Annette Thompson

Disappointing! We visited Shackleton's in May to have a look at garden furniture, albeit knowing that they can be a bit on the pricey side. We found the Lifestyle Garden Panama 4 seater dining set at a price we were willing to pay. They didn't have stock in and there was a sign saying more stock would be in mid June. We visited again 23 June to purchase the Panama set. There was only one left and it was reduced by £99. We asked for some assistance from the chap at the service desk who was busy eating his chips. He explained it was the display model and had been reduced by £99 due to some small marks on the table. We decided that we would be okay to buy it. However things changed when we asked about delivery. By this time the other chap had come over. He asked us where we lived...Great Harwood, no more than 8 miles drive away. You would have thought we had asked for it to be delivered to Lands End! He indicated that there was not a chance of it being delivered that week and that it would cost £40 (for 8 miles?!) He then added that the reduced price was for a customer to come in and take it away there and then. When we said that we wouldn't be able to fit it in the car, he told us that the chairs stacked and it would fit in a hatchback. When we explained that regardless of whether the chairs stacked we would still not be able to get it in the car, he then suggested we might want to hire a van at a cost of approx £38 for half a day. The attitude came across that if we couldn't take it away with us immediately then they weren't bothered about selling to us. At this point we decided to leave. We bought the Panama 4 seater set from an online site at less than the full price we had been willing to pay at Shackleton's with free next working day delivery. It was delivered before 10.30 am on the Tuesday. Great service and way above that offered by Shackletons. To be honest we were appalled at the poor customer service we were given. They lost a £500 sale that day and as we were also thinking about a pergola that was on display at a few thousand pounds, they have also lost that sale and in fact any future business from us as we won't be going back. I have since found out that on their web adverts Shackleton's offer free delivery. See attached image. Enough said I think.

Date of experience: 23 June, 2024