Have you looked at other sites for lampshades? I've bought lamp shades at Home Depot for reasonable prices.

@blfenton maybe that's the way to go. Just accept my losses and find a lamp shade from a more reasonably priced retailer. I think I need to take some calming breaths after my last hour long phone call in order to think rationally.

If you send them back, they are trash to them. They should just give them to you, frankly. Think of the nice post you would write. : )

Anyway, you need to push the "up" button. PB is owned by WS ... here is how you contact them, below. Try to write a letter that is as concise as possible but includes details and photos. Decide what action you want them to take, and request that.

Good luck.

Craig Barnes
Senior Vice President - Customer Care
3250 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco , CA 94109
CBarnes@wsgc.com

Oh wow, what a nightmare. I do love the lamps -- but the shade is part of the look and I'd be too annoyed to keep them without the shades. I am so sorry you've had to deal with this!

Prickly, I’m sorry this happened. I know you were excitedly waiting for them.

I seriously don’t know how PB stays in business, all I hear lately are bad things about their customer service. I ordered a rug from them a couple of years ago, they sent the wrong one. Luckily, I liked it better than the one I ordered, but if I hadn’t? By the time I got it, none in that line were available anymore.

I wonder if the shades were shipped separately, and might still show up?

Try what Mtn said. I know you’re tired of it all, but this is just unacceptable and should be made right. Maybe social media, too?

Good luck, they are pretty and I hope it all turns out well!

I would send them back, then decide if I could live with a different color, and slightly different design. If I think I can live with the differences I would buy this from Amazon for $47, pat myself on the back for saving money, and treat myself to Starbucks with some of the difference. Then I would promise myself never to order from PB again.

There are a few lamps similar to the PB one on Google Lens. If you check it out you might find something you like better.

Do you think, if you keep them, this will leave unpleasant memories every time you look at the lamps?

If so, I'd be tempted to just return them and be done with it, starting anew with a different vendor.

If not, I'd simply find some different shades. Target always has nice looking drum shades too.

If you didn't receive the shades, and will keep the lamps, they should provide at least a partial refund, I think. They may only be able to provide a store credit - which might be an issue if you don't want to buy anything else from them...

I think they should credit you for your incomplete order and don't understand their hesitation in doing so.

My across-the-street neighbor received a bathroom vanity from them when having an addition constructed. It arrived with a damaged top (cracked marble). She was told 'keep it' and we're sending the replacement. After a new top and some tweaking by her handy husband, the original became a usable piece of furniture while the replacement was installed in the new bathroom (mother in law apartment). And they are arguing lamp shades with you?

If you do end up shade shopping, I've been pleased with purchases from Shades of Light. Packaging always impeccable.

Thank you @mtnrdredux_gw for the address! Maybe escalation is the only way if I actually want something to be done. I did speak with a "supervisor" (who then became irritated with me and corrected me that she was "a manager") after getting put on hold a dozen times while the CS rep spoke with her "supervisor" (her word). Essentially that got me nowhere fast.

@carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10 that is a really interesting question. I wonder if I will be upset just looking at them or if I can get over it. Up until today I've been walking by thinking "ooh I love the lamps, but I can't wait until have shades for them". (I have them set up without any shades which looks kind of stupid right now.) I'd had my eye on these lamps for a while before I made this purchase and I was really excited about the pretty alabaster base. But now it's a good question if I'm just completely angry and soured on them.

In some ways it's so dumb. It's just two stupid lamps, not life or death. At the same time, it's infuriating that an established business cannot reasonably resolve their own error.

I am checking Target and Home Depot right now to see what their shades look like. I have two other PB lamps (bedside) with what I think are probably the same drum shades, and they're nice but not particularly amazing.

The lamps would give me bad vibes if i kept them and covered the cost of shades myself.

The lamps would give me satisfied vibes if PB covered the cost of shades.

Frankly, if the escalation fails, I would probably either buy or have new shades made and move on. You sound so delighted with the lamp bases, and it seems a shame to deny yourself that joy due to corporate failure. Most of the alabaster lamps I see—Regina Andrew has a lot—have an acrylic base versus the ORB on yours. I will say I do not believe PB/WS is long for this world due to their continued selling of items they cannot deliver.

What mtn said word for word. I'm having her write all my dispute letters going forward.

@mtnrdredux_gw that is perfect! Thank you. You are 100% correct that I would feel satisfied if they would either send me the lamp shades or credit me the cost to buy the lamp shades from their website. Originally on my calls they reps said they would do that if they couldn't get the replacement order to go through, but then just never followed up. Now in the latest call today, the supervisor/manager refused to do either and said that she would if she could but that she could not. I cannot understand how they cannot simply send me shades. Seems like that's the least expensive option for everyone.

Wow - I'm so surprised because the one thing I've always had from them is fantastic customer service. Know that the web and the stores are managed differently, so in-person won't get you anywhere.

Note that my advice below is based on a combination of working in a call center and getting exceptions through call centers from both sides of the phone.

I would try calling one more time during West Coast business hours so your chance of getting the A Team is highest. Be exceptionally cheerful and express the desire to find a compromise so everyone is satisfied.

My request would be that they refund you the difference from what you paid to the Final Price so you can find your own shades. That removes any discussion about the size of the shade. Note for them that the return shipping at their cost is likely close to that final price (I'm guessing here) and that after waiting seven months for the lamps, your preference is to not start that search over.

Acknowledge that you'll except them as is and you'll have to purchase new shades, but that it seems like a fair compromise. If the answer is "no", thank the service agent for trying to help and then ask for a supervisor because maybe they could approve the exception request.

As for shades, I've found really good shades at Home Goods for less than $20.

I always email instead of call. Calling takes too long, makes my blood boil, and I don't care what they might call themselves, they never seem to be senior enough to do anything. You also always have to keep repeating the facts, and sometimes they don't really get the gist of it.

@mtnrdredux_gw I usually prefer email as well. Interestingly I cannot find an email contact on their website. I actually talked with the store initially since I made the purchase through them. I went to the store to see the lamps in person, and the sales person said that they didn't have any in stock but could order them for me.

@1929Spanish-GW I am also shocked they will not just credit me or send me the shades listed on the website. These are very heavy stone lamps that came in a single box that I was barely able to wrap my arms around and struggled to lift to get it up one step into my house. With the one damaged, I cannot even imagine they could possibly re-sell them.

@deeinohio I think you hit the nail on the head that I am delighted by lamps and I think that's what's making this so frustrating. If I had mixed feelings I would have simply returned them. I am really tempted to just write it off and just find some lamp shades (whether PB or other) and enjoy them.

This is definitely making me think twice about making further purchases with Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc. I already was suspicious of the quality of their products (their upholstered items seem to be garbage) but now it seems one cannot even be confident in receiving what was ordered without a fight. I do not think it's a coincidence that they do not support product reviews on their website.

It’s always good to have a paper trail, which you won’t get with a phone call. Mtn, how did you get that name? We know that there is a website that aids one in finding the names of higher ups in any particular company, but we forgot the name of it. I am having issues with Stickley over a missing nightstand from our new bedroom set that we just received, and we are getting nowhere with the customer service people.

Never use the email address on a company's site for a problem that has already gone unresolved.

Go to https://www.elliott.org/ and email senior management. Be as brief as possible (yet thorough... order #s, dates, photos). Polite but firm. Tell them what you want them to do.

You also might be able to protest the charges for damaged goods via your credit card. I'm not sure if that could work since they are offering a refund, but it might be worth a try. See if CC company will cancel the charges, then it will be on PB to forget about the lamps or figure out how to get them from you (which they probably wouldn't).

I emailed Mr. Barns with @mtnrdredux_gw very eloquently worded message and photos of the bent harp holder. I'm not going to hold my breath, but maybe it could be resolved.

Update! @mtnrdredux_gw is a genius!!

I just recieved a call from someone at their corporate office regarding my email. She was very friendly and apologized for how customer service had handled the situation. She said that it is not correct that they would not resolve the missing lamp shade issue. She asked whether my preference was for the lamp shades to be shipped to me or for the refund and I said that my preference was to receive the lamp shades as I would simply use the refund to purchase the lamp shades (and would be out the shipping cost as well). She said she's going to work on the issue and place the order for he lamp shades and that she will be in contact with me again tomorrow. She also said she will be talking with the customer service agents involved (yikes) as they had not correctly addressed the issue.

She also complimented the specificity in the email. So again, hats off to @mtnrdredux_gw! Thank you so much! I hope this works out.

Great news! Mtn needs to give classes on how to write corporate letters, seriously. :)

WOW! You got 'em replacing the shades! Love a happy ending! and those are beautiful lamps!

yay! Happy you made some progress.

@jb1586, I didn't see "Stickley" on Elliott.org.

Sometimes you can find a name by googling "Head of Customer Service" or something like that. LinkedIn is a good place to find people who work at a certain co. It's usually easy to find a CEO but ideally, you want to go down a rung or two from there (but not too far down).

I did find this: https://www.datanyze.com/people/Matthew-Poirier/6454566675

Many corporate emails are first initial last name, so I might try MPoirier@stickley.com

The other way I like to find people is by googling the name of the business and "PRnewswire." When a company has an announcement, they often distribute it thru PRNewswire. Most good size companies will have a few when you google, often recent. Often, they are marketing related and they include a company contact. That contact may be your best bet, and in any event you learn their email convention so anyone you have a name for, you can figure out the email.

To wit, this ends with the email for the Head of Marketing:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stickley-introduces-its-2022-collector-edition-the-meadowflower-cabinet-301458540.html

Contact: Matt Targett, Director of Marketing
315-682-5500 ext. 2254
Matt.targett@stickley.com

Based on that, i might try Matt.Poirier@stickley.com, or even Matt.targett@stickley.com.

Good luck! Remember, concise but thorough and factual. No venting no ranting. Tell them the remedy you want, don't make them guess.

What a wonderful update! This made my day and they aren't even my lamps! LOL

Excellent news!

This is why I love this site!!!

OMG, Mtn! You are the best! We had found the first name you referenced, Matt Poirier, and sent an e-mail, which bounced back. From what we could find, he left that job in July. Timing, right? We will try the second name you found, however. Thanks so much. In a nutshell, two nightstands were delivered with the bedroom set; one was correct, and the other wasn’t. We did not accept delivery of the wrong one, which was from a completely different line. Stickley uses a third party delivery company, which goes all over the country, and the story is that they have to wait until it returns to their warehouse, to determine who it should have gone to, to figure out where our correct piece was delivered in error. Crazy, right?

One more update: I just received an order confirmation for a $0.00 for 2 lamp shades!! Mtn, I am so impressed with your skills.

I am still shocked that CS was unwilling to do this. It makes no sense to me that they were pushing to refund me $480 and pay who knows how much to ship 43lbs of lamps back to their warehouse where they surely cannot be resold as new (since one is damaged and both have been used in my house for a month now) rather than simply ship me some of their standard lamp shades.

@jb1586 your scenario is my greatest fear with a major (for me) furniture purchase that hopefully will be delivered sometime in the near future. I worry that if there is a problem with the order and I refuse delivery that I may be stuck in limbo. Good luck!

Good luck, Prickly! We have many Stickley pieces around the house, and this is the first time something like this has happened.

Good luck! I’m impressed your perseverance has paid off. I’ve been less than impressed lately with their sister store, W-S and may write a post about general customer service experiences, good and bad.

Pricklupearcactus, I am so happy you were able to get a resolution that was acceptable to you.

mtnrdredux, Thank you for the tutorial it was succinct and clear. I have copied and saved the letter and websites to use as models for any future issues.

The helpful information shared in this thread is amazing. Mtn, really , well done.

I do want the update when you receive the lampshades {please).

On a side note, I have found posting on the facebook page to also be surprisingly effective.

pricklypear - Terrific news. Well done!

When I have a complaint if by email or phone or person-to-person I vent in a written memo to myself as it helps to figure out why I'm so pi$$ed off. I tear it up and then proceed logically with the actual complaint.

That's a great idea @blfenton!

You can always come here and b!tch too!

But BLFenton is right; you need to exorcise the venom first to be most effective.