Comfort House

Full review
I do not mind shopping at stores operating on a shoestring if the savings are passed along in the form of lower prices. Consider that a no frills shopping philosophy, a concept familiar to folks who visit warehouse clubs, flea markets and garage sales.

ComfortHouse.com appeared at first glance to be a similar construct for online shoppers. The site has a simple logo and uncluttered graphics. The equivalent of a large warehouse store, one does not know what exactly will be available for sale, only that the prices will be reasonable. A shopper can meander through the site clicking on product categories as eclectic as bath items and car accessories. There is also a closeout section offering “scratch and dent” items sold with no return.

I experienced some less than positive issues after my first order there, and a company executive contacted me. I offered him a service challenge, which he quickly accepted. I would order again, using a friend’s name and contact information in another area and revise my opinion accordingly. With a tiny (and I mean tiny) issue, the second order went off without a hitch.

What impresses me most is that the company went to an extreme amount of effort to find and contact me. They took my criticisms personally and vowed that my initial experience was not their standard performance. At least one other reviewer has written positively about the company’s outreach to customers. I am a sucker for a management team with passion for their service.

Still, I wanted to be sure that I was not being swayed by a smooth manager so I researched the company. They display a BBBOnline Reliability seal, a program I consider one of the best in the business. There was no detail of customer complaints, an outstanding record considering that even highly reputable companies receive complaints. I also checked with the local regulatory authorities, who reported the company had a clean bill of health.

Clearly it was time to go shopping again. Mind you, I did not need to do so. My reporting on the first experience was accurate, but any company can make a mistake. Service excellence can be defined by a company’s response and whether a pattern exists. The story has a happy ending because both conditions were met with quality.

Navigating The Site

A small navigation menu bar remains at the top of each screen, allowing a shopper to drill into a specific category. Once inside a category, you’ll find thumbnail pictures, a short description and pricing. Clicking on an item brings up a slightly larger picture, a description and a list of related items. One especially useful feature is the presence of a set of shipping and other service-oriented links at the bottom of each product page.

Some of the related items are humorous. I’m still not sure if that’s by design or accident, but clicking on a George Foreman grill leads to boxer shorts. Get it – George Foreman was a boxer and, oh, never mind. To tell a small secret, I actually spent a good bit of time clicking around the site just to find the mismatched matches.

The shopping cart and search engine functions are basic, but serviceable. One area that did not work as well was the order search function hosted by a company called CyberKatz. To find your order, you will need a confirmation number, customer number or order number in addition to the shipping recipient’s zip code. This is an effective way to ensure that privacy is maintained, as well as reporting on an accurate item, but the process is a bit cumbersome.

Ordering Basics

Shipping is available via US postal service or UPS. The company does ship to international addresses. My order to the Washington, D.C. suburbs was sent from a warehouse in Newark. Interestingly enough, shoppers can only order overnight delivery by telephone.

Clicking the order button also commits the shopper much more than at other sites. Closeout items are non-returnable and canceling an order prior to shipment triggers a 5% cancellation fee. One terrific feature is the ability to return an item within 30 days and use the site to generate a pre-printed, postage paid label. Before you get too excited, you should know that the postage will be deducted from your refund, but this is an awfully convenient feature that many larger retailers do not offer. Remember too that you can not return clearance items.

My Shopping Experiences

During my first experience, I found the packaging sloppy. The package was sent during the Christmas rush, though, and I am willing to make allowances because my second order was shipped with nary a problem. In the first case, the product box and shipping carton were both damaged. This did not happen on the second instance although a slightly larger box could have been used the second time around.

The second order arrived in a timely fashion via USPS priority mail. Order and shipping confirmations were prompt, and the packing slip accompanying the order showed several marks which appear to be quality control checks.

The company also includes several pieces of candy in each order – a little thank you that is indicative of the service approach I mentioned.

The Bottom Line

I saved a few bucks. The company assures me that the fulfillment issues were a one-time occurrence, and I believe that this is the case. Were I looking for personal goods, especially those related to health or home items, I would order from Comfort House again.

Five Things To Remember From This Review

1. Site navigation is easy, but order checking is a bit hard.
2. Shipping costs are reasonable.
3. You can cancel an order before shipping, but will be charged a restocking fee.
4. Clearance items may be opened and are non-returnable.
5. If you purchase a returnable item, you can use an extremely handy feature to create a preprinted shipping label accepted by the US Postal Service.

Joubert’s FunLink

After reading about the George Foreman grills for so long, I wanted to give one as a gift to someone who is trying to cook healthier meals. But even the product has had troubles. Those were not related to Comfort House, of course, but you can learn how the product’s distributor paid an $8 million settlement for price-fixing on these popular items by copying and pasting the link below into your browser.

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2002/09/09/daily4.html

© 2002-2003 Joubert