West Elm Is Offering Free Couches/Refunds to Anyone Who Bought the Peggy Couch
It was just yesterday that we brought you word of the epic saga that’s been happening since writer Anna Hezel singlehandedly took on one of West Elm’s most popular — but perhaps most problematic — pieces of furniture, the “Peggy,” with a scathing review on The Awl.
West Elm (whose spring collection is a match made in small space Heaven) seemed to be discreetly responding since the piece’s publication by silently pulling each and every Peggy couch it could from warehouses and online completely, albeit with varying reasons why: BuzzFeed reporters were told it was simply “sold out.”
Now there’s an update for those who related to Hezel’s piece, and guys? We think you’re gonna like it. The author reached out to a West Elm representative about the mysterious disappearance of the popular furniture piece, and received the following email in response: “Feedback, such as yours, is the one true source of information necessary to allow us to address areas where we are not meeting our goals. I want to assure you that this information is taken very seriously. Every inquiry received is reviewed and submitted to our executive team and buyers in the specific area. It’s important to know that not all situations are like yours and we handle each of them case by case. We take necessary measures, internally, as we see fit. In this case Ms. Hezel, we deemed it was best to remove the Peggy sofa from our website.”
And that’s not all. Not only will customers no longer be subject to the horrors of missing buttons and broken couch legs (the main complaints being made against the sofa), but another rep reached out to Hezel to let her know that anyone already in possession of the couch that purchased it in the US or Canada after July 2014 is entitled to either a full refund or a replacement order (!!!). All you have to do is either email support@westelm.com or give them a ring at 888-922-7870.
While we’re not entirely sold on the fact that feedback is always taken as seriously when it isn’t going viral (Hezel’s original article points out that though the site doesn’t have direct product reviews, others have been raking it over the coals on Yelp and Instagram for some time now), we’re definitely happy to see the company taking steps to amend its faulty ways, making sure it doesn’t happen to others or refunding them where their money is due. (Might we suggest putting it toward one of these repurposed couches instead?)
Cheers to the power of commercial feedback!
Will you take advantage of West Elm’s refund offer? Share over @BritandCo.
(h/t The Awl, photos via West Elm)
