Brookstone
Reviews and Complaints

Bought Microbeam flashlight3 pack in 2007. Used two flashlights, and after they failed, switched to third. After six weeks of use, third flashlight malfunctioned. Brookstone refused to exchange. Very unpleasant considering each flashlight individually costs $20 and was useless. Item must cost Brookstone almost nothing, and is tiny to send out. Customer service rep treated me very unpleasantly--the opposite of service.

When leaving Chicago airport for the UK I went into a brookstone shop at the airport and bought a pair of walkie talkies. When i got home they did not function ie no9 power at all. I called and emailled brookstone and they advised that if i returned the goods to them at my expense they would send me replacement goods. I sent them back and received a cheque from them in us dollars. I called them again and was told they could not issue goods. I queried why this was the case wehn they told me they would send me replacement goods. After a few calls between us they agreed that if i returned the cheque they would send me replacement goods. I asked them to cancel the cheque and they said this cannot be done ? I posted cheque back 2nd October 2010 by airsure which is signed for post from the UK and now I am advised they have not received it and the UK Post office tell me that the letter has been lost. Brookstone tell me that if they do not get the cheque back that I will not receive any reploacement goods. I have told them can they reissue the cheque then and they tell me no. So I have paid money to them but have no goods and have no refund. The cheque they gave me was in us dollars and not what we had agreed hence i returned this to them. I am out of pocket considerably to them.

I received a Christmas gift from my boss purchased at Brookstone. He, like me, is a techie (IT industry). It is that dumb talking alarm clock. I did not like it. I took it back to Brookstones local brick and mortar to exchange it. The salesman said without a receipt, he could not exchange it! It was a freakin' gift for God's sake! What am I supposed to do? Go tell my boss I don't like his Christmas gift so give me the receipt so I can exchange it for something I like?! His excuse was, I could not prove it was purchased from Brookstones. But...THEY SELL IT! I will never set foot in that place again! They sell products but don't back them. Go figure.

I recently order a itme from Brookstone online on June 7th 2010. The order stated it would be shipped no later than 24 June which not unsual due to the Fathers Day mail rush. However, when I check the order online my order number would not show up in their tracking database. I tried this several times and after being unsuccessful I called customer service to see if they could help me.

I was told by customer service that the item I ordered was on backorder not for 24 Jun but rather a new date of 1Jul. I asked the clerk where on the website did it ever mention anything about backorders; she tried to ensure me it was there but it is not. She also told me I was on some type of pecking order list and that will determine my shipment date. So now just because it states 1 Jul as the shipment date there is no guarentee it will ship.

This is ridiculas. I order a product and I expected it to be here on a certain date. So if you are ordering anything on Brookstone'w website I strongly advise you to call in to customer service and ask the availability of the item before you get roped in to their bad sales tacticts. I will stop using their online services period. If I need something from them I will just buy it in the store. I advise you to do the same.

Be advised..do not shop at Brookstone . Their 30 day return policy make it virtually impossible to return any Christmas gifts ordered. Then if you purchase online, they expect you to pay the shipping to return it back. The agents are RUDE and refuse to let you escalate or make any exceptions. I spent hundreds of dollars and they didn't care to listen or keep my business.

The My Life Digital Photo Album is a bad investement. It advertises to contain 4, 000 pictures but fails to include the simple fact that all these display in random order (verified with Brookstone Customer Service May 11). Totally stupid. It would be assumed at the minimum the pictures would appear in some relation to file name, date, etc. Yes, off my list of approved suppliers!

DO NOT BUY from Brookstone.com. I have never exeperienced worst customer service from anyone ever and I shop online quite a bit. I ordered a nap lite blanket online on 1/8/10. Seems pretty simple? One would think so. One item shouldn't be that hard to mess up. 7 days later, I receive a package from Brookstone. I open it up and it is an Adirondack outdoor chair cover. The packaging reciept says that it should be the blanket! So, I call Brookstone customer service, and explain the situation. The lady seemed to not really beleive me, but told me that I can take the wrong item into the nearest store with the packaging receipt and they will be able to exchange it for the correct item. I even asked her to check the store to make sure that the correct item was in stock so I didnt waste my time. I go to the store and the clerk was very nice, but says they are not able to exchange online items in the store. As I waited in the store as the clerk was talking to customer service, the blanket that I ordered was sitting on display taunting me. The clerk finally came back and apologized profusely and said that I had to send back the incorrect item and that Brookstone would email me a UPS label to send it back. So...defeated, I leave the store with the adirondack outdoor chair cover that I probably would never use. I send back the wrong item the next day and they finally receive it on 1/22/10. I do not hear a thing from them. I finally email customer service on 1/26/10 to ask what is going on and I get a response 2 days later that they are sorry for the inconvenience and to keep the wrong item and that the correct item will be shipped out. Umm, kinda hard to keep the wrong item, when they already told me to send it back. So, on 2/4/10, I FINALLY receive the correct item. I am just peeved that they send me to the store for their mistake which was a complete waste of my time. Then don't respond when there was obviously an issue with the order. It took a month to get 1 item along with calls and emails to customer service along with a trip to the store which got me no where. I like the product, but will NEVER buy from Brookstone again.

I purchased two xrocker sync recliners from the brookstone store in south coast plaza, costa mesa. The store manager told me take since they did not have the recliner in the store that they would return the recliners at no cost to us if they were not what we expected when they arrived.
The brookstone store shipped the two recliners to our home, and they were the cheapest smallest crap recliners I have ever seen, no wonder that they did not display the chairs in the store. I called to return the recliner chair as soon as I sat in one. Then I when on line and read the brookstone return policy and did everything to the letter of the policy.
I called and ask for a merchandise return authorization number they refused to give me one, I talk to a supervisor she told me I did not need it on large items. I was told to send the two recliner chairs to the returns department in missouri and they would send me a check amount of the purchase.
The cost of shipping the two recliner chairs to missouri by ups ground cost me $283.94 and guess what I have not heard from brookstone or receive a returned phone call yet. This all happened last year and brookstone is still not returning my phone calls or letters. The brookstone store will not do anything to help, they say it is out of their hands once it is shipped.

The Christmas holiday just ended and I decided I did not want a gift my parents gave me from Brookstone. I read their reciept and it indicated that the item could be returned within 30 days for a full refund with a reciept. I drove an hour to the nearest store in Ohio only to be told by the manager that because I had a gift reciept, I could only exchange the merchandise. I was appalled as the terms on the reciept made no indication that this was the policy. She said that it was on their website. Well why did I think there would be any reason to look beyond what it said on the reciept. I am taking it up with the corporate office on Monday. This is a ridiculous policy when every store is issuing gift reciepts at the holidays to make returns easier. This company should be ashamed of itself.

I received a christmas gift purchased from Brookstone, through Amazon. When I attempted to return it to the store for store credit the local store in the Gateway, Salt Lake City refused to process the return stating that it was Amazons problem and only Amazon can process the return. When I returned home and called Brookstone customer service they said the store was in error, BUT STILL REQUIRED ME TO SHIP THE PRODUCT BACK TO BROOKSTONE AT MY EXPENSE. Brookstone oreder number is [protected]. Account # is: [protected]. Please allow me to add I WILL NEVER PURCHASE A BROOKSTONE PRODUCT FROM AMAZON AGAIN and further will tell everyone I know what they can expect from this business relationship between Amazon and Brookstone should they every have to return merchandise.

I ordered their frog-o-sphere and all I received was a plastic tank, some gravel and a bamboo plant. I have waited three weeks and called customer service four times. Each time, they say there is nothing they or I can do, no one I can talk to and that I should just wait another two days and hope for the best. Oh, and since I set up the tank to keep the bamboo from dying, I can't return it for a refund. So $40 plus shipping has gotten me a $2 piece of bamboo and a dinky tank and gravel. I will never, ever, shop at brookstone again.

I bought some outside Christmas prelit trees to go by my front door after Christmas last year on sale ($30/piece-bought 2). Of course they went in my attic since after Xmas and I pulled them out a couple of days ago and placed one of either side of front door outside. We had some wind last night and they both were knocked over-I had noticed when I set them up that they didn't seem terribly sturdy. I just noticed that the middle portion holding the tree stem already broke from the fall. I just called the company and they said I would have to pay to send it back even though it broke and wasn't made very sturdy. I had paid $23 to have it shipped to me initially (I usually don't buy much online for this reason-hate paying the shipping charges) but they were a good price and I THOUGHT would be good quality since from Brookstone. I asked to be put through to supervisor and was fed the same garbage. So by the time I paid to get it to me and pay for it to go back, that's more than I paid for the tree to begin with (they don't sell them anymore...um wonder why?). I will be calling again tomorrow but doubt I'll have luck. DO NOT ORDER FROM BROOKSTONE. I'm surprised they are still in business.

Boo Brookstone! I purchased a Roomba iRobot vacuum for over $300.00. Product went bad, send to Brookstone for warranty repair or replacement. Received a letter back stating they couldn't fix it so here is a gift card. Only problem is they don't carry the item any longer. So I can't buy another one. I asked for a check instead of a gift card, so I could purchase a roomba directly from iRobot. They said no way, they were rude and unkind, from the store level right up through the warranty (protection plus) to the corporate customer service.
I asked them to send back my defective unit so I can send it to the manufacturer for repairs, they said no. Now I can’t buy one from the store, but they want me to go spend over $300 with them...not going to happen.

WARNING: Do not buy from Brookstone, they will keep your money and hose you by not standing behind their faulty warranty department!

I ordered the Igallop exercise machine at a sale price of 199. I received an email stating it was in stock and processing. Five days later I received a letter it was no longer available or in stock. I called the company and asked why, and they told me there was nothing they could do. They wouldnt even offer me compensation of anything.Very rude customer service, and was told orders are placed as they come in. If that was true, I would should have received my order as it stated it was in stock and processing. Of course they had the new model for 300.00 more and would not even offer a discount on that one. No customer satisfaction here.

I bought a pair of earbuds from a Brookstone airport store for a plane ride only to discover after opening the package (on the plane) that the things did not fit my ear. When I landed at Chicago airport, I went to the Brookstone store to get a different pair and they clamed that it is a product that can not be returned. Apparently there is some very small print on the back of receipt that states that some items called Personal Care Products are non-returnable. The store in Chicago claimed this is a personal care product !

So I complained to their online site and I include their response below - note that I gave them my name and full contact details and they still greeted me with a Dear Customer !
Arrgghh, I will not shop at Brookstone again!

---Response to my complaint:
Dear Customer,

Thank you for your email.

We are sorry that you did not receive the service you have come to expect from Brookstone.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with us and regret any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

Brookstone.com Customer Service

I bought the 21 inch $200 carry on luggage on November and in January after two trips the seams started to come off. I went back to the store and they don't accept warranty claims without receipts. First of all, this is the worst quality $200 luggage that I have heard of. Second, this is pathetic service. The luggage is only sold by Brookstone, even walmart with thousands of brands return merchandise without receipts. Anybody would be better of buying 4 cheap carry on's of $50.
Never buy from Brookstone!

I bought a Soma snoring pillow for my husband. He attempted to use it for only 10-15 minutes, and he couldn't stand to use it. Extremely uncomfortable, not usable.

I attempted to return it to the store for an refund or exchange, and was told that it clearly states in the store and on the recepit that there isn't any refund or exchange for personal care item. I DID NOT see any signage anywhere that says no refund about this. After reading the back of the receipt several times, in very tiny print and a very light color print, it did say that. But then, of course, I had already purchased it.

I called the customer help line and explained my dissatisfaction with the product, and was told by the associate"Kelly" that their policy is posted in the store. I wanted to lodge a complaint and she stated that someone would call me. Still waiting. It appeared as if she couldn't care less.

I will never go back to Brookstone and will tell everyone about the experience I had with them.

I purchased a $150 pillow that was supposed to help with sleep apnea and snoring. The pillow did not do either. I returned it to Brookstone and they refuse to give a refund and they refuse to return the pillow to me. They have scammed me out of 186.51 (including shipping). This company is a fraud and should not be allowed to get away with things like this.

Issue me a refund for the defective pillow! You can't have it both ways. You have the pillow and my money.

We received a Brookstone's wine opener from a friend of mine as a housewarming gift. She did fail to give us the gift receipt. We have an identical item, so we wanted to exchange it to something else.

The store manager Enrico Farruggio (at Tysons Corner Mall, Virginia) denied it by saying that their corporate policy does not allow any exchanges without the gift receipt. I had to ask him again whether he understood that we wanted an exchange, not a cash refund. He said that that was the corporate policy.
That cannot be true - my sister received the identical item without the gift receipt on the same day by the same person and she was able to exchange it to something else. Is the 'corporate rule' something that the individual store manager could write as he feels like it?

By the way, the store manager Enrico was one of the rudest person we have met. He was a 'jerk', the kind of person that you don't want to talk to even if someone paid you to do so. He also treated us like beggers. At one point, I had to tell him that we are not asking for his cash out of his pocket. It was very demeaning.

I will never ever buy a single product from Brookstone. Why should we have to pay money to be treated like that?