Lands' End

Full review
I've been a Lands' End customer for nearly 30 years, and I'd been happy to do business with them until my last order. When I placed the order online, I was told that all four items were in stock. The e-mail confirming the order said they were all in stock. The e-mail confirming that the order had been shipped said they were all in stock. When I received the order I discovered that one of the items (the one I wanted most) was not in the box, even though it was listed on the enclosed invoice. The same day I got a postcard from Lands' End saying that that item was out of stock and would not be available. The card said they don't put a hold on the items in stock when the order is placed, so it's first-come-first-served in the warehouse. It's one of the worst online shopping experiences I've ever had. Nearly every other online vendor is able to track their inventory accurately in the ordering process. I don't know why Lands' End can't. Maybe it's a downside of their takeover by Sears. Maybe now that they're controlled by a mass-merchandiser they're more driven to control inventory than to satisfy customers. Their customer service used to be as excellent as the quality of their merchandise, but no more. Another indication of sloppy order processing: the order number they gave me evidently was the same as the number on an order for another customer last year. When I submitted it to UPS for tracking, they said it was delivered to somebody 1500 miles away five months ago!