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ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MEXICO, MISSISSIPPI -- If you live in Canada I suggest you never do business with the US company Brookstone because if you have a problem with your purchase you are going to get the run around. I bought a massager for $226 it stopped working, called to arrange a refund, six weeks later nothing. Called in and was told that the refund was coming through Borderfree who handles their Canadian orders apparently. I was told to call Borderfree at a long distance number! I said no, you call them and speak to them, I did business with you. After a few minutes listening to customer care robotic babble I asked to speak to a manager who repeated the same babble using slightly better vocabulary. Even though upon purchase I was told if there were any issues with the product I had a year to return it. I ended the call and minutes later got an email from Borderfree, What a Coincidence saying they had refunded me $10.49 from my $226 order. LMAO!! I called back and told a supervisor called Lauren (ex 6825) rude, arrogant and clearly hired to cover Brookstone's ar**. I told her what I thought of my Brookstone experience then promptly called Paypal who fortunately for me was my method of payment. I opened a dispute to get my money back and filed a complaint against the lying, thieving Brookstone. BUYER BEWARE.

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Brookstone - Good Point of Sale - Lousy Customer Service
By -

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- This is a long and winding tale of a purchase and delivery done awry. Please bear with me and read through the entire series of events. I pray that this does not happen to anyone else. I recently purchased a Tempur-Pedic Mattress and Foundation from one of Brookstone's retail stores. When making the purchase, I stressed to both the store manager and the salesman that the time frame of the delivery was extremely important due to fact that the my family was relocating from a rental home to a condo at the end of the month and we did not have a mattress in the new condo.

I made the purchase on Monday, March 22, 2010. I was assured by the manager that the delivery would occur between 5 to 7 business days. I was agreeable to the time frame because the seventh business day (figuring the day I placed the order would not count) would be on March 31, the final day my family would be permitted to remain in our rental home prior to the move. I paid the approximately $1800 and placed the order. The store manager mentioned to me that he would follow-up on the progress of the order with the delivery company because sometimes that helps expedite the delivery process.

I placed a call to the store manager four days later, Friday, March 26, 2010, to ask about the status of the order. He checked on the order and then told he would need to call me back. Never a good sign. I received a call from the salesman, informing me that there had been a mix-up with the order and they had accidentally shipped only the foundation without the mattress. I was told the best thing to do at this point would be to cancel the original order and process and entirely new order. This was Friday afternoon and the order would not officially be processed until Monday, March 29, 2010.

Obviously, I was not going to get the mattress in time for my move. I was very frustrated and annoyed. The salesman was very apologetic and offered me a gift card for $200. I accepted the gift card, but knew in the back of my mind, that if necessary a hotel is going to end up costing me a lot more than that. As I previously mentioned, my family did not have any alternate mattress to sleep on in the new condo. The mattress we were using in the rental home belonged to the landlord. At this point, after March 31, I was left with no choice but to place my wife and four year old son in a hotel until the new mattress arrived.

The next day, I received a phone call from a delivery company wanting to schedule a delivery date for the mattress. We scheduled the date of Tuesday, April 6, 2010. The catch was, they did not actually have the mattress at that point and they could not guarantee they would definitely be able to make the scheduled date. To say the least, I was not filled with confidence.

On Friday, April 2, I called the store manager to once again check the status of the bed. Once again they needed to call me back. Never good. I received a call from the salesman stating that according to the delivery company, the mattress was delivered on March 26 and signed for by some named **. My name is not **, nor do I know anyone named **. Plus, my new order was not even reprocessed until after that date. The delivery was an impossibility.

I then decided to make a return trip to the retail store to speak directly to the store manager to find out what was going on. My frustration was mounting. I was incurring costs associated with the hotel, I was in the process of moving and I was sleeping on the couch in the condo while my wife and son were in a hotel.

By the time I retrieved my order number, the customer service phone number as well as the phone number for the delivery company, it was too late in the day to place any calls. On Monday, April 5, I started to call all of the numbers. The delivery company number was a dead end. No one ever picked up the phone, always to voicemail.

When I contacted customer service, I was told they were not authorized to call the delivery company, they could only provide me with a Way Bill number. It was turning into a vicious circle of phone calls and dead ends, still with no concrete answers. At this point, I was unsure when and if I would be receiving the mattress. I had the tentative date of April 6, but no one at Brookstone could confirm the delivery.

The next day, Tuesday, April 6, I began my round of calls to the delivery company and customer service. It turns out the retail store provided me with the wrong delivery company and phone number. After countless calls to the delivery company, since Brookstone was not "authorized" to make the calls on my behalf, I was finally able to speak with someone who confirmed the delivery and the mattress and foundation were in fact delivered.

After everything that happened, I was left angry at the amount of effort I needed to put forth in order to get the mattress. It should not have been that way and that was the sentiment of every customers service person as well as the store manager and salesman. A kind customer service representative offered to escalate the complaint to someone who would try to compensate me for the issues that took place. The fact of the matter was, as a direct result of the delivery error, my family was now out-of-pocket just over $1100 for the required hotel stay.

After the complaint was escalated, I received a phone call from **, the assistant to the Vice President at Brookstone. She wanted to know what had happened and assured me she would look into the matter. Over the next week and a half, I exchanged emails with ** providing details when required. I let her know I was only looking for compensation for the hotel stay. I would accept half in store credit and a check for the other half. I provided both a credit card statement and a copy of the receipt from the hotel.

After about ten days, I received a formal email from ** that "Upon further review we are not able to offer any other compensation for the time frame of the bed delivery nor are we able to reimburse for any other expenses while waiting for the delivery of your bed." She mentioned that the bed was delivered only for business after originally promised. Basically she was saying, what is the big deal, take the $200 gift card and go away. She completely ignored the fact that I had to make countless phone calls and received either incomplete or inaccurate information from the Brookstone employees.

It is my opinion that you just do not treat customers this way. Customers should be able to make a purchase and then enjoy the purchase. They should not have to put forth any effort once the payment has been made. I feel I should at least be compensated for the money my family needed to spend as a direct result of the delivery error. I will no longer shop at Brookstone. This latest purchase was not my first, but it will definitely be my last.

Buyer beware. I will be telling anyone who will listen to not shop at Brookstone. They do not respect or value their customers. I promise, as a result of this incident, it is going to cost Brookstone a lot more in lost sales than if they would have simply done the right thing and reimbursed me for the cost of the hotel.

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Brookstone no longer backs up their products
By -

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- I bought a "Smart Set" clock from them. The advert said that you would never need to adjust it for daylight savings time! Wow! Great idea! I bought it! Then the gummit changed the law re when DST goes in and out of effect, and the clock, instead of needing to be adjusted never, now needs to be adjusted not TWO, but FOUR TIMES PER YEAR: Once when it automatically changes at the wrong time, then again when it needs to change but doesn't, then again at the next DST date. So FOUR TIMES PER YEAR instead of twice, the exact opposite of what the product promised!

I tried to return it and they said, "No, it's been out of warranty for over a year." I said, "But this is not a warranty issue, it's an issue of a faulty design and the product is obsolete after just 2 years!" They said they "couldn't do anything about it". We all know that "can't" means "won't" and this is the disease of most modern companies. They are short sighted. Rather than say "Yeah, you know, you have a point. I'll give you $15 towards a new clock." Then I'd go in there, no doubt find something else to buy as well and instead of LOSING A CUSTOMER AS THEY HAVE DONE, they would be gaining a loyal customer for life!

But when a company does not stand behind its FAULTY and now WORTHLESS product, they are basically saying, "We don't care." And it is clear Brookstone no longer cares about selling good quality products, nor about keeping its customers. Guess what, Brookstone? *YOU* LOSE!

I'm writing this all over the net, and am telling all my friends about how you don't stand behind your products. You must be Republicans! SHORT SIGHTEDNESS is the disease of our modern corporate world. I remember when at Brookstone, "the customer was always right" and they'd go out of their way to a) sell QUALITY products; and b) KEEP THEIR CUSTOMERS COMING BACK by promising to back up their products with liberal and sensible return policies.

Too bad. Another corporation gone the way of so many others: short sighted thinking, forgetting that return customers are their life blood. See ya later, Brookstone. Gee, I hope you don't go out of business!

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Brookstone Ships Products from Companies that no Longer Exist
By -

MEXICO, MISSISSIPPI -- I purchased a Vector Air Pro Air Inflator from Brookstone. The item was received and appears to work fine. Enclosed was a 2-year Vector warranty card which I completed and mailed in to the provided address. That's when the fun began. The card was returned indicating the address was not active and no forwarding address was available. When I tried to get a 411 operator to give me the telephone number for the company I discovered it was disconnected.

I called the Brookstone customer "service", assuming since they sold the product to me they would help in obtaining a warranty. I was informed that Vector was out of business (for the past six months) and warranty matters were now handled by Black and Decker. The Brookstone customer "service" operator had called Black and Decker and then gave me the number. She indicated she did not have the time to stay on the line and punch in all of the numbers and then wait for a response. That was my job.

After a long wait on the Black and Decker line I was informed by a customer service person that they had sold this company (Vector) to a company called EACCUS six months ago and I had to contact them directly. When I asked both the Brookstone and Black and Decker operators why they were still shipping products with warranty cards that were six months out of date I received no response and was told that was my problem to deal with. Now get ready for the kicker. When I called EACCUS I could not get through to an agent but the recording indicated if I was calling about air inflator warranties I should contact, guess who: Black and Decker.

So Brookstone won't follow up on the warranty for a product they sold to me from a company they knew no longer existed. I expected they would at least obtain the proper warranty address. Black and Decker tells me to get my warranty information from EACCUS. And now EACCUS sends me back to Black and Decker. Shame on you Brookstone. You sold it to me with an outdated warranty card from a company no longer in business and put in absolutely no effort to resolve this when the problem was raised. I put this information into the communication box you provide on your Website and have had no response. So much for customer service.

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Non-Refund Policy - Simi Valley, CA store
By -

SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA -- On Oct 3, 2010, I purchased 2 helicopters for $50 from the San Diego, CA store, plus $3.99 for each extended warranty replacement plan. The San Diego store was very friendly and helpful and told me that after 30 days of the initial standard warranty, I can the exchange a damaged/defective helicopter anytime, as often as needed, for one year.

The helicopters were a lot of fun to play with, but after only 2 weeks, they weren't getting much lift. We returned them to our local store in Simi Valley, CA. The sales clerk at the time hassled me and questioned how these helicopters could already be damaged so quickly. There were no visible signs on them of abuse or damage. Regardless, we asked her to exchange them for new ones.

Those new helicopters, after approx. 5 hours of intermittent play, eventually had the same problems. Frustrated, I returned to the Simi Valley store to ask for a complete refund because I didn't want to have to keep returning every 2 weeks. The bottom line is that the products are poor quality.

Here's what I got from the store: Even though I was within the 30-day standard warranty and return policy, they will NOT refund my money but will do an exchange. Here's the kicker: the Store's policy is that ADDITIONALLY I will be charged $5 per helicopter every time I exchange them throughout the one-year Replacement Plan! (That might be okay if I only had to exchange them once, maybe twice in one year -- but every 2 weeks at this rate! Ridiculous.)

Despite my repeated pleas to refund my money - because I don't want the helicopters and the hassles anymore, incl. warranty, replacement or otherwise - the store REFUSED. I called the original San Diego store to let them know what happened and they were very supportive and said they would call the Simi Valley Store to try to convince them to refund my money.

As of now, the store manager of either location is supposed to call me to let me know the resolution. Answer me this, if you buy something like an MP3 player from, say, Target, and within 30 days, the player goes out twice and you decide you don't want to bother with it anymore -- should you be able to get your money back??

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The Worst Customer Service In The World: Hello Brookstone!
By -

Brookstone is overly priced and tries to justify it with their "high quality goods and customer service". Nothing could be further from the truth. I bought a $300 computer briefcase with removable roller wheels. 1 year later the roller wheels snapped off from normal wear and tear. I bought a replacement roller wheel and complained about the short life. They recommended an extended warranty. Bought that for about $10 on top of the roller wheels that costs $50.

Fast forward another year to 3 weeks ago. Roller wheels broke AGAIN. Now, I thought, I am so glad I bought the warranty. So I called it in. I was told to find my own box to mail back the broken wheel system and they'd send me a "gift certificate" so I can buy anything I want. I told them I don't want anything but a replacement wheel. The girl on the phone wasn't too bright. She said it will take 2-3 weeks to send out the card. Why so long? She didn't know.

Asked why they couldn't mail me a new set of wheels and she said "this is our way". Soooo... wait 3 weeks, wait for a trip out of town (no Brookstones in northern Vermont), find one and HOPE that they have the wheel device in stock. Hmmmm....

3 weeks go by and I call them to find out the status. Keep in mind I have a HEAVY load in my briefcase due to computer and other materials/supplies. Enough for severe back aches. Turns out they shipped it to an old address from 5 years ago even though the form I completed had the current address. They said they'd have to cancel the card and send a new one. I gave them the right address and asked them to get it to me before my next trip which is the next week. Was left a phone message to call them back because they had more questions.

When I called them back they let me know it shipped again... to the wrong address again. I was on hold with 3 calls over 40 minutes. It's gets worse but I am tired of writing about it. I urge all consumers to avoid dealing with this company. They are just terrible.

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Brookstone Return policy
By -

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- Buyer Beware! I have purchased products with many online companies and found their return policies to be fair until I purchased a product from Brookstone. If you purchase a product from Brookstone they will charge you for the shipping and then add on a processing charge. If you do not like the low quality item you received you will be responsible for the shipping charges to return the item.

Most online companies will only charge you for the initial shipping and provide you with a prepaid return label if you do not find the item to be acceptable. Not Brookstone you will be charged twice for shipping if you try and return a product purchased from them. This can cost you anywhere from $40.00 to over $200.00 just for returning a product to Brookstone.

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Brookstone Return Policy
By -

MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- I walked into the Brookstone store in Strongsville, Ohio today to return a Christmas gift. I was armed with my receipt which clearly states on the back that returns can be made for a full refund within 30 days. When I approached the counter a very rude and disinterested store manager told me that she could only exchange it for an item in the store. I told her that was not what the receipt indicated and she said that was company policy. I was appalled at such a restrictive policy. Every store is offering gift receipts now to assist with return of merchandise.

This is unbelievable that they will not honor a legitimate receipt issued by them. I will be contacting the corporate office on Monday to file a complaint.

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No Return Policy
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Bought two three-packs of comfort socks at the store at the Galleria in Las Vegas. When we washed them the first time, they bled all over our laundry. Took them back to the store and were told they would not accept them back because they were personal care items and we did not have the original packages. Compare our treatment, which bordered on rude, with Bed, Bath and Beyond which accepts anything back any time without packaging and, as long as they have one on their shelves, without a receipt. We will never shop at Brookstone again. Most of their stock is personal care so they basically have a no return policy.

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Poor Quality for Electronics Products
By -

Our recent experience in Brookstone has been really sad. We have to return the our son's Christmas gift -- an Ipad controlled Rover, since he got another similar one. First we can only get store credit, not full refund. With the credit, we first bought TimeSmart Clock and two ZAPI Sanitizers. TimeSmart clock was initially working fine, but is dead two weeks later after it fell over the night stand.

We cannot imagine that such a fall over on a soft carpet from a night stand will totally damage the clock. For ZAPI sanitizers, we can never reliably get the ultraviolet and button light on and we have to push the button randomly multiple times to get it on. Even when ultraviolet light is on, the button light may or may not be on. When trying to return the product, the store sales said that it is a personal item and we cannot return them!

Finally we get iConvert photo scanner with the leftover credit, we only find the same poor quality: the scanner sensor for feeding paper is tricky and unreliable; a normal photo always gets stuck during the scan; my XP windows machine cannot reliably recognize the scanner through USB cable. After this series of poor quality experience on Brookstone electronics, we will definitely stay away from Brookstone and inform all our friends to do the same!

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Brookstone Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.0 out of 5, based on 2 ratings and
34 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Brookstone
1 Innovation Way
Merrimack, NH 03054
866-576-7337 (ph)
603-577-8005 (fax)
www.brookstone.com
customerservice@brookstone.com
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