Williams Food Equipment The Chef's Store

Ordered online, website clearly said item was IN STOCK. Paid via credit card and was charged immediately. 10 days later still no shipping advice email, so I emailed the company, and they never responded. Several phone calls were placed, and I finally talked to somebody who said that the order would be shipping out within the next 24 hours. Another few days go by, and still no shipping confirmation email. Called them again, and when I asked about my order, I got disconnected ( or likely they just hung up on me ). Called again the next day, and rep told me that they placed their order with the manufacturer 10 days AFTER I placed and paid for my order. So the truth finally comes out that they wait until they have enough orders before they order from the manufacturer. They don't actually carry the stock! I was told that they were expecting the order the next day and it would ship out to me that week. Another week goes by, and nothing. So, another phone call, and another similar story of "we're expecting the shipment tomorrow that has your item in it, and it will ship out this week to you". It had now been an entire month since I paid for my order and still had nothing. I told them that tomorrow we would be travelling and this item was intended as a gift to bring along with us. After all, we placed our order more than a month before it was needed, and their website did clearly state "IN Stock". I told them to refund my credit card immediately.
So, that day I had to search for a similar product at a department store, spend time going to store and paying a higher price, just so that I'd have a gift for our family.
Lo and behold on the Sunday that we were away, Canada Post delivers the order from Williams. They never cancelled my order. So now I have something I no longer need, and I ended up paying more for the replacement because Williams failed to deliver on time.
Saying "Sorry we're doing the best we can" just doesn't cut it in today's marketplace. Williams failed to make good on the order, told me bogus stories to keep me on the hook, and now I'm out several hundred dollars. There is no way I'm paying to ship this back to them. i'm stuck with it. Very unhappy here.