Atropos's profile

Atropos says: (3 months ago)

0  

Speaking as a former employee of Plow & Hearth (and its parent company, 1-800-FLOWERS), I can inform you that they truly *cannot* fax or email you a return label. Their computing and inventory software is over twenty years old (it does not have mouse support, except to copy and paste), and the company has no plans to upgrade their software, as it would cost them money that they *do* have, but are unwilling to spend to make necessary upgrades. As to the printing errors in their catalog, this too is not new. They have previously sent out catalogs with what appears to be no proofreading, resulting in items being sold for a fraction of their value, or being totally misrepresented as to the color, style, or material. This issue is not resolved by them for the same reason as before.

Other problems you may experience with them or their other catalogs (Wind & Weather, Magic Cabin, and Hearthsong) include: selling of personal information (representatives are instructed to lie and say that we do not sell your information without your permission, but the default is set to "Yes")
-Poor Customer Service. This is mainly not due to the person you are speaking to on the phone. If they cannot answer your question, it is because they simply don't have the information that you are requesting, or cannot do what you ask because of company policy. In the mean time, they are receiving between 50 and 100 calls a shift, without a break, because their company will not hire enough people to man their phones.
-Poor delivery service. Especially near Christmas, the company crawls to a halt. In 2007's Christmas season, the warehouse for both of the children's brands got so far behind, they would ship out only the first item on the order and claim that it had all been shipped. Representatives were again told to lie and assure the customer that everything was on their way. Refusing to do so would result in termination. Despite the fact that they were behind by over a week on shipping orders, they continued to claim that they could deliver in time for Christmas day until 3 days before the 24th.

I hope that this enlightens some to the problems that come from ordering with these brands.
(Plow & Hearth is a catalog...)