My love ~ hate ~ LOVE ~ relationship with Zulilly

Have you caught “Zulilly fever” yet?!?!?  I’ve got it BAD!!

I have a MAJOR redecorating project coming up next spring, so I’ve been perusing Pinterest for ideas.   From Pinterest I discovered Zulilly and their fabulous prices and LOW shipping.  Just as I did my Christmas shopping throughout the year this past year (some of it from Zulilly!)  I’m trying to ‘shop smart’ (for the best prices) and buy early for this upcoming project, so that I have everything I need and don’t have to waste time searching for stuff once I begin my re-decorating project.  I really have found a LOT of things that I want and NEED on Zulilly.

On a seemingly totally different subject (but it does come back to the subject!)  SOMEtimes working for yourself kinda sucks!  There is no one to help you when you get burnt out.  No one to tell you that you are doing a good job.  No benefits,  No sick days.  No vacations days . . . and no Christmas bonuses!

Well, this year I decided that I deserved a Christmas bonus.  I had been shopping for some essentials (storage and organizational type things) and I kept coming across this:

I fell in love instantly!  Not quite ‘my color’ but I like to mix it up a bit.  After looking at it about a dozen times, I convinced myself to SPLURGE (and reward myself!) and spend the $119.00 (+ $9.95 shipping) and buy myself this little cutie as my Christmas bonus.

I’ve worked very hard this year and I decided that I deserved a little something special!  Still, an occasional twinge of guilt would pop up, telling me that if I waited long enough and looked hard enough that I’d find something similar at the thrift store for a LOT cheaper.  NOPE!  I’m gonna splurge on myself for once and I am going to ENJOY doing so!

I waited anxiously for that little orange card in my mail box telling me I had a package too big for the mail box.  In the meantime I daydreamed about all the things my new friend and I would do together . . .

Invite friends over for tea and use the cart to artfully arrange ‘cakes and biscuits’ on.  When company came to stay I’d use it to set up in their room for those ‘little necessities’, a box of tissues, bottles of water and fresh flowers on the top shelf.  Big fluffy white towels on the bottom shelf and a bar of yummy smelling soap.  The rest of it I’d leave empty for my guests to put their stuff on.  I’d use it as a portable  craft station for my ‘craft du jour’ (which always ends up on the coffee table right now).  Then when company came I could just wheel it into a closet.  Keep it near the front door as a’catch all’ ; and when I came home with thrifted treasures I could drop them off on the cart until I was ready to use them.  Use it as a ‘holding station’ when I have my holiday cookie baking marathon to store all the ingredients on; keeping them within easy reach, but not cluttering the counter.

Oh yes!  I had such grand plans for this little darling!

 It arrived in less then 2 weeks.  I could hardly wait to tear into the box!  It felt like Christmas morning!  It was in ‘parts’ and needed to be put together; which I had assumed it would be.

There was no damage to the box it was shipped in, and it was very well packed to prevent damage in shipping.  No dents or rips on the inside protective packaging either.  It was missing the washers that were supposed to be included.  No biggie, I have spare hardware and can find some to use if I really need them.  

 

It went together just fine without the washers, despite the fact that the ‘special tool’ included for tightening the nuts didn’t fit the nuts!  (one end was too big and the other end too small!)  Still, not a big deal, I HAVE tools and just used a pair of pliers, which worked just fine.  

Once I got to the top shelf, I discovered that it  had a CONSIDERABLE DENT in it.  It was bent in to the extent that the screw could not even go through the hole.  My heart sank!

The screws were ‘welded in place’ so couldn’t be moved, and the holes for the screws were pre-drilled.  So I consulted with my own personal Mr. Fixit and asked if he thought we could ‘pound it out’.  I was heart broken at the thought of having to send it back because I couldn’t assemble it.

Michael  gave it ‘one good tap’ with a rubber mallet while I held it firmly in place slightly over the edge of the work bench.  Doing so, cracked a little bit of the paint, and made the ‘crack’ that coincided with the dent a bit more predominant.    But, it reversed the dent enough that I could screw the shelf in place; and  there is a sturdy metal bar behind the screws, so I didn’t think it compromised the durability of the cart.     Just a minor hiccup; not enough for me to complain about . . . YET!

Once fully assembled, I wheeled it across the room (for the obligatory photo shoot!) and it almost tipped over!  It was still empty, but it felt unbalanced and a bit top heavy; like it was leaning to one side.   Since this was on a carpeted floor, I moved it to a hard surface to see if that helped.  On the hard surface the ‘lean’ was even MORE pronounced.  So I got out a level to check if it was even.  The TOP shelf was very uneven,  the middle shelf slightly less uneven and the bottom shelf completely level.  WTH?!?!?

Even just looking at it form this angle, you can SEE how much it leans to the right.

The center bubble in the level is completely over to the left!  I just stood there and stared at it for a minute.   This IS a biggie!  I can’t use a cart that leans like the tower of Pisa!  There is nothing I can do to ‘fix’ this and nothing that I could have done wrong in assembling it that could have caused this problem.  The holes are pre-drilled in place and the screws welded in place.  Putting it together simply involved lining up the pre-set screws with the pre-drilled holes and screwing on the nuts.   Mistake proof.  Heavy sigh.  NOW what do I do?!?

 

 I could have ignored the dent.  I was able to pound it out quite easily after all.  And the missing washers was not a real big deal.  The tool that didn’t fit was actually kind of funny; and didn’t prevent me from being able to assemble it.  But not standing straight once put together was ‘the straw that broke the camels back’, so to speak.  (this is part of what I wrote to Zulilly in my complaint email, as is the next paragraph)

 

 I’m totally bummed because I LOVE ‘the look’ of this cart.   I’m going to be even MORE disgruntled if I have to Dis-assemble it and ship it back for a refund or replacement.   I had no idea where I’d find a box big enough to ship it back ‘as is’ (assembled).  I’d be content with a partial refund, and IF it was required that I send it back, I would  have; but with growing contempt towards Zililly.  (And most likely losing me as a customer forever!)

So I composed my complaint email, injecting humor where I could (Not wanting to become known as ‘that b!tchy customer’, but making my point and  diluting my disappointment.  I hit the SEND button with as much contempt as I possible could and went off to drown my sadness in a cup of peppermint tea.  (this was Saturday afternoon)

A short while later I checked my email for etsy orders and there was a response from Zulilly!  (one of those lame automated messages; thanking me for contacting them and telling me they would respond to my email as soon as possible; I assumed!)  NO!  It was a REAL response from a REAL person whom had obviously actually READ my email.  No automated file form to fill out that just asks the same questions as I already accounted for in my email.  Just a very nice person, apologizing and asking me to send a couple of photos that showed the problems.

I sent the photos,  and heard back from them again in about an hour with another sincere apology and notification of a ‘more than fair’ refund to come.  He said he appreciated the humor I had injected into my complaint letter and admitted to having to ask a co-worker to look at the photos and explain to him how a ‘level’ works!  Very refreshing honesty and human-ness!  I’m so happy that I can LOVE Zulilly again and not have to worry about what will happen if I ever get defective product again.  They handled it with the utmost professionalism and I truly felt VALUED as a customer.

So, what should I do with my refund? I chose to further reward myself for not accepting defective merchandise and sticking up for my rights as a consumer.  To thank Zulilly for their great customer service and in recognition of their speedy resolution to my receipt of an unsatisfactory item, and for restoring my faith in them . . . .  I  spent it on the Zulilly site of course.  On THIS!

Swoon!!  I will still love the cattywompus  green cart, and find a use for it despite it’s flaws.  This new piece is completely for FUN!  I can see myself filling it with fresh greens and big ball ornaments as a Christmas decoration.  Or big plastic snowflakes and snowballs for a winter decor theme.  Easter grass and bunnies and faux eggs at Easter time.  Perhaps even as a PROP in my booth at Stars (with a BIG ‘not for sale!tag on it of course!)  I foresee both of them being the subject of many future blog posts.

I know this sounds like a paid advertisement for Zulilly, but I promise you it’s NOT.  I am just a firm believer of giving credit where credit is due.  And I can wholeheartedly recommend Zulilly to anyone, confident that they will become satisfied customers based upon my personal experience.

If you want a quick peek at some of the other fabulous stuff that Zulilly has, here is my Pinterest page for ‘favorite on-line finds’, MOST of which are from Zulilly!