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Jeffrey S.

1
Level 1 Contributor
Florida, USA

Contributor Level

Total Points
322

4 Reviews by Jeffrey

  • Alionastore

2/9/23
Verified purchase

I received another product from Alionastore - Tom Ford Umbre Leather perfume. I am always pleased to purchase from this store. Perfumes are genuine and are well packaged for shipment. Shipping is quickly done after purchase. USA customers please be aware that any shipment originating from Western Europe will take a little over 2 weeks to arrive. This is typical.
Communication is excellent. I always receive a tracking number as soon as the package is on its way. Any questions that I have are quickly answered.
I highly recommend this store!

  • Pitney Bowes

5/2/22

I had used Stamps.com for years, but their software is not compatible with a new printer that I bought. So, I decided to go to Pitney Bowes. I signed up for the trial on a Saturday. Within one hour of signing up, my credit card was charged the $1.00 (provisional charge). I was supposed to get an email allowing me to finish setting up my account. Nothing happened until Monday at almost 12:00noon.
At that time, I received a cryptic email that said: "unable to confirm some details about your credit card, order has been cancelled".
I called the support number and the agent said that she would have to send an email to that department to further research the problem. I asked if I could speak with someone directly in that department. My experience over the years has been when you are sending emails back and forth through 3rd parties, there is MUCH room for misinformation, lack of details, etc. She said that "unfortunately, there is no direct number to call them." I responded with, "In that case, I will take my business elsewhere... this is no way to conduct business."
VERY DISAPPOINTED!

Products used:
None

Service
Value
  • Costco

12/29/21

For years, I had used a well-known fruit and baked goods company for shipping holiday baskets to friends and family. However, the past two years have seen a tremendous drop in quality and service. I was talking with a colleague about this and she mentioned to me that Costco Online has gift baskets and other goodies that can be shipped for holiday, birthday, etc... gifts.
I was so pleasantly surprised when I logged into my account and found a treasure trove of items that can be sent via Costco service with guaranteed delivery! I decided to try the service and sent two different gift baskets to two friends as Christmas gifts.
They both called and told me what a wonderful gift they received. The baskets were beautifully arranged and chock-full of baked goods, cheeses, and fruits. I was notified, by email, the next day when the order had been processed and then notified as soon as there was a tracking number available. Both baskets arrived (Texas and California) on-time and in great condition.
Needless to say, next year will be spent ordering gifts from Costco Online!
As an aside, the store where I live is always meticulously clean, organized and the displays are beautifully arranged. The staff is outstanding and helpful. I had been a BJ's member for years, but decided to move over to Costco because there is a larger variety of items, and the prices are comparable.

Tip for consumers:
It's easier when you login to your account to simply search for "gift baskets" rather than try to navigate through the website.

Products used:
Christmas gift baskets.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
  • Harry & David

12/3/21
Verified purchase

I have ordered from H&D for well over 2 decades. However, after my experience last year and this, I will NEVER use them again. Here's what happened this year:
I placed two orders to multiple families and friends that totaled over $500 worth of goods. Given last year's faux pas I made SURE that every order was "guaranteed delivery for Christmas" before it was confirmed and paid for.
Two weeks ago, I was sent a text from my credit card company asking if I was double billed for an order as there were two identical charges. Sure enough, H&D had billed me TWICE for one of the orders!
I attempted to contact them by phone and gave up after 45 minutes on hold. In addition, their "hold" system is ridiculous - every 2-3 minutes, a recording comes on asking me if I want to have a call back or continue holding. When I choose "continue to hold", I'm then asked to CONFIRM that I really want to continue to hold! Divide that 2-3 minutes over 45 and you can probably see how annoying that becomes.
So, I decided to try their "chat" feature. The agent was clueless. She actually wanted me to provide the names and addresses of ALL of the people to whom I had sent gift orders to instead of just asking for the actual order number in question.
After a flurry of typing back and forth and getting nowhere, I gave up. I told her that the next step would be to contact my credit card company and submit a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
After hanging up, I called the credit card company. I got an agent in less than 20 seconds, she understood the problem and confirmed that a credit had been issued for the double bill (well before I had the chat with H&D agent).
NOW, I get an email notification that several of the orders went out YESTERDAY (December 2nd) by Fedex! Is this what "delivery by Christmas" is supposed to be? Why don't they just ship them out two weeks before Thanksgiving? These are supposed to be CHRISTMAS presents! Fedex traditionally delivers well within 2-3 days of shipping. All of my recipients live in major cities throughout the United States, so H&D can't claim that the extremely early delivery dates were because of rural addresses.
I'm not even going to bother to attempt to contact them again as it is a total exercise in frustration.
My orders next year will be from Goldbelly. I had a simple delivery problem from them that was actually the fault of the DELIVERY company and Goldbelly bent over backwards to make sure the delivery was done right and on time even though it wasn't their fault. When I called them, I got to an agent in less than 2 minutes AND he understood the problem and assured me that he would do everything in his power to make sure it was right and I was satisfied. This is the way a company should be operating.
I see countless complaints against Harry & David and the problems don't seem to be resolved. Gordon Ramsay, a successful restauranteur with outstanding restaurants in multiple countries was once quoted as saying, "I welcome the complaints which gives me the opportunity to improve and make sure my customers have a great experience." This is why his restaurants have so many Michelin Stars.
Harry & David doesn't seem to learn from the mistakes, so they continue year after year. I really don't know what's happened in the last two years, but their service has definitely declined and they do little to make it easy for customers to reach them.
I attempted to send them a complaint letter by fax which failed multiple times (error: "bad line or receiving fax out of memory"). I ended up sending the letter by USPS mail.
I cannot recommend Harry and David to anyone wishing to send gifts of fruit, baked goods or candies. It can't be guaranteed that the gift will be received on time, and if there are any other problems, it is next to impossible to reach a COMPETENT customer service agent who can resolve the problem quickly.

Tip for consumers:
Site is confusing when ordering for holidays, impossible to reach customer service, and shipping problems.

Products used:
Gift baskets of fruit, candies, and baked goods.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Jeffrey Has Earned 2 Votes

Jeffrey S.'s review of Harry & David earned a Very Helpful vote

Jeffrey S.'s review of Pitney Bowes earned a Very Helpful vote

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