toAnyone Who Went to Conference.what Kind of Things Are Merrill

[yummybytes]

Merrill's customer service sucked. They didn't even know what they were selling. I had questions they couldn't answer. They didn't have sample or pictures of lots of things. People were coming back with their "will call" bags that were packed incorrectly.

I like the look of their stuff, but they need better prices and need to replace their CS staff or come have the Trader Joe's people train them or something. That store has the best CS ever.

TJ's is soooo my fave... That store is perfection inside four walls.
Starbucks is defintiely high up on the CS factor as well for me. They are always so perky (ceffenated?) and helpful.

 

[momoftwins]

I just finished up my conference survey and I made sure to include all this type of information in it, I completely agree with you!

When did you receive it?? Did they email it to you?????????? I have not received one yet but I did register on site.

 

[chefann]

Last year, I had a terrible experience with a Merrill rep. (He kept insulting me because he assumed that I attended University of Michigan just because I live in MI.) This year, I didn't do a lot of shopping in the Merrill area and the 2 people I dealt with were fine. But I agree that they needed FAR more people to handle the crowd. Let's see... last year Merrill had 6 or so reps, and VIP had 12. So Merrill should have had 18 or more to do the job.

 

[krzymomof4]

My director said that their shirts run small.

 

[chefann]

It depended on which one you picked up and who the manufacturer of the actual apparel item is. Some ran small, some ran really big.

I got one U-neck t-shirt (page 14, left side of the page) that runs pretty true to size. I haven't washed it yet - so we'll see whether it shrinks or not.

 

[krzymomof4]

She said most things she tried were small. She got the sparkly one, and said she had to go a size big. I always get bigger, I like to hide my rolls

 

[chefann]

The problem with going bigger is that it doesn't always work they way people think it does. Go too big, and you actually look larger because the clothes hang so far away from your body, and people assume that the whole garment is full of you, not air.
(I watch waaaayy too much What not to Wear.)

 

[MGG]

I normally don't like flp flops but the Merrill ones are awesome! I LOVE them; they are the most comfortabe shoes I own. The other three items I am soo glad I bought are the cranberry quilted tote, the watch and I LOVE the dots pajama shirt. The PJ shirt is soo cute-love it! I thought the cost was resonable and the sizes were true to size, exceptfor the suede jacket which ran small at the chest.

 

[pchefkristin]

Well, I thought the prices were good. I purchased a lot of cool stuff. TWENTY PC frisbees for our PC BBQ in a few weeks, the yoga set, the quilted jacket... a steal I thought at $35! Plus some shirts, supplies, flip flops, that cutie little red purse and more. The shop on the main floor was much more managable than the Directors area for sure, but I was happy over all with the prices and selection.

 

[momoftwins]

I got my order that they shipped to me from conference on Tuesday but my cardigan is on back order and it does not have an estimated ship date so I need to call them! Ugh! Why wouldn't they include that date??????

 

[chefann]

Just because they don't. That's one of the things I don't like about their service.

I ordered the recipe bookmarks earlier in the year, when they first became available, and they weren't in the box. No note, no phone call from them - nothin'! So I phoned customer service and was very curtly told that there was a problem at the printer, and they'd be shipped within a month, probably in 2 weeks. I thought they had forgotten them completely, that's why I called.

 

[chrpangel]

I was not impressed by them at all. I shop on a budget and a lot of their stuff was out of my price range. I was at wave 1 and they were ill prepared for us. I wanted the u-neck shirt in xl. They were all out! And this was like on day 2 (I think, could be three). I still don't have it! (I had to order it) I called last week and it's on back order!!! The thing that really torked me off was that the bling shirt I wanted had 3/4 sleeves! I can't stand 3/4 sleeves. It makes me feel like I grew way long over night.

 

[chefann]

I was not impressed by them at all. I shop on a budget and a lot of their stuff was out of my price range. I was at wave 1 and they were ill prepared for us. I wanted the u-neck shirt in xl. They were all out! And this was like on day 2 (I think, could be three). I still don't have it! (I had to order it) I called last week and it's on back order!!! The thing that really torked me off was that the bling shirt I wanted had 3/4 sleeves! I can't stand 3/4 sleeves. It makes me feel like I grew way long over night.

That's weird, because I got the u-neck top on day 3 of Wave 1. Although I think I got 1X instead of XL. I do agree that they were not prepared for the sheer number of consultants. They needed at least twice as many reps taking orders and money, to make the line go faster.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I agree that Merrill was not at all prepared for us at conference. They do lots of shows for lots of companies so they should have known how to do this. Maybe they're not used to being the ONLY vendor...

I think they needed 3 x the staff and they definitely should have had longer ropes to keep all the skippers from joining their friends in front of those waiting longer in line behind them.

And what was with the pathetic Director Store? They at least could have had a check out in there to make it worth going in. (I'm talking about the tent at the downstairs store. The one upstairs was worthless too - everything was "I don't know... have to order it..." - but it did have a checkout.)





...oh, and, I LOVE 3/4 length sleaves. They're just right for me all year round. (except on over 90 or under 30 days - lol - but here in beautiful NC we usually have few of either!)

 

[Jules711]

I got my order yesterday finally and it was completely the wrong shirt. The email response was nice but said call. Then the person I talked to was a little rude. I asked if they'd send a call tag since I didn't think I should have to pay for s/h and she said it would delay my original shirt since they have to wait for the return. Well, if they do it right away, only by a couple days. Plus, it's a sweater and it's in the 80s!!Wasn't impressed at all. She did get nicer towards the end. I think the prices should have been lower on at least some things for conference goers. Usually there is a really good deal. VIP had $4 s/h I think one year. $6 isn't so impressive since it's probably about right for many orders. Vent, vent, vent. Don't they KNOW we like sales? Of course, they weren't hurting for orders and sales I guess. They should have had more available for sale though. Many things ran out right away.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I was at the merrill store each of the 3 days (with different people) and noticed that some things were added each day including more of things that were sold out on previous days. So it depended on when you got there.

 

[DebbieJ]

The sparkle shirt is also available in long sleeve.

 

[amerrigan]

Make sure you make home office aware of your likes and dislikes, nothing will change untill home office knows!

 

[chefann]

not just HO- let Merrill know, too. They have an email address for product suggestions. Other issues should be addressed to customer service.

 

[missydivine]

Let them know, it's the only way anything will change.

 

[momoftwins]

I did call them yesterday about my b/o item. It is expected to arrive to them the first part of August so she said they will probably ship on August 6th.

 

[Kathytnt]

Be advised that they usually don't show the type of material. The sparkle shirt WILL SHRINK. The regular t-shirts are pre-washed cotton so there is little shrinkage

 

[chefpenny99]

Be sure to order a size larger if you get one of their polo shirts. They are 100% cotton and they shrink some in the wash.

 

[Grandmarita]

I called Merrill, yesterday, wanting to order the magnetic car signs that go for $59.95 a set. I was told that it takes 10 days to fill the order, and then it is shipped UPS, and could add another 3-5 days depending on the distance from their plant. That was too long a wait for me. Then I talked with my recruiter, to see how long her order from 1st wave had taken to deliver, and she had just received it on 7/25. So the reality of two weeks for something as simple as clothing convinced me I should not expect miracles right now, so soon after all the orders they probably received during Conference. However, I called back and was going to place my order anyway.
Then, I mentioned that I wished the magnetic car signs had more white space, and room for my name, rather than a photo of people (not even our products). She said that I was not the only one to say that, and they were considering that, and perhaps I would want to wait a few weeks, until I returned from vacation, and check their designs at that time. They might be
more to my liking. She also encouraged me to go to their website, and put my desires for a simpler design for the sides of our cars, without photos of people taking up as much of the space as it did, in the current catalog. So, Cheffers, how about our giving that some thought, and making our preferences known. I really like the design that my recruiter has on her car, that came from our former supplier. It is all white with the PC logo and name,
and really features her name and contact information. There are no distracting photos. Thanks for your support, in going to their website. I hope and pray that all of us that want to order these items for our business, can get closer to what we used to have available to us. I just wish I had ordered them a year ago.

 

[GourmetGirl]

Did anybody get the Yoga Set yet? If so, how does it fit? I wish I had ordered it at conference and tried it on, but didn't realize what a good value it was... TIA!

 

[GourmetGirl]

I just wrote an email and here is what I wrote:

I have a few suggestions:

-Car Magnets: I would like a more basic design that features our contact information and the Pampered Chef Logo. A design like the name badge would be okay too (one that has pictures of products, but small with the focus on us and The Pampered Chef.)

-The Promotional Items from the by words category would better suit the be rewards category. Overall, just better categorization of the products (or have them featured multiple places on the website. i.e. Host Package Envelope with Business Builders and Stationary)

-More Accessories - Put bags into that category (and have more selection) and have other colors of hats and visors.

-Have a sale at conference. It doesn't have to be much, but we consultants like sales or spend $x, get y (look at most of our guest specials... it works!) For example, free shipping if you spend over $50 on an order or a free bag if you spend $75, like you had at either leadership or last year as your promotion. Even though, Merrill is our only choice, we would still like to be wooed into having our business.


Thank you for your time and I hope that some of these suggestions will be taken into consideration.

 

[straitfan]

Well put Alison! Let us know if you get a response.

 

[pamperedlinda]

Did anybody get the Yoga Set yet? If so, how does it fit? I wish I had ordered it at conference and tried it on, but didn't realize what a good value it was... TIA!

I tried it on at conference and it seems to run pretty true to size. My clothes run anywhere from a size 6 to a 10 (usually I wear an 8) and the medium fit me just fine (the pants were pretty long though....but I'm short so I have that problem all the time!) The fabric on these is so soft too! The color in the catalog is a little misleading though. It says dark red....but it's more of a washed-out weird color of red (not bad though, I just wouldn't call it red) The brown is nice too.

 

[Kathytnt]

The lead time on the car magnets has always been about 2-3 weeks. I am still waiting for the sweater I ordered to show up on my order history to know that it is on it's way.

I am still waiting for them to put my suggestions in progress - I asked for a What's New button. Obviously everything is new now but for future items I would like button that let's me just look at new items.

 

[Kathytnt]

I just looked at the Merrill website and the new set of magnets I will be getting will look very different from my current ones with the prodcut pictures

 

[GourmetGirl]

I tried it on at conference and it seems to run pretty true to size. My clothes run anywhere from a size 6 to a 10 (usually I wear an 8) and the medium fit me just fine (the pants were pretty long though....but I'm short so I have that problem all the time!) The fabric on these is so soft too! The color in the catalog is a little misleading though. It says dark red....but it's more of a washed-out weird color of red (not bad though, I just wouldn't call it red) The brown is nice too.

Linda -

Thanks for the info. I am going to get the brown when I get it, which will be when another consultant has stuff to order (she said sometime soon... hmmm...) so we can split shipping (their shipping bugs me as I work 3 miles from their head offices and an hour from their warehouse!)