Linens 'N Things

Full review
I started my search for my friend's daughter's wedding gift at my local Linens N Things store. Most of the items on her gift registry list were already purchased, and the few things left were either unavailable at the store or kind of quirky for wedding presents. I finally settled on some Oxo utensils and brought them up to the register.

"Can you gift wrap these and mail them to the bride in New orleans?" I asked.

"Uhhhhhhhhh...." said the checker. "I'll have to find out." She called up and said that it "could" be done, but that she wasn't sure how or how much it would cost. I had to wait for the manager to call back.

I got a very uneasy feeling that this store would somehow lose the wedding gifts and that it would appear that, not only did we not fly 1200 miles to the wedding, but we also didn't commemorate it with a present.

"Thanks, but no thanks," I said, going home and heading for Linens 'N Things Online Store.

My Online Experience

As usual, before I headed for www.lnt.com, I searched for online coupons and rebates. I couldn't find any coupons on www.dealcatcher.com, and I couldn't find any rebates on www.ebates.com, but I hit pay dirt at www.spree.com--a 3% rebate. This was only the second time I linked through Spree, and I'm sure it will be awhile before I qualify for a check, but a rebate's a rebate. Head for Spree if you're shopping at LNT.com!

At first glance the site seems beautiful and easy to navigate. I headed for the "Gift Registry" in the upper left hand corner and found three types of registries--wedding, celebration, and housewarming.

I was able to search for my friend's daughter's wedding list by bride's name, groom's name, or wedding date. The list was well-organized into categories, and the items she still needed were easy to find.

Even better, the Mozart glassware, my top gift choice for a talented Musical Theatre graduate, was available.

I clicked on the item, and it went straight to my shopping cart.

At that point, things got very messy.

I had the option of writing a gift message. They didn't tell me until the message was submitted that it could only be 160 characters.

Hmmmmm....I shortened it, and it was still over 160 characters. I shortened it again, and it was still over 160 characters. This feature should be changed to tell purchasers they only have 160 characters to work with at the outset, and to display a little counter on the bottom showing how many characters have been used (sprintpcs.com has this feature, so I'm sure it's easily added.)

I paid for the item with a Visa debit card, and then things got worse. I kept looking for the 'gift wrap' option, and I couldn't find it. I looked at the help menu, which didn't give me any help. I went back and went through the whole process again, thinking I could find the gift wrap option. I couldn't. Finally, I figured it was on the last page, and I submitted the order--alas!--without gift wrap instructions.

Even worse, my $5 coupon, which Linens 'N Things catalogs say you can use online and which I figured would cover the cost of the gift wrap, wasn't able to be entered anywhere, and I also submitted the order without getting credit for my coupon.

I went to my e-mail, and my confirmation message was there. I decided to e-mail customer service.

Help! Customer Service! Your Website Has Problems

Customer Service called me on the phone about 18 hours after I'd contacted them. They told me two things:

1) ALL gift registry items are automatically gift-wrapped, and that it was included in the $5. shipping charge. (Unfortunately, there's no indication that gift wrap is included on the gift registry site.)

2) There isn't any way that the gift registry can accept online coupons, even though the rest of the lnt.com site can. The representative asked me for the coupon UPC number, and said that, since I had asked to use the coupon, a $5 credit would be placed in the checking account linked to my debit card.

Even though the customer service rep satisfied both of the issues I had with the gift purchase, I was still dissatisfied with the site use.

If a catalog says that the coupon can be used online, there should be an opportunity to use it online whether purchasing through the gift registry or not, and customers shouldn't have to contact customer service to use the coupon.

If registry gifts are always gift-wrapped, this should be clearly noted so that customers don't have to hunt around and contact customer service to find out that the service is already provided.

If messages can only be 160 characters, LNT should make it easier for customers to count off while they're composing.

I have never used Linen 'N Things online store other than for this gift registry purchase, and I have the feeling that shopping runs more smoothly if customers avoid the gift registry.

I am recommending the online store because, even with the problems I had, it was far superior to my experience trying to purchase the wedding gift in the bricks and mortar store, and because Customer Service was helpful and accommodating.