So today it’s straight to the nitty gritty because I have some running around to do. And yes, it’s still Mission Sofa.
After spending ages online, and dealing with an increasingly frustrated Dad who honestly would prefer there to just be a seat where there needs to be a seat and does not want to know the painstaking research it takes to get there, we’d settled on a cute velvet sofa from Wayfair.
It was highly rated, mostly, with some people complaining about quality or wear, but there isn’t a thing online where someone doesn’t complain about that.
And I was all ready to check out when I noticed that it was telling me I could have full service delivery for free. What a bonus!
So I checked it. And then noticed.
It was still charging $99 for the delivery.
If I tried the other forms that said free, the price dropped. It would accept my “welcome” discount. But it was still charging for the delivery.
So I contacted customer service. I’m sure we’ve all heard bad things about Wayfair customer service. In fact I think they’re kind of notorious in that way, but people roll the dice and hope for the best. This was ludicrous.
I was told it didn’t say what it said. I asked if I could send a screenshot. The customer service person said no, that wasn’t possible. I discovered myself that I could upload a photo.
Even after sending it, she said she understood it must be “frustrating” but it must be a technical glitch. I explained that if you tell someone something is free and then charge for it, that’s fraudulent. She was not moved.
And of course, if it’s a “technical issue,” how many people are induced to pick that option, and then eventually pay for it anyway to save the hassle? How many people don’t notice the extra charge in their total?
Can you imagine all those $99 piling up?
It would have been easily resolved if she just made good on what the checkout page said, that the full service delivery was free, but she didn’t even offer. I was really disturbed by the lie that she couldn’t accept a screenshot, and equally disturbed by the fact that though there is a “download transcript” button on the chat, it is grayed out. So aside from screenshots, I couldn’t save it.
I do have screenshots, at least.
I told her I was going to report it to the state attorney general, and I did. I wasn’t personally harmed as I’m not going to buy anything from them (imagine if there was an issue with the furniture! I guess the disgust for Wayfair customer service is more experience than hyperbole).
But I do worry about people who do complete the transaction and are upcharged without their knowledge or otherwise harmed. And if this is the “error” that I saw, what other “errors” are there? Prices that jump at checkout? Discounts that vanish?
If there was a technical error, it’s that I didn’t receive the discount, not that it told me I had one.
Anyway, the sofa search continues, this time in physical stores. Not my FAVORITE endeavor, but we’ll get there, eventually.
If you do shop from Wayfair, please look at your totals carefully, make sure it applies any discounts, and if people list issues with the furniture itself, please be careful, because it seems unlikely the company will address them.
And with that I wish you a lovely Friday and weekend with the most comfortable of seats.
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