Princess Kate Middleton, Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Cambridge, represents poise, sophistication, motherly playfulness, and a Teflon ability to let scandals slide off her back. The family of Her Royal Highness, however, does not enjoy the same immunity. In the spotlight, this time is Middleton’s mother, Carole Middleton, and her retail business Party Pieces. Party Pieces goes by the tagline “Party ideas and inspiration for more than 30 years!” on Instagram, and is a retail service specializing in party activities and decor.
Carole Middleton is listed as the company’s founder and shares on the Party Pieces website, “From the humble beginnings selling kids party supplies from our garden shed all the way back in the late ’80s to today, where we send out thousands of orders each week, we’ve aimed to provide you with the party supplies you need to make your celebration into something truly special.”
But according to some recent customers, the company is struggling to live up to that promise during the coronavirus lockdown.
Retail woes may leave Kate Middleton's mom's Party Pieces in pieces
The U.K.’s retail sales are said to have suffered the worst decline on record last month, as supply chain and staffing challenges have combined with widespread unemployment, and shelter in place concerns (via City A.M.). Middelton’s business appears to be no exception to troubles, as evidenced by some very unhappy customers on Instagram.
States one unhappy commenter, “You are totally unreachable which is very bad customer experience.” Another purchaser shares, “I keep trying to call on your number and it hangs up every time, no way to reach out to you and no answers to my emails… really not a good customer experience at all.” In an expressive display of disappointment, another unhappy Instagram customer states, “Shambolic experience. Please save yourself the trouble and order elsewhere. We ordered a personalised banner for our son’s birthday weeks ago and still haven’t received it.”
In good faith, the company does seem to have followed up with each issue online. Here’s hoping Party Pieces will continue to correct these issues, and adjust to today’s vastly different retail landscape.
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