I am a customer with four Sonos speakers and received a few Sonos gift cards earlier this summer to add another speaker. I am very frustrated with the experience to say the least. First of all, there is very poor messaging on the gift card redemption, i.e. where and how to redeem and why redemption fails to work for $350 worth of credit. After speaking with a customer rep. he made it clear that redemption does not work for back-ordered products until they are back in stock. However, since July, I have watched the expected delivery dates on several products slide back from week to week and there is no resolution. The customer service rep. suggested that I purchase the product with my credit card and then send my gift card redemption numbers to them through email for a refund when the product becomes available. This obviously is not a secure way to send the information and I’m sure Sonos would be happy to have the additional transaction. I contacted another customer service rep through the online chat function with no other solutions. After acknowledging the issue for gift card holders, they again offered no resolution and ended the conversation. At the very least, Sonos, please stop promoting and selling these products if you are unable to fulfill orders. Put gift recipients at the head of the line when products are back in stock since they cannot apply credit that you owe them. What a poor experience for gift givers too because they do not know their gift wasn’t able to be given. I now wonder what else I could purchase with my unusable $350 Sonos credit. If anyone in the community has suggestions for ways to resolve this, I would appreciated it.
Very Poor Gift Card Experience
+12Hi
We understand the frustration and yes, gift cards don’t work with back-ordered products.
If you want to know what other purchases you can have, you may visit our Store website.
The status of the product will be present; it’s either back-ordered, out of stock, or Add to Basket (in stock).
If you haven’t contacted our Sales Department; you can reach them on this phone line 1 800 680 2345 option 4 Monday to Friday from 10 am to 8 pm ET.
We apologize for the poor experience and I’ll be sure to pass the feedback along.
If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out.
I appreciate the apology, but can you tell me what options there are for a resolution? If you don’t let gift givers know that gift cards cannot be immediately redeemed and are subject to a date that continuously moves back, then the offer is very deceptive. Worst of all is that this applies to multiple products. Surely there are other folks in the same situation. As you suggested I have already been in touch with customer service through phone and online chat with limited suggestions for a way to resolve this. There was no effort by anyone at SONOS to contact me to let me know when I can redeem my credit ahead of other online purchases. If contact isn’t made to gift recipients who are unable to redeem their credit, then customers who purchase products directly will always precede them in line waiting for the product. Thus, the gifting option is useless while you have already received payment. At a minimum, you need to warn people.
+12Hi
Unfortunately, we don’t have a better resolution other than the Sales representative has given you.
Our Sales department handles the purchase systems and handles purchase issues like this.
We understand the sentiment and we value the feedback you’ve given; I’ll be sure to pass the feedback along.
If you have other concerns, feel free to reach out.
So you’re saying this $1000 in Sonos cash can’t be used to order any product, just products that are not backordered?
I’ve been waiting for months to order a Arc
*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the community guidelines.*
To just say our sales department won’t take gift cards for back ordered items is not acceptable. I want to
buy something today, Cyber Monday, as a gift for someone. So you sell a gift card, take the money, but won’t let customers use them for back ordered items because it’s a policy. That does not seem to meet the needs of your customers. I really like your product but you need to fix this. I have never had this issue with any other company’s gift cards. Please tell me how to fix this. Or do I have to go to the California Bureau of Consumer Affairs? If you guarantee to reinburse the money on the card if I buy the item, then I will go ahead and purchase it.
Sonos, this is just very wrong and very unethical. You should cash out the gift card if you are not willing to change your unfair policy.
Your company just lost a huge part of my respect to you.
I’ve ran into this problem just now and it dumbfounding to me. How the hell can the use of a gift card be limited to only products in stock. It makes absolutely ZERO sense.
Every on line retail company has allowed me to use their gift cards to purchase any item they sell. If not in stock, I pay with gift cards and wait for them to fill the order. Not once, never, have I been told I cannot use a gift card. Sonos is unique in this policy. And it is just a policy. All they need do is change it. There is no cost to them. They already have the money. I urge you all to write to your state department of consumer affairs and complain about this policy. Refund my money or accept my cards.
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