Husband and I ordered an 8-foot Elfa shelf-and-desk solution. When we brought home our order, we found that every single standard was scratched over 12-24 inches. We brought the standards back only to replace them, but as it turned out, ALL of the standards they had were scratched. We waited a week to come get new ones. We made sure to ask them prior to pull five good, unscratched standards for us before we came, since driving down I-35 and through south metro construction to get there was a pain. I called to confirm, twice, and made sure to reiterate that we wanted unscratched standards pulled. My husband drove all the way there only to find that, again, the standards were scratched (the manager of that area, Sarah, said that they weren't scratched, but scuffed--really it's semantics. If vigorous scrubbing doesn't get the LARGE black marks off without damaging the finish, I call those marks "scratched," particularly when they are accompanied by dings and dents). Why, I asked, didn't they call us to let us know there was a problem? No real answer. Sarah made sure to be defensive about the whole thing from start to finish, though, calling me "particular" for wanting unscratched standards. She also claimed that this just didn't happen--these standards were never scratched. She offered us a 10% discount for the standards, which was insulting, since the first time we brought them back, we were offered 30% off. After my husband told her that it was unacceptable to insult me (by calling me particular), she apologized and gave us a gift card. I need to mention that to be fair.
I talked to the general manager the next day (I think John). First, he gave me this really well-rehearsed spiel that went something like, "I know that you'll be a returning customer with us, and I know you realize that we are all about excellent customer service." As I said to him, I resented the investor-speak and cheap psychology. No, I didn't know that The Container Store was all about excellent customer service, and whether I would be a returning customer remained to be seen. Then, he said that the standards are always scratched, but that people don't complain about it. Finally, he insinuated that I must have yelled at or insulted Sarah for her to behave as she did, which then really did anger me. Because I was incredibly calm the whole way through my conversation with her. I never insulted her, not once, yet she went right to an insult as soon as she ran out of other defensive maneuvers. I am laser sharp with arguments--I taught college rhetoric and argument before a career in marketing--and I don't need cheap insults to make my point known. Neither do I need to raise my voice. So, John, you will have to come up with some other reason for Sarah's mysteriously defensive reaction--perhaps, that there just was no excuse for a substandard product and substandard customer service, and she knew it.
In the end, John offered really nothing. My options were to accept the standards or not accept them. I am the one that came up with an alternative solution, which was to try the white standards instead of platinum (since he said that "for some reason"--shouldn't he know why?--the white ones came through with less damage). But in the end, my husband and I wondered why we should give The Container Store our business at all. So we took the whole thing back (that makes trip number 3, for those keeping count at home).
Frankly, other reviews I read at Google were spot on. The other staff I encountered either cheerfully ignored my husband and I when we needed help, or they incessantly followed us and badgered us to buy Elfa.
There was one person who was helpful without being intrusive. I don't know her name; she was incredibly tall, with long brown hair. Find her if you really, really must have Elfa. Otherwise, do what I did, and decide it's not worth it. Elfa could be a good product. But coupled with annoying if not ineffectual Container Store staff, and with substandard packaging methods, Elfa's going to go the way of the Dodo. That's my prediction, anyway. read more