Polsteins HomeandBeyond

Full review
I ordered two things from Polsteins and I had bad experiences with both:
(1) Item #1- I ordered some Christmas Decorations. The price was reasonable and it seemed that the delivery time was fast. I ordered the items online and everything seemed smooth. I few days later I received a phone call from Polsteins.com but they did not leave a message (caller ID). I called them back and asked them if there was a problem with my order and they told me that no one from their company called me and that my order was ready to ship the following day. I waited for approx 7 business days and did not receive the item. When I checked the order status online, it said "waiting to ship". I sent an email asking them why the item had not shipped. I never received a response. When I was having problems with Item #2 (see below) and I questioned them about the Christmas Decorations, they told me my address was incomplete. My question was that if my address was incomplete, why didn't someone email me call me to ask me to complete the information. In addition, how did they charge my credit card without a full address. They took my information over the phone and I did receive the item in excellent condition.

(2) Item #2 - I ordered a snowblower for my husband for Christmas. It snows a lot in Pittsburgh so I decided to give it to him early. We assembled the snowblower and it did not work (it was electric). I contacted Polsteins by telephone, which by the way you only can leave voicemail. I waited for a representative to return my call the following business day as promised on the answering service. I never received a return call. So, I sent an email. The email response I got was to contact the manufacturer. I emailed again and told them that I wanted to return the item. The eventually contacted me at home and proceeded to refuse to take the item back. I finally convinced them to take the item and asked them to email me the information to return the item (ie. Return Item Number, Address, Contact Name, etc). I have yet to receive this email. I shipped the item back to the warehouse via UPS and the item was delivered. It has been two weeks since the item has been delivered and I have yet to receive my refund. In addition, I have contact Polsteins twice asking them to give me a status update regarding my refund and I have yet to receive a response.
I think Polsteins.com has horrible customer service. I understand that the holidays are busy, but I think 2 weeks is a little long to wait to get a status update regarding defective merchandise that has been shipped back and received by their warehouse. I think they have nice products at reasonable price, especially if they get it right the first time around. However, if your order does not go according to plan it seems that you are up the creek without a paddle.