The Grommet

The refund posted today. So they got that right…

Terrible. I ordered December 9, credit card charged December 10. Today is December 22. I STILL have not received the order. It’s shipping from California to California. The USPS tracking says a label was made, but the item was never received by them from the vendor. Yet, this company is the only company I’ve had issues with. The Grommet is blaming ALL the shipping companies (FED EX, UPS, USPS) for not updating tracking systems, for the same consistent issue. Their Facebook page is filled with the same complaint.

Online customer service is helpful but doesn’t know the company processes in regard to shipping.

My advice: Shop with caution:
PROS: fast shipping, unique products, helping small (er) businesses, able to shop by category (made in US etc)
CONS: I was not happy with my experience. One item I ordered came scratched, and another item turned out to have been over-​sold and instead of informing me they just refunded me and told me when I followed up. In this day and age with online shopping there is no excuse for not having an inventory control system even when working with other businesses. To have this happen at Christmas time is beyond frustrating. I have to fly to visit my family and now have to resort to a lame gift card for my Uncle since I don’t have time to find a new gift and have it shipped in time. When I told them of my frustrations with my experience I rec’d just a generic «we care what you think so we can improve our company» blah blah blah statement sent from Zen Desk which is what some companies use to have standard responses for customer service. I won’t shop with them again. I have always had the best experience with Etsy, red envelope and amazon for gift shopping. I may just go to the grommet site to see products I like and then find those businesses websites and order directly from that business owner (plus then they make more money b/​c aren’t having to pay a fee to be sold through the grommet so I would be helping that business out more). The last item shipped fine as described. so 2 out of 3 products that I had problems with on my first order with this company is not a good impression.

OK. Since posting the my review last year, I have noticed that The Grommet’s review system has been reworked. Also, I found a Grommet that was actually something I was unable to get elsewhere and decided to give it a try. I was impressed with how fast the shipping was and the product was great. In light of my latest experiences, I am upgrading my rating to three stars and if I have a few more good transactions, I might even delete my first review and go up to 4 stars.
I still wouldn’t give TheGrommet 5 stars, because many of the products are overpriced and many of them simply aren’t as useful as they could be ($ 20.00 + Shipping for a dozen cookies is absolutely OVER THE TOP). But 3.5 stars for sure — maybe even 4 stars because not only is the review system better than it was, I have lately seen some genuinely awesome looking items. There are a few Grommets in my cart even as I type this. So I am open-​minded and willing to change my opinion, and I’m glad to see that The Grommet is improving as they grow. I hope to come back next year and give them a full-​blown 4 stars!

I needed to change my shipping address and Grommet failed to assist me.
Upon getting confirmation of my order, I noticed the shipping address is wrong.
I tried changing it online but had no option to do so. This was MINUTES after sending order.
I waited until noon PST to call Grommet and spoke to a customer rep named Jackie who informed me that she couldn’t make any changes. I told her this was baffling and unacceptable and asked to speak to a manager.
Manager Adam called me back and confirmed what Jackie said about not having any recourse to change the order. I told Adam this was INFURIATING + UNACCEPTABLE that Grommet does not have the software or a system to make the simplest of changes to an order and instead putting it me to resolve my issue.
Manager Adam gave me the option to a) have the item delivered to the wrong address (old CA address) and arrange to have a neighbor return the item or b) get the tracking number and arrange for the shipping company to forward.
I let Adam know that these options AGAIN put the burden on me, the customer, to correct the situation, and that the impact of such poor customer policies time is time wasted for me not to mention the joy it’s sucked out of using my gift certificate (from a friend who was so excited about Grommet) and paying additional $$ on top of it.
SO as a result, I waste an additional hour of my time trying to resolve this issue and NOT getting what I need.
Finally, I ask for a refund instead.
Manager Adam complies and assures me that my refunds will happen within a week or so.
I report all this because I think it’s incredibly important to not just be thought of as a raving lunatic customer because I’m offering genuine feedback to improve your systems and to bring more joy for everyone all around. Grommet has awesome unique goods from smaller companies and I’d be more excited about buying and supporting but this incident gives me the message that Grommet DOES NOT CARE OR THINK MUCH ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS once they hit the purchase button.
GROMMET, be nice. Please make it easier for your customers.

I have been ordering from the Grommet for the past few years and thought they were fantastic until this year. I placed an order on the 8^th of December for Christmas which never arrived! When I attempted to contact them about it I waited on hold for over 20 minutes and then got directed to leave a message. Long story short they ended up just cancelling the order without even contacting me. I did try to place another order and had the shipping expedited. I attempted to call them several times the day I placed this order to ensure its arrival but no one picked up. I also emailed them. This order also never arrived and still hasn’t almost a week later. They have also failed to reply to my emails and messages. I use to refer all of my friends and family but I certainly will not be doing that and will never order from them again! Very disappointed!