Macy's has been around over a century. As stores like Gimbel's, Bamberger's and Woolworth's have gone out of existence, Macy's seems to thrive, in part perhaps, because so many competitors have fallen by the wayside. But I also suspect some of this has to do with how they sell items.

It's not that Macy's sells bad products- although certainly it has its share of overpriced, not so great items. For me, it's a combination of (1) Sales techniques, especially the way it places items in sale and how it provides Star Rewards and Star Cash and (2) Poor, ineffective customer service. I'll start with the first.

Having purchased at Macy's for a while now, and recalling my mom being a regular customer years ago, there is a specific pattern to the Macy's sales technique: they regularly offer the supposed deep discount, with tons of exclusions which makes coupons practically useless.

Recently, I purchased a nice necklace for my girlfriend for her birthday. "On sale", it went for about $350 pre tax. The "suggested retail price" was triple that, about $1000. Now mind you, I don't think any savvy shopper truly believes the suggested retail price is correct. It is just there to make the discount look as significant as possible, but it is highly subjective.

I didn't mind this often used sales feint, as I liked the necklace. But just a few weeks later, this same item was discounted yet again. And we are not talking $20-$30. We are talking $100 less than their own supposedly deeply discounted $350, discounted from $1000 retail.

I was never going to return the necklace, but I did want to see if Macy's can provide to me at least a credit or even Macy's "cash" reflecting the $100 difference. By the way, I could have returned the item and repurchased it for the $100 discount, as it was still within the return window. Of course, I would never do so with a gift.

So I first logged into Customer Chat and got to chatting with a couple individuals who were clearly from overseas. Neither could do anything, they both read a script stating that any difference will be credited only within 10 days of purchase. So while I was within a 30-day window to return the item, and could return and repurchase (I was never going to do so), I would not be granted a fair credit for the difference. Thus, supposedly, was to "keep things fair" with all other customers.

Later on, while shopping for the holidays, I spotted another item, likewise on "deep discount" from retail. At checkout, I was told I would collect the maximum $40 Macy's Cash (like Kohl's, Macy's now has a holiday promo that earns you $10 cash at Macy's for every $50 spent, up to a maximum $40). Once earned this money, I had just a 10-day window to spend it.

It was clearly meant as a "last-minute" pre-Christmas incentive.

So I purchased this item, expecting the Macy's cash to appear right after the purchase. In addition, those with 'Star Rewards' get $10 for every $1000 spent. This, too, I expected to get right away.

Well, neither credit occurred. No cash, no points.

I again contacted a chat rep, again from overseas, and was told that the points and money would be credited once the transaction is actually charged to my card, as the item was shipped to the store. A sketchy answer, but I said, ok. I would await to get notice of arrival at the mall.

Well, about a week in, the item finally did arrive, at the mall. Except that the points and cash were still not credited. I called a customer rep this time and she gave me a completely different answer than the first rep: "You will get your cash once you pick up the item". "And by the way, your points show as 'pending'."

I stated time is running out, as the $40 must be used in a narrow 10 days before Christmas. In any case, feeling that further requests for customer assistance were not going to prove fruitful, I decided to just test this answer out, pick up the item and see if the cash and points get credited. I was offered, by the way, a 25% off coupon, which despite me trying to use it in a myriad of transactions, does not work at all.

I presume it's a token gesture meant to mollify me, but in truth it just exemplifies how unconcerned Macy's is to its customers, as I can't use the code at all and it expires soon anyway.

So I got to the mall on a super busy shopping Saturday, the weekend before Christmas. I won't go into detail about the item I got. But I did apparently get the $40 cash. It's just that the cashier had no clue how to apply it, since "normally we just hand out these physical coupons representing cash" and my purchase, by contrast, was done online. While on line, I even downloaded the App, hoping this would reveal a bar code or QR code. After a manager came over, they managed to find a bar code hidden in a subcategory inside the App- certainly not a facile and streamlined process. But, after a long wait, I got to use the $40.

However, now 4 days later, I still never got the Macy's points, the ones towards $10, which have been pending for a week now and should have been credited as soon as I purchased the item. I could waste another two hours with a script-focused customer rep but for the $10, it's just not worth it.

So what's the moral here:

First, Macy's is notorious for its 'flash sales' and 'deep discounts' that make you feel you are getting a real bargain. Unless you are an appraiser, it is evident Macy's has superior insider pricing information you as buyer don't have.

In fairness, I don't blame just Macy's here, but Macy's has so many flash sales and sale codes and coupons that it generates a sense of urgency (get this deeply discounted item now before the sale ends!) in consumers that I feel is likely misplaced. I mean, consider the first item, above. I got it at a massive initial discount, if the suggested $******* retail price is to be believed.

Then just 3 weeks later, it drops another $100? I must assume Macy's was still making a profit even with the $100 discount, which begs the question: what is the item really worth, and how much were customers likely overcharged without the sale prices in effect? What is it really worth?

Second, you have tons of these sales that require coupon codes, but all of them have a massively long sales exception list, which sort of swallows up the value of the coupon, making it useless for most items.

When purchases were exclusively 'brick and mortar', this process of exclusions could be a problem, because you show up with a little 'savings card' they mailed to you, only to find out the item you wanted is excluded in the microscopic fine print. At least with the online purchases, the code entry at checkout quickly tells you if the code works, saving you any issues (albeit being a major disappointment).

It's clear that this is a very nuanced form of 'bait and switch' where you are enticed by a coupon or deep discount, only to find that the discount does not work for your item-but here is an item you can buy instead!

Third, customer service is poor and ineffective. With outsourcing and all the reps given a script from which to read, they are never empowered to correct issues, such as the one first mentioned above. For example, the rep could have easily given me a credit for future use as a reward for being a loyal customer. Nothing of the sort was even envisioned, and the practically throwaway 25% coupon code is excluded from all items I have sought to purchase thus far.

I suspect that one of the reasons Macy's is still in business while Bamberger's and others are not, is because they do have what I feel is a ruthless policy of not accommodating customers and creating a false sense that you are getting a great deal when you are truly not.

Combined with extremely slow 'rewards' that fail to show up as a credit in a timely manner (clearly to Macy's benefit), it is clear to me that Macy's is keen on just one thing: their bottom line. They do a great job advertising themselves at the 'Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade', and also for July 4th, and in associating themselves with such holiday classics as 'Miracle on 34th Street', home to their flagship store in midtown Manhattan, but for someone like me, I would much rather have fair and up-front pricing without the subjective deep discounts and coupons with a million exclusions- and in being able to engage with a customer service rep who actually accommodates my needs, not just the bottom line of Macy's. I am sure corporate likes this business model, but it is far from fair or customer friendly, at least in my book. You feel like a peon with this company.

This is a long review. But it's the only way to get the whole situation across.
02/25: Ordered the Camden Heights Dining Room Table, 6 chairs, and the credenza at the Easton Macy's for $4,054.04 which includes White Glove Service. We were told the delivery date would be texted to us.

03/28: Delivery Day. The credenza was assembled, 6 chairs arrived assembled, table came with NO hardware. That crew advised the office and they gave us a call. We were told it would take 24-72 hours for someone to call us. So, in the middle of the floor were table parts, a credenza against one wall, and 6 chairs lined up the other.
03/28: We emailed Timothy Kuhlman the salesman at Easton and let him know what happened.

03/29: He emailed us back and said he would talk to his manager, Jonny Featherson about it.
03/29: Called customer service. "We will escalate this. Here's a $266 refund." Thanks, but we just want the table.

03/30: Still no call about delivery. No responses from anyone.

03/31: We call Customer Service again. "We will escalate this. Sorry for the inconvenience."

04/01: We call Easton again. "We will get back with you after we call customer service."
04/01: We IM Jackie Amann, Director of Customer Services via LinkedIn. No response to this very day.
04/01: We IM Tony Springs, President and CEO-Elect. He responds the same day. "Will have furniture customer service review and respond. Apologies for your experience."
04/01: Ursuala Eager advised via LinkedIn that Mr. Springs made her aware of the situation and the sales team she partnered with would be able to assist.

04/03: Rec'd a call from Sharon Walter who advised the hardware was going to be shipped to us and would email the tracking.
04/03: Jonny Featherson called back and said he would come to our house and set up the table as soon as the hardware came in.

04/04: Got an email from Sharon with tracking.

04/07: Jonny arrives and gives us Macy's Customer Accommodation Coupons. He begins to assemble the table only to find the base of the table does NOT fit; it's the wrong base. He takes the table back to the store and gives us 3 options: 1. Take the floor model for free. (This floor model had been out there for AT LEAST 2 years; brand new chairs and credenza with a used table? No thank you. 2. Order a new table at 50% off to be delivered May 9th or 3. Call Customer Service and have them pick up the credenza and chairs and return it all.

04/10: Advised Jonny we'd take Option 2.

04/11: We emailed Sharon Walter and advised her what happened.

04/14: Sharon Walter emails us back and refunds us the original delivery of $321.43 and said she would do what she could to make sure the next delivery was correct.

05/08: Reached out to Jonny to advise we had not received any calls about delivery. He said he would call us tomorrow.

05/09: Jonny called and advised the table isn't even at the warehouse and it isn't expected to be until June 13th and THEN a delivery date would be provided. Also found out that all those Macy's rewards we earned from the sale of the set were in the negative.
05/09: emailed Sharon Walter and advised her what happened.
05/09: IM'd Tony Springs again; no reply to this very day.
05/09: Rec'd an email from Sharon Walter: "I was under the impression the table had been assembled and all was good. I will check on this and get back to you tomorrow."
How in the world she thought that is beyond me except she never bothered to read the email we sent on 04/11.

05/11: Sharon Walter emails us back and blames it all on a system error and asked how we'd like to proceed.

05/16: We advise we will give Macy's another chance.

05/28: We receive a text message from Macy's: Visit macys-delivery.com to schedule delivery for your order." And they provide a sales order number. It doesn't work. So we decided to try again the next day and still nothing.

05/31: email Sharon Walter to advise of the text. She isn't sure what it is and says she sent a request to confirm that it is a new unopened tabletop. I don't even know what the means because it being new or used shouldn't have even been a factor IF she had read the emails sent to her to keep her apprised with what was going on.

Now somewhere in all of this Jonny Featherson checked out. He no longer had a dog in the fight.
06/04: We went to Macy's at Easton to shop. Literally crossed paths with this man and eye contact with us BOTH, he looked at us, and kept it moving. This man was in my house, so I know he knows exactly who we were. My fiancé wanted to go over and talk to someone in the furniture dept anyway. I didn't because I have absolutely no energy or desire to say anything nice. But whomever he talked to said he would tell Jonny when he returned, and he would give us a call to see if he had a delivery date.
Needless to say, we never got a call.

06/05: Reach out to Sharon Walter AGAIN since nobody has bothered to get back with us. She emails back and says she reached out to the warehouse and confirmed the new tabletop is included. (That's what this whole thing was about, but ok.) The warehouse advised they would inspect the pieces before loading them on the truck with a delivery date of 06/09.
06/05: We confirm that date will work.

06/09: The table arrives. Wrong base and holes in the legs and tabletop would not line up with the holes in the other piece AND the base was a completely different color then the rest of the table.
We immediately emailed Sharon Walter and said we are done. We had them take the table back.

06/09: We followed it up with a phone call; got her voicemail and left a message, she called back and told us Macy's never had any issues with this manufacturer before and pretty much blamed it on them. Not the warehouse for not doing what they said she told us they were going to do, which was check the table. We got a sales order number to have them come and get the 6 chairs and the credenza and get it all off the charge card.

I decided to reach out to the manufacturer, Legacy Classic Furniture to give me their side of the story. They never responded. I looked at their reviews online. They have 1/5 stars with the Better Business Bureau. They have 1 star because you have to give them at least one in order to submit a review. The reviews speak for themselves. Why Macy's didn't bother to review them before going into a partnership with them and present their products to their customers is beyond me.

I blame Macy's 100%. It started with them and ended with them. From the CEO all the way to the warehouse, it has been a complete cluster. I do NOT recommend Macy's Furniture to anyone. I do NOT have anything good to say about the supposed "escalations" or communication. If you can't pick it up in your hands, purchase it in the store, and bring it home yourself, then proceed with caution.

We are still without any dining room furniture, but it's better than having to deal with Macy's Furniture again.

Best person, best service, by Neetu Rano,, at Macy's white grace
I bought a coach purse and wallet

Liars!

Love you!

Macy's, I really don't like it but, we go there rarely and my baby brother likes BT.

I Love Macy's love the Christmas shop & clothes I love everything about Macy's

Exceptional service, high-waulity products

Terrific coupons, free shipping, great cashback offers!

I always shop at macys. Thank you again for the great service and coupon