A bad company to work for, and even worse company to deal with.
Generally speaking this is possibly the worst company to work for in Wisconsin. They lie, and fraud consumers. I sure hope people are taking advise from these postings. I hope Schools will get away from this company and order from less shady companies
AS
Alan S.
Financially Troubled Company Committed Fraudulent Advertising in Interstate Commerce
I have been School Specialty customers since before their Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013. My wife has been a bankruptcy lawyer for many years, and she read their bankruptcy filings and learned that millions of dollars of money was disbursed by the company to its shareholders in the time frame before the bankruptcy. Then the company stiffed a large number of their suppliers, by not paying for goods they received, shipped to customers and received money for.
Since the bankruptcy the consumer frauds the company has perpetrated have been getting worse and worse. Most recently they publicized a 20% discount code which they claimed was good through May 31, 2020. I wasted at least 2 hours putting together a complex order. When I went to check out at 7:30PM Central Time (which is the time zone where School Specialty is located - in Wisconsin). I tried to place my order 4 times, and every time it was rejected for b.s. reasons. Then my wife tried to place the same order through her account and got the same result.
It turned out that School Specialty had a phony time clock on their website, saying that it was not 7:30PM on 5/31/2020, but instead showing that the website considered it to be 4:30AM on 6/1/2020. The clock is a consumer fraud and b.s. because the time zone chosen is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Its important to realize that School Specialty was and probably still is the largest vendor of art supplies and school supplies to school districts in the nation. School Specialty sucks in a huge amount of taxpayer money every year through purchasing by school districts and teachers. After their Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan was approved, they jacked up all of their prices by 20% in effect saving their company on the taxpayer dime.
Many times School Specialty accepts orders and then never ships half the goods.
Tonight my wife the bankruptcy lawyer discovered that on April 8, 2020 School Specialty filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission disclosing that the company has entered into a "Forbearance Agreement" with TCW Asset Management Company LLC as agent for School Specialty's major lenders (Bank of America and Bank of Montreal) which was attached to the 8-K. On its first page the Forbearance Agreement recites "Whereas, as of the date hereof, multiple Events of Default under the Loan Agreement and the other Loan Documents have occurred and are continuing;"
The public disclosure of those loan defaults by School Specialty with its major lender shows that the company is in financial trouble again.
I implore everyone to buy their art supplies and school supplies somewhere else so that your money doesn't go out the door while you get stiffed by School Specialty and its secured creditors and their agent.
JB
jeanette B.
Horrible Company to Order From!
Since we have to give at least a one star, that is what they will get. Ordered a 300 pound weight set which they stated was in stock. It also stated it was free shipping, but we were charged $100 for shipping which we didn't really care about. The website stated it was in stock and would be delivered, but we later found out that we would not be receiving it due to the manufacturer not having any in stock, and since they cannot ship due to Coronavirus we had to wait. This was March 29th. We just received an email stating that a new policy has been implemented that there is a minimum purchase (yup no minimum purchase was noted in email) and our order was cancelled. All items that we ordered were put back into their inventory. There is still nothing on their website stating that there is a minimum purchase due to Coronavirus. This is a huge contractual agreement breach since they advertised in stock, accepted our request for items, and agreed to fulfil said agreement without even so much as a whisper of any possibility of it being out of stock or an increase in minimum purchases. What a bait and switch move! Shame on you!
LI
Lisa
Unreliable. Cancels Orders Without Notification
This company is not reliable. SchoolSpecialty.com takes your money, holds onto it for over a week, and then cancels the order without so much as an email to inform you that they canceled your order.
This would be a horrible way for a business-to-consumer company to operate, but it's even worse considering they are a business-to-business based company.
DK
Debbie Kauffman F.
Incorrect listing, error or intentional?
I placed an order on amazon for 12, 1 pint bottles of underglaze for ceramics. It was an incredible price but it very clearly stated that it was for 12 pints. In the specifications, it listed it as 2 oz each, but the shipping weight was 20 lbs. so I thought that was a typo. I received 12, 2 oz bottles. I immediately requested a return based on incorrect information. They replied saying that the info was correct and if I wanted to return it, they would charge me a 15% restocking fee plus return postage. At the bottom of their email, it showed a chart, listing the amazon order number and the description of the product: 12, 1 pint bottles! I took a screen shot of the amazon page and resent to the seller, stating that I had proof that their description was incorrect. I also called the company directly. Less than an hour later, I received an email from the same person who told me their site was correct, telling me that now their site was incorrect!! Not only were they not charging me a restocking fee, they told me not to even return the item. Wow. The bottom line is don’t order from this company, but if you do, read the small print.
MS
MS
This company is scam
This company is scam. Ordered online. No item shipped. Charged to my credit card. No customer service response....
LS
LS
Avoid.
Avoid.
Ordered $600 supplies worth which site stated were in stock with next day delivery. 6 days later, call to find when ship date was. Apparently items were out of stock and site was not updated. No communication, zero responsibility. Concluded conversation with Representative asking if i was interested in anything else from their site! Absolutely ridiculous business practices. Avoid.
N
N
Terrible customer service
I ordered something from this company. The website indicated “in stock, shipped in 2-3 business days”. After I placed my order, I only received 1 confirmation email from them for my order, then nothing else after to inform that they are on back order. A couple of weeks later, I contacted someone through chat, and found out the item was on back order. The rep disconnected my chat after I asked why they’d charge me if they were on back order. No follow up emails about the order, nothing at all. Terrible! Never do business with them!