Anyone Else Completely Frustrated with West End Gallery?

[DisneyPups]

EXACTLY! I totally agree, I loved the size, which added to the charm! It was adorable displayed on the easel.

It was just too big, more frame and matting than picture. Fed Ex picked up the pictures yesterday...fingers crossed.

Keep me posted on your progress.
And December "sailors"... let's see who gets their art first! I sent another email last week... no response. I suppose I'll be following up with a phone call this week. I DO have a life outside of hunting down ALREADY PAID FOR art. Argh.

 

[DisneyPups]

So I have an "update" (it's in quotations, b/c at this point, I don't know what to believe). I spoke with a rep, who indicated that my pieces are not expected for at least 2-3 more weeks. I ordered limited edition Disney pieces, and they indicated that only 10 are released at a time. This does not make sense to me. I'm beginning to think that they have sold WAY too many limited editions and now they're buying time to figure out what to do. I was promised a weekly call with updates as to where my art is, and they told me that they hope I will wait a bit longer as my pieces are very lovely and it would be a shame for me to miss out. Oh really? Hmm. I'll give you a few more weeks, and then I'm asking for my money back.

And who do I contact at Disney to complain about them?

 

[Minniemiss]

So I have an "update" (it's in quotations, b/c at this point, I don't know what to believe). I spoke with a rep, who indicated that my pieces are not expected for at least 2-3 more weeks. I ordered limited edition Disney pieces, and they indicated that only 10 are released at a time. This does not make sense to me. I'm beginning to think that they have sold WAY too many limited editions and now they're buying time to figure out what to do. I was promised a weekly call with updates as to where my art is, and they told me that they hope I will wait a bit longer as my pieces are very lovely and it would be a shame for me to miss out. Oh really? Hmm. I'll give you a few more weeks, and then I'm asking for my money back.

And who do I contact at Disney to complain about them?

Check post 30 in this thread.

 

[DisneyPups]

Check post 30 in this thread.

I did see that, but there was no contact info. I tried Googling him, without much luck. That particular person asked for a refund though. I don't want a refund, I want my art, and to tell Disney to stop using West End.

 

[Stacey6274]

So I have an "update" (it's in quotations, b/c at this point, I don't know what to believe). I spoke with a rep, who indicated that my pieces are not expected for at least 2-3 more weeks. I ordered limited edition Disney pieces, and they indicated that only 10 are released at a time. This does not make sense to me. I'm beginning to think that they have sold WAY too many limited editions and now they're buying time to figure out what to do. I was promised a weekly call with updates as to where my art is, and they told me that they hope I will wait a bit longer as my pieces are very lovely and it would be a shame for me to miss out. Oh really? Hmm. I'll give you a few more weeks, and then I'm asking for my money back.

And who do I contact at Disney to complain about them?

I was told the same thing last Thurs - I told them they had until 4/1 or I am disputing it with my cc company and she said - we will do our best and for your troubles we will throw in a free framed disney Art...really I just want my tinker bell. I emialed Disney last week and they called today and left me a voice mail, so I am about to call Tracy at Disney and see what she has to say. Good Luck everyone!

 

[DisneyPups]

I just ended up sending a message through DCL's "Contact Us" page.

 

[cmwade77]

So I have an "update" (it's in quotations, b/c at this point, I don't know what to believe). I spoke with a rep, who indicated that my pieces are not expected for at least 2-3 more weeks. I ordered limited edition Disney pieces, and they indicated that only 10 are released at a time. This does not make sense to me. I'm beginning to think that they have sold WAY too many limited editions and now they're buying time to figure out what to do. I was promised a weekly call with updates as to where my art is, and they told me that they hope I will wait a bit longer as my pieces are very lovely and it would be a shame for me to miss out. Oh really? Hmm. I'll give you a few more weeks, and then I'm asking for my money back.

And who do I contact at Disney to complain about them?

I would recommend sending an email to the following people:

President of Disney Cruise Line Karl Holz - karl.holz@disney.com
Senior Vice President of Operations Tom Wolber - tom.wolber@disney.com
Vice President of Hotel Operations Ozer Balli - ozer.balli@disney.com
Director of Purchasing and Logistics Tony Wills - tony.wills@disney.com

Please note that the email addresses should be their address, based on the format that all Disney email addresses seem to use. You can also Google their names to find email addresses.

Please note that this is all public information that can be found through Google/WikiPedia, so I am not posting anything that is not already out there, it just takes a bit to find it.

 

[myolite]

I spoke with joel from Guest Satisfaction today; He said that he will be getting a spreadsheet tomorrow with refund authorizations from West End.

 

[Bullseyebaby]

I had a horrible time with getting my art auction piece. Sounds like the same story. Every time I called (which was several times over several months) it was a new story.... but I finally did get the piece I wanted. That sucks that they prey on people who really truly love Disney & Disney art. Call DCL and complain. It's the only way they'll ever get rid of a vendor who is probably paying them very good money to be there.

 

[DisneyPups]

I had a horrible time with getting my art auction piece. Sounds like the same story. Every time I called (which was several times over several months) it was a new story.... but I finally did get the piece I wanted.

Do you remember how long it ending up taking? Just curious. I don't want to wait forever, but I DO want my art, which is why I haven't requested a refund yet.

 

[Bullseyebaby]

Just looked it up. We were on the 4/1/10 cruise (ended 4/4) and on Sept. 7th I finally got a UPS tracking number so it was probably around Sept. 10th I received it. I made 5 calls and wrote the day, time & person I spoke with....along with the "story" of why it took so long. Funny they told me they had to order more pieces from the artist... so my concern was "I thought this was a limited addition" why would they be waiting on more pieces...weren't they all signed & numbered by then? I tried to get someone on a different cruise to tell me the edition number of the piece on board to be sure they weren't duplicating the number of prints. Still skeptical. Never again. Sorry you have to endure this horrible customer service & Disney just allows it to continue.

 

[Bullseyebaby]

oh.... and I really did love the piece, so I can see why you don't want to ask for a refund. I never did, but was upset they told me 4-6 weeks and it was 5 months. But, in the long run.... I love my Toy Story art! I collect it!

 

[Ltl Mermaid]

I wish I had found this thread before 2/27. I ordered a great Rapunzel piece that I fell and love with...and kept eyeing every time I passed that area of the ship. Now I feel as though I made a huge mistake...I originally thought you could carry the art off the ship, which of course I couldn't. So then they tell me about a shipping fee and that it would take 6-8 weeks (which seemed a long time anyways).

Now you are all saying it has taken 5 months to get your art! That is reprehensable and I am shocked they are allowed to do buisness with Disney, normally Disney is pretty careful who they contract with. Once 8 weeks passes you better believe I will be contacting BOTH West End Galleries and DCL regularly to tell them about this. I am getting concerned about them goibg bankrupt before I get my art..based on what you are saying they are obviously in dire financial straights (because of their horrid service)

Wow, I am really upset now. This was my first time buying art and probably my last.

 

[cmwade77]

Don't let it put you off of buying art, just be careful who you are actually buying from, if you are buying at Disney, ask lots of questions and find out if you are buying directly from Disney or through a vendor. Buying directly from Disney is good, buying through a vendor is not.

That being said, for your information:
If you have not received your art within 60 days of purchasing the are and you settled your account with a credit card or bank (always make sure you do this, unless you are sure you will not need to dispute anything), file a partial dispute with your credit card company for the amount of the art, including all shipping and handling charges. Please note that you do not need to dispute the entire amount, the credit card company or bank has to allow you to dispute a portion of the charge up to 60 days after purchase. I would probably start doing this at day 50, just to give a little extra time for everything.

If you are past the 60 days already, call your credit card company ASAP to see if they can or will do anything to help you.

 

[csharpwv]

After multiple e-mails and even in-person contact with West End Galleries with no result, I finally (at 12 weeks) contacted land-side customer service with Disney last week. I heard from Disney Cruise Line via-telephone yesterday and was told that they would be in contact with West End Galleries about the situation, DCL was very apologetic and gave me two option - request a full refund of my purchase or wait and see what West End could do to expedite the shipment. I opted for number two just to see if it was going to be a couple more weeks.... Or a couple more months.....

So I heard from West End today and the incentive piece that I had framed was in stock and ready to ship - the other piece was going to be arriving in the NEXT TWO WEEKS!!! Yeah - that will take us out to approximately 15-16 weeks from the time we disembarked the ship.

To make up for the totally unexplainable delay they are allowing me to choose one of several in stock Disney prints to be framed and shipped free of charge. The lady I spoke with said I will receive an e-mail from them tomorrow with the selection that they have available that I may choose from.

I'm just putting this out there, after this long - I am not going to be easy to satisfy. I don't want some work of junk mass reproduced art. The couple of pieces that she suggested over the phone didn't interest me at all. So there had better be something of interest in the mix!

I was very frank with the DCL rep - and said exactly what I think. West End does not live up to Disney Customer Service standards. Disney should end their relationship with West End Gallery. The two do not belong together, and West End is damaging Disney's reputation.

I think less of Disney Cruise Line now than what I did on my last cruise. I see an exciting activity that I really enjoyed participating in that I will never even consider attending again - and in fact I WILL walk through the gallery area and tell other cruise line guests about my experience.

If this were an isolated incident I could understand and set my aggravation aside, however - as evidenced by this thread - this is NOT an isolated incident - West End is a repeat offender of respectable customer service standards.

If you have a delayed order - you must contact Disney Cruise Line if you want anything done to correct the problem. West End Galleries will not contact you or return your communication until you pull DCL into the mix.

I am not one to take things/problems/issues directly to the top and handle things as best you can until you discover that nothing will happen if the issue isn't escalated. Once your order passes the 6-8 week time frame, CONTACT DISNEY CRUISE LINE. West End doesn't care - don't even think they might. They don't.

I seriously doubt that I will receive my purchases in the next two weeks. I will be shocked if I get my purchases within 20 weeks from disembarkation.
6-8 weeks...... definitely not.

 

[DisneyPups]

Thanks csharpwv. I did get a call from Joel yesterday, and will call him today. I'm still not looking for a refund, b/c I want my art. But it is definitely important for everyone with this problem to contact Disney so they know the problems are just from a few "complainers". Joel, by the way, sounded so nice, I look forward to speaking with him.
Good luck on your Rapunzel piece LtlMermaid.

You know what's funny is, I bought something from Park West several years ago, and it came very quickly. And I know there were a lot of complaints about them too. So who knows what's going on here. But yeah, if you're going to sell "limited edition" don't oversell them. Duh!

 

[Mom323]

The Palm Beach Better Business Bureau has given West End an F.

http://www.bbb.org/south-east-flori...st-end-gallery-in-fort-lauderdale-fl-90019527

 

[trimix]

To make up for the totally unexplainable delay they are allowing me to choose one of several in stock Disney prints to be framed and shipped free of charge. The lady I spoke with said I will receive an e-mail from them tomorrow with the selection that they have available that I may choose from.

Good luck with that. When I ordered from West End, just after they replaced Park West, I was given a complimentary Disney print that would be shipped with my artwork. After several calls and complaints they said they would frame the print for free to make up for the problem.

When I finally received my order, an entirely different Disney print was included - and it was NOT framed. But I knew continuing to argue with West End would just frustrate me and not get me anywhere.

 

[MonicaW]

I don't have much to add to everyone else's posts on on constant emailing and calling West End. I "Won" a print as a prize draw during the champagne auction and paid $60 to have it shipped to Ontario, Canada - 6-8 weeks to arrive.

I am posting just to let everyone know that today is 7 months after disembarkation and I am still waiting for the print.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I will continue with my emails and calls to West End, but will also contact DCL.

Monica

 

[StephenKay]

Hi there,

I too have happily walked past the auctions often because of reading these threads regarding receipt of the paintings however the exclusive prints are often printed in the high hundreds. TVGuy mentioned that DCL may not be the place to have art auctions, however I disagree, if people were given quality product at a reasonable price people would be happier buying direct with Disney rather than the current vendor.

Is it just me, or does it seem as though West End are having supply problems which could be a result of them not paying bills. Overall something seems not to be right, buyer beware.