Laithwaites

My dad became a member of Laithwaites & was extremely excited, particularly about the Spanish and Portuguese wines they provide. Unfortunately, the positives stop there. Yes, the wine is great, but the service could not be worse. Out of the 7 cases he has ordered, 5 have involved significant problems from delivering to the wrong place, damage, delays, etc. They have involved endless interactions with customer service and most of the time, they were not able to resolve the issue at all. Several times, there was a commitment made by a customer service rep for a manager to call and follow up. This NEVER happened.

A couple of example:
- He sent me a house warming gift that arrived a month late! By the time he sent it to me where I live, I was home visiting him for Christmas. He called the support line countless times and none were able to solve the issues. One rep promised a refund. The next had no idea what the previous rep was talking about and said she could not issue a refund. This happened multiple times. The issue was escalated and he never received a response.
- His next order was sent to my address instead of his. He called immediately to cancel the order & to have it sent it to himself instead. The first support rep insisted that the issue was resolved and that the order would NOT be sent to me. The NEXT support rep he talked to said the address could NOT be change. A few weeks later, he found this not to be true! The order was STILL sent to me. The support reps are not on the same page at all.
- The FOLLOWING order was ALSO sent to me. This was after he had removed my address from the system completely. Apparently, one side of the business doesn't look at that part of the website for updated shipping addresses (what?!?!?!?!)? Instead, they used an old address that was on file somewhere else!?!? Instead of profusely apologizing and sending new wine, they said I would need to print a Fedex slip, drive the shipment back to Fedex (once it arrives), and send it back. They sent my dad a return shipping label, but I don't have a printer! So I have to get to Fedex when there are 2-4 feet of snow coming down in Colorado this weekend. If I don't do this, my dad would be charged the FULL $200 plus dollars for THEIR mistake. What kind of customer service is this?!

I am INSANELY appalled that this place is still in business. Yes, they have great wines, but everything else about them could not be worse. A different issue seems to arise every time he places an order. The worse part is, instead of owning up to it, they make excuse after excuse. They don't value your customers and so you shouldn't value them.

I ordered 12 bottle of wines and you can see the pictures of second bottle i opened! Disgusting...

It is Jan., 2015. I have been a Laithwaite's wine club member since 2010, when it was Zagat wine club. My order history extends to about 44 lines. A year or so ago I upgraded to the reserve club. Ever since Laithwaites took over from Zagat service has declined.

A year or so ago I signed up for flat rate shipping for a fixed annual price. The deal was that any box of 12 wines would ship without an additional shipping cost. I specifically asked about limits on the deal & was told there were none. I could mix & match so long as there were 12 in the box. The annual fee would cover it all.

This is from the terms & conditions in fine print on the site: ""Terms and conditions: As a Laithwaite's Wine Unlimited member, you will pay an annual membership fee (currently $89 plus applicable tax) to receive unlimited shipping on all wine orders of 12 bottles or more that are placed during your active membership period." There are no exceptions listed.

A month ago, I received a promotion to purchase 6 bottles of barolo, to be delivered in March, if I paid a deposit. I placed the order & paid the deposit. I subsequently contacted Laithwaite's & requested to add 6 bottles of other wine to be delivered in March with the 6 barolos so that I could make a case & receive free shipping.

After 3 phone calls & receiving a voicemail from Laithwaite's they have made it very clear that despite the prior assurance & the fine print on their website that my free shipping applied to any box of 12 wines they will NOT honor it. No amount of cajoling or pleading could change their mind. I explained that the 6 additional bottles could go in the same case as the 6 barolos, in March or whenever they ship, to equal a single box of 12, but Laithwaite's steadfastly refused to honor their free shipping agreement. I am not leaving out any details. They simply said that I could not add 6 bottles to the 6 barolos to equal a case, & would have to pay shipping on each half case of 6 bottles.

I spoke with Pamela. I don't recall the names of the other two I spoke with, and I received a voicemail from a man with a name phonetically like Shabaya or Shabeera confirming what I had been told. He couldn't pronounce my name correctly either.

Brian McNamara

The send me emails before a case ships with an invitation to click through and preview the wines they are sending. But when I click, they cannot find my account. Spoke to their customer service and traded emails with them several times but they cannot fix the problem. Finally they tell me that I'm in a special mystery club that doesn't allow previews. Then why are you sending me emails inviting me to preview the wines?!?!?!? Horror show.