We ordered 3 MetFab folding wall desks and gave them our credit card number. We were told it would be 4-6 weeks. We still haven't received the wall units but also have not been charged on the credit card.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
On June 6, 2010, I ordered via the internet, a step stool from "The Step Stool Store" which is a division of Evolutionary Office. I immediately received a confirmation of that order with number YHST-64933158341375-11591. My account was charged on June 15. I have emailed them on July 1, July 3 and July 8. I have not received any reply. It is now July 29. I have yet to receive the stool or a reply. I see on the internet that I am not the only person to have not received merchandise from this company. I have paid $48.00 for merchandise that I do not have.
I ordered a step stool on 5/22. I never received an email confirming my order. On 5/29 my credit card was charged. I emailed the company 3 times: the first, second and third weeks of June. In the third email I had lost my patience and told them I would report them to the TX BBB. 4 weeks after the purchase I finally received the following reply:
"Dear Ms. H.: Ma'am, you can add whatever you wish. The fact is that the last time you wrote in with this same pithy line: "Might I add that poor customer focus is at best an unsound business practice even in a good economy." We gathered around your first email, read and re-read it, and found it absolutely impossible to respond to it in a civilized fashion, so simply deleted it. You apparently have a bit of trouble in reading. As we note on the site where you ordered the product....Now, we'd have been more concerned if the order was actually LATE. Kik Steps ship in an average of two weeks. This is, however, an Average, not an Absolute and depends on the number of orders in front of your own at the factory, which ships on a FIFO basis.
"You have been so kind as to enlighten us with your learned opinion. Allow me to return the favor. We are a contract furniture dealership. We fill buildings with furniture. The Step Stool Store is an extremely automated site which provides the money for office coffee. It receives orders, creates purchase orders, and processes payments, all entirely automatically. This evening is probably the first time anyone has opened its administrative side in a month or so, simply to cancel your order.
"Madam, I've been in this industry for 53 years. There are six people who work here, every single one of us a salesperson. The average commission per month between those six people is $23,400. That's the Average, ma'am, per Month, in 2009. Yes, ma'am, you're absolutely correct. Times are tough. Our gross sales in 2009 were just a trifle over 17 million dollars. That, admittedly, is down from 2008's gross sales of 22 million. I blame the darn recession. I guess it's our "poor customer focus is at best an unsound business practice even in a good economy."
"I sure appreciate you taking the time to educate me about this industry and our business practices. Yes, ma'am, they're down. Last year, my business practices only averaged 2.8 million dollars per employee in gross revenue. By all means, I am ready to be enlightened. Tell me how many million dollars per employee your company generated last year and how do I achieve the customer focus in these sluggards which you have instilled in your employees? Sigh... Allow me, in my ignorance, to point out something:
"You get more flies with honey than vinegar." If you'd simply pointed out you didn't have your Kik Step yet, someone would have taken the time to explain the process to you. But, no, you felt compelled to educate us. Apparently, it's a line you read somewhere that you like so well that you thought maybe we overlooked it in the first letter so you better include it in the second one, too. It irritated me every bit as much the second time as it did the first one.
"Poor customer focus? Ma'am, our focus is on architects, interior designers, and facility managers. I'm sorry your $48.90 purchase just doesn't make me do the happy dance. You could order a hundred of the things and it wouldn't really impact my day. But you did indeed gain my attention and my focus for a bit by being insulting. I don't think the results are exactly what you intended, but you did gain my focus. As a few general rules of thumb: People are happy to help you. No one wants to do a bad job. Folks want to make you happy. It is not necessary to insult them in order to get results. If you do insult them, you will not like the results you get. Ask any waitress.
"Further: People with old money don't care about it. The only folks who think money makes them special and that their purchase comes with the automatic right to be insulting to those who are providing them with their purchase are those who daily struggle to acquire money and the nouveau riche. One of the rules I made many years ago was that we would not deal with abusive or insulting people under any circumstances. There's not enough money to make it worthwhile. Call it a quirk of my hippie past. So, Ms. H., you may take your money, your advice, and your business elsewhere. I have canceled your order and refunded your card in full. Robert N., President, Evolutionary Office
The Step Stool Store"
I waited 4 weeks for merchandise that now will never be sent as the company cancelled the order.
Back on April 16, 2009, I ordered 4 Ekkita brand planters from Evolutionary Office, and used my hospital's credit card to pay for these. Evolutionary Office charged my account $3,556.00 but never placed the order with the manufacturer - I called the manufacturer and they never received our order. I have left messages over and over with this company and no one will return my call. Please help - we are a non-profit hospital and I think we were scammed out of our money.
