Stepevi

Buyer Beware! While the product is quite nice customer service is a nightmare!
Located in what might be considered Chelsea’s design district on Kings Road, Stepevi offers contemporary carpets in an appealing selection of designs. Great for that West London home and stylish flat.
However the customer service is quite simply appalling –on every level. From the fact that the staff on the floor have no real concept or information on their product to organization of order and delivery. If I could do it all again I would NOT BUY from this shop!
First I inquired about a design I had seen online, I was told by the salesman on the floor that they did not have it in shop but it would arrive in a couple of days if I wanted to see it then. He then pointed out that the design I picked was part of the London Design Week and was being shown at one of the venues but would be returned to the shop in a couple of days. I returned a couple of days later and the same salesperson seemed utterly confused about that same design when I inquired to see it. Wasn’t this the design that was used to represent Stepevi in London Design Week? He then said they didn’t have it in shop because it was an older design, but it could be ordered. (???) I admit I should have seen the red flags but I was very taken with the rug and having been to other shops I was ready to move on and make a purchase. We discussed a couple of colour and design options, looked over fabric swatches I had with me and narrowed it down to two. I then said I needed to decide between the two options and I would be back. Came back as promised a couple of days later and asked for the salesman and was told he was away and unavailable so I put in the order with the salesperson on floor at the time, Luke. I should have run at this point but I was determined to get the rug after finally making a decision. He told me the design and colour combination I had picked, and which I had discussed with the other salesman earlier was no longer in production (???) but it could be made to order and delivered in the same amount of time as originally stated. Relieved, I put in the order and paid for all the necessaries or so I thought…
A few weeks later I get a call that the rug had arrived and was ready for delivery. We set up a time and I made sure to be home. Well the rug was never delivered! Not only was it never delivered, I never even got a call to tell me there had been a problem. I called the shop and got no answer, I called the following day and when I did get an answer not only was there no explanation as to why the rug wasn’t delivered, but no attempt to try and fix the situation. Just that Luke was now not available. I told them to deliver it on a specific day and to please actually deliver it this time. On the day I called in advance to make sure they were indeed going to deliver and I was told yes it would be. Then I followed with what I thought had already been resolved and said ‘and of course the rug will be laid down and put in place.’ I was told that was a service I hadn’t paid for. Now I know I asked for that service as I would need help putting out the rug, and I was told it was included in the delivery. But now I was being told by the salesman on the phone that I would have to pay an extra 75 pounds to have the rug accommodated in place and have an underlay as well. Again, something I KNOW I had a discussion about as I would have needed an underlay for the rug being on a wooden floor. Unfortunately for me there was no invoice given to me of the order. I asked for one at the time of purchase and was told I would receive it later, so I had no choice but to go by what they demanded which was to pay extra for the delivery AND the installment service. To add more insult to more injury, it couldn’t be done that day –the second day I had rearranged my schedule to wait for the rug delivery, I would have to pick another day! I asked to speak to a manager and it turns out not only was the man on the phone the manager, not giving a damn, but turns out he was the same clueless salesman I first worked with! Given his attitude it became clear through his comments, he would not help me because I hadn’t put in the order with him and he seemed quite put off by that. This even though I asked for him by name when I went in to put in the original order and he was not there that day he was miffed at me for not ordering directly with him! Not only was his behavior aggressive but he is the manager! I had no choice but to pay the 75 pounds and set up yet another day for the rug to be delivered. It has been the most expensive and difficult delivery of anything I have had to buy for my flat.
My advise is to stay clear of this store. Yes the rugs are stylish, but the customer service is so incredibly bad and incompetent, you’d be unsure whether or not you’d actually get the product. Furthermore the salespeople have no pride in what they sell or how. Absolutely atrocious experience!