BabyUniverse's HORRIBLE service

[ILMom]

Has anyone else had a bad experience with BabyUniverse.com? I ordered the Zanzibar Crib Bumper from them on March 6th. They seemed reputable with postive scores on both bizrate.com and shopping.com, and their price was the best I could find. They said bedding was "special order" and would take 2 weeks for delivery. I ordered the item and my credit card was charged on March 6th. I called after 2 weeks and was told they were changing warehouses, that my order would arrive the following week and that they'd credit my shipping. My order didn't arrive and my shipping wasn't credited. I called again the next week, explained what had happened, this person said she would get the shipping credited and that "Now they are telling us Monday or Wednesday of next week" for shipping dates. By Monday, I couldn't even access my order status page. When I did, the "Waiting to be Shipped" sentence had been removed, but there was no tracking number, and our credit card has not been credited for shipping. I sent an email last Monday and it still hasn't been returned after a full week. They have not once contacted me to let me know about the shipping delay and when I've called, they have been unsympathetic. Since placing my order over a month ago, they have shortened their customer service hours from 8:30am-9pm M-Th and 8:30-6pm Friday (which is still listed on their website) to 8:30-5pm M-F, making it more difficult to get a hold of them. They have also changed their special order ship time to 4-6 weeks. What's frustrating is that they have 4 star ratings on Shopping.com and "good" ratings on Bizrate. So, they must get it right sometimes. I won't ever use them again though. I would cancel my order, but fear never getting my money back from them.

[westamp]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I've ordered my car seat and other items from Baby Universe w/o any problems. I do believe they are a reputable business. It could be that the delay is caused by the fact that they have to order your item and they are relying on a third party to deliver it.

Hope things will work out for you!

[ILMom]

Actually, that's not the case. I called Kidsline--the manufacturer--and they do have the item in stock. I was told the first time I called Baby Universe that the delay is due to the fact that they are changing warehouses. Kidsline confirmed this problem. My issue is that Baby Universe has not once contacted me to let me know about the delay. I called twice and both representatives were unapologetic (and I was polite and calm both times). The first person assured it would arrive "sometime next week". The second said that "now they are telling us Monday or Tuesday of next week for shipping dates" and that it would arrive 4 days after that. After that phone call, I noticed the next week that they changed my order status by removing "Waiting to be shipped", but did not add a tracking number. They have also changed their customer service hours and have not made this change on their website. I sent an email last Monday explaining my problem and my concerns, and I received a 2 sentence response indicating that they are moving warehouses and to "please allow a few more weeks". It's already been exactly 5 weeks. They promised 2 weeks. A few more weeks is unacceptable. Also, the only apology I have received was in the second sentence of the email. I called today to cancel the order. The customer service representative was just as matter-of-fact and unapologetic as the others. I can't believe they are still in business. They obviously get it right most of the time, but for me, treating even one customer as poorly as they have treated me is completely unacceptable. And, I've read several other similar expereinces at Epinions.com and Bizrate.com. I am sorry for the long post. I am just so apalled that a company that's rated so highly by customers could treat others so terribly--especially when I was NICE when I spoke with them. I can't imagine how the irate customers get treated.

[lvales]

Wow.

I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience with them! I've only ordered from them one time, for my Marathon. They had the lowest price and I got my carseat 2 days earlier than quoted. Maybe I got lucky?

If I had been treated the way you were I would be just as angry - it definitely will make me think twice about ordering from them again.

[ILMom]

Thanks. I generally am not such a bitter person, but they have really been awful. I noticed at bizrate that their last 3 months feedback is good but their last week feedback is pretty bad. Hopefully they will get the warehouse thing worked out. I really wanted to order my marathon from them too in a few months b/c they have such great prices, but now I am too angry with how I was treated. I am going to write a letter to their corporate office. I just feel they need to know how customers are being treated lately.

[sandy123]

I had a similar experience with Baby Universe. I think they have become too big and corperate. It took 2 months of constant calling to get them to live up to the commitments they gave me. BU never again.