Complaint Review: Woot Inc.

I have found that ordering a product from the online retailer Woot is a very enjoyable process - unless there's a problem with the order, that is.  I have successfully ordered several items from Woot in the past, so I didn't hesitate to order 2 bath towel sets for an upcoming wedding shower.

The first set arrived separately and was great.  The second set of a different color arrived a few days later and was obviously defective the moment the package was opened.  The cotton fiber loops were loose in a large spot on one washcloth, and looked horrible.  It was an obvious manufacturing defect.

I immediately informed Woot via their site contact form (the only customer contact method they have) and waited 2 days for a reply.  The reply was a promise for a prompt replacement.  Days and days went by with no tracking supplied and no replacement arrived.  I replied to their original email and waited another 2 days.  An apology followed and another promise for a replacement.

Long story short, no fewer than 4 Woot customer service reps lied to me and nearly an entire month passed before I told them I would send a complaint letter to the CEO at their Carrolton, TX corporate offices if I didn't get a replacemnt NOW!

You guessed it!  So much time had expired because of these Woot liars that no replacements were available any longer.  Had they done their job after my first complaint then a replacement could have been sent and the shower gift wouldn't have been ruined.

I did finally get a refund, promised without need of return in one email, but I got 2 other emails saying I had to return it.  Ha!  They're so horribly disorganized that no one at Woot knows what the other is doing!!  They are so unprofessional!  The bad behavior of each rep. was so uniform, though, that it made me wonder if this is Woot's standard procedure meant to exasperate a dissatisfied customer into wanting to just forget the whole thing.  Nop such luck, Woot!

So, the moral of this story is: Order from Woot at your own risk!  if the item is Ok, then you'll be happy.  If the item is defective, then get ready for a long, slow ride straight to h*** and back!