Horchow Consumer Reviews

Buyers Beware: I ordered a bookcase on sale for $2400 back in JULY of 2014, and a rug. Rug came and it was wrong, the one in the picture that I wanted, they couldn't even later find as for sale by Horchow. The bookcase then showed as delivery date of OCTOBER 16, no mention of backorder. Then, as I paid with my bank account credit/debit card, each week they held that $2400 for Mon. - Fri., then back on hold again Monday. No other company bills you until it leaves on a truck, but for months they held my $ hostage.

Then for delivery they give you a day, not a window, a DAY, to reserve until the evening before when they call with your 4 hour window. My first day of delivery I was at hour 3.75 when they called to tell me they're not coming. 2nd attempt, and day off work, NO evening phone call. And when I finally got someone at 9 am, they realized that the truck had missed my house and was on its way to another state. But it would deliver my bookcase on its way back in two days (Attempt 3).

Phone call, no three days, it took longer in Indiana than expected (attempt 4) - which turned out to be an outright lie, because the next day the call came from the warehouse in North Carolina, where my bookcase was just loaded on to a truck for delivery the next day (Attempt 5).

Yep, bookcase arrived about 9:30 at night, hours late, and with NO shelves. (They were left on the dock in NC). Took about an hour and several phone calls to track that down. The kicker - the bookcase is wrong! It has painted decorations on it that weren't in the picture. So they're going to "replace it." In another ten(ish) weeks, I'm told later by phone. Then in December, an email that the system forgot to order it, so now it's another 10(ish) weeks. And then, what do they do, they hit my bank card up for another $2400 hold even though they hadn't refunded what was now down to a $1700 bookcase after they offered a discount for all of their ineptitude.

I have now cried on the phone with their reps, missed two of my children's pivotal events, countless meetings, days from work, used favors from friends to cover driving kids, bounced a check and wasted more time and energy than is humane. And the saga goes on... Still. They hit the account again, canceled my replacement piece and are scheduling a pick up of the painted bookcase. It's too late for me, save yourselves!!

Good Evening All. I have had horrible customer "care" results from Horchow in the past, but I am a slow learner ~ so I went back for more. The past involved some flatware that had inlaid mother of pearl handles, and mixed metals, 18/10 (I don't believe a word of it) and a yellow gold plating of some type. I used this $1200 flatware ONCE, at easter, 3 months after I received the order. I hand washed each beautiful, enviable piece, wrapped it like a tender infant in the cloths provided, and took it out again 3 days before Thanksgiving 2009 to find it pitted and actually peeling (the "18/10" part).

I went to hell and back with them- but in retrospect, the worst part of it was that I never, ever, expected to hear "not our policy" or "you should have returned it sooner." I drool over Horchow. I expected their customer service to be of the same quality that the merchandise is. Perhaps that's just it... All that glitters is not gold! But, sadly, I am drawn back to Horchow, if for nothing else, to be my "inspiration" page/room. Last night, I discovered a store-wide 25%-30% sale that was to run through midnight tonight.

With my clueless husband safely tucked into bed, I felt the excitement build as I sat in the dark and quietly listened to my computer purr- I was about to buy 3 rugs and some dinnerware (the gray, beaded.. how gorgeous with crisp white linens)! I have been looking at rugs for several months, and found all 3 that were 100% LOVE on the Horchow site at a reasonable price (including the 25% discount, of course). It was 11:17, plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee and make an experience of this! Immediately I notice the pretty red 25-30% notifications under each item are gone.

I check the clock I tried to get on chat, surely there is some mistake. Now, this gets funny, really, or sad. I typed in my question: "what happened to the 25-30% store-wide sale?" The top box shows me that the volume is high but someone will be with me very soon. Another notice comes beneath that one. I'm beginning to panic, so I write my message again (it had vanished). This time the "voice" tells me not to waste my pecks and clicks ~ no one is listening. I'm offered a phone number for faster service, and promptly call. I get a lady on the phone who, when asked about the sale, says "it's already passed midnight."

I am a night-owl online sneekie-shopper, and I have never had the lights go out because it was midnight somewhere else. I think most sites adjust their offers according to the shopper's location, but perhaps not. I sent them a little e-mail, (I know they won't care about the money... or whether I'm sad, but I thought it might make me feel better) and I explained that I would either find the rugs elsewhere or wait until the next sale. And then I had a glimmer of hope! I remember a rug site that accepts "pictures" of rugs from designer stores, etc., and will help discover the magic rug for about 1/3 of the price!

Another surprise... you can't right click any of Horchow's pictures. If you ask me, the world could stand some Horchow competition. They are really almost in a league of their own, I think, and their items (albeit I am now a bit wary of the quality of certain things...) are beautiful and inspirationally displayed. I am going online to find a new photo program that will reconfigure photos so I can save them in my favorites - photos of rugs.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Horchow.com - Absolutely abhorrent. Here's my experience. I ordered four items from Horchow.com. Item One: A rug. Horchow representative contacted me to let me know that it wasn't going to be delivered until JUNE. I asked why they didn't know this in advance and the representative said Horchow had not been contacted by the issuing company. I decided not to keep the order open. I went on their site today and the same item is listed without a note mentioning that the item is backordered and not available for delivery until June. I highly doubt they didn't know. They just didn't inform me until after I purchased the item. Deceptive, fraudulent.. Pick an adjective…

Item Two: In addition to item one, item two, a coffee table, wasn't scheduled to be delivered until APRIL (maybe). Again, I was not informed of this until after I paid for it. I cancelled that and had no further problems, but later found out that Horchow does know that things are on back order and they don't tell you until after you pay for them. (See item one…)

Item Three: An oriental style storage trunk. The photo showed a black lacquered trunk with satin finish gold paint that was vibrant but not tacky. It came with a certificate of authenticity which honestly, I didn't think about until I received the item last night.

What I got: The lacquer on the item was cracked and the bindings loose. In addition, there was a sticky spot in the front corner that smelled like pitch. When I touched it, the finish came right off. The “certificate of authenticity” said “We hereby certify (details of the trunk) is circa 1850-1880. Not that it was a replication, which I know it was, but it was misrepresented. Maybe the wood had sat mired in a bog somewhere for that long… In addition, the photo both online and on paper depicted a satin gold paint finish. The trunk that arrived was so faint that I had to turn on the lights in two rooms just to see the details. It was extremely dull. Extremely.

Item Four: An Asian style elephant rug. On the Horchow site, they do not mention that you have to be home to sign for it in person, nor are there directions to consult FedEx.com for further information. The “white glove service” is a sham. The rug was initially delivered on a day I wasn't home. I called Fedex after reading the door tag to see if I could leave a written voucher giving permission to leave the delivery in the front hallway. I was told I had to be home to sign for it in person. The delivery time window? 9 AM - 8 PM. Please note, I am not irritated with Fedex. Horchow's site should have given me a choice in shipping and detailed the conditions of each type of shipping.

I should not have had to go somewhere else to find this out, but even if that assumption is ridiculous, there should have been a hyperlink and prompt to check out Fedex for further delivery information. I should not have to assume that I have to go onto Fedex.com. I've done a lot of online purchasing and have never had this issue. Until Horchow.com. The rug was delivered and I signed for it. You do know that you can't open a parcel until you sign for it, right? So I signed for… THE WRONG RUG.

Finally, let me talk about my experience with CUSTOMER (dis)SERVICE. I had to talk to them a total of four times. The first two times I was making inquiries into merchandise and shipping cost details. The online chat reps were nice and very patient. After all, I was buying things and spending a good deal of money. The third time I had to contact them about the storage trunk (item 3). I was polite and businesslike.

My goal was to remedy the situation. The representative told me some info and then severed the chat before I had a chance to respond. Now I know that not only can I see a message saying that the representative is typing, but they can see the same details about me. I was typing (for less than 30 seconds) and the online chat was severed by the Horchow rep.

This happened TWICE!!! I online chatted again with a Horchow representative today, assuming the previous representative was just rude and an exception. My mother raised me to believe in fairies and nymphs. This last representative that I had contact with online gave me a quick answer to my question about the elephant rug delivery and then severed the correspondence AGAIN before I could respond. Let me assure you. If I am going to piss someone off, I'd rather do so in person so I can see their look of constipation. I was not dragging things out or nauseatingly repeating what I'd already said.

The telephone representative I last spoke to in an effort to discuss the pick up of the WRONG RUG that was delivered was kind and expedient in her assistance. A diamond in the rough. The final result? I ended up with nothing but have to stay home Saturday so the wrong/mangled items can be picked up, I missed a night of work, and Horchow lost about $2500. I can't say I'll cry over the last part. Here's the info I collected in the process. If anyone else has had a terrible experience with this company - HORCHOW.com - I hope this info will help.

Parent Company: Neiman Marcus. Administrative email to report about your Horchow adventures… **. And finally, just because she was a diamond in the rough, the representative who was polite and expedient even though our interaction was not for positive reasons was named Norma **. If you are dull enough to order from Horchow.com after reading about my experience, I hope to God you are assisted by this lovely woman. So, with the extra time I have on my hands tonight, I am issuing reports of my experience and disappointment wherever I can. It is, after all, thanks to the doings of Horchow that I have this luxury.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- A friend purchased some very expensive Beef Wellington's and a lovely decadent Chocolate cake for me through Horchow as gifts for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's important to note that I live in Texas and we have been known to have 70 degree weather during these times.

I received the cake first, which was poorly wrapped and packaged. It was room temperature and was melting because it was not packed with sufficient dry ice. In addition, the materials used to wrap the cake did not repel the chocolate from sticking to the wrapping. I was able to freeze the box with the cake in it so that I could remove the paper in pieces and save the cake. It was quite a delicious cake, but it's appearance was ruined by the cake arriving in a way that looked like a 3 year old had handled it.

A few weeks later, the Beef Wellington's arrived, which were to be the primary entree for our Christmas dinner. When they arrived, again they did not use sufficient dry ice in packing the box to keep them cool all the way to my doorstep. The Wellington's had all thawed and blood from the meat had soaked into the pastry, making it red and soggy and impossible to handle the Wellingtons. They were ruined.

Nonetheless, I froze them as well and attempted to make use of them as food, even though they could not be used for the Christmas dinner for which they were intended. I found that the meat on the bottom was green and tasted funny, so I discarded them. They were spoiled.

On 1/17 I asked for a refund and was told to expect a gift card in 5-7 days. 3 weeks later I called again and was told the gift card had just shipped on the 29th and I should wait 10-14 days longer. No surprise, my total experience with Horchow was complete failure and lack of attention to even the basic details of the order on their part. Of course the gift card would be the same. After all this, I decided that I had enough of Horchow and I asked for a cash refund. I asked to have a Supervisor call me if necessary.

They responded saying that they spoke with the supervisor and said that they could not do this. I would be forced to order something else from their catalog or the charge could be refunded to the original purchaser. I didn't want to go through this again so I decided the best thing would be to have the gift refunded back to the buyer. They should not be allowed to keep ANY money for their performance, or lack thereof.

Horchow used to be an exceptional company offering very exotic and high-end products, with excellent customer service. Since the Neiman Marcus companies have changed ownership and direction, it seems that all of the companies have taken a huge step down on the ladder of quality, service, and prestige. In the past, the customer was King, and they got whatever they asked for, with no questions asked. That original concept that made them exceptional has all changed now. They are no better now than the low-end plant nurseries who take your money and continue to provide dead plants and replacements.

Once you purchase something, they have your money and they refuse to give cash back for cash paid, even when it's their failure. This not only allows them to continue their poor performance, but it also excuses them from fully standing behind their product by repeating the same old lazy mistakes and then offering a fraction of the costs through replacements. I won't do business with companies that don't stand behind their products 100% with cash refunds and it appears that Horchow is now one of these.

I ordered a banquette online and requested that it be delivered by Christmas. I received an email a few days before expected delivery from Horchow stating that my order had been cancelled and my card was being refunded. I called Horchow and they told me there was a mistake with the delivery company and they would fix it and have it delivered on time. I later received a call from sun delivery to set up a date. I had one simple request that they call me 1 hour before their arrival so that I could inspect my banquette since it was a very expensive piece.

Well the day of the delivery I was out running errands since I was assured that they would call before their arrival. I later arrived home since I did not hear from them during the window of delivery time only to find my banquette sitting in my foyer and my 17 year old son had signed for it. I was very p*ssed off that they had not called and had left an expensive piece of furniture just sitting in my foyer. After I inspected it I notice boy legs were scratched.

I contacted Horchow and expressed my dissatisfaction and requested some sort of refund because of the damage. I was told that they would get back with me. After a couple of weeks I started getting phone calls from Sun delivery about a second banquette that they were stating that I ordered. I told the delivery company that I did not order another banquette from Horchow and refused delivery confirmation. I was told that I needed to contact Horchow to cancel this order.

I checked my credit card and that charged my card for a second banquette. After I contacted Horchow they told me it was a mistake and that they would credit my card back. They also offered me a 10 percent discount for the scratches on the banquette that I received. I accepted the discount and thought I was done with Horchow. Well lord behold the calls kept coming every week from the delivery company about another banquette that they stated I ordered and I checked my card again and Horchow had charged my card again.

I called them again and they apologized and credited my card back. I thought this was the end of it but this would happen on two more occasions where they would charge my card for a second banquette and then credit it back. Finally I contacted the corporate office and was told that the problem would be fixed and my information would be deleted from their system. Well just to be sure I contacted my credit card company and asked that my card be cancelled and a new card and number be issued.

Well after about 3 months I was doing some online banking with my new credit card and find out that somehow they have managed to place another charge on my new card. They are claiming that they cannot find the second banquette and that their delivery company stated that they delivered it to me. And they are demanding that I pay for something that I never received. This is a shotty company with horrible customer service and management. I am now fighting them to get my money back for merchandise that they somehow lost track of through all the back and forth with charging my card.