markandsusanw
Posts: 881
Joined: 5/10/2010
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It can't be this hard to just buy a really expensive wine cabinet, can it?
If you curious about our saga so far (and, honestly, I don't expect anyone else to care), see here: https://www.cellartracker.com/forum/tm.asp?m=286889
Anyway, long story short, we ordered a Vinotemp cabinet, paid in full in April and by September still had nothing and were constantly being told, "next week for sure," when we finally bailed. Lots of threats from Vinotemp regarding 40% restocking fees (for an item never even shipped), etc. Credit card dispute was settled in our favor and we were ready to move on.
Settle on La Cache after doing (much more this time) research and hearing pretty much universally positive things. Ordered a 5200 Euro cabinet. Asked LOTS of questions about delivery timelines, etc. and didn't place an order until we were assured the unit was in stock in the color we wanted, etc. Was told we'd have it in our house first or second week of November. Delivery date later pushed to November 13 but am assured it will be here long before Thanksgiving, the week before which we had given, many times, as the drop dead timeline for delivery. Unit doesn't actually ship until November 18-19.
La Cache gives us the wrong tracking information (just like Vinotemp!!! Weird!!!), links to the wrong freight company and, bonus, sends all of my personal information (purchase info, physical address, phone number, email, product tracking, etc.) to some random stranger in their database that happens to share my (incredibly common) name. Face palm.
The delivery is finally set for December 3. They show up with three guys instead of the (paid-for) four and virtually no equipment. There are more details in the thread linked about but it was a not so funny comedy of errors that eventually resulted in us bringing in our own help to move the thing and left it cosmetically (chip out of the side) and physically (broken leveling leg) damaged ... And not by us. That happened long before we brought in our own assistance.
The main issue, as far as I can tell at this point, is the broken leg. We have it shimmed, but you can't use the cabinet without it. I ask them, quite reasonably, I believe, to expedite a replacement. Instead, it takes them two days to get around to it (they require pictures, even with the delivery people's written and verbal admission that they broke the leg while moving) and they then send it via standard U.S. mail, so it won't be here until the middle of next week. Best case scenario. Arrgh.
Then they say we have two choices ... 1) Have the exact same incompetent freight company that broke it in the first place, and admitted they'd never even SEEN a wine cabinet before come out and install the leg, at their convenience, of course or 2) do it ourselves, which requires moving a 500 lb. piece of furniture to replace the leg, re-level, realign the doors and hope that solves the other issues, like a bowed support brace and a door hinge pin that is improperly seated. All things we paid for in the delivery cost, which is clearly spelled out in the documents we signed prior to purchase.
They also suggested that to "fix" the bowed stabilizing bar, I should "put a business card in it" to give it a tighter grip. Seriously? This is a brand new, almost $7,000 purchase not a do-it-yourself, bargain-bin find.
Oh and, by the way, La Cache is still sending what little information they're giving me--the only correspondence I've received is an emailed USPS shipping notice for the leg--to the other person who shares me name. Luckily, they cc'ed me, the actual purchaser, on the email, or I wouldn't even have that. (Yes, whomever she is, she's the main recipient, and I am the "also.")
The more I consider this process, the more concerned I get. First, the part, baring a miracle, won’t even be here until the middle of next week. We are hosting a large Christmas dinner on Friday and a party the following Wednesday, with guests arriving the week after that. I really, REALLY wanted this to be done and filled and settled long before then, since I will be incredibly busy. Which seems a realistic goal, given I was assured, multiple times, before ever placing the order, that the unit would be here well before Thanksgiving, so not having a working unit in mid-December wasn’t something I considered. The time it will take to organize and fill this large unit is not unsubstantial, and yet also has some urgency as we have a large amount of wine stored in a guest room we A) need for holiday guests (the room more so than the wine) and B) is not temperature controlled, waiting to go in.
Second, I absolutely do NOT want the freight company back out here, not only because they were idiots, but because they left here pretty ticked off about the time they spent for the pay they would receive, and who knows what they'd do if forced to return. Plus, the "supervisor" actually took a hammer to the door hinge before I begged them to stop … Just to name one instance of what can only be described as basic incomptence. So, no, I don’t want them out here doing further damage. BUT, at the same time, I don’t exactly understand why, with a brand new $6,700 purchase, we should be responsible for lifting a 600 lb. cabinet, installing a new leg, re-leveling the unit and aligning the doors. That’s all part of what we were supposed to pay for, and it was spelled out in writing prior to purchase. We already used our own manpower to get it in, solely because we were presented with no other options. I don’t feel like we should be continually put in those sorts of self-service positions, though.
I’m very concerned about how we’ll be able to lift the cabinet, replace the leg and do all the other needed things without damaging the unit and then being told we're responsible. We SHOULDN’T be responsible, because it was La Cache and Vintage Cellars (dealer's) job to deliver and set-up the cabinet. That’s what we paid for. But it is not what we have received.
Also, the idea that I should, again, for a new very expensive unit, “just stuff some paper,” in the stabilizing bar to make it work … Maybe I'm being too petty, but that doesn’t sit well with me. Heck, if I purchased a $10 toaster, I’d expect it to keep the toast down on it’s own and wouldn’t accept “just hold it there,” as a solution.
I’m also less than thrilled with what seems like a lot of “oops” from La Cache: First, the week-plus delay, without ANY sort of notice, in shipping the unit. (This is a week after the STATED ship date, which followed the original delay.) Then, sending my personal info to someone else, multiple times. Which, even after pointing it out, repeatedly, is still occurring. That’s a lot of errors from one company and, while perhaps just random, fairly harmless glitches (and I would argue that sending out a customer’s personal information is not completely “harmless," per se), can’t help but give me pause.
And all of the above is without even addressing the cosmetic damage the freight company caused ...
I am trying so hard not to be that jerk, but I just don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to receive what we paid (a lot) for. Actually, it seems like the very least Le Cache and Vintage Cellars can do.
I'm sharing all this not just to vent (though admittedly, yes, that too), but in hopes of getting some perspective. Am I being unreasonable? Has my vision been tinged by my previous long string of broken promises from Vinotemp, which preceded the current debacle? Is this "normal"? I heard so much good about La Cache customer service but, so far, I'm far from impressed. Please feel free to talk me down if anyone thinks I'm over-reacting. (I go back and forth. Sometimes I think I am; sometimes I think I'm not mad enough.)
I'll also include some photos in a following post so others can see what we've got going on. Any advice, including just to shut the heck up, is appreciated.
< Message edited by markandsusanw -- 12/5/2013 12:30:10 PM >
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First Vinotemp and now La Cache? ... *#$@ Seriously?!? - 
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