But something happened to me recently and I feel the need to share it with the world at large so that it doesn't happen to any of my friends, family, readers and loved ones. Please, people, don't be as stupid as me, ok?
Let me take you back to December for a sec. Mike and I were nearing a point where we were ready to order the mirrors for our master bedroom. We'll be getting the TV off the dresser soon and onto the wall, and the mirrors are the showpiece of the room. (Here they are, left, in the
I had found the mirrors at CSN stores (now Wayfair), but when I checked my wish list in December, the mirrors had been taken off. Either they aren't stocking them anymore, or they've been discontinued. My mind immediately went to discontinued (remember this incident recently?) and I panicked. I was able to find the mirrors at a couple more places, but they were back ordered. This increased my panic, and I was worried the model was being discontinued.
I turned to Google shopping. I end up finding a lot of stuff through there as Google image searches tend to be rather fruitful for me. Now, typically when I buy from a place I've never purchased from before, I do my due diligence. I check out their ratings and rankings, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't this time.
When I saw that the first site listed had a good star rating, and 12k+ reviews (the first couple of pages of which only have a couple negative reviews - and every store gets negative reviews, I find them all the time on Overstock and I still shop there) I thought going with OneWay Furniture would be a safe bet.
I was very, very, very wrong. And that's what leads me to my post today.
I ordered 2 of the mirrors in December (you need to put 2 together to get the effect in the sample photo). Yes, I spent over $500 on mirrors - please don't slap me. If you're going to slap me, do it over what I spend at Kate Spade in a weekend - I deserve it. But I looked at these mirrors as an investment piece: they are from a high-end designer, we got a deal on everything else in the room (or it was free, or we made it), so it was just one of those high/low situations where I couldn't find a "low" substitute so "high" it was.
A week after I ordered them, I finally got a shipping notification.... the mirrors wouldn't be coming until 2/24. Ok... not exactly my ideal, we spent a lot of money on them and I'm excited about them - I kind of wanted them quicker, but I get that they are coming direct from the manufacturer and I'll just have to be patient (not my strong suit, we all know). Then, last weekend while my Mum and I were at Ikea picking up Mike's office furniture (more on that later), I got an email that the mirrors would not be shipping 2/24. They'd be shipping 3/6.
I was, um... a little irate. Seriously? Four months to get these things? Since the only emails I got from the company were shipment delays with no explanations, I decided to give them a call to see what was up. Again, something I don't normally do - but all these delays were making me further suspect that the mirrors had indeed been discontinued, and if I waited any longer, I might not be able to get them at all, from any vendor. So when we got home from Ikea, I got on the phone. For two hours. Yes, that's right, TWO HOURS. I couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone there. I called, and called, and called some more. And then, despite saying they were open until 6:00 pm EST, at 5:30 I got a recorded message that I'd called outside of business hours. That kind of sent a rocket up my ass. I emailed the company through their site to inquire about the delay, and left a message on their voicemail (to date, neither one of these emails or messages were ever returned or acknowledged).
At this point, I started doing some deeper Googling on OneWay and once I got past the benign Google shopping page, found all sorts of negative reviews. Yeesh. Had I seen these before, I never would've purchased from this company in the first place. The star rating at the top is totally deceptive - when you read the reviews underneath, it's the same story as mine.
On Monday, I again tried to call the company to see what the delay was. I was also considering just canceling the order after I read all those bad reviews. After an hour, I still couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone, no matter what option I tried for the different departments. I had basically had it, so I filled out their online form to cancel my order. I got no acknowledgement from that. I decided to call another company, Arcadian Lighting (who were second on that Google shopping list from above).
I can't even begin to tell you how nice, understanding, and helpful the folks at Arcadian Lighting are. I'm going to be shopping there for the foreseeable future based on their customer service alone - fantastic service they gave, I might add, before I was even a paying customer. The first man I spoke with at Arcadian was amazing - he even called Ren-Wil (the manufacturer) to see what the hold up with production on the mirrors was. When he came back, he told me they could get it for me in 2 weeks most likely, but he told me it could always take longer because the manufacturer could push it back (which was fine with me, because at this point I'm talking to a real, live human being who is being helpful and giving me answers). Plus, 2 weeks was a heckuva lot quicker than 2 months, so I decided to try calling OneWay again to cancel my original order, and then re-order through Arcadian.
Low and behold, the clouds parted, angels sang - someone picked up the phone at OneWay (yes, it took me another 30 minutes this time around). I talked to a jovial woman who got a kick out of me apologizing for the rather sternly worded emails I had sent through their website. She told me she canceled the order and a confirmation would be sent to the email address I provided in the order.
I instantly called back Arcadian and ordered the mirrors from them, this time speaking with a girl who was so pleasant and upbeat, it made my day better. They also extended me a nice discount for all the trouble I had been through. Arcadian was my shining knight on horseback that day.
Tuesday passes, and I'm wondering why I haven't gotten that cancellation from OneWay yet. No biggie, I think, I'll call if I haven't gotten it by Wednesday. If I can get someone to pick up the phone, that is. Wednesday rolls around with an email from them sitting in my inbox. "It must be my cancellation," I think.
Wrong.
It was a shipping notification. Not only had the order NOT been canceled, it had been shipped.
What...THE...$%#&!!
So I call OneWay. AGAIN. Wait on hold for an hour, AGAIN. This time, I'm crafty - I figure if they are going to pick up any line, it's the one to place an order, so I select that option in the menu. Yes, someone does pick up the phone - she's nice, and I feel bad that I'm about to be cranky, but I'm past this nonsense. I explain the situation, and when she takes my order number, she says - get ready for this:
"I don't have any record that this order was canceled."
I must've looked like someone slapped me clear across my face. No, I definitely called, I definitely canceled. She kept insisting there was nothing in the notes, no cancellation put through - according to them I never even called. She wanted to know who I spoke to, and when I couldn't produce a name (please, I can't even remember my own sometimes), I described the woman. Since there is only a few people working there (apparently) she said she knew who I was talking about. She put me on hold for a second, and when she came back, said:
"I spoke to her and she said she never talked to you."
OMFGRUKM? I was like - listen, I'm not lying, I'm not making this up. I'm not some kind of sociopath that likes to torment discount furniture companies. I can produce at least five coworkers who walked by my desk during lunch on Monday who can assure you that I did indeed call. She told me that she was sure I did, but they had no record and there was nothing to do now except accept the shipment. She offered to talk to her manager to try and get me a discount for the trouble - but I was dubious I'd ever hear back.
At the same time, I had to email Arcadian to tell them to cancel my order because while I love these mirrors, I do not, in fact, need four of them. They of course were wonderful and understanding - we have several things coming up to purchase and I'm definitely going to their site first, no question.
Then, later this afternoon, surprise, surprise - I got a call back from the nice girl at OneWay (despite how I feel about the company this girl in particular was very helpful and did seem to care - so kudos to her). She couldn't offer me much except a small dollar amount off my purchase. Like enough to buy coffee. Yeah, sure, fine, whatever - I took it. I had no fight in me left at that point.
So, the moral of this story? Google like a mo' fo. And always, ALWAYS look at more than one review site. I'll be honest - it takes a lot to fool me usually, and boy was I an idiot with this one. In my defense, the listing on Google didn't spell trouble - but I really should have kept going, kept digging.
In any case, the mirrors are now on their way. I just hope they are in pristine condition because I was also told (while being accused of not canceling the order) that the manufacturer doesn't accept returns. Let's hope Ren-Wil knows how to properly pack their mirrors (and since they make and ship them worldwide, I'm banking on the fact that they do).
PS - Life As We Know It (movie) has been playing round the clock on HBO lately, and if you look closely at the entryway in the stunning home/set they used for the movie, 2 of these mirrors flank each side of the front door :) Yes, only I notice this kind of sh*t.
























