I recently made my first purchase of furniture and home accessories from Crate & Barrel, and unfortunately, I encountered multiple issues throughout the process.
1. Delivery Issues
I requested that my items not be delivered before my move-in date, but two of them were shipped much earlier than expected. This caused unnecessary stress. In the end, one item was delivered, and my apartment management kindly held onto it for me, while the other had to be returned for a refund. Since I originally purchased with a 15% first-time discount, repurchasing the item would cost more, which is disappointing.
2. COI (Certificate of Insurance) Problems
My apartment management required the COI to be submitted at least 48 hours in advance, but Crate & Barrel initially planned to send it just one day before delivery. I emailed my sales representative to request an earlier submission, but I never received a response. Two days later, I sent a follow-up email and received an out-of-office auto-reply stating that they would be unavailable for a week. It was frustrating to realize that they had knowingly ignored my email before leaving. I then contacted the alternative contact listed in the auto-reply, but they also did not respond.
Since I was getting nowhere via email, I called customer service, but due to high call volumes, I had to leave a voicemail--and never received a callback. Eventually, I reached out via online chat, and they assured me that the COI would be submitted more than 72 hours before the delivery. However, around the same time, the alternative contact from my sales representative finally emailed me. I responded immediately, only to receive another out-of-office auto-reply, meaning they had ignored my message until they left as well.
Despite the online chat agent's promise, the COI was still not submitted by the 72-hour mark. When I contacted chat support again, they claimed the COI had already been approved and sent to my management company. However, when I checked with the management, they had not received it. I contacted chat support again, and a different agent informed me that the COI process had not even started yet and would take another 24 hours. This meant that both the previous agents had lied.
At this point, I no longer trusted the chat support team, so I called customer service again. A different agent confirmed that the COI process was only just beginning and would take another day. When I finally received the COI, the address was incorrect, but fortunately, they corrected it quickly.
3. Lost Package Incident
One of my items, a comforter, was marked as delivered by FedEx, but my apartment management never received it. When I contacted Crate & Barrel about this, they told me they would send a replacement only if I provided a copy of a police report. To obtain the report, I would need to visit the police station in person on a weekday, and processing would take up to 72 hours. This meant I wouldn't have a proper comforter for over a week. Thankfully, a kind friend gave me a blanket in the meantime.
My friend was shocked that Crate & Barrel required a police report for a lost package and suggested I mention it in my review. I do understand that companies need to prevent fraudulent claims, but since my apartment management confirmed they never received the package, I wish they had handled the situation with more flexibility.
I still have pending deliveries and need to submit the police report, so if more issues arise, I will update this review. read more