Walter E. Smithe
Reviews and Complaints

I took delivery of a custom-made leather loveseat I bought from Walter E Smithe in April 2022. After 2 weeks I noticed the seat cushion starting to sag in middle and lose it shape. I contacted Walter E Smithe’s customer service department and they asked that I email them pictures of the loveseat which I did. They acknowledged the seat cushion was not up to standards and ordered a replacement and said I would have it in a month. Well, I didn’t get the cushion until 4 ½ months later. During that time, other problems with back cushion became soft and the armrests.

I contacted customer service again ask for manager and got Adrina. I explained to her the problem with loveseat and asked if I could exchange it for something else or get a store credit for the $5000 I paid for the loveseat. She said she would see what she could do and asked that I send pictures which I did.

It’s been over a month now and every time I call customer service for an update on my request, I get the run around. Adrina is never available and all the other managers are always in meetings. I leave messages for a manager to call me back but no one has ever returned my call. I send emails and no one responds.

I have given Walter E Smithe several opportunities to fix this situation but they have failed me.

I purchased two sofas at Walter E Smith in 2020. At that time we were looking to furnish our entire house with W&S. However from the moment I made a purchase it has been total nightmare dealing with your staff as well as your customer service department.First we had to call numerous times to check on our delivery date as we were not getting any follow up from the sales person.

Finally delivery was scheduled for August 2020. When they showed up only one sofa was delivered. We went through a hustle of getting our second sofa delivered. In the main time seems on one of the sofas started splitting. I called in to report this to see what can be done about it since we had it for one month. I was given so many run arounds by extremely rude staff that I gave up and just decided to let it go.Second sofa was delivered in November. In this whole chaos I was informed I would not be charged until sofas are delivered. This purchase was made during 24 months no interest promotion. I received this month statement and I was charged $901.11 deferred interest!?

I called customer service (agent L40) who was beyond rude told me apparently supervisor said promo ended on 8/16 and nothing they can do. She said there is no record of our second delivery!?After I asked to personally speak with this supervisor (V97) agent told me he is no longer available as they close at 8pm (and it was exactly 8pm - after I was on hold for 15 min)

My experience with W&S is unreal .I expect someone to contact me immediately to resolve interest charges on my account. My next step will be to take this complaint to all social media platforms as I feel consumers deserve to be aware of thing like this. Needles to say we purchased rest of our furniture with Restoration Hardware and received nothing but outstanding service.

@WalterESmithe hi - I am a long time customer of WalterESmithe and I am looking for help from Arlington Heights IL shoroom. I was disappointed with the service I got.

I was offered the cash card of $1000 due to delays to deliver my product and because of one product not fitting in my house. I was not sure on expiry date as normally cash cards do not expire. In addition, I had a situation in my family and lost of my father because of covid that resulted me delaying the use of cash card and now when I went to buy the stuff at store, I was told that this card is expired. It was expired in Feb 2022.

That new commercial may be commercial but it shows an Arab woman wearing a had scarf or Buhrka at the cocktail party, then cuts away to your daughter as if she is there to spy on that Arab woman? I take it as if its about
"Espionage" or something and not furniture. Couldn't you have just added a woman of Arab descent with western apparel on?

I purchased this chair July 25, 2020. It was delivered November 15, 2020. On February 15, 2021 it began to not work properly. When you put the chair into the lift position and then go back to recline it will not recline. If you unplug the chair for some time and plug it back in, it will begin to recline again, but the foot rest does not come up very high like it used to. If you use it to lift (which is what I need it for) it will not recline again. They came out on March 2, 2021 and the guy said they would have to order parts. Did not hear back and called on April 12. They did not seem to know anything about it and finally said they would a rush on the parts (1-2 weeks). Received a call on June 3 that the parts are in. They came on June 17 and the guy said that all the parts were not there. Tried to get a refund or a new chair but have had problems with that also. Was told parts were in again and the guy came out on August 7 and now said that they sent the wrong part. I emailed them same day and told them the situation and have not heard from them since. Along with all of this, they have sent me 2 notices that I owe money on this chair. If I cannot use this chair for its intended purpose I am not going to pay them any more money. I would just like to return this hair and get a refund for the first half that I paid.

There have been extenuating circumstances taken into consideration before writing this complaint, ranging from understandable covid delays through working with an employee no longer associated with WES. The entire process has been a disaster, and unfortunately no one wants to take accountability, let alone communicate resolve. I'm at a loss as to where to take this but at the very least, I can discourage anyone from doing business with them. This was a $20, 000 order and despite their corporate messaging, it appears meaningless to the powers that be.

Please, please, please read the fine print regarding returns and exchanges at Walter E. Smith. Apparently their policy is to only issue exchanges - NO exceptions. Well, my sales person messed up. I originally ordered 3 pieces but had a change of heart about one of the pieces. I called to cancel that piece right away...was told by my sales person it would not be a problem. However, many weeks later the cancelled item was delivered in place of one of the items I did not cancel. The truck driver alleged he could put the unwanted item back on his truck ...for many reasons. We immediately called all involved parties including Walter E. Smith and I was reassured that the matter would be resolved. I was asked to hold the piece in my home for pick up the following week. Within a few days I learned that the piece I was actually expecting needed to be re-ordered for an exchange...apparently my sales person cancelled the wrong item. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES, RIGHT. I was pretty sore about the entire transaction. I decided that I did not want to re-order anything and the unwanted (cancelled) piece needed to be picked up. Apparently, Walter E. Smith does not permit ANY REFUNDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. My only option was an exchange. REALLY? I will never purchase another item from this furniture chain. Ive since learned that most of their pieces are overpriced and can be bought for several hundreds/thousand dollars less from other vendors. BE WARE!

Spent THOUSANDS furnishing a new condo. Ordered sofa...defective. Couldn't get resolved.

Finally took offer to "reselect" new sofa for $719 difference (plus to reprotective coat cost). DEFECTIVE. Blamed US for ordering "plush" instead of "extra firm" cushions for sinking seat...though our designer agreed we had ordered extra firm cushions.

Offered nothing. With repeated complaints, offered to replace cushions with NO guarantee. WHAT? It's their merchandise, why can't they guarantee the quality? Then NOTHING even though complained also to "Mr Smithe".

GO ELSEWHERE...have spent the MOST money for UNsatisfactory merchandise in my life. You are better off getting something off the floor a more reputable merchant. Their ads are cute...too bad they can't match it with service and product.

We spent THOUSANDS of dollars there furnishing our new condo...first sofa was defective. Difficulty getting it rectified but offered to provide a new sofa at a significant discount. We took it, but it too had cushion defects.

The complaint person Doris tells us WE ordered the wrong cushions ("plush" instead of extra firm) even though our designer agreed with us that extra firm was ordered.
Originally offered nothing, but with our on-going complaints, offered replacement with NO guarantee. WHAT? It's their merchandise, why can't they guarantee it?
Besides, we'd have to pay to protective coat the new ones. With more complaints, directly to "Mr Smithe"...NO resolution/nothing.

GO elsewhere. We have spent a total of $4000 and still have no coach that is suitable. Their ads are cute, but I am thoroughly disgusted and dissatisfied. I'm 56 and this is the worse furniture buying experience in my lifetime...for the most money ever spent!

Also, WHO your designer is makes all the difference in the world.
You can get better elsewhere for a more reasonable price.

I placed an order with Walter E. Smithe for an oversized couch, chair and ottoman for the living room of a new condo I was purchasing. The sales person told me to go ahead and place the order since it would take a couple months to complete the order.

The next day I called the salesperson to say I reviewed the measurements for the living room and the furniture would not fit. This call and several other phone calls I placed were not returned so I finally went back to the store. The salesperson and the manager told me they would not modify the order or give me a refund because they have a "72 hour change policy" -- even though I did notify them within this time frame. To compound the problem, I paid with this purchase taking advantage of their zero interest plan (this is done through their finance company Household Financial).

I made several calls and wrote several letters to the owner and to Household. Household refused to help and no one at Walter E. Smith wanted to listen. I also wrote to the Better Business Bureau and their advice was to file a claim in small claims court. After a great deal of wasted time and money, I settled this dispute with the store to keep my credit report clear. I paid them nearly $1000 and never received any goods or merchandise in return. No one at Walter E. Smithe ever apologized and they refused to take responsibility. I have never been treated this poorly by any merchant ever. My advice would be DO NOT SHOP AT WALTER E. SMITHE FURNITURE. Fields and other furniture retailers are much more reliable.

Walter E. Smithe - www.smithe.com

My husband and I have spent over $10,000 at this store and have had the worst experience. Both delivery times, no one has called us to give us a window and we have had to wait home all day. The order dept could not tell us anything!

Secondly, we explained that we absolutely needed our furniture by Oct 1st. The company delivered it the second week in Sept, but unfortunately, one chair was the wrong fabric (although it was correct on my order form). I immediately (within 2 hours of delivery) explained to my sales person that I wanted to either receive the correct chair by October 1st, or cancel the order. You would think that is not an issue since they had to re-order the whole thing. The order processing person, nor my salesperson returned our phone calls for almost a week. I had to track down the store manager, who just put me on the phone with the order department. Finally, my case went to Mr. Smithe himself. He agreed that delivery prior to mid to late October was impossible, but he refused to cancel my order citing small print on the contract that the store is can make mistakes, have defects, etc and the customer cannot do anything to cancel order. You would think that a cancellation of one chair on an order of over $10,000 with an expectation of more to come would be a no-brainer. Maybe it was in the contract, but what about some customer service! Finally, he agreed to give $250 credit. But low and behold, this is only on future orders. What! I don't want to step foot in this place again, much less purchase something in the future.

I would never recommend this place to someone, and I continue to discourage people from shopping there. Hope the profit on a $1000 chair was worth it Mr. Smithe!