West Elm to join there study circle to receive a student discount. I received an e-​mail with a promo code that said I could use it online or visit my local store with my student I.D. I was going to order online but decided to call my local store to see if the items I wanted were in stock. The phone rang and rang and rang. I had to call back several times. I got an associate and asked if the items I wanted were there and was told there was plenty, no need to hold them.
I got off work an drove downtown to the store on Westlake Ave. The associate seemed to be more interested in talking to one another than helping anyone. I finally got ones attention and asked if they could direct me to the items I was looking for. I was told they didn’t have two of them in stock but they would check on the others.
They came back with the others and told me the item I wanted was old and that it wasn’t carried anymore, that it must not have sold well. I was put off by the comment but knew that wasn’t the case because it was online and not discounted. I proceeded to the register to pay and the items rang up for more than they were online. I asked why it was more expensive and then gave them my student I. D to apply the discount. The girl called over another associate and I was told I couldn’t apply it to a sale item. I explained it allowed me to apply it only zinc the e-​mail said it would apply in store.
The associate asked me to prove it so I showed her the e-​mail. Then I showed her the check out with the applied discount. She replied with she couldn’t do it and that I should then order it online. I’m standing at the register in disbelief. I replied that I have been

So… I know that you’re totally not supposed to do this but I always come to the store to look at what the furniture looks like in person. Then I go home and purchase it online. I know that there are shipping fees, etc. but it’s so worth my mental sanity.
Whenever I come here, whether it’s during the week or on the weekend, it is SWAMPED here. I hate waiting in the long lines only to find the sales associate follows a customer and doesn’t return. Then a new line forms and you have to figure out where the end is. And, they never seem to have anything in the store actually in stock.
I was looking for a filing cabinet to go with a desk that I bought and it wasn’t available. Neither were the curtain rods I was looking for. Or curtains. So I just went online — used one of the dozens of coupons that I received in the mail to offset the shipping, and then called it a day.
Glad that they opened this location but they need to hire more sales associates. Stat.