"Placed a fairly large order on Saturday. At the time of the order they were offering a promotion discount of 15%. I utilized this discount, but the following Monday received an offer for 25% off. The order had not shipped on Monday, but I was unable to call until Tuesday. They stated that because the order had shipped the day I called, they were unable to honor the increased discount. I'm not sure what shipping has to do with any discount, but feel that I am getting ripped off and they are providing extremely poor customer service. I will NEVER order from this company again!!"
"***UPDATE*** 2/11/15
I was happy to get a phone call from Improvements Catalog offering to give me a full refund including the shipping costs to rectify the issue. I'm really glad they took responsibility For this. They gained my trust back.
***Original Review*** 2/5/15
I purchased 2 "Polished" metal gap strips for my stove and what I received was not polished and had scratches all over both of them from end to end. I call to return them and am told I can return for refund but will not receive a refund for the 7.95 I originally paid for shipping. I shouldn't be penalized because they misrepresented a product. I've bought from Improvements before and was happy but this time will be my last. "
"If I could give this company a negative star rating I would. Somewhere in the Improvement's organization there is a brain, they just have not found it. Maybe they are too busy chasing the brain (they are slippery) to give good customer service. I ordered product from this company several years ago and found their customer service to be inept. There is no synergy at this company, (i.e. the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing) At that time, I made the choice to not ever order from them again. Now I made the unfortunate mistake of ordering product from them, it was not until I started experiencing several issues with my current order did my memory kick in. UGH! Stay away from this outfit, DO NOT PLACE AN ORDER WITH THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL REGRET IT! There is absolutely ZERO quality control, there is no such thing as quick turn around, they will lie to you and you will catch them at it. I was shipped product that did not work, and I also received product that was missing parts. I have had to follow up with them with numerous phone calls and have wasted several hours of my precious time in having to repeat my circumstances that were created by Improvements ineptness, and to top it off, they expect "the customer" to pay for return shipping for the damaged product for the customer to receive their credit. What I do know is a fact, when a customer is dissatisfied they tell 13 people, when satisfied they tell only 2, and yet I am surprised when reading these complaints that Improvements is still in business. I noticed that the common thread among Improvement's responses on this website is the preverbal " treating the customer with courtesy, and resolving issues quickly." That is just talk, if they truly stood behind that statement they would not have such a low rating on this website. I for one can personally attest that this statement cannot be further from the truth. Don't believe a word of it RUN as FAST as YOU can from Improvements! The only comment that I can make in defense of Improvements is it was MY mistake in forgetting my terrible experience with their customer service years ago and ordering from them again. Please forgive me, I will NOW remember to take my business elsewhere."
"Mislabeled product - disconnected fulfillment operation from customer service. I ordered a Satin Shower Caddy with adjustable tension pole, and was sent the bronze. Then after speaking with customer support I returned it hoping to receive the right one. They then sent me another bronze (wrong color). And again. And again. Four (4) times they sent me the wrong product, even after I told them their products are mislabeled at the fulfillment center. Evidently, the message is not getting to the fulfillment people, from the customer service people. Too bad; I finally asked for a refund and probably won't be shopping this catalog anymore, given 4 mishaps in a row, especially after I told them 3 times that this product is mislabeled. The customer service rep said she'd mail me a $25 coupon once they received the final product back. It's just a disconnected system and the manufacturer probably mislabeled the boxes. So, for the Improvements people: your Bronze Tension Pole Shower Caddy product has the wrong label on it... they are labeled with the wrong label (438212 STN). good luck!"
"Although customer service was very friendly, I am very disappointed to hear that they not only wouldn't replace the broken stand on the pull-up Christmas tree, but they also wouldn't sell me another stand!! I bought it at the end of the season last year with hundreds of dollars of other items, so I never put it up till now. One leg of the stand was pulled off the center, so the tree leans to one side. They suggested I take the stand to a local Christmas tree store to see if they would sell me a stand. So disappointed! What kind of customer service is that?! Guess they don't care about return customers. I won't ever buy from Improvements again."
"Customer service is PAINFULLY SLOW to respond to emails. Tried to cancel my order, but CS didn't respond until AFTER the items were delivered. I do have to give them credit for their rapid shipping."
"Return policy is a joke. I bought a dog bed canvass replacement. By mistake I ordered the canopy $14.95 + $7.95 shipping. So I get the return only to have the "label fee" which is NEVER quantified on the site anywhere. of $10.95 applied and I get a refund of $4.04. How's that for a rip off?
Done with these people. It's not like the merchandise is being sold a bargain prices. "
"Do not buy from this company.
Bought wood dog crate. . Falling apart. Asked to replace door and they did. My son thru the box out not knowing what was inside. I called and asked to send another and I WILL PAY. They said no.
My problem is the lack of care with this company, the smug attitude that their rep Robert Walton gave me(by the way he is not even with improvements he is with some cover company called connerstone. ) Also when the manufacturing company called me to ask where I wanted the first door sent he said that they had PLENTY of doors as sometimes they break off thru negligence. The connerstone rep Robert Walton, said he cannot sell me parts. I said fine , can I get the name of the company who built it so I can get it thru there he refused.
Let me sum it up. If you buy at Improvements and your warentee is up you are screwed. Not only will they not help you BUT they REFUSE to let you talk to anyone who will. What kind of a third rate company does that.
Things happen. Items break under warrantee and out of warrantee. The company is only as good as how it treats its customers. An imptovements and connerstone are borderline pathetic.
Furthermore I explained to him that the side is also falling apart .I offered to send him photos and Robert Walton said he will see what he can do. I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
So I have a crate with no door on it. I have to but a chair in front of the crate to keep my dog in. The are considering sending a warrantee side panel which if I do get it the crate dose me know good since they refused to sell me another door. I feel that they just do not want to be bothered and want to sell you another part. Come to find out that improvements is VERY EXPENSIVE. I found the same crate on Hayneedle.com for HALF the price. It seems that from my experience this is just one of those companies like SKYMALL that have a lot of items you can get somewhere else if you just do the homework. And I am sure you will DEFITNITLY be treated better.
Don't make the same mistake I did by buying from improvements"
"EUCALYPTUS FOLDING ARMLESS CHAIR - This chair looks great once put together, but the assembly of this chair is a nightmare! There is so little clearance between the pieces of wood that putting the four washers in place during the assembly took two people and over an hour for each chair...and I had four chairs to assemble. If I had known how difficult, frustrating, and time consuming the assembly would be, I never would have purchased this product. The matching table was ready to go. Why on earth would the manufacturer not sell the chairs the same way?"
"My wife ordered the Bedrocks Lawn Border System for a flower bed border. Delivery was within five days of the order, but the package was not as represented in the catalog: sufficient stakes needed to fill the holes and hold the border in place were not included in the package. This makes the Bedrocks System unstable and unsightly. I am very disappointed in this purchase."
"I will never order from Improvements Catalog again!!! I ordered a table cloth and it was the wrong size. I decided to return it for a refund. They sent a label that you have to use to return it. My tablecloth was $16.19 and my shipping was $7.95, which is a total of $24.14. They charged $8.95 for returning it. They refunded me only $7.24! Also, I had to pay $3.17 for a bubble mailer to ship it back. I always purchase thing online and I never had a problem with any other online stores. I am very disappointed!!!"
"Ivy Faux privacy fence.
NO way could finish my project without it. great value for great product. Will need more in the next month or two.
"
"I ordered several different tinsel lighted outdoor decorations in July. Stupidly, I did not carefully inspect them until we started putting them together yesterday in preparation of putting them up day after Thanksgiving.
I ordered a Bambi and Thumper display as well as some Cardinals. Although I had to glue the ears, Bambi came with directions, the required pieces needed to put it together and stake it to the ground. Thumper on the other hand, looked like it had been sent back used to Improvements and they just resold it. It was worn with holes in it, had no directions, nothing to hold it together, and no stakes to hold it to the ground.
The cardinals are ripped along the seams and need to be completely resewn, the wings are detached and there is no way to attach them to the body of the bird.
I am so disappointed and angry. Angry at Improvements for passing off defective, obviously used merchandise, and mad at myself for not inspecting them thoroughly as soon as they arrived. It is too late to return them so I've thrown a lot of money away. Still have a couple more displays to put together. Have my fingers crossed that they will be in decent shape with all of the parts.Do not remember exact order dates.
***I don't know how to comment on the response to my review by Improvements Catalog, so I am just adding to this original review. I just want to say that I was very happily surprised to hear from Improvements and they were very concerned that I was not satisfied with my purchase. Although, it'd been months since the original purchase, they offered to discount my purchase or accept them as a return and reimburse the payment. I chose the discount because I'd already repaired the items myself, and put them out in the yard.
Improvements promptly credited my discount. I was very impressed at how quickly they responded to my review and offered solutions. I will have no reservations about ordering through Improvements again now that I know if something is wrong, they want to make it right. Excellent customer service!"
"DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS SITE!
I placed an order for 5 lights. 3 were defective. They issued a credit for those three and sent me three new ones (at a charge, of course). When those arrived none of them worked. I called for RA #s and sent them ALL back. I was assured I would receive a FULL refund. After several calls and a lot of time on the phone, I still have not received a refund. I have been given various excuses as to why. Different excuse every time I call.
I will say the lights looked nice - too bad they didn't work. So I guess if you want to order something that has no function other than looking pretty, order away. But, I wouldn't."
"Ordered 3 items from them. Had a problem with only one- providence shoe and boot bench. Assembling it was a bit harder than any other shelf ive ever assembled because of the way the pieces locked into each other but I managed. However because the entire back piece of the bench did not fit all the way in, the entire bench
has an unsightly gap on the bottom and on the
top. I took the entire unit apart twice and put it
together three times to try and tighten the pieces
as much as possible but to no avail. Emailed improvcatalog and basically had no reply. Called them and was offered either $25 off or return the unit for a full refund. Was hugely disappointed with the amount of work and time it took when i paid for a new piece of unit. Instead i got a lemon and now i get to decide on the less crappier of the two alternatives im left with."