Complaint Review: Winterland Inc

In November of 2011 I ordered nearly $700 dollars in white Christmas lights to do my residence with. I received the lights and when I unboxed them nearly every single strand was faulty. They didn't work when plugged in or only half of the strand would come on. I called Winterland Inc. and spoke to Tara who said that they were aware that it was a faulty product from China and that they would send me a new set of lights that were more expensive. She said they were around $1000 dollars, but that it didn't matter because their cost was much lower. I asked if she wanted me to send the broken lights back and she said no that they didn't want them back. I received the shipment of the "better" lights in the mail a couple of weeks later but too late to use for my decoration that year. The following year I used the lights and most of them seemed to work but I was still having issues with half of the strands going out. I called Tara and left her a voicemail and she did not return. I was unable to use the lights in 2013 because of the failures and no one would return my messages when I called in October,November, and December. I finally spoke to  a female in January who apologized, again acknowledged that the product did have issues and said that she would speak to her manager and make sure that I was taken care of. I never received a call back. I called several times after that and was always told someone would call me back.

I finally managed to speak to a male salesman on a Friday in March and he said that all of the managers were in a meeting but that he would speak to them after they were done. He again acknowledged a problem with the lights that were shipped and said that even though it had been past the year warranty, he was sure that if I shipped the lights back, that they could be repaired or replaced at a discounted price. He said to expect a call from him on Monday. I never received a call. On 29AUG2014 I called and asked to speak to a manager. The receptionist took my information and placed me on hold. The manager, Melanie Streets, came on the phone and was EXTREMELY condescending from the start. I explained to her my issue with the lights and customer service and she said that they had already replaced the lights once. I told her that I appreciated that, but the new lights she sent had the same issue and several employees had acknowledged an issue with the residential light strands that I received as a replacement. She said that she talked to the owner  and he wasn't interested in making it right. I asked if I could speak to him and she said that I could handle it through her and her only. I told her that I wasn't a company with endless money to spend and that I didn't want anything for free, I just wanted working lights. She responded with, "have a nice day, goodbye" and hung up. I have never had someone in a retail business speak to me the way she did, and I'm sure if the owner was aware of the way she treats people he would surely rectify it. Disappointed and frustrated...